Christmas 2024, and The Official Toyah Willcox website and related social media announced two exciting new releases for March 2025, beautiful picture discs of Toyah’s first two albums: Sheep Farming In Barnet and The Blue Meaning.
Official Toyah also revealed: In 2025, an exciting series of releases will mark Toyah’s over 45 years in music with a celebration of albums, singles and images.
Check out Toyah performing a great live version of, Alice Cooper’s, School’s Out, live last week at G Live in Guildford at The SAS Band’s 30th Anniversary concert. School’s Out was, of course, one of the first cover versions Toyah ever included on an album, the song featured on the tracklist of her debut solo album, Minx, in 1985. See Toyah performing Sweet Child ‘O Mine from the same gig, here.
Christmas 2023, and The Changeling placed fifth Best Reissue Of The Year in RetroPop‘s year end round-up poll.
The Changeling was reissued on deluxe formats, including 2CD+DVD, colour vinyl and an incredible Box Set, in September 2003. See our news archive for related news, reviews, videos, trailers, Toyah specials and much, much more.
RetroPop: If there’s one thing we love more than new material from our favourite artists, it’s diving into the vaults and unearthing forgotten gems from their classic eras – the hallmark of a strong reissue. This year, there have been plenty and in addition to revisiting iconic releases and sharing unreleased cuts, an increasing number of acts have taken to reworking and remixing their best-loved recordings for a new avenue of bonus material that bridges the gap between ‘then’ and ‘now’.
Looking back on highlights from the year, here are Retropop’s Top 10 Reissues Of 2023.
5. Toyah – The Changeling (Cherry Red)
The seminal 1982 album from Toyah was expanded across two audio discs – including 20 previously unreleased tracks – and a further three previously unavailable on any CD, for its latest reissue, which contains outtakes, B-sides, an alternate album sequence of ‘work in progress’ variations, and home demo recordings. Meanwhile, the accompanying DVD features a wealth of classic content, plus up-to-date commentary from the lady herself!
• See the full Top 10, plus more year end Best Of 2023 charts, at Retropop. The Changeling is available to buy from Cherry Red Records – a great Christmas gift for the music fan in your life.
Winter/Christmas 1983 was a very special, and memorable, festive season for Toyah fans…
In every waking hour I miss you, In my dreams I never kiss you, And in the shadows creatures want to hurt you, but in love and war I’ll never desert you…
Christmas 1983, Toyah was promoting The Vow, the final single for Safari Records, the Love Is The Law album, and travelling the UK on the Rebel Run Tour. Toyah, and the band, appeared on numerous TV shows in the UK and Europe through November and December, being interviewed as well as performing The Vow and Rebel Run.
The TV shows included; Pebble Mill, Did You See?, Pop Watch, Saturday Superstore, Breakfast Time, Razzmatazz, The Saturday Show, Harty, Crackerjack and Judgendbund. Other shows included in ‘The Vow’ promotion were; TVAM: Good Morning Britain and 60 Minutes.
Yeeeha!! I just received the prints for Toyah Fanzine‘s bumper celebration of the reissue of Love Is The Law, and I Believe In Father Christmas, as well as Toyah’s Album Discography. As you read this I’ll be festively packaging and postaging (!), while watching MTV Christmas… Ho ho ho!
Coming tomorrow at 11am… The Toyah At Home / Love Is The Law special. The songs. the video, the tour, the recording process, the photos. Some of your questions answered by Toyah plus music and lots of unseen photos. Not to be missed. Toyah At Home airs at Toyah’s YouTube channel and Facebook page simultaneously.
• Love Is The Law is out next Friday, 8th November. Pre-order this exciting release at Cherry Red.
It’s Toyah Tuesday and the count down to the official release of the 2024 remastered, expanded edition of Love Is The Law on 8 November. Discover the story behind the recording of the beloved album track Martian Cowboy, a sequel song to Pop Star on Anthem.
Today saw the release of Toyah’s amazing 1983 single, Rebel Run on 10″ grey vinyl, which includes unreleased tracks, including an extended version of the lead song. It feels like a new era of Love Is The Law. I’m celebrating from a fan perspective with a new issue of Toyah Fanzine, which I’m currently working on, focusing on all things Love Is The Law. This bundle also includes part two of our Toyah Album Discography collection – flyers & postcards for every Toyah album release.
• More info on Issue 61, including previews and order link, here.
Love Is The Law – Toyah’s final studio album on Safari Records, originally released in 1983 – is reissued in deluxe formats this November, and we are celebrating with a new issue – #61 – of our fanzine. More info will be available tomorrow – which just happens to be my birthday!!
Toyah’s 1983 studio album Love Is The Law receives new remastered and expanded editions, released by Cherry Red Records on Friday 8 November 2024. This follows the acclaimed and enthusiastically received series of remastered editions of four studio albums and four live albums that chronicle the band’s recording history from 1979-1983.
