"My best move was getting a pension in 1985. I also took out life membership of the Groucho Club and London Library, which has worked out extremely economical. I paid £2,000 for each and I've been a member of the Groucho for 25 years so that's a pretty good deal, said Revd Coles in an interview with the Telegraph.
I think the whole thing went to my head. I went through an unfortunate period behaving like Father Christmas. I flew people away, fed them in restaurants and gave parties. But I never regretted a penny. I spent £8,000 on some new teeth as mine looked like a First World War trench following a childhood bed-jumping accident. So I got them fixed by a celebrity dentist in Kensington. He'd never seen such bad teeth and I later starred in his before-and-after folder.
After the band split in 1988, Richard read theology at King's College before being ordained as a curate in Lincolnshire and Knightsbridge, and now he lives with civil partner, David, in his parish of Finedon, Northamptonshire.
Coles also spoke about the moment he realised he needed to change: "I remember being in a druggy period after the band thinking, 'God how am I going to climb out of this hole?, but I knew that I'd have to climb out or sink."
One morning I was on the Tube after I'd been out for three days, I couldn't remember where I'd been. I was covered in dirt, smelt and looked a right state. People were looking at me with a mixture of pity and horror. Then I saw my reflection in the window opposite and thought: "Time to get a grip."
"I think I was pretty lost, really. It starts out being fun but when fun is 'chemical' you have to keep increasing it. I took everything though E was probably the hallmark drug, because I could dance all night and have a fantastic time."
