Daniel Hipgrave (born 5 August 1975
) is an English musician and writer, best known as the guitarist of the
Post-Britpop/
alternative rock band
Toploader.
Early life
Hipgrave studied
psychiatric nursing
Psychiatric nursing or mental health nursing is the appointed position of a nurse that specialises in mental health, and cares for people of all ages experiencing mental illnesses or distress. These include: neurodevelopmental disorders, schizoph ...
at the
University of Sussex, until he left in 1996 to devote his time to his band.
Music career
In April 1998, Toploader signed a six-album deal with
S2 Records, a subsidiary of
Sony Records
Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation.
Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the label ...
. They went on to tour worldwide in their own right, and as a supporting act to
Paul Weller,
Robbie Williams and
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...
. Toploader's debut album, ''
Onka's Big Moka'', was released in 1999, it sold over one million copies. The album featured various chart hits including their cover of "
Dancing in the Moonlight", "Achilles Heel" and "Only for a While". Toploader's second album, ''
Magic Hotel'', was released in 2002. But despite it entering the
UK Albums Chart at number 3, the band were dropped by their label.
Toploader split in 2003 stating the reason as 'personal differences', the band remained silent for six years, until reforming in 2009.
Other work
Hipgrave has turned his attention towards writing and television work, making a number of appearances in both media. In 2008 Hipgrave appeared as the resident travel expert on
BBC2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
's ''
Market Kitchen'' as well as reporting live from
Radio 1's Big Weekend in
Maidstone for
BBC One.
He has written articles for ''
The Guardian'', ''
The Daily Telegraph'', ''
The Independent'', ''
The Mail on Sunday'' and other publishing outlets.
Personal life
Hipgrave married TV presenter
Gail Porter in 2001; they have one daughter, Honey, from the marriage. By 2004 they had separated and later divorced.
In August 2007, Hipgrave announced his engagement to television and radio presenter
Lynsey Horn; they married on 8 November 2008 at
Langley Castle,
Northumberland.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hipgrave, Dan
1975 births
Living people
English rock guitarists
People from Brighton
21st-century British guitarists