Coast to Coast were a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

band from

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a market town in the North Northamptonshire, Unitary Authority area, England, from London and from Northampton, north of the River Nene. Originally named "Wendelingburgh" (the stronghold of Wændel's people), the Anglo ...

, Northamptonshire, that was signed to

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

. They are best known for their 1981 top 5 hit in the UK with " (Do) The Hucklebuck".

Career

The band were formed in 1977 by bassist Bud Smith and guitarist Bob Debank, who recruited Alan Mills as lead vocalist, Graham Woofe on drums and, later, saxophonist Sonnie Torlot. Earl Barton replaced Woofe at a later date. The band's best-known single, a cover version of the

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

classic "

The Hucklebuck "The Hucklebuck" (sometimes written "The Huckle-Buck") is a jazz and R&B dance tune first popularized by Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers in 1949. The composition of the tune was credited to Andy Gibson, and lyrics were later added by Roy ...

", was recorded in 1980 and reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart the following year. However, tensions surfaced between band members and Mills left before the song became successful, to be replaced by Sandy Fontaine (born Alex Giannini). Although the ''

British Hit Singles & Albums ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (originally known as ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' and ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'') was a music reference work, reference book originally published in the United Kingdom by the p ...

'' book cites Fontaine as the singer for the single, it was actually Mills' vocal that appeared, with Fontaine's vocal dubbed onto the album version. The follow-up release, a cover version of "

Let's Jump the Broomstick "Let's Jump the Broomstick" is a song written by Charles Robins and performed first by a black Nashville group, Alvin Gaines & The Themes, in 1959, then covered that year by Brenda Lee. Her version reached No.12 in the United Kingdom in 1961. Th ...

", peaked at number 28 in June 1981. The group disbanded in 1982. Smith and Torlot retain the performing rights to the band name and several line-ups have since been attempted with new members for live performances, but with little commercial success. The single "(Do) The Hucklebuck" has been made available on a number of various artists compilation CDs, to date: however, follow-up hit single "Let's Jump the Broomstick" and parent album ''Coastin have yet to be made available on CD. Lead singer Alan Mills died on 21 July 2016, whilst replacement lead singer Sandy Fontaine ( Alex Giannini) died on 2 October 2015.

Band members

* Alan Mills (vocals) 1975–1980 * Sandy Fontaine (vocals) 1980–1982 * Sonnie Torlot (sax, vocals) 1978–1982 * Jamie Ling (guitar, vocals) 1976–1982 * Bud Smith (bass, vocals) 1975-late 1979 then rejoining in 1980 to late 1982 * Earl Barton (drums) 1980–1982 * Bob Debank (guitarist, vocals) 1975–1979 (founder member along with Bud Smith) departed from the band before signing a record contract with Polydor.

Discography

Albums

*''Coastin (1981)

Singles and EPs

References

External links

* Coast to Coast at AllMusic English rock music groups British rock and roll music groups British rockabilly music groups Musical groups from Northamptonshire Polydor Records artists {{UK-band-stub