Breathless Dan Coffey RIP

[jarireinikka]

Looks like Breathless Dan has passed away.It would have been fantastic to have some memoirs written,but I guess it´s too late now.

http://rollcallblog.blogspot.fi/search/ ... n%20Coffey

[PeterC]

Very sad to hear that. He was a real eccentric who could drive people nuts, but he was as passionate about rock & roll at the end as he was as a youngster.

Here's a nice page dedicated to him:

http://www.edwardianteddyboy.com/page33.htm

R.I.P. Dan Coffey!

[Rocky]

He was a true fan of Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. A great rocker. He did make it to Memphis and Jerry's house in the 1960s.

[Richard Harvey]

I knew Dan from the Rhythm Riot weekends. He used to go up till a couple of years ago. We got on well, I think he liked my enthusiasm for Jerry Lee. I used to love hearing his tales of the legends back in the sixties.

[Perk]

I never knew Dan, only heard great stories and seen pictures. But he sent me a postcard back in 2008 (still have it). I was going to reply but couldn´t read
what he wrote. Time resulted in that i never sent a postcard back, though now i wished i had managed to do that.

Rock In Peace Dan!

[chris morris]

I've only just picked up the news about Breathless Dan and I'm very, very saddened by it. It's almost impossible to overstate how important Dan was in keeping vintage r'n'r and rockabilly alive in the 60s. I was a teenager in those days and whereas my mates were all fans of British pop ("beat") groups, I was a huge fan of Jerry Lee, Carl, early Elvis, Little Richard, Chuck etc. Somehow I got to hear about Dan and in about 1963 or 1964 started receiving his record sale lists and buying Sun singles from him. He was INCREDIBLY helpful and sent me tapes with extracts from rare records on them and advised me on unfamiliar names. I always got the impression that he was doing this to keep r'n'r alive with a younger audience. He even arranged rock'n'roll film shows with films such as The Girl Can't Help It. I went to one of these and was slightly overawed by all the Teddy Boys about 10 years older than me and the incredibly glamorous Fay Coffey!

Dan's enthusiasm for the music NEVER dimmed. I remember after he had moved back to Ireland getting phone calls that would last for hours in which he played records and CDs he was currently raving about. I last saw him at Jerry's 100 Club gig. He could be difficult but I never experienced that side of him. Several years ago a guy called John Kennedy contacted me as he was writing a biography of Dan and I supplied him with quite a few memories. I don't know what's happened to the biog and his email address is defunct. Dan's story would make a great read. R.I.P. Dan.

Chris

[PeterC]

Several years ago a guy called John Kennedy contacted me as he was writing a biography of Dan and I supplied him with quite a few memories. I don't know what's happened to the biog and his email address is defunct. Dan's story would make a great read. R.I.P. Dan.

Interesting. Fay told me a few years ago that SHE was writing HER autobiography, though of course it would've made more sense to combine their stories (despite their separation/divorce)...

The only time I met Dan was at the 1993 Newport shows, though (like Perk and others) I also received a couple of difficult-to-decipher letters! Maybe someone can upload the Newport TV report to YouTube? Dan can be seen very briefly on this. He's also on the 1964 Granada TV show of course.

Dan's brother Mike (for those who don't know) is the drummer for Crazy Cavan and The Rhythm Rockers.

At the weekend I attended a surprise 70th Birthday party for my good friend (and long-time JLL fan) John Pierce, and also there were Terry Adams and his wife Hazel, Barrie Gamblin, Ken Major, Terry Marshall, Keith Woods and a few other fans. Naturally the conversation at some point veered towards Dan's recent demise (apparently he'd been ill for years though pneumonia finally finished him off).

[tchr]

Tributes paid to one of founding fathers of Newport's rockabilly scene
http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/g ... lly_scene/

[PirateHook]

I missed this thread. I know Dan for some years on Facebook and he said that he's book that he should write was there, uncensored i promise! He was true to the roots of American authentic music and he truly hated copy cats and newer Rock'n'Roll acts. I didn't share that and many other things with him but he sure did made me amazed by his knowledge about music, and all the things he could do at his age. I really hate the fact that he isn't with us longer! I really liked him but we had a lot of things we didn't share, but that's not important.