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Tuesday 25 August 2015

Ricki-Lee Coulter: Wedding Photo + How She Met Richard

Australian singer Ricki-Lee Coulter is a just married woman, and along with releasing a beautiful photo of her and new husband Richard Harrison, she has posted a pic and a long caption explaining how they met. Because often people get it wrong when reporting on it. I agree: it's the same version I've read in the media since they met, and turns it involved beer, and not exercise ;)

Josie's Juice loves Ricki-Lee! We met when interviewing her for the Jetstar magazine cover story a few years ago, and again at Slimefest, where she took a complete love to my daughter Estella. 

Of her wedding day, she says:

The best day of my life! Marrying the man of my dreams! 5/8/15 πŸ’› xxx 
"Right beside you, is where I belong, from this moment on. You're the reason I believe in love, and you're the answer to my prayers from up above. All we need is just the two of us, my dreams came true, because of you"





And yesterday, she posted this, with the caption below:



I apologise in advance for the long post but I hope you read it all and understand. There has been a common misconception for 6 years now... and I feel like if I don't say something, it will continue forever. My husband Rich, is not a Personal Trainer - he is my manager.

In almost every article I have seen written about me... Rich is referred to as a Personal Trainer, which he isn't. And that we met at his personal training studio. Which we didn't. He sold his personal training business 10 years ago and in the 6 years we have been together he has never trained me once. We met in 2009 in a bar in Melbourne at 1am and I was standing on a table skulling a jug of beer... cos that's the kind of classy girl I am! Haha But one of the many things I love about Rich, and it was something I noticed very early on about him - is his ability to think big and make shit happen. When Rich moved to Sydney with me in 2010, I decided I wanted him to be my manager. And everything I have done in my career since then - we have done together and he is largely responsible for.

I'm not sure if people know what a manager actually does - so I'll try and put it in a nutshell for you. EVERYTHING I do - he sets up and makes it all happen. Whether it be a single or album release, a music video, a live show, a tour, a TV show, a photo shoot, TV and radio or magazine or press interviews, appearances, and songwriting sessions. Everyday he is dealing with the huge team of people that we work with on so many different things. Whether it's my record label and the publicity, marketing teams, my publishing company, my booking agent, my tour manager, my band and dancers. When I shoot a video or do a live show or a TV performance - there are months of preparation and planning that he is spearheading. When it comes to releasing music there are years of work that goes on behind the scenes before it comes out and anyone hears it - with writers, producers, publishers around the world...he sets it all up for me and I go in and make the music. Then once I've written the songs, there's all the work with the record label to pull the album together, to get it mixed and mastered and delivered on time, then we do all the photos for the artwork and then setup all the publicity and promo and marketing for a release. There's always a vision and a plan - and huge decisions to be made along the way which we make together every step of the way.

For every live show we do, I have a 5 piece band and anywhere between 2 & 8 dancers, a sound engineer, a lighting tech and tour manager - who all have equipment they need for the show, flights, accommodation, transport and rehearsals which Rich organises. There are contracts between the venues and my booking agent - which Rich is across and approves and makes sure I have everything I need. Then I have a tour manager on ground with me everywhere I go to make sure everything goes to plan and if any problems arise they can sort it out. Every video we do there are contracts and endless meetings and creative ideas to bring together with directors and producers and stylists and hair and make up artists and editors and rehearsals with choreography and dancers - all which Rich facilitates. And then there is making it all happen and run smoothly on the day. Then after it, making sure we get the results we want and that everyone is happy with the outcome. Every photo shoot we do there are photographers, hair and make up artists, stylists and fittings - which he sets up and schedules. Every time you hear one of my songs on TV - he has signed the paperwork approving the usage. Literally... anything you see me do - he has put in place or given the thumbs up for. It's a job with enormous pressure and there are so many moving parts.

And the huge team of amazing people he has put together for me - that we work with day in day out, is unheard of in this business. Everyone we work with has a good heart and does an amazing job! And that comes from him. Everyone we work with has worked with the nightmare-ish difficult and greedy and shady and egotistical music managers out there - and they love working with Rich. Because he is amazing at what he does and he is always honest and fair. That's why he has such a great reputation in this business. He is all about getting the job done, and he doesn't care who gets the credit.

Everything he does behind the scenes makes it possible for me to have the freedom to do what I want as an artist and focus on being the best I can be at what I do - and not everybody has that. I've worked with a lot of managers in the last 12 years and not taking anything away from any of them, I think Rich is in a league of his own. Making smart decisions is very different to just making decisions. Some managers are driven purely by money...but Rich isn't that short sighted. He is a long term thinker and never gets caught up in short term things. And he is constantly thinking and working years ahead of what's happening right now. He goes above and beyond for me and everyone in our team and everyone we work with to make everyone happy, to make their lives easier and to make everything a pleasure and he never wants any credit.

And on top of all that... I can't even begin to explain how much he motivates and inspires me creatively very single day. So when I see him referred to as a personal trainer - it's SO wrong it's not even funny. It's lazy journalism and it's incorrect. And I feel like it discredits everything he has been a part of creating - and everything he does on a daily basis. So please - to the people who keep writing it, stop with the Personal Trainer tag. Rich is my manager. And a great manager at that with a great reputation in this business. I'd like him to get the credit he deserves.

Sorry for the long post - but it's been 5 years now, it had to be said. I hope you all understand now xxx


Here are some more glorious photos:


A photo posted by R I C K I - L E E (@therickilee) on





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