Toseland

Renegade
(Pledge Music/52 Music)

3 Stars

Here's a poser. You are a double World Superbike Champion who, through injury, has to retire.

But you played keyboards all your life and, like many a lad, dreamt of being in a rock band.

James Toseland stuck by his dream with Yorkshire grit - he is from Doncaster, after all - and teamed up with Little Angels' Toby Jepson to craft a bunch of debut rock songs which they have now released.

The outcome is a mixed bag with best results achieved in Burning The System and Renegade, when Toseland lets himself go and the band abandon their earlier formulaic approach.

They hit the road in March and April, which should help the band coalesce further and become the force Toseland aspires them to be.

Only time will tell whether the metamorphosis of a motorbike legend into a rock god will succeed. The potential is clearly there.

Michal Boncza