Toploader at Gloucester Guildhall

10th July 2010

16th September 2010 

The first chapter in Toploader's history was extraordinary and helped them to reach dizzying heights. So, it seems the irrepressible forces of nature have brought the "Loader" back together again to finish what they started.

Formed in 1997, a bunch of young Eastbourne musicians swiftly rose from the ranks of the unknown to become one of Britain's biggest selling bands.

"The thing about our home town, Eastbourne is you've got the sea and the downs and countryside so the chilled factor is quite high," says singer-keyboardist Joseph Washbourn, "So a lot of the lyrics are kind of coming from that perspective, either escapism or looking out to somewhere else.”

Local gigs saw them and their reputation develop at an exponential rate. The conspicuously curly mopped was the songwriter and the voice. Accomplished as a keyboardist, having been taught since the age of 7, there was plenty of soul in his vocal that came to the fore as well and made him the ideal frontman. He even had a suitable family history; an elder brother who passed his Zeppelin records Joe’s way and a mum who used to hang out with David Bowie when he was still a south London saxophonist called David Jones.

Even at their early gigs, they were always a safe bet for festival and stadium stardom. They had scale and confidence to spare and in 1998 Sony's S2 signed them without a second thought. Paul Weller saw them play and asked the band to support him on his 1999 tour, where they sometimes followed Noel Gallagher.

Their limited edition introductory single 'Achilles Heel' came out in May 1999 leading to an early appearance on TFI Friday. They took that momentum and toured incessantly. Playing at benefit shows in Kosovo alongside Travis and Stereophonics, blazing through festival shows at Glastonbury and Reading and, soon enough, grazing the top 40 with their accompanying single 'Let The People Know'.

Garnering even more converts to their cause, the legendary L.A. producer George Drakoulias came in to produce the top 20 party anthem 'Dancing In The Moonlight'. This was the band’s smash hit and remained in the charts for a month when it came out in February 2000.

A full release for the epic 'Achilles Heel' then went to number 8 confirming Toploader as crossover stars. They recorded for Top Of The Pops alongside Oasis and personal favourites The Charlatans. The May release of their debut album saw reality trumping even their own innate optimism when 'Onka's Big Moka' went to number 5 and notched up Gold status after just two weeks.

By summer 2000, everyone was singing to their tune. Further gigs with Paul Weller at The Royal Albert Hall and their own slots at European festivals (including blissful Glastonbury and T in the Park appearances), all Joseph had to do was point the microphone at the masses and conduct. Even the half a million people about to witness Toploader on their 30 day Euro tour with Bon Jovi (including 2 shows at Wembley Stadium making them the last Brit band to play before the re-build) couldn't ignore their presence. There was something special, natural, and meant to be.

The release of their debut album saw their optimism realised when 'Onka's Big Moka' went to number 5 and notched up Gold status after just two weeks. Their second album, Magic Hotel followed, hitting number 3 in the UK chart and providing the band with another huge hit single in ‘Time Of My Life’. They toured the UK for what seemed like a year!

At the end of 2008, at Dan's stag do, the band met up for the first time in 5 years and found that the desire to play together was still there. A couple of phone calls and they discovered the demand was still there too. So here we are; Toploader are back.

Tickets: £16 adv. £18 on the door

Doors 7.30pm. Over 14s only. This is a standing event.

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