Dreamscape – Toyah Willcox Fansite

Info from Saturday’s second Toyah At Home, which aired at Toyah’s official You Tube channel.

• Good Morning Universe: was the song of the morning, with Toyah explaining how it got its title. Joel Bogen wrote the music and as soon as Toyah heard the joyous track she wanted to call it Good Morning Universe.

• Good Morning Universe: Toyah performed a live version of the title song from Toyah’s third EP, and ninth single, released in November 1981. I’ve always loved this song, and all the others on the Four More From Toyah EP.

• Shirley Manson: Toyah mentioned the Garbage lead singer’s recent comments about Toyah being one of her early influences.

• Early Influences: Toyah talked about her own early influences, Dusty Springfield and Sandie Shaw in the 1960s, as well as Curved Air, Grace Slick, Roxy Music, Alice Cooper, Lou Reed and David Bowie in the 70s.

• Movies: To Be Someone will hopefully be showing later this year, with press and publicity happening soon. Toyah also mentioned Give Them Wings.

• Take The Leap!: Jolyon Dixon, the guitarist from Friday Forever and Toyah’s Take The Leap! band asked Toyah if she would be interested in a Leap! anniversary tour.

• Steve Strange: Toyah talked about the Visage frontman back in the days of her Mayhem warehouse and the Blitz Club and the last time she met him, at the V&A Club To Catwalk exhibition in 2013.

• Favourite Venues/Tours: Toyah reminisced about playing (the legendary) Glasgow Apollo. Her favourite venue is Wembley Arena, and she loves playing in churches because of their great acoustics. Toyah loved all of The Humans tours, and also the recent Thunder In The Highlands tour.

• Computer: Will this ever be played live? There are plans for some of the Safari album songs to be played live during Toyah At Home to coincide with the Cherry Red release of Toyah’s Safari back catalogue.

• Ophelia’s Shadow: Some of the songs are too studio layered to perform live but Lords Of The Never Known and Brilliant Day will be (Toyah mentioned the late Keith Tippett).

• Prostitute: Toyah talked about the possibility of the album being performed live as an art project with visuals. She also talked about performing the album during the FrippFripp tour in 1988, and about the legacy of the album and its meanings now as the world changes and evolves.

• Toyah also chatted about which song took the longest to write (Slow Descent by The Humans was mentioned), and the show ended with live footage of She’s Fast by The Humans from Trading Boundaries in East Sussex.

Just a couple of days until Minx, Prostitute, Ophelia’s Shadow, Take The Leap! and Velvet Lined Shell are released on colour/clear vinyl, and HMV have a great “Toyah LP Bundle” deal available at their website. Add all five of the albums to your basket and pay £79.99. A saving of over £20 compared to other online stores! Click below for HMV.

This Friday sees the release of five Toyah solo studio albums on amazing colour/clear vinyl, including two – Take The Leap! (1994), in clear vinyl; Velvet Lined Shell (2003), in purple vinyl – which have never been available on any sort of vinyl previously.

The former is a double album and the latter Toyah’s first ever 10″ release.

Also coming on Friday are Minx (1985), in translucent red vinyl; Prostitute (1988), in translucent yellow vinyl, and Ophelia’s Shadow (1991), in translucent aqua vinyl.

In the lead up to their release, Toyah has been showcasing the gorgeous new vinyls via photos and video clips at Instagram, with just Velvet Lined Shell still to be previewed this week…

• Click on each or any of the photos below for further info or to pre-order the new colour/clear Toyah albums. (Photos © Toyah Willcox)

It’s Toyah Solo Day!! Toyah’s first ever box set is released today!

TOYAH ALBUMS SET FOR COLOURED VINYL RELEASE ON 13 MARCH

Demon Records will issue five Toyah albums on brand new coloured vinyl releases on 13 March 2020. Complimenting the 1985-2003 spanning CD box set Toyah: Solo, the releases include Minx, Prostitute, Ophelia’s Shadow and the first ever vinyl releases of Take The Leap! and Velvet Lined Shell.

Minx: First time on vinyl since 1985, Minx is Toyah’s first true solo album and was produced by Christopher Neil. The 10-track album features co-writes with Simon Darlow (Slave To The Rhythm) and the UK singles Don’t Fall In Love (I Said) (#22) and Soul Passing Through Soul (#57) alongside unique covers of Rare Bird’s Sympathy and Alice Cooper’s School’s Out. Pressed on 180g translucent red vinyl.

• Continue reading at toyahwillcox.com. Full links to pre-order the Toyah coloured vinyls here.

Toyah is releasing coloured vinyl versions of five of her solo studio albums: Minx, Prostitute, Ophelia’s Shadow, Take The Leap! and Velvet Lined Shell. They are released on Friday 13th March and can be pre-ordered at Amazon. Ophelia’s Shadow is on translucent aqua vinyl, and this release is the first time the album has been available on vinyl since 1991.

