Coletta helped to found Deep Purple in the late 60s in collaboration with Tony Edwards, and the pair continued to going on to manage the band as they became a huge global phenomenon in the early 70s.

Coletta went on to manage other artists including Whitesnake, David Coverdale and Yvonne Elliman. He remained active in the music industry until the end of his life, promoting a series of concerts in Spain in 2005.

Coletta, who was British born with Italian roots, ...