Champion biker, James Toseland discusses scaring his mum, his career U-turn and honouring his family

James’ impressive motorcycling career was cut short in 2011 after he crashed and sustained a wrist injury. This year, he’s had his ninth surgery to combat the pain and difficulties he’s had with his wrist.

“If anybody’s had a recovery from one serious injury, it takes its toll. It really does,” he said while appearing on Full Chat.

Despite early retirement, the Rotherham native now has a positive outlook on his career, turning to his first love - music.

“When I wrote the two albums after I retired from racing, those songs that I wrote were very much autobiographical,” the accomplished pianist said.

In October and November, the former biker’s band, Toseland, will be touring the UK with these songs.

“This is the first time I'm going to be able to talk about what happened,” he added.

“I’ve planned to do it (the operation) now, to be able to recover for this tour that starts on the 27th of October,” he revealed.

For those who know James, the change of career wasn’t a shock.

“I’m a musician first and a biker second because I was born into a musical family,” he told the podcast hosts, Iwan Thomas and David Prutton.

“My grandmother, she played beautiful piano.”

“When all the family came around at Christmas to their house and she got behind the piano, it created a festival, it created an ambience and joy for everybody.”

“To have that skill, to be able to provide that for people. I was like. I want a bit of that.”

Playing the piano would become a passion of his but, after the introduction of his future stepfather, Ken, biking would become his dream career.

“My mum went out for a few drinks one evening and she brought back a biker,” he joked.

“He bought me one (a motorbike) for Christmas when I was about eight, nine years old and then I’m sat here talking to you guys as a double world champion.”

James’ stepfather tragically passed away when he was a teenager.

“He was never around for anything he started and created,” James said.

“On the back of his bike, I instantly started my passion.”

James would keep Ken in mind throughout the rest of his life and career.

When asked about why he chose biking over piano as a child, he said; “It created friendships for me. It created me being in the cool gang all of a sudden”

“I’d gone from getting winded around the back of the bike shed to being the number one kid with a bike.”

Supportive but sceptical, James’ mum, Jane, would worry about her son’s new career choice.

“I put her through the ringer really,” he admitted.

“She did not want me to ride motorcycles at all.”

“For fifteen, twenty years, she had to then put up with and cope with me doing something that she never really wanted me to start doing.”

“To win the World Championship was kind of my gift back to her on putting her through everything over the years,” he continued.

“I was injured a lot. We all are. The hospitalisations and the recoveries, its only a mum that sees all that.”

In the closing of the podcast, James would make it clear that he’s moving on and moving forward.

“Rather than missing it and wanting it all back again, I was able to really just appreciate how fortunate I was to even have it in the first place.”