''Onka's Big Moka'' is the debut studio album by English band

Toploader Toploader are an English Rock music, rock band from Eastbourne, East Sussex, formed in 1997, with over two million album sales and several top-20 hits both home and abroad. Their debut album, ''Onka's Big Moka'', sold over one million units a ...

, which was released on 22 May 2000, through

S2 Records Sony S2 Records, formerly named as S2 Records and Sony Soho Square (typeset as Sony Soho2), was a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (SME), which operated as a record label in the 1990s and early 2000s. Sony Soho Square was named after its ...

. Having been recorded between 1998 and 1999, it was produced by long time collaborator of the

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...

Dave Eringa David James Eringa (born 30 July 1971 in Brentwood, Essex, Brentwood, Essex) is an English people, English record producer, sound engineer, and mix engineer. Biography He has had a long-standing association with Manic Street Preachers. His ea ...

. After its release, the album reached the top 5 of the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

at number 4, where it stayed for six months. The song "

Dancing in the Moonlight "Dancing in the Moonlight" is a song written by Sherman Kelly, originally recorded in 1970 by Kelly's band Boffalongo, and then a hit single by King Harvest in 1972, reaching no. 5 in Canada and no. 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2000, a ...

", a cover of the Boffalongo song, was later featured in television

commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

for the supermarket chain

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...

, on the soundtrack of the 2002 American coming-of-age teen romantic drama ''

A Walk to Remember ''A Walk to Remember'' is a 2002 American coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Adam Shankman and written by Karen Janszen, based on Nicholas Sparks' 1999 novel of the same name. It stars Shane West, Mandy Moore, Peter Coyote and Da ...

'', the 2010 comedy film ''

Four Lions ''Four Lions'' is a 2010 British political satire black comedy film directed by Chris Morris (in his feature film debut) from a screenplay written by Morris, Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong. It stars Riz Ahmed, Kayvan Novak, Nigel Lindsay, ...

'', and the 2019 television series ''

The Umbrella Academy ''The Umbrella Academy'' is an Absurdist fiction, absurdist Superhero fiction, superhero comic book series created by writer Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Bá. It follows a dysfunctional family of adopted superhero siblings with bizarre powers a ...

''. The album cover was taken at

Lancaster Gate Lancaster Gate is a mid-19th century development in the Bayswater district of central London, immediately to the north of Kensington Gardens. History It consists of two long terraces of houses overlooking the park, with a wide gap between t ...

, located in the

Bayswater Bayswater is an area in the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

district of

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

, while the title is a reference to the 1974 anthropological documentary '' Ongka's Big Moka: The Kawelka of Papua New Guinea''.

Track listing

All tracks written by Joseph Washbourn, except tracks 2 & 7. #"Let the People Know" – 3:54 #"

" (Sherman Kelly) – 3:52 #"Achilles Heel" – 4:18 #"Breathe" – 3:56 #"Do You Know What Your Future Will Be?" – 4:24 #"Only for a While" – 3:51 #"Just Hold On" (Dave Smith, Tim Woodcock, Mike Terry) – 4:01 #"Higher State" – 3:11 #"High Flying Bird" – 4:10 #"Summer Cycle" – 4:38 #"Just About Living" – 4:01 #"Floating Away (In the Bath Tub)" – 3:22

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

2000 debut albums Toploader albums S2 Records albums Albums produced by Stargate Albums recorded at RAK Studios {{1990s-alt-rock-album-stub