Toploader

Best known for their double-platinum cover of King Harvest's "Dancing in the Moonlight," the British rock band Toploader formed in 1997 in Eastbourne, East Sussex. The group's original lineup featured vocalist/keyboardist Joseph Washbourn, drummer Rob Green, bassist Matt Knight, and guitarists Dan Hipgrave and Julian Deane, all of whom appeared on Toploader's debut album, Onka's Big Moka. Produced by Dave Eringa and released in 1998, Onka's Big Moka was a major hit in the UK, where it peaked at Number 4 and remained in the Top 5 for six months. It eventually went triple-platinum and received four Brit Award nominations, its popularity boosted by a pair of Top 10 hits ("Dancing in the Moonlight" and "Achilles Heel") as well as the Top 20 singles "Just Hold On" and "Only for A While." Magic Hotel followed in 2002. Although it climbed to Number 3 in the UK and produced the Number 18 single "Time of My Life," its critical and commercial reception paled in comparison to Onka's Big Moka. Toploader broke up the following year, having been dropped from the roster of S2 Records not long after Magic Hotel's release. The group then reformed in 2009 with a revised lineup that included four original members — Joseph Washbourn, Dan Hipgrave, Matt Knight, and Rob Green — as well as newcomer Sean Burton. Together, the musicians released Only Human in 2011. Following the departure of Knight (and the hiring of a new bass player, Patrick Greenberg) in 2016, Toploader returned in 2017 with the band's fourth album, Seeing Stars.

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