Where The World Meets™
 
Farewell my Friend ...John Coletta remembered 1932-2006 When I was a young musician playing in a rock group, my all-time favorite band was Deep Purple. I can remember telling my bandmates that if we only had a manager like Deep Purple’s, we too, would surely conquer the world. This was back in the 70's. Many years later, I moved to Marbella. At the time, I was working in a string of labels -- my ‘then manager’ was always bringing in top international people to our sessions. One of them was John Coletta. Of all the household names that I had been lucky enough to have the opportunity to work with, John was different -- he stood out. I was reminded of my teenage wish and knew that I had to get close to John... for old times’ sake. But the truth would have it that John wasn't too fond of the persons running the company, and never returned. Shortly thereafter, I decided that I could no longer stay with that outfit, and went on my merry way. I wondered if I would ever be able to locate John, as the Costa del Sol was a big place. One day, as I was driving through a neighbourhood, ‘something’ made me stop at a little bar to buy a cup of coffee. When I walked in, who should I see if not John! He was sitting together with his then-wife Sherry, and was overjoyed to see me. At the time, it felt somewhat auspicious, as we’d only met that one time for barely a few minutes. I immediately proceeded to tell him what a great fan I always was of Deep Purple and how thrilled I was to have met the man I had literally ‘dreamed up’ when I was only a teenager. John kindly reciprocated, sharing that he thought my music was fantastic and how he'd hoped to take me under his wing. It didn't take me long to think about that one, believe me! And thus began my partnership with John which lasted for a period of five years. Although we didn't always get along on the business and creative side, we were always the best of friends. At one point when John had taken ill, I'd visit the hospital daily, spending time with him at his bedside. This made our bond even stronger. John loved to relive ‘the good ole days’ and I was invariably his most captive audience. Our friendship grew even further when his second wife, Cherie (not to be confused with Sherry) died of bone cancer. I'd spent countless hours on the internet back in those days looking for an ‘alternative cure’. Cherie was the yin to John's yang, and her untimely death really shook John. I was glad to be there with him, distracting him with coffees and reminiscing about the good ole days -- that got him every time. His Deep Purple days, his fights and disputes, his triumphs, ‘the boys’...Tony, Ian, David, Jon. Once you got him started, John would go on and on, tearing up occasionally. In the course of my association with John, I'd discovered that there were many people who thought John to be completely ruthless in business, and didn't care much for him on a personal level either. I found this unbelievable, because the John that I knew had always been so kind and considerate. Once I came to know him better, I understood how some people had such an impression of him. Indeed he had a very strong character and didn't take crap from anyone. Although he wasn't always right, he did know exactly what he wanted and especially despised unreliable and whimsical people -- and for those reasons, he could be very hard on them. On more than one occasion, John and I were at loggerheads. It upset me that he seemed to ‘always know better’ or that he was ‘dictatorial’. Strangely enough, John had yet another side which was quite unbelievable. He was actually quite trusting, sometimes to the point of almost seeming naive. John ‘wanted’ to believe, no matter what story you were spinning (on the Costa del Sol, there's more than a fair share of such people). Consequently, he fell victim to various scams and was letdown a number of times. Inadvertently, he took the heat for others’ misdeeds. I found this ultimately strange about him -- the side of John few people ever got to see. I'm grateful for knowing it. Thankfully we never allowed any of our business or creative differences to get in the way of our friendship. In early 2001, I'd decided to pull out of our partnership. We amicably worked out a division of company assets and agreed that we would continue working together on future projects. John was very much like that -- business was one thing, and friendship another. And so we proceeded on as friends.
 
 DEEP PURPLE In 1967,  Ron Hire, Tony Edwards and John Coletta  (HEC Enterprises) agreed to finance the band.
 
   WHITESNAKE Formed in 1976 by David Coverdale (of Deep Purple fame) and later managed by John Coletta.
Have I failed to mention that John was truly a ‘great’ cook? He put 5 star chefs to shame with some of the dishes he prepared. This became a major hobby of his -- his dinners were ones not to be missed! One more thing... John spent a fortune helping various causes. His favorite was CUDECA; based on the Costa del Sol, a charity that cares for terminally ill cancer victims. John never missed a fund raising gala, and always bid extravagantly at auctions in an effort to help. His overbidding was always accompanied by ‘oohs and aahs’ from the audience -- he got a small kick out of that and liked the occasional bit of attention! But he didn’t do any of this for show, just out of genuine concern and a neverending gratitude to CUDECA for making Cherie's life that much easier in her last days. Even in the most tense of times, John and I had a connection that transcended everything else. There are times when we allow our nerves to get the better of us, and we end up falling out with people unnecessarily. I'm so grateful such a thing never happened with John. Later on when John met Laura Krier, they too developed a very deep bond and friendship, for which I was very happy. With John, I never had any doubts about his intentions. He was a truly generous and genuine person, passionate and hardworking until the very day he died. We met up just a day before he passed on -- we were discussing a number of projects that we were going to undertake together... ‘again’!
Copyright © 2005-2007 Lallouz International  Magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission  is prohibited. I Terms and Conditions
LAURA KRIER Close friend, John Coletta always believed that the MMI artist would soar to international stardom.
 
Paul Sedkowski is a Songwriter, Producer and Chief Executive Officer of Mere Music International (MMI), a music production company and independent record label. MMI, home and host to one of the fastest growing ‘Indie’ music radio programs in the world, ‘Fame Games’, with over 1.5 million listeners globally. Over the years, Sedkowski has developed artists including Kimera, Prince Scandal (#1 hit ‘September Song’), Soul Train, and Rock Medicine Show, amongst others. In 1992, Sedkowski’s music was used to promote the Barcelona Olympic games. MMI is about to release ‘Nothing But Trouble’, a debut album of main roster singer and songwriter, Laura Marie Krier. To contact MMI, email: info@meermusic.com mailto:info@meermusic.comshapeimage_14_link_0
 
Images courtesy of www.meermusic.com, www.taoproductions.co.uk, www.laurakrier.com http://www.meermusic.comhttp://www.taoproductions.co.ukhttp://www.laurakrier.comshapeimage_16_link_0shapeimage_16_link_1shapeimage_16_link_2
 
 
MOODY BLUES  (l to r) 1970’s super group bass guitarist, John Lodge pictured with John Coletta .
John was supposed to have appeared as a guest judge on an upcoming episode of Fame Games... now that would have been quite a treat for many of our Indie listeners! At the end of our last meeting, the usually rather ‘formal’ John gave Laura the warmest hug ever, as if knowing that it would be his last. The following day (as told by a mutual friend who was staying with him), John was thrilled to bits that Italy had won the World Cup -- he was a lifetime supporter and a huge soccer fan. Perhaps in the end... not the worst way to go; ‘a hug and a kiss from a pretty girl, a longtime wish come true, and a lifetime of achievement that most of us can only dream to match!’ John, you were the man, and we'll never forget you, mate!
He shared his feelings; that he never really ‘did enough’ for us. My association with Laura and subsequently with Mere Music International would have John frequently say just how ‘great’ MMI really was. He even lent his endorsement and recommendation to many of our projects. John’s thoughts about Laura were that she would become an international superstar, not only for her singing, but for her presentations on Fame Games. One  of  the last  events  he  undertook  was  to  negotiate several contracts on our behalf, which  was  hardly necessary,  as  he  was  first  and  foremost, ‘a dear friend’ to the very  end.
story by Paul Sedkowski