Love songs, lugaw, turon saging & John Ford Coley

MANILA, Philippines -  Actually, the title is a bit longer on John Ford Coley’s priorities whenever he comes to the Philippines. It’s love songs, lugaw, turon saging, foot massages and chilled mango shakes.

Love songs are the first and foremost on his list because he knows this is what his Pinoy followers love and he aims to please always. For his Valentine tour this year, he researched, rehearsed and added new love songs to his normal set of England Dan and John Ford Coley hits. 

Lugaw and turon saging are a couple of delights he learned to eat while touring the Philippines. He even asked for a recipe to make lugaw to quench his craving for it whenever he is back home in Nashville. He says that the lugaw he cooks comes a bit close to the real thing. Turon saging he can’t make for lack of ingredients in the US like saging na saba. On a recent trip back to the US, he took home a few turon saging and nibbled them on the plane. The guy who sat beside him was salivating and wanted a taste of it to which he curtly replied, “These are all mine and I’m not sharing.”

As for the foot massages, he learned from me. We used to kill time by having our feet massaged for hours while waiting for the rush hour to dissipate.

Mango shake was the first Pinoy addiction he had. All meals had to start and end with it.

I’ve toured with John since 2005 on a yearly or bi-yearly basis around the Philippines and the Asian region. We’ve gotten really that close that I now represent his bookings in Asia. He is also the godfather of my daughter Russell who will be celebrating her fourth birthday with him. Two years ago, we co-produced an album titled Timeless and had the good fortune of selling it well not only in the Philippines but also in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan. In fact, on our last Asian tour where his concerts were sold-out in most Philippine cities, Singapore and Malaysia, the CDs were sold out, too. The Timeless CD contains acoustic or re-arranged versions of his hits Sad To Belong, We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye, I’d Really Love To See You Tonight, Just Tell Me You Love Me, Love Is The Answer, Broken Hearted Me, plus Longer, Leader Of The Band, Sometimes When We Touch and more.

John returns to Manila for an intimate Valentine dinner concert at the Isla Ballroom of the Edsa Shangri-La hotel on Feb. 14. What could be a better setting to bring the person you love? A classy atmosphere, intimate and comfy because only a few hundred seats are available, a gourmet-plated dinner and of course, John singing all those wonderful hits. Tickets are available at SM Tickets, Ticketworld, National Booksores, Ayala Malls, Robinsons and the concierge of Edsa Shangri-La Hotel.