Celebrating 40 years of England Dan & John Ford Coley

MANILA, Philippines – Exactly four decades ago today, England Dan & John Ford Coley entered music immortality when their song I’d Really Love To See You Tonight became a No. 1 song worldwide and was certified gold in several countries including the Philippines.

Although Danny Wayland Seals and John Edward Colley (later shortened to Coley) started their careers much earlier at W W Samuels High School in Texas, John considers 1976 the start of their true singing career. In 1969, they opened for Led Zeppelin and were known as Wayland & Colley. They switched to England Dan & John Ford Coley when they signed with Herb Alpert’s A & M label in 1971. Throughout their close to two-decade career, the duo released 11 albums with some certified gold and platinum and 18 Top 10 hits worldwide.

They parted ways in the ’80s when John decided to switch religions from Bahai to Christian. Danny and brother Jimmy (of Seals & Crofts) are dyed in the wool Bahai followers and could not accept John was switching to the Christian faith. Dan Seals as solo performer embraced a country music career while John continued the England Dan & John Ford Coley legacy. Although Dan and John never recorded or performed together, John made peace with Dan at his deathbed. Dan passed away from mantle cell lymphoma on March 25, 2009.

John has been touring the Asian region for over a decade and considers Manila as his home away from home where he could never get enough of pineapple pie from Tagaytay, banana turon, lugaw (native porridge), mango shake and lots of foot massage.

The 40th anniversary celebration of the music of England Dan & John Ford Coley will take John touring around the world in cities like Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Iloilo, Cebu, Aseana, Manila, Bacolod, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore and various cities in the US.

For the Manila leg, John will be performing the immortal hits Sad To Belong, We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again, Part Of Me Part Of You, Where Do I Go From Here, What’s Forever For, Leader Of The Band, Just When I Needed You Most, Soldier In The Rain, Broken Hearted Me, Dust In The Wind, Sometimes When We Touch, Nights Are Forever, Dust In The Wind, Love Is The Answer, Gone Too Far, Just Tell Me You Love Me and I’d Really Love To See You Tonight.

Joining John are special guests like Kyle Vincent (Barry Manilow’s opening act/lead singer for Bay City Rollers) and Lenny de Jesus.

The concert will be held on July 10, 8 p.m. at the Theatre of Solaire Resort & Casino Aseana City. Tickets to the 40th anniversary concert are available at all Ticket World outlets and online. It is proudly presented by Solaire Resort & Casino and Steve O’ Neal Productions in collaboration with Duty Free Philippines, Business Mirror, IBC 13, Telenovela channel, Hard Rock Café, Park & Ride, Dream Satellite, Retro FM, Circles Entertainment and RJ 100.3 FM.

Dan Seals, John’s musical partner, went on a solo career and embraced country music.