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Formed in 1997 from
the chemistry between a bunch of Eastbourne drinking mates,
Toploader have swiftly risen from the ranks of the unknown to
become firm contenders for the title of Best New British Band.
How it happened is something pundits are still puzzling over.
The small, pensioner favoured seaside town of Eastbourne is
hardly a hotbed of rock’n’roll. Musical peers are thin on
the ground and the local pier is none too inspiring either.
What may have been overlooked is that the absence of scene
guidelines or local influence is almost certainly what allowed
them to grow into such a lethally populist band. |
| “The thing about
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.”
Of all the UK guitar bands signed in the
past two years they’re virtually alone in regularly scoring Top 20
singles. To pull that off in an era of wall to wall trite pop you have to
being something special. Guess what? Toploader have the magic down and the
midas touch with it.
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It was harmonious
right from the beginning. Four early 20s men sat in Sullivans
bar in Eastbourne and found that they agreed on the important
matters of lager, women and music. “We all just ended up in
the same pub talking about the same subjects and going off to
play in a garage,” says drummer Rob Green. “We just found
a garage and that was it.”
Rob, guitarist Dan Hipgrave, bassist Matt
Knight and keyboardist Joseph knew each other from around town. The core
of the band was instantly there and when madcap Glastonbury guitarist
Julian Deane rolled by on his travels, the pentangle of celebration-
loving minds was complete.
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| Local gigs saw them develop at
a precocious rate, and after briefly considering drafting a singer, they
decided Joseph could handle it sitting down. The conspicuously curly
mopped Washbourn was actually the ideal choice. He was the songwriter and
the looker. He was way accomplished as a keyboardist, having been taught
since the age of 7. There was plenty of soul in his voice, and he even had
a suitable family history (an elder brother who passed on his Zeppelin
records and a mum who used to hang out with David Bowie when he was still
a south London saxist called David Jones).
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As is entirely
appropriate considering the uplifting nature of their music
Toploader did not suffer greatly on their two year journey to
the mountain top of new British rock. They took their name
from a technique for rolling herbal cigarettes (it was better
than the briefly mooted Bloodbath or Human Spider) and after a
momentary lapse into ‘darkness’ when Radiohead’s ‘OK
Computer’ came out, set about letting the people know how a
proper, big tuned, flash keyboard lead, honky tonk rock band
sounded.
Even at tiny early gigs they were an
obvious safe bet for festival and stadium stardom. They had scale and
confidence to spare and in ‘98 Sony’s S2 signed them at speed. Paul
Weller saw them play and asked the band to support him on his 99 tour
where they sometimes followed Noel Gallagher. |
| By now the rock
(plus the funk and soul) was thoroughly rolling. Their limited
edition introductory single ‘Achilles Heel’ came out in
May 99 leading to an early appearance on TFI Friday. Securing
instant conversions at an evangelical rate they toured
incessantly, played a Kosovo benefit alongside Travis and
Stereophonics, blazed through festival shows at Glastonbury
and Reading and grazed the top 40 with the following single
‘Let The People Know’. In one hurtling year a fuss had
been successfully kicked up. They were out of towners with a
fiercely optimistic attitude and as comparisons with anyone
from Jamiroquai and Stevie Wonder to Aersomith, The Stones and
Supertramp flew around, no-one could agree on what kind of
band they were. |
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“The way our band works right is you got
a fucking amazing keyboard player and singer, an amazing drummer and bass
player, and two dodgy guitarists,” laughs Julian, “And it makes us
fuckin’ great!”
“We don’t just stand there and play,”
concludes Joseph. “We play like we’re fucking having it. So it’s
alright to be called a good time band. Its like ‘Yeah, cheer up
everybody!”
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| There are more
dimensions to Toploader than the sweaty, foot-stomping,
girl-pleasing, lad rocking live shows and these are becoming
highly apparent through 2000. Another instant convert to their
cause - legendary L.A. producer George Drakoulias - had come
in to produce the top 20 party anthem ‘Dancing In The
Moonlight’. It stayed 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
old guard heroes 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. |
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The album’s title
foxed a few people. Anthropology degree wielding band
conceptualist Julian chose it after watching a film on Papua
New Guinea tribal rituals where leading tribesmen give away
their possessions to their rivals to gain respect and power.
Musically, however, there were no misunderstandings. Produced
by Manic Street Preachers collaborator Dave Eringa, the blend
of giant, poignant, string-lifted ballads and energised rootsy
blues rock made for a classic debut. It rocks (‘Let The
People Know’, ‘Just About Living’). It grooves (‘Dancing
In…’). It contemplates (‘High Flying Bird’). And it
giggles in the bathtub (‘Floating Away’). |
| By summer 2000 the
kids knew the words to all the songs and through Paul Weller
supports at The Royal Albert Hall, European festivals,
blissful Glastonbury appearances and T in the Park storming,
all Joseph had to do was point the microphone at them 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) can’t help noticing that they are
in the presence of something special, natural, and meant to
be. The band’s new single “Just Hold On” (released 21
August) will see them launched into the big time. “We don’t
need to sit here telling people we’re the best thing ever,”reflects
Dan. “Because I know that in twenty years time you’ll be
able to put our album on and it’ll be a fuckin’ good
album. Longevity, that’s what we want and we’ll get it.” |
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Toploader, see, are
here to stay. They are not a small band. They are definitely
not the sound of Eastbourne. They’re the sound of healthy
ambition, taking flight.
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