EXCLUSIVE: How a 'disturbing dream' is behind a British soul singer's desperate search to find the Australian lover he abandoned 44 years ago - and why his wife of 35 years approves

  • Len Coley was part of chart-topping UK soul group Delegation in the mid-1970s
  • Coley, 27, met Australian woman Philippa Hall, 24, when she was visiting the UK
  • The pair fell in love but Coley declined an invitation to follow Philippa to Sydney
  • Coley was too busy with his career but has regretted that decision for 44 years
  • Now 71, Coley had a dream about Philippa for the first time since the pair parted 
  • He has placed a Sydney newspaper notice declaring Philippa the love of his life
  • Do you know Philippa? Please email stephen.gibbs@mailonline.com A British soul singer has revealed a 'disturbing' dream drove him to write a public apology to an Australian nursing student he abandoned after the pair fell in love 44 years ago. 
    Len Coley placed an advertisement in a Sydney newspaper on August 29 in the hope of finding the woman he loved and lost in the mid-1970s.
    Coley and his group Delegation were on their way to international disco chart success when he met Sydney woman Philippa Hall in England. 
    The pair fell in love but Coley sacrificed any lasting relationship while pursuing his singing career.
    Philippa had asked Coley to follow her to Sydney but he stayed in the UK in a decision he has regretted ever since.
    Four decades later, 71-year-old Coley has set out to track down Philippa, not to reconnect or 'cause any problems' but simply to 'put the record straight'. 
    'Something happened to me about four weeks ago,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'I had a dream about Philippa - this I had never done before. 
    'It disturbed me so much and brought back all the memories of our relationship as though it was yesterday.
    'I tried searching on social media but came up empty and just could not get it out of my mind so finally decided to place the notice. I have never done that before.' 
    British soul singer Len Coley (pictured) placed an advertisement in a Sydney newspaper on August 29 in the hope of finding the Australian woman he loved and lost in the mid-1970s. He has revealed a 'disturbing' dream drove him to write Philippa Hall a public apology
    British soul singer Len Coley (pictured) placed an advertisement in a Sydney newspaper on August 29 in the hope of finding the Australian woman he loved and lost in the mid-1970s. He has revealed a 'disturbing' dream drove him to write Philippa Hall a public apology
    Len Coley (circled) and his band Delegation were on their way to international R&B succes in the mid-1970s when he met Sydney woman Philippa Hall in England. The pair fell in love but he sacrificed any future relationship while pursuing his musical career
    Len Coley (circled) and his band Delegation were on their way to international R&B succes in the mid-1970s when he met Sydney woman Philippa Hall in England. The pair fell in love but he sacrificed any future relationship while pursuing his musical career
    Coley, who is married with three grown children, placed his lovelorn declaration in the personal notices of The Sydney Morning Herald under the headline 'Philippa & Len... 1976, England, UK'
    Coley, who is married with three grown children, placed his lovelorn declaration in the personal notices of The Sydney Morning Herald under the headline 'Philippa & Len... 1976, England, UK'
    Coley, who now lives in Puerto Rico, has been married 35 years and has three grown daughters. Philippa would be about 68 and may no longer have the surname Hall. 
    'I told my wife all about Philippa and my past relationship with her,' he said. 'She understands that that was a long time ago.
    'I do not want to cause any problems for Philippa since she may most likely have her own very settled family and of course I have mine. 
    'Philippa and I parted in a way that was far from ideal and I just wanted her to know how very sorry I am and do anything I could to make amends.
    'But this may well be impossible at this stage. I just want Philippa to know the situation at the time. That is all.' 
    Coley placed his lovelorn declaration in the personal notices of Saturday's Sydney Morning Herald under the headline 'Philippa & Len... 1976, England, UK'. 
    'I lost you… ' it begins. 'You should have been the love of my life but I only realized that when it was too late! 
    'You told me to come, I should have trusted you… still hurts today… 
    'At the time I had just signed a 3 year contract with State Records of London. I had hits in England, Europe and U.S.A. with my group "Delegation" but I would gladly trade that & everything I have if I could to go back & be with you.'
    Four decades after losing the woman who should have been the love of his life, 71-year-old Coley (pictured recently) wants to track down Philippa to 'put the record straight'
    Four decades after losing the woman who should have been the love of his life, 71-year-old Coley (pictured recently) wants to track down Philippa to 'put the record straight'
    'This was the biggest mistake of my life… wish I could turn back time & fix it but I can't… No Oceans should have been between us I am so, so sorry. 
    'It breaks my heart every time I think about you & what should have been. I am to blame. Can you ever forgive me? Thinking about it I find it hard to live with myself… it still hurts so much every time I think about you. 
    'But let me wish you all the best in the world, live a great life. Will always love you XXXXX'
    Coley told Daily Mail Australia that Philippa had come to England with her New Zealander cousin Mary in late 1975.
    'I met her about a month later and we struck up a relationship,' he said. Philippa was 24 and Coley was 27.
     'At the time she told me she did not want anything too serious since she was getting over a family tragedy. 
    Philippa, a nursing student, asked Coley (circled) to come to her in Sydney but he stuck with his career in a decision he has regretted for the rest of his life
    Philippa, a nursing student, asked Coley (circled) to come to her in Sydney but he stuck with his career in a decision he has regretted for the rest of his life
    'Philippa called me by phone after she returned to Sydney and although she said she would not be returning to England she wanted me to come and be with her in Sydney,' says Coley, pictured in the 1970s
    'Philippa called me by phone after she returned to Sydney and although she said she would not be returning to England she wanted me to come and be with her in Sydney,' says Coley, pictured in the 1970s
    'In any event, we continued seeing each other and I think our feelings grew. About sometime in 1976 she and Mary returned to Australia suddenly due to Mary's mother dying. 
    'Philippa called me by phone after she returned to Sydney and although she said she would not be returning to England she wanted me to come and be with her in Sydney. 

