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. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

band from

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...

, Northamptonshire, that was signed to

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-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 the United States. ...

. They are best known for their 1981

top 5 ''Top Five'' is a 2014 American comedy film written and directed by Chris Rock. Produced by Scott Rudin and Eli Bush, the film stars Rock, Rosario Dawson, and Gabrielle Union, and follows New York City comedian and film star Andre Allen (Rock), ...

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, or 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 Africa ...

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 UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

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 Alexander von Giannini (6 June 1958 – 2 October 2015) was an English stage, television and film actor and singer. His work included comedy, musicals and drama. Life Giannini was born in Northamptonshire in 1958; his father was born in Rome, hi ...

). 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 book originally published in the United Kingdom by the publishing arm of ...

'' 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 (

) 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 Rockabilly music groups Musical groups from Northamptonshire Polydor Records artists {{UK-band-stub