Sam Coulson

Sam Coulson (born 9 February 1987)[1] is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of progressive rock band Asia from 2013 to 2018, after his guitar-playing skills were noticed on the video-hosting website YouTube.[2] Sam was born in Chigwell London, and later moved to the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove. In 2013 Coulson married and moved to Canada. As of 2019, he is currently the lead guitarist for the Queen-based musical, We Will Rock You on its North American tour.

This article is about the former guitarist for the rock band Asia. For the American javelin thrower, see Sam Colson.

Sam Coulson
Born (1987-02-09) 9 February 1987
Chigwell, London, England, United Kingdom
GenresBlues, progressive rock
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsGuitar
Years active2007–present
Associated actsAsia, We Will Rock You
Websitewww.samcoulson.com

Career

Coulson made his debut on the video-hosting website YouTube in 2007, sharing videos of himself playing songs on the electric guitar. His playing attracted the attention of the famous American guitarist Paul Gilbert, who in July 2012 invited him to be a guest instructor for his "Great Guitar Escape" series of workshops,[3] as well as seeing him being invited on stage to sit in with American blues musician Walter Trout in October of the same year.[4]

This publicity led to Coulson joining the British rock band Asia. When Asia's guitarist Steve Howe retired from the band in January 2013, Coulson was selected as his replacement.[5] According to Asia frontman John Wetton, the band had a "list of favourites" for Howe's replacement. Gilbert was one of these favourites, but was unable to take the role, and recommended Coulson.[6] Coulson worked with Asia on their studio album Gravitas, released on 25 March 2014, as well as performing on the following tour.[7] During Asia's 2015 hiatus, Coulson worked on a solo album entitled Electric Classical, consisting of classical pieces played on the electric guitar, which was released 20 November 2015.[8]

Coulson left Asia in 2018 to focus on solo projects. This was announced both by the band in a tour announcement, and by Coulson himself in a Twitter post on 2 April 2019, with Coulson stating that he was looking forward to seeing the band "as a fan".[9][10] Following his departure from Asia, Coulson released a second album on 15 March 2019 entitled Black Cross, consisting of original guitar compositions.[11]

On 26 June 2019, Coulson announced via his Twitter that he had joined, as lead guitarist, the touring band for We Will Rock You - the musical based on songs by Queen - on its North American tour.[12]

Discography
Solo albums
  • Electric Classical (2015)
  • Black Cross (2019)
With Asia
  • Gravitas (2014)
  • Symfonia: Live In Bulgaria 2013 (2017; recorded 2013)

References
  1. "Sam Coulson – Full Throttle Guitarist – Electric Guitars The Underground Guitarist". Undergroundguitarist.com. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  2. https://twitter.com/SamCoulson87/status/1113079439200407552
  3. "Paul Gilbert interviews Sam Coulson". YouTube. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3H_2QBka8U
  5. "Asia Reveal Steve Howe's Replacement | News | Prog Magazine". Progrockmag.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRmaaKRMUnY
  7. "ASIA Announce New Guitarist and 2013 Plans". Original Asia. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  8. "Update on Asia Members' Activities". originalasia.com. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  9. Coulson, Sam. "Wishing ASIA the very best on their 2019 tour with Steve Howe returning to guitar duties. I'm so thankful for the incredible mentoring from John, Geoff & Carl over the years and I'm excited to watch the band as a fan this year ❤️". Twitter. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  10. "The new ASIA set to embark on 2019 "Royal Affair" Tour with Yes, John Lodge Band, and Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy". Asia Official Website. originalasia.com. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  11. Coulson, Sam. "Totally thrilled to say that my new solo album is available to download on iTunes! It's a bluesy rock instrumental with the best guitar playing I've ever done. Please check it out & let me know what you think! Huge thanks to Russell Broom, Chris Byrne, Adam Dowling, Sunil Joshi". Twitter. Sam Coulson. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  12. Coulson, Sam. "I'm excited to announce that I'm playing lead guitar for Queen's musical We Will Rock You. We will be on the road for a 6 month tour of the USA & Canada. I've been having the best time learning all the legendary Brian May parts". Twitter. Sam Coulson. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
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