    How a Birmingham group of soul singers took on the disco world  

    Len Coley formed the funk/soul/R&B group Delegation in the United Kingdom with Ricky Bailey and Roddy Harris in 1976. The group went through several line-up changes
    Len Coley formed the funk/soul/R&B group Delegation in the United Kingdom with Ricky Bailey and Roddy Harris in 1976. The group went through several line-up changes
    Delegation was discovered by producer Ken Gold, who with writing partner Micky Denne penned songs for stars including Aretha Franklin and Cliff Richard. 
    Len Coley had formed the funk/soul/R&B group in Birmingham with Roddy Harris in the mid 1970s, drafting in Jamaican-born Ricky Bailey as lead singer.
    They were runners-up in British TV talent show New Faces early in their career. 
    In 1976 the group released its first single, The Promise Of Love, from their debut album of the same name on the State Records label.
    The next single from that album, Where Is The Love (We Used To Know) charted in February 1977 and Delegation made their first appearance on Top Of The Pops. 
    Two more hits from The Promise Of Love followed: You've Been Doing Me Wrong and the ballad Oh Honey, which reached number five on the US R&B charts.
    Falsetto singer Ray Patterson replaced Roddy Harris and Coley's subsequent departure led to Bruce Dunbar joining the group.  
    Delegation's second album, Eau De Vie, with the line-up of Bailey, Patterson and Dunbar, produced hits You And I, Put A Little Love On Me, Heartache #9 and Darling I Think About You.
    Dunbar left the group in 1981 after a third album, Delegation, leaving Bailey and Patterson to tour as a duo. Patterson quit in the mid 1980s after two more albums, Deuces High and Encore.
    Bailey still tours under the name Delegation Band.  
    'I was a little confused because I had thought she did not want a serious relationship but here she was wanting me to emigrate to Australia. 
    Coley ended the phone call prematurely, concerned about the cost of Philippa ringing from Australia and 'foolishly not thinking she would take it badly'. 
    'She wrote to tell me how in love she was and I kept thinking about my feelings for her which had grown,' he said. 
    'I sent her one of my recordings from Delegation to the address I had for her at the time, but this came back to me marked "Gone Away". 
    'I guess she may have been angry thinking I had rejected her or she had indeed moved.
    'We have had no contact since and as time went on and I fully realised how I felt about her, I was gutted but had no way of making contact.'
    'Of course I wished I had chosen Philippa,' Coley (circled) says. 'Ironically, one of the hits I had with Delegation is entitled "Where is the love we used to know, how did we lose it, where did it go"'
    'Of course I wished I had chosen Philippa,' Coley (circled) says. 'Ironically, one of the hits I had with Delegation is entitled "Where is the love we used to know, how did we lose it, where did it go"'
    Coley, a grandfather with three grown children, realises Philippa likely met another man and started her own family.  
    'I know she has lived her life with her own family and I have the same,' he said. 'It is just that I can't forget her and wanted to at least let her know how I felt.' 
    Coley still regrets not asking for a release from his three-year recording contract and flying straight to Australia.
    'Also, I was trying to trace family members which I had lost contact with for over ten years and thought, had I moved to Sydney I would find it very difficult,' he said. 
    'I did find them by the way but lost Philippa.   
    'Of course I wished I had chosen Philippa. Ironically, one of the hits I had with Delegation is entitled "Where is the love we used to know, how did we lose it where did it go".'
    Delegation's debut album The Promise Of Love featured songs Back Door Love, Where Is The Love (We Used To Know), You and Your Love and The Promise Of Love
    Delegation's debut album The Promise Of Love featured songs Back Door Love, Where Is The Love (We Used To Know), You and Your Love and The Promise Of Love
    The second single from Delegation's first album, The Promise Of Love, was called Where Is The Love (We Used To Know)
    The ballad Oh Honey, also from The Promise of Love, reached number five on the United States R&B charts
    The second single (left) from Delegation's first album, The Promise Of Love, was called Where Is The Love (We Used To Know). The ballad Oh Honey, (right) also from The Promise of Love, reached number five on the United States R&B charts
    As to why he had decided to declare his enduring love now, Coley said he wanted to 'put the record straight'. 
    'Well, I never forgot Philippa as you can see in my notice. We did fall in love with each other and I should have gone to see her in Sydney but never did. 
    'Of course I wished I had. There were so many things going on for me at the time and she should have been my priority. 
    'Now I guess I wanted her to know I never rejected her by not coming to Sydney - I loved her, although I felt it more so much later. 
    'I just wanted to put the record straight. She was my first real love so I could never forget her, ever.'

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