VELVET THUNDER

TOTO and The Players Club / Mascot Label Group  reveal the title track from With A Little Help From My Friends released June 25

Steve Lukather shares, “We are keeping the music of Toto alive with a little help from our friends.” Joseph Williams offers, “In the midst of a global pandemic and an unprecedented lockdown we realized a few things.  Musicians must play and people need to get together to watch them.  It was then Luke, Dave and I decided to call upon our friends to create this performance.  We welcomed new friends on to the stage and found an instant connection with them. Welcomed back old friends to do a little work!  The fact is we couldn’t have pulled it off without the love and support of our friends and family. Never was a title or a song been more appropriate. I hope you enjoy With a Little Help From My Friends!” 

The performance captures one special night on November 21, 2020 when Steve Lukather, Joseph Williams and David Paich appeared with the new line-up of TOTO for a global event originating from Los Angeles, CA.  Joining Lukather, Williams and Paich for this next chapter in their indelible history are new band members bassist John Pierce (Huey Lewis and The News), drummer Robert “Sput” Searight (Ghost-Note / Snarky Puppy), and keyboardist / background vocalist Steve Maggiora (Robert Jon & The Wreck). Keyboardist Dominique “Xavier” Taplin (Prince, Ghost-Note) and multi-instrumentalist / vocalist Warren Ham (Ringo Starr) segued over continuing their tenure in the ensemble. This marks the fifteenth incarnation of the TOTO line-up in consideration of band members or sidemen who joined or exited. 

They have previously revealed the performance of Till The End which you can watch here and You Are The Flower here.

Alongside LP pressings of the audio only, both a CD/DVD and CD/Blu-ray package are available. The track listing features Till The End, Hold The Line, Pamela, Kingdom Of Desire, White Sister, You Are The Flower, I Won’t Hold You Back, Stop Loving You, Home Of The Brave, Rosanna, and With A Little Help From My Friends. In the DVD and Blu-ray releases, a documentary is featured alongside the performance, featuring thoughts from all members of the band that appeared that evening.

Steve Lukather a.k.a. Luke shares, “When the music is performed by great musicians it honours Toto. The documentary featured on the DVD offers great insights in to our thoughts looking forward. David, who stands with us, alongside Joe and myself, desire to keep this music alive.  And Paich could pop in any time for a show as a special surprise. When it came to plan this specific set list, we picked an eclectic group of songs for this one night only show. Looking forward, we’ll be selecting a broader mix from the Toto catalogue that includes deep cuts, the hits, and tunes from Joe and my recently released solo albums. Both of us could not be more thrilled with the global response to these records.”  Joe Williams offers, “It’s always a complete joy to perform a Toto show, but this one was special. Joining me, Luke and David last November were three new top level, virtuoso musicians as well as a few returning geniuses. The show itself was born out of the need to play after being on Covid lockdown, but also served as the reason to build this new band.  Right out of the gate this group gelled and dug deep into the new and old Toto material.”

Confirmed appearances include:

14 July, 2022              Bonn, Germany                                  KunstRasen
15 July, 2022              Amsterdam, Netherlands                    Ziggodome
16 July, 2022              Halle, Germany                                  Peißnitzinsel
19 July, 2022              Pratteln, Switzerland                          Z-7 Summer Nights
20 July, 2022              Tussling, Germany                             Schlossplatz
21 July, 2022              Middelkerke, Belgium                        Proximus Pop-Up Arena
23 July, 2022              Vitrolles, France                                 Festival Jardin Sonore
28 July, 2022              Schwetzingen, Germany                     Schlossgarten
29 July, 2022              Graz, Austria                                      Messe Open Air
31 July, 2022              Warsaw, Poland                                  Torwar
10 August, 2022         Helsingborg, Sweden                          Sofiero Castle
11 August, 2022         Viborg, Denmark                                Paradepladsen
13 August, 2022         Copenhagen, Denmark                       Royal Arena
14 August, 2022         Gothenburg, Sweden                          Partille Arena

ABOUT TOTO

Over the past several years, TOTO have had a major renaissance in popularity like few bands at this point in their career.  Their 40th anniversary in 2018 was marked by them releasing a brand new Greatest Hits album (’40 Trips Around The Sun’) and embarking on their most successful worldwide tour to date.   Few ensembles in the history of recorded music have individually or collectively had a larger imprint on pop culture than the members of TOTO.  As individuals, the band members can be heard on an astonishing 5000 albums that together amass a sales history of a half a billion albums.  Amongst these recordings, NARAS applauded the performances with more than 200 Grammy nominations. 

Collectively TOTO has over two billion streams worldwide on all streaming services.  Just last year one of their biggest hits “Africa” went from being a Platinum single to being recently recertified 6X Platinum.  The band has found a new generation of fans.  With now 40+ years together and literally thousands of credits, including the biggest selling album of all time: Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and accolades to their names, TOTO remains one of the top selling touring and recording acts in the world. They are the benchmark by which many artists base their sound and production, and they continue to transcend the standards set by the entire music community, being simply synonymous with musical credibility.  They are pop culture, and are one of the few 70’s bands that have endured the changing trends and styles continuing to remain relevant while enjoying their multi-generational global fan base.

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