About: Coast are a Celtic Rock band who are based in Southampton. Their influences range from Dire Straits to Big Country and beyond. Coast was an idea brought to life by the lead singer, Paul Eastham, who brought in Alec, Adam and Phil Marshall (the original lead guitarist) to record some demos and test the water as it were. The demos were put together and subsequently received so much interest it was  decided to push a single, "The Great Crowd" which was released through Awen Records in February 2008. 

The single received so much positive feedback it was decided to take the band out for live gigs. Phil Marshall, due to other projects, couldn't commit to the live line-up so Chris Lappage  eagerly accepted the invite to replace him. Chris Barnes had already entered the picture, playing percussion on the next line up of demos. Soon after, drummer Phil Langham was recruited via an online advertisement. Rehearsals began with keyboard player Ray Drury on board and Coast played their debut live gig at Storm in Leicester Square, London on 12th March 2008. Phil and Ray regrettably left the band mid-2008 due to other commitments. Auditions were set up for a replacement drummer and the successful applicant arrived in the form of Mark Mongan, who was confident he was the right man for the job and didn't take much to convince the band of this! The current six-piece line-up made an impression early this year with a storming performance on the Danny Kyle Open Stage at Celtic Connections, Glasgow's prestigious annual festival. 

Radio play has followed on various UK stations and the fan base of Coast is increasing rapidly. The album "Coast" was featured as Album Of The Week on Glasgow Celtic radio station, Celtic Music Radio (www.celticmusicradio.net) and a weekend of gigs in Scotland early in March played to almost packed houses with a very enthusiastic crowd. Coast now have their debut in Glasgow booked at the prestigious St Andrew's In The Square venue for 21st May 2010 and tickets are moving fast! Also confirmed is a gig at Newcastle Arts Centre on Saturday 22nd May. Coast have also been confirmed to play in front of a 20,000+ audience at Scotland's Rock 4 Life, a new festival held in The Highlands for charity.

Coast are currently signed to independent label, Awen Records, (Penraeth, Isle of Anglesey). Along with their partners Stiwido Pandy and Cyhoeddiadau Pandy Publishing, Awen Records has been making, publishing and releasing music since 1996. While they feature primarily Welsh artistes, they also promote music of all languages and cultures.

Paul Eastham - Lead vocals/keyboards   Paul has been in a number of bands since 2003, including industrial metal outfit, Winter Of Clowns. He co-produced and co-wrote the first single for Aimee Duffy, now better known as talented artiste, DUFFY. This single reached No:1 in the Welsh chart. Paul also writes and records classical music. He spent time as a child in The Hebrides which has    remained a huge influence in his vocal style and song-writing.

Chris Barnes - Percussion   Paul's brother, Chris is also heavily influenced by his childhood in The Hebrides and by the age of seven he was learning snare drum in the Blackpool Caledonian Pipe Band. Ten years prior to the birth of Coast, Chris and Paul teamed up with Alec Stone to form the group, Atlantis. Chris's percussive and dynamic energy is a vital part of the rhythm of Coast.

Mark Mongan - Drums   Mark started out with Southampton-based band, Colony Earth in the early 1980's. The band were featured on Channel 4 programme The Tube which resulted in them signing a deal with Virgin Records. They toured the UK, Holland and Germany until they split around 1986. Mark spent the next couple of years doing live work and recording with local indie bands The Chairs, Rain, Honeysun, and Jinder, mainly gigging around South London clubs. Mark then formed a band with Canadian, Rob Ford (Stoaters, The Pogues) around 2005, playing drums and percussion until Rob Ford left for the US to work on movie scores. Mark continued to play percussion on a mainly freelance basis until receiving a phone call while in his local bar introduced him to Coast!

Chris Lappage - Lead guitar   Chris began to play guitar at the age of eleven, inspired by artistes such as Rory Gallagher and Jimmy Page. His music influences are varied and wide and he was always eager to become a member of Coast. Chris is a rare talent and has experience in other bands such as covers band, Big Fish and heavy metal outfit, Thud Gukket. He also played lead guitar for Captain Cod and the Sputnik Sniffers Celestial Circus, a predominantly jazz and blues outfit.

Alec Stone - Acoustic guitars/backing vocals   Alec began playing guitar at the age of eleven, and since the age of eight he had picked up the piano, saxaphone and clarinet. His main influence comes from classic folk. The influence for playing the acoustic guitar arrived from listening to Nirvana's MTV acoustic set. Alec has a strong Celtic background, spending time in Cornwall and having family roots in Wales. Alec also plays with fellow Coast member, Chris Lappage as an acoustic duo named The Good News.

Adam Bowden - Bass guitar   Adam started learning piano at the age of eleven, transferring his attentions to bass some years later when the bass player of the band he was in quit. Adam's inspirations include Pete Trewavas, Geddy Lee and Bill Sheehan, all of which he has seen perform live. Adam previously played both keyboards and bass with Paul in charity fundraising events for the NSPCC. He is also a long term member of the band Safety in Numbers, playing bass. With his family roots in Cornwall and Scotland and having spent many happy childhood holidays on North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, Celtic music is in Adam's blood.