Cats in Space (styled CATS in SPACE - The Band)[1][2] is a British rock band formed in Horsham, West Sussex, in 2015 by guitarist Greg Hart and drummer Steevi Bacon. Following the band's inception, vocalist Paul Manzi, keyboardist Andy Stewart, bassist Jeff Brown, and second guitarist Dean Howard were recruited to complete the official lineup. In mid-2019, vocalist Paul Manzi announced he would leave the band to join The Sweet after the first half of ‘The Narnia Tour’. Soon after Manzi’s departure from the band, Mark Pascall joined the band as their new lead vocalist. After the tour, the band parted ways with Pascall. He was then replaced by Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds stage show vocalist, Damien Edwards.[3]
History
Cats in Space began to work on their debut album Too Many Gods.[4]
The band released their first single from the album on 24 August 2015 via YouTube, named "Mr. Heartache".[5]
Cats in Space announced their second album, the follow-up to Too Many Gods.[6]
Track two, "The Mad Hatter's Tea Party" (which the band had previously showcased on the 2017 Thunder support tour) was released on 21 July 2017, as a music promo on YouTube.[7]
Tours and Shows
Cats in Space made their debut appearance at London's The Half Moon,[8]Putney, on 6 January 2016. They made subsequent appearances leading them to accept their fourth show at the Stone Free Festival on Sunday 19 June 2016.[9][10]
Their fifth performance was at The Ramblin' Man Fair,[11] on the new Rising Stage[12] at Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent, on 24 July 2016. The line up featured many classic rock bands including Whitesnake, Europe, Thin Lizzy, Thunder, Airbourne, and Black Stone Cherry.[13]
Thunder UK TourMarch 2017
In December 2016, UK rock band Thunder announced that a studio album entitled Rip It Up would be released on 10 February 2017. This would also coincide with a number of live dates. Cats in Space was confirmed on 23 January 2017 as the official UK tour support.[14][15]
British Summer Time (BST) Hyde Park, London, UK
On 27 March 2017, Cats in Space were added to the Phil Collins BST Hyde Park concert line-up. The concert took place on 30 June 2017.[16][17]
Fairport Cropredy Convention 2017
On 12 August 2017, the band played an hour-long set to an over 20,000 capacity at the Fairport's Cropredy Convention.[18]
Deep Purple Long Goodbye UK Tour 2017
An announcement was made onstage on the final night of the Scarecrow headline tour that Cats in Space had been added to the whole UK leg of the Deep Purple 2017 arena tour.[19]
Status Quo - Plugged in Live and Rockin' Winter UK Tour 2017
Cats in Space opened ten dates for Status Quo on their Plugged In Live and Rockin' tour.[20]
In November 2023 it was announced that Cats in Space would perform at Firefest Festival (10 Years After) to be held in the UK at Manchester Academy on 11-13 October 2024.[25] The band were followed on the Saturday night by Touch and Robin McAuley.[26]
