Toploader: Reviving defunct technology

Presumably, Toploader felt that if they got back together for charity, even the flintiest-hearted of us would feel unable to point out that their return is about as welcome as Doctor Crippin turning up, with the plague, and a list of grudges.

The band are doing a date to help raise funds for the ICU at Eastbourne General Hospital but then intend to undo any good that might count for by continuing to tour:

Frontman Joe Washbourn said, "Toploader are back and what better way to say thank you to all of our fans than with a special gig here in Eastbourne.

"The ICU at the DGH is a cause that's particularly close to my heart and I'm thrilled that all profits from the concert will go their way.

"We're all really excited to get back together and can't wait to get back out there and start performing again."

Really? Being back together with Toploader gives you a sense of excitement? That's not really an emotion anyone else is feeling at the news right now. The best we can imagine is 'resigned acceptance', surely?

[Hat-tip: @ritchames]

Is this how they're filling time since they got dropped?

Toploader 17

MORE TOPLOAD: Ananova are really milking their chat with Dan Hipgrave. Either that or he's been ringing them up a lot while Gail's been doing her breathing exercises. Today's installment explains why Toploader didn't do any festival gigs - because, apparently, they don't agree with playing new songs at festivals and so they would have had to have played stuff off Onka's Big Moka. Uh? But... you mean you'd have had to play stuff that people actually wanted to hear? Why would that be a... bad thing? Hipgrave actually says "You're playing to the audience at festivals" as if at other gigs, you're playing to the floor. Then he thinks out "I know Coldplay got away with it at Glastonbury, but we're very different bands." So, today he's acknowledging that Coldplay are a different proposition to Toploader, whereas yesterday, of course, he was whining that Coldplay get different treatment from the NME to the Eastbourne crew.
And if - as he claims - they don't approve of playing new songs to large, varied audiences, why did they refuse to play Dancing in the Moonlight at the Commonwealth Games, substituting the dreary new single for the one they'd been hired to knock out?
Finally from Dan for now: "We decided to do a big tour of smaller venues rather than a small tour of bigger venues". That makes sense, Dan - better to play to a wide range of nearly full small places than half empty large ones, isn't it?
And, for the record: Actually, Mrs Hipgrave? We would. [NSFW] Mr Hipgrave? How could you?