Music Flashback: England Dan and John Ford Coley

One of the great pop duos of the 1970′s who enjoyed a great string of chart hits during a relatively short period from 1976-1980.

The Duo consisted of Dan Seals and John Colley. Dan Seals had the nickname “England Dan” ever since childhood in Texas due to his obsession with “The Beatles” and his tendency to talk in a fake English accent as a kid.

John Colley was a fellow Texan. The record company did not think that “England Dan and John Colley” had a good ring to it, so he changed it to “Coley”. England Dan and John Coley still did not enthuse the record folks so they had him use his middle name, Ford, to add flow to the groups name. Thus….”England Dan and John Ford Coley“.

Dan Seals was the brother of Jim Seals of “Seals and Crofts” fame, another successful 1970′s group.

They signed their first contract in 1970 but did not have their first hit single until 1976. Starting in 1976, they went on to release such classics as:

“I’d Really love to see you tonight”
“Love is the Answer”
“Gone too Far”
“It’s Sad to belong (to someone else)”
“Nights are forever without you”
“We’ll never have to say goodbye again”
“You can’t Dance”
“In it for Love”
“What can I do with a broken heart”

“Love is the Answer” was written by Todd Rundgren and was performed by his group Utopia in the mid 1970′s.

The groups top hit was “I’d really love to see you tonight” which reached #2 on the Billboard Charts in 1976.

Their music is still timeless and can be frequently heard on soft-rock stations throughout the world.

The group broke up in 1980.

Dan Seals went on to a successful solo career as a Country Music Artist. He enjoyed great success during the 1980′s and at one point, charted Nine #1 Country Hits in a row and won a number of prominent awards.

John Ford Coley briefly tried performing as a solo artist and also did some minor acting roles.

Dan Seals died of Cancer in 2009 at the age of 61.