Issued on vinyl for the first time since 1991, with a new inner sleeve, the album is pressed on 180 gram translucent AQUA vinyl. Toyah’s personal favourite album of her catalogue, “Ophelia’s Shadow” (1991), features a band line-up including Trey Gunn on stick, Paul Beavis on drums and Tony Geballe on guitar. Two tracks, “Brilliant Day” And “Lords Of The Never Known” Feature Robert Fripp and were originally played live by the band Sunday all over the world (Toyah, Fripp, Beavis, Gunn).

Just over three weeks until Toyah Solo is released, on 28th February. Toyah’s first retrospective box set release, with seven CDs, a DVD, bonus songs and booklet.

• Official Toyah: Toyah Solo 7-CD/DVD Box Set: Toyah Solo is a new 7 CD + DVD anthology of collected works by Toyah, released 28 February 2020 by Edsel Records – Continue reading…

• Super Deluxe Edition: Toyah Solo 7CD+DVD Box: A new box celebrating Toyah’s career is on its way • Signed set sold out | Toyah’s solo career is to be celebrated in a new box set due next month from Demon. Toyah Solo mops up the era from 1985 onwards when Willcox signed as a solo turn to Sony’s Portrait Records and then subsequent EG releases, and comprises of seven CDs and a DVD plus a 48 page book. (If you’re a cursory fan and a bit confused and wondering ‘hang on, wasn’t she always solo?’ it transpires that up until then, Toyah was the name of the band she fronted.) – Continue reading…

• DGM Live: Toyah Set Due Feb: Toyah Willcox has a major retrospective box set release due in February. The 7CD set also comes with a DVD includes the albums she released on the EG label. Robert Fripp is a frequent collaborator appearing on 1987’s Desire, 1988’s Prostitute and in 1991, along with Trey Gunn, Tony Geballe and drummer Paul Beavis, Ophelia’s Shadow – Continue reading…

• Demon Music Group: Toyah – Solo (Standard Edition): This 7 CD + DVD box set (the first Toyah box set ever) features six albums (Minx, Desire, Prostitute, Ophelia’s Shadow, Take The Leap, Velvet Lined Shell) and 44 bonus tracks – Continue reading…

• Dreamscape: Toyah Solo: Our news archive for Toyah’s new box set – Continue reading…

The pieces are coming together! Toyah Solo… is coming soon! (28.02.2020 to be precise)

Expect an official release announcement soon on this very exciting collection – An eight-disc set – Toyah’s first ever box set release. The very limited edition signed version has been spotted. Get it before it sells out!

(Amazon Exclusive Signed Edition): Signed Edition, Limited Edition, Box Set, Extra Tracks.

This Amazon Exclusive comes with a print signed by Toyah and is limited to 500 copies. This 7 CD + DVD box set (the first Toyah box set ever) features six albums (Minx, Desire, Prostitute, Ophelia’s Shadow, Take The Leap, Velvet Lined Shell) and 44 bonus tracks, including rarities, b-sides, collaborations, and several unreleased tracks, plus a DVD of promo videos and a brand new exclusive interview filmed in December 2019.

Photo © Toyah Willcox/Dean Stockings – Official Toyah have been sharing archive photos from Toyah’s Solo career era (post 1984) over the past few weeks, including this very rare jigsaw.

The Official Toyah 40th Music Anniversary feature on social media continues with entries for Love Is The Law, Toyah Toyah Toyah – All The Hits, Mayhem, Minx, The Lady Or The Tiger, Desire, Prostitute, Ophelia’s Shadow, Kneeling At The Shrine… with more still to come. See our first post about the countdown here. Click below to visit the Official Toyah Instagram.

Another stocking filler courtesy of toyahwillcox.com – Download the booklet for the digital issue of Toyah’s 1991 album, Ophelia’s Shadow – It’s the album’s 25th Anniversary in 2016 too!

As has been posted about a fair bit recently… Toyah’s three quite different and, more than quite, brilliant albums: Desire – originally released in 1987, Prostitute – originally released in 1988, and Ophelia’s Shadow – originally released in 1991, were made available digitally, for the first time, earlier this month. There’s been a lot of related promotion…

Desire: Read Toyah’s Letter, first published in Tellurian One (Spring 1987); View info on Tenterhooks, Echo Beach (Acoustic) and Desirable; Visit the album page at toyahwillcox.com; Read a full transcript of Chris Limb’s 1987 interview with Toyah; Listen to the album at Spotify; Buy at Amazon or iTunes; Browse Dreamscape’s Desire news…

Prostitute: Read Toyah’s Letter (Summer 1988); Visit the album page at toyahwillcox.com; Read a reflection by Craig Astley; Listen to the album at Spotify; Buy at Amazon or iTunes; Browse Dreamscape’s Prostitute news…

Ophelia’s Shadow: Read Toyah’s Letter (Summer 1990); Visit the album page at toyahwillcox.com; Listen to the album at Spotify; Buy at Amazon or iTunes; Browse Dreamscape’s Ophelia’s Shadow news… 

Explore Toyah’s Instagram for rarities related to all three albums (Thanks to Breaking Through).

Desire | Prostitute | Ophelia’s Shadow | Digital releases available now.

Now available digitally, with great new booklets accompanying them (with album downloads via iTunes and Amazon), Desire, Prostitute and Ophelia’s Shadow.

