York Membery

4 weeks ago | thisismoney.co.uk | York Membery

The Reverend Richard Coles is an author, radio presenter and Church of England vicar, writes York Membery. The 63-year-old shot to fame in 1986 as half of the pop duo The Communards, who topped the charts with Don't Leave Me This Way – the UK's biggest single of that year. Ordained in 2005, he won BBC Celebrity Mastermind in 2014 and co-presented the BBC Radio 4 show, Saturday Live, for 12 years, stepping down in 2023.

1 month ago | thetimes.com | York Membery

1 month ago | historyextra.com | York Membery

He had a Walter Mitty quality: he was constantly fictionalising his life and pumping out fake versions of himself – partly, I think, because of his humble background [his father was a travelling salesman]. He lied about where he was born and grew up, and faked archaeological finds and ‘artefacts’ that he’d knocked up in his shed.

1 month ago | thisismoney.co.uk | York Membery

Ray Dorset, lead singer and guitarist with Mungo Jerry, found fame in 1970 when the group's song In The Summertime, topped the charts for seven weeks, writes York Membery. It went on to be No 1 in a further 25 countries, selling millions worldwide. It has been streamed more than 350 million times. The band had further hits with Baby Jump, also a No 1 in the UK, and Alright, Alright, Alright. Dad-of-six Dorset, 79 lives with third wife Britta in Bournemouth.

1 month ago | thisismoney.co.uk | York Membery

Isabel Allende is a Chilean-American author whose books have sold more than 88 million copies worldwide. She grew up in Chile and is best known for her novel The House of the Spirits (1982). Allende, 82, tells York Membery of her struggles in finding work after she was forced to flee her homeland for Venezuela following the overthrow of the Chilean president, Salvador Allende (her birth father Tomas's cousin), in a 1973 military coup led by General Pinochet.