Toploader

Deriving its name from a particular method of rolling joints, the U.K. group Toploader summons an easygoing, smoke-tinged spirit of the seventies through keyboard-led white-soul anthems. Keyboardist-vocalist Joseph Washbourne, guitarist Dan Hipgrave, bassist Matt Knight and drummer Rob Green first bonded during repeated nights at their neighborhood pub before resolving to launch a band. The addition of second guitarist Julian Deane in 1997 marked the official birth of Toploader, which landed a contract with Sony’s U.K. division the following year. In 1999, channeling the swagger of the Faces, the Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder alongside the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road-era sound of Elton John, the band backed former Jam frontman Paul Weller across his European dates. That May the propulsive single “Achilles Heel” appeared to positive notices, earning Toploader slots at both Glastonbury and Reading. Late 1999 brought the second single, the buoyant, dance-driven “Let the People Know,” which drew comparisons to Jamiroquai. February 2000 saw the release of the George Drakoulias-produced “Dancing in the Moonlight,” the band’s biggest hit to date and a track that lingered on the British charts well into 2001. May 2000 delivered the debut album Onka’s Big Monka, which entered the British charts at number five; shortly afterward the group joined Oasis and the Charlatans UK on Top of the Pops. Their fourth single, “Just Hold On,” followed in August 2000.