In just a few hours Toyah’s trio – but not a trilogy – of late 80s/early 90s albums: Desire, Prostitute and Ophelia’s Shadow are released digitally for the first time. It really is fantastic that these will now be available for future generations to discover and enjoy.

I’ve always thought that these were, and are, three great albums. All completely different, and all showcasing Toyah’s true talent as a musician, songwriter and vocalist. She truly always has been a fascinating artist.

Desire includes some of Toyah’s best lyrics and emotive vocals. Prostitute still fascinates and disturbs listeners as much now as it did in 1988. Ophelia’s Shadow is to Toyah what The Dreaming is to Kate Bush…

So to mark the release(s), here are links to a few bits and pieces from over the years related to the trio:

Visit Dreamscape’s feature on Desire from 2012 – Marking the 25th Anniversary of its release… There’s also a mini-feature on Prostitute.. Read an interview with Toyah from around the time of Ophelia’s Shadow release, plus some related clippings (scanned from Tellurian Newsletter)…

Ophelia’s Shadow: Happy 21st – A short tribute… Prostitute was our first, and only, album of the month in 2012… View the results of a “just for fun” Desire poll from 2013… and some Desire fan art by Dreamscape from a few years ago… There was also, of course, an imaginary advert…

View a selection of Desire-era photos… and Toyah appearing on Neno in 1987… An unimaginary Desire press advert… And finally – The Curious Tale of The Moonlight Chorus :)

Browse further info on all three albums at The Official Toyah Discography. Read details about the digital releases and listen to the “new” Toyah EP Desirable.

Browse related photos and info on Desire, Prostitute and Ophelia’s Shadow at Toyah’s Official Instagram. All three albums are released digitally tomorrow. “This album was an exorcism for me, an exercise in self-worth” Toyah on Prostitute.

Long deleted and never available on any digital platforms, toyahwillcox.com is delighted to announce an October digital release of the catalogue albums Desire, Prostitute and Ophelia’s Shadow. Whilst the latter two have been deleted for over a decade, Desire has been unavailable since the early 1990s. The three catalogue titles are released digitally on Friday 2 October 2015.

1987’s Desire was produced by Mike Hedges and engineered by Haydn Bendall at Abbey Road Studios where Bendall (at the time) had recently engineered Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love… 1988’s acclaimed album Prostitute is an uncompromising work which was composed by Toyah and drummer Steve Sidelnyk who would later to play on Madonna’s Ray of Light album… 1991’s Ophelia’s Shadow is the album which Toyah feels most represents her personally. Recorded in 1990 it utilises the same band line-up of the Toyah/Fripp-helmed band Sunday All Over The World…

On iTunes, all three albums come with a meticulously presented digital booklet to expand the experience of listening to the album. Compiling sleevenotes, production credits and full lyrics they also bring together almost all associated imagery created for each album. Prostitute and Ophelia’s Shadow are foregrounded by an introductory note from Toyah; Desire contains a new reflection on the album by Chris Limb.

All three albums will be available digitally to buy or stream from Friday 2 October including iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Apple Music. Some digital vendors may follow on from the 2 October date and may appear at different times. The digital booklets will only be available when purchasing the entire album from iTunes. They will however be made available from The Official Toyah Website for all fans to enjoy.

Look out for some other related surprises too, courtesy of toyahwillcox.com!

• Continue reading at The Official Toyah Willcox website.

Tenter hooks so gentle so sharp | Be on tenter hooks for not much longer. Digital reissue details coming soon…. #desire #pro #ophelia

When this album was released in 1991 I bought it immediately of course – it had been three long years since ‘Prostitute’ – but my music tastes had changed radically through the mid-80s to the early-90s: Mudhoney, My Bloody Valentine, Nirvana, Fugazi, Big Black, Ministry, Ride, The Smiths, The Wedding Present were just some of my favourite bands, but I still had a real soft spot for Toyah, being a loyal fan since 1980, and always bought everything she released and still followed her eclectic career… ‘Ophelia’s Shadow’ was an album that took a while to grow on me – something like 10 years! I didn’t really appreciate it’s brilliance immediately, it took until around 2000 for that to happen – Over the last few years it’s become one of my favourite Toyah albums and over the last year I’ve listened to it more than ever. Happy 21st birthday!

A few Toyah bits and pieces from ‘Tellurian’, the Toyah Fan Club Newsletter which ran from 1986 until 2001: The Times: A Childhoood. View here. Toyah Willcox, interviewed by Deanish, plus a few ‘Ophelia’s Shadow’ related clippings. View here.

…Prostitute and Ophelia’s Shadow. Two ridiculously underrated albums (particularly the latter. I mean ‘Ghost Light’ is just… incredible!)

Here I stand on a large chunk of rock
Floatin’ in the piss-pot part of the firmament…

That could almost be a description of certain areas of Facebook. Apparently this site, and myself, have recently been getting bad-mouthed (again?) by some misery or other.

Fuck chuck a buck you… ‘Ghosts In The Universe’, 1988.

Toyah puts it far more eloquently, poetically and succinctly than I ever could :)