Toploader Joe Washbourn on 'Operastar', 'Dancing in the Moonlight'

There was a moment at the end of the '90s and the start of the '00s when Toploader were one of the biggest bands in Britain. They had a bagful of hit singles and their debut Onka's Big Moka seemed like it was on every coffee table in the land. In 2011, after a lengthy hiatus, marriages, divorces and babies, the band are back again. But more importantly for Reality Bites fans, their lead singer Joe Washbourn is on ITV1's Popstar To Operastar. We gave shaggy-haired Joe a call this week for a quick catch-up.

How are you juggling the band and Operastar at the moment?
"I'm trying, I'm trying. I've got a festival on Saturday night and then I'm back in rehearsals on Sunday morning in the studio. It's pretty hectic at the moment, but it's all good, it's all good."

Are you having to behave yourself at the festivals to save your voice?
"I must admit, it's normally where I would have a few beers in the bus on the way home afterwards. There's none of that right now. I don't want to go in front of millions of people on telly with a minging hangover really. It's not a good idea."

What would you have said ten years ago if someone had said that you'd be singing opera on ITV1?
"I would have definitely laughed at them. It really wasn't something I ever thought about doing. It purely was because it's a singing show and I'm a singer. I think as you get a little older you are into new challenges and it definitely is that. I've thoroughly enjoyed what I've done so far. I'm enjoying the getting into the character part. That's something I don't do with the band and I'm liking that as much as the singing."

Did you know anything about opera before you started?
"Not really, no. Only the three tenors and Nessun Dorma and the football-y songs. The same stuff everyone knows about it really. But every week you get given something and this week's is something I'd never heard of before, but it's a great piece of music."

Is there anything useful in the opera training that you are using with Toploader?
"You're getting taught by trained singers, so there are a few little tricks you learn. The breathing and not straining your voice too much. They are not crossing over at the moment - thank God! But there are some techniques that might save me on a tour with the old sore throats."

Rolando said that he loved your hair. Do you think that will work to your advantage?
"Well, I don't know. I bumped into him in hair and make-up and there's definitely a similarity there. He's had his hair cut this year and I think last time it was much more bouffant. I think somewhere along the line we could be long lost brothers."

Have your bandmates been ribbing you?
"I think when I first said I was doing it they all fell about laughing. But they came along last week and were all really proud. It was like having your brothers there supporting you. They were all, 'Jesus, you did really good'. Even our drummer Rob, who is a hard man to please, even he came up and shook my hand and said I did a great job. They were all quite proud in a brotherly way."

It's been pretty much ten years since the last Toploader album. What the hell were you guys up to?
"Yeah, we decided to call it a day for a while. We still got on, but we didn't think after Magic Hotel it was the right time to make any more albums. We all met up again at Dan's stag do, there was a lot of water under the bridge and this time around it's all been lovely. First time, there was a lot of success, we were young and didn't really know how to handle it. The pressure and business side of things, we've done it our way this time and made the music we want to make. We're all a lot more chilled out and have families this time. The album we've made, in our eyes, is the best one we've ever made. At the end of Toploader part one, we'd lost where we were going."

It must be nice because some bands don't get the chance to reunite...
"That's the thing. There was no permanent damage done. We'd all just had enough of each other and had been in each other's pockets. It's difficult to sustain that really. It's like being with your family too long, everyone starts getting annoyed a little bit."

A bit like Christmas?
"Yeah! Toploader part one was like Christmas. And the gap was New Year's Day when you've had enough of everyone and you want to go home."

What did you do during the break from Toploader?
"I constantly, constantly wrote. I moved to LA and stayed there for two years. I performed out there, had a band out there, did some writing some movies. I moved out to a canyon in the sticks, grew my hair even longer and I had a nice quieter existence. In the process, I got married, had a kid and did everything but be in a band. It was important for me to get away and enjoy songwriting again and write for the right reasons. Better that than writing for a major label that wanted another 'Dancing in the Moonlight'."

Did you ever care about the hard time the band got from the music press?
"Originally I didn't give a s**t if we were trendy and I don't think we still do. We just came out with music that we loved making. At that time we were influenced by '70s rock music and we just released what we were into. We were never cutting edge or trendy and I don't think we wanted to be. The first album, people just liked the song. If you were super duper trendy, you wouldn't buy Onka's Big Moka, but there were enough people who did!"

Do you still enjoy playing 'Dancing in the Moonlight;?
"That's the other nice thing about this break. It's made playing that song bearable. We are all surprised by the longevity of that song and love it or hate it, we can't get away from the fact what a big hit it is. We play it in the gigs now in-between the new songs and people still love it. It's a big hit and we'll always have to play it. It's a mental song and I can never really get my head around it. There's something in there that makes lots of people happy and lots of people unhappy. It's one of those weird ones."

Where's the weirdest place you've heard the track?
"You do hear it everywhere. I remember going on holiday after we'd been on tour for something ridiculous like 18 months. I went to Bali and it was in this village in the middle of Bali and 'Dancing' came on. I had travelled thousands of miles, they almost didn't have electricity there and they were playing 'Dancing in the Moonlight'. I couldn't escape it."

Popstar to Operastar airs on Sunday night at 8pm on ITV1.

Toploader's new single 'A Balance to All Things' is out on Monday, June 20 on Underdogs Music. The album Only Human is out now on toploaderofficial.com