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Toploader are an English rock band from Eastbourne, East Sussex, formed in 1997,[1] with over two million album sales and several top 20 hits both home and abroad. Their debut album, Onka's Big Moka, sold over one million units and peaked in the top 5 of the UK Albums Chart, where it remained for six months. It earned them four nominations at the 2001 Brit Awards. They are recognised most of all for their cover of King Harvest's US hit "Dancing in the Moonlight" written by Sherman Kelly, which became a global hit for the band. Their second album, Magic Hotel, reached number 3 in the UK Albums Chart. The band reunited in 2009; they continue to tour at various gigs and record music.

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Toploader
Toploader performing in 2013
Background information
Origin	Eastbourne, East Sussex, England
Genres	Post-Britpop alternative rock indie rock pop rock
Years active	1997–2003 2009–present
Labels	S2 Epic Underdogs Music Big Lake Music India Media Group
Members	Joseph Washbourn Dan Hipgrave Rob Green
Past members	Matt Knight Julian Deane
Website	toploaderofficial.com

Career

Formation and early start (1997–1998)

Named after a joint-rolling technique, Toploader's live career began playing with Coldplay and Muse in small venues across the UK. They later went on to support the likes of Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher, Tom Jones, Robbie Williams and Simple Minds. On 20 July 2000 they backed Bon Jovi at the original Wembley Stadium, becoming the last British band to play there before it was demolished and redeveloped.[2]

Commercial success (1999–2001)

By 1998, Toploader were picked up by S2 Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music, and signed a six-album deal. On 7 May 1999, the band made their first live TV performance on TFI Friday, hosted by Chris Evans.[3] Later that same year their debut album, Onka's Big Moka, was released on 11 November and became a huge hit. It was produced by Dave Eringa, a long time collaborator of the Manic Street Preachers. It debuted at number five in the UK Albums Chart, until it settled at number four. "Dancing in the Moonlight" was the top single off the album, eventually reaching number seven in the UK Singles Chart, while "Achilles Heel" managed to get to number eight. They gained four nominations at the Brit Awards, despite never winning any of them. On 24 June 2000, Toploader attended the Glastonbury Festival, as part of the Saturday line-up.

Break-up (2002–2003)

In 2002, they released a second album, Magic Hotel. It was poorly received by critics and failed to match the success of the first.[4] They struggled with a backlash from the UK music press and their single, "Time of My Life", could only make it into the Top 20. Because of the negative reception and the album not meeting the same success as the first, they were dropped by S2. Not long after that, the band broke up in 2003.[4] Julian Deane retired as a musician and in 2007 he founded Raygun Music, a Brighton based management company, that serves both as a record label and publisher.[5]

Reforming and later work (2009–present)

Six years later, Toploader reformed and signed a one-album deal with Underdogs Music[6] for their third album, which was released in June 2011. The album's title was Only Human, and the first single from it, "Never Stop Wondering", was released on 14 March 2011. Another single, "A Balance to All Things" (featuring a remix from Ash Howes), followed on 20 June 2011.

The present band line-up contains three of the five original members: Joseph Washbourn, Dan Hipgrave and Rob Green.

On 28 April 2012, they performed at the University of Gloucestershire Student Union Summerball. They also performed at Aberystwyth University's May Ball on 11 May 2012. In May 2012, they played at Lakefest festival.[7] They also played at the Tiree Music Festival in July 2012. During 2012 the band agreed to act as patrons for a UK-based children's charity called 'Time Is Precious'.[8] In November 2012 they performed a gig in Frome, Somerset with all proceeds going to the charity, which helps ill children and their families.

In 2013, Toploader released a new single "Turn It Around", co-written with Eg White and produced by Andrew Green. The song is included on a four-song EP. In the summer of 2013 they headlined the LeeStock Music Festival in Suffolk and the AmpRocks Festival in Bedfordshire.[9][10]

On 12 May 2017, Toploader's fourth album, Seeing Stars was released. Under a different music label, Big Lake Music, a sublabel of India Media Group. "Roll with the Punches" was chosen as the lead single. The album was crowdfunded using an online direct-to-fan music platform called PledgeMusic. One year before the album's release, Matt Knight left the band.

Jordan Smith from The Xcerts has occasionally performed live with Toploader, but is not a full time member.

Members

Current members

• Joseph Washbourn – lead vocals, keyboards, organ, piano, acoustic guitar (1997–2003, 2009–present)
• Dan Hipgrave – lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals (1997–2003, 2009–present)
• Rob Green – drums, percussion (1997–2003, 2009–present)

Former members

• Matt Knight – bass, backing vocals (1997–2003, 2009–2016)
• Julian Deane – rhythm and lead guitars, backing vocals (1997–2003)

Touring and session members

• Patrick Greenberg – bass, backing vocals (2016–present)

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions			Certifications (sales thresholds)
		UK [11]	AUS [12]	NLD [13]
Onka's Big Moka	Released: 11 November 1999 Label: S2 Formats: CD, cassette, vinyl, digital download	4	99	86	BPI: 3× Platinum[14]
Magic Hotel	Released: 19 August 2002 Label: S2 Formats: CD, cassette, vinyl, digital download	3	—	—	BPI: Silver[15]
Only Human	Released: 6 June 2011 Label: Underdogs Music Formats: CD, digital download	—	—	—
Seeing Stars	Released: 12 May 2017 Label: Big Lake Music Formats: CD, digital download	—	—	—

Compilation albums

Title	Album details
Dancing in the Moonlight – The Best of Toploader	Released: 9 March 2009 Label: Sony CMG Formats: CD, digital download

Singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions				Certifications	Album
		UK [11][16]	AUS [12]	IRE [17]	NLD [13]
1999	"Achilles Heel"	64	—	—	—		Onka's Big Moka
	"Let the People Know"	52	—	—	—
2000	"Dancing in the Moonlight"	19	12	—	52	BPI: 3× Platinum[14] ARIA: Gold[18]
	"Achilles Heel" (re-release)	8	—	—	80
	"Just Hold On"	20	—	—	—
	"Dancing in the Moonlight" (re-release)	7	—	7	—
2001	"Only for a While"	19	—	—	—
2002	"Time of My Life"	18	—	47	95		Magic Hotel
	"Some Kind of Wonderful"	76	—	—	—
2011	"Never Stop Wondering"	—	—	—	—		Only Human
	"A Balance to All Things"	—	—	—	—
	"She Said"	—	—	—	—
2013	"Turn It Around"	—	—	—	—		Non-album single
	"This Is the Night"	—	—	—	—
2017	"Roll with the Punches"	—	—	—	—		Seeing Stars

Awards and nominations

Brit Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2001	"Dancing in the Moonlight"	British Single of the Year	Nominated
		British Video of the Year	Nominated
	Toploader	British Group	Nominated
		British Breakthrough Act	Nominated

References

External links

• Official website
• Toploader at AllMusic

На других языках

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[de] Toploader (Band)

Toploader ist eine fünfköpfige britische Rockband, die 1997 in Eastbourne, England gegründet wurde. Mit ihrem Debütalbum Onka’s Big Moka stieg die Formation im Sommer 2000 in die Riege der bekanntesten britischen Alternative-Rock-Bands auf.

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- [en] Toploader

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[es] Toploader

Toploader es una banda de rock alternativo inglesa, de Eastbourne, formada en 1997. Su versión de Dancing In The Moonlight de King Harvest se convirtió en un éxito global.

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[ru] Toploader

Toploader — британская группа, образованная в 1997 году.

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