The album releases can be ordered from www.cherryred.co.uk.
For full track list and more details visit the Album page in the Discography of Toyah’s official website.
Reaching the UK album charts in November 1983, the album saw Toyah, Joel Bogen and Simon Darlow write and record the album whilst Toyah appeared as the lead in the successful theatre production of Trafford Tanzi at the Mermaid Theatre.
Previewed by the single Rebel Run, the album also includes fan favourites Dreamscape, Martian Cowboy and one of Toyah’s long-term personal favourites, I Explode. The title track features a group of fans singing on the song’s chorus after being invited into the Marquee Studios, Soho one evening in August 1983.
Following the acclaimed reissue Toyah series, this release once again features the album remastered from the original mastertapes by Nick Watson, overseen by Joel Bogen.
The LP reissue is pressed on translucent red vinyl and features a new colour inner bag plus a lyric insert. The 2CD+DVD edition features 31 bonus tracks, of which 21 are previously unreleased. Amongst these are B-Sides, alternate mixes, rarities, home demos, instrumentals and studio outtakes.
The DVD features two newly filmed 2024 interviews with Toyah Willcox reflecting on making the LP. These specially edited docu-features include extensive photographs from the Mermaid Theatre fan gatherings and several private studio session photos to bring the “Summer of ’83” story back to life once again.
The LP and 2CD+DVD artwork feature newly scanned archive negatives from the album photo shoot to both refresh the visuals with an alternate front cover and achieve a higher quality print finish, since the exact LP shot negatives are missing.
• Pre-Order Love Is The Law on 2CD+DVD, and semi-transparent red vinyl at Cherry Red (The editions with postcards sold out almost immediately!). Read the news/press release – and listen to a preview of Rebel Run (Extended) – and album page/full tracklist/release gallery at toyahwillcox.com. Watch Toyah announce the release on Toyah At Home.
Toyah’s next episode of Toyah At Home comes a week early, and to bring you a special announcement. It’s the turn of the final Safari studio album “Love Is The Law” to be remastered and expanded. Tune in 11am, Saturday 31 August for all the details.
One Week Today – Saturday 31st August – Toyah announces the remastered / expanded editions of the 1983 album, Love Is The Law in Toyah At Home. 11am at Toyah’s YouTube channel and Facebook. (Image © Toyah Willcox)
Cherry Red reach the final studio album from Toyah this Autumn, with the release/reissue of Love Is The Law. A wonderful album which features Toyah’s vocals at their most soaring and glorious thus far in her career at the time.
I’m happy to say I’ve managed to produce an issue of my fanzine for each and every Cherry Red release over the past four years, and currently working on Issue 61 (gulp!!) in celebration of Love Is The Law. More info soon…
A new t-shirt featuring the iconic Toyah logo from the Rebel Run/Love Is the Law album (1983) is now available for pre-order in the Toyah & Robert merchandise shop! (Image © Toyah Willcox)
The reissue of Minx is reviewed in Classic Pop magazine.
• The latest issue of Classic Pop is available to buy instore and online. (Thanks to Minna of The Toyah Willcox Interview Archive for the scans – Click below to visit Minna’s website)
Toyah during Saturday’s Toyah At Home: “Look out, as there are more announcements coming up over the next few months… Oh boy! Are there more announcements coming up! Yes!” Pre-order the Rebel Run EP.
Another exciting Toyah reissue. Rebel Run, Toyah’s penultimate physical single release on Safari Records, receives a 10″ colour vinyl EP release on 20th September 2024.
NB. This release features a number of previously unseen Rebel Run/Love Is The Law era Toyah photos, including the great new cover shot – See another at toyahwillcox.com.
TOYAH: REBEL RUN, 10-INCH COLOURED VINYL EXPANDED EP
Newly expanded and remastered EP version of Toyah’s 1983 Top 30 single ‘Rebel Run’. This specially expanded EP is a pre-cursor to the forthcoming Cherry Red reissue of the Toyah band’s final studio album ‘Love Is The Law’.
Recorded in July 1983 at the Marquee Studios, Rebel Run was produced by Nick Tauber, and saw Toyah and Joel Bogen joined by songwriter and keyboardist Simon Darlow to create new material following the silver- certified album ‘The Changeling’.
Pressed on grey-coloured 10” vinyl, the EP is led by a previously unreleased extended version of ‘Rebel Run’, mixed during the original album recording sessions in 1983, but which remained in the vaults. Also making its debut from the archives is an Alternate version of the album title track ‘Love Is The Law’ featuring alternate lyrics. Side Two presents new remasters of the two original B-Sides of ‘Rebel Run’ and an unheard Instrumental version of the EP’s title track.
The tracks have been remastered by Nick Watson from the original master tapes and approved by Joel Bogen.
The EP features stunning previously unseen photography from the album photo sessions, depicting a futuristic aesthetic with Toyah in red body armour custom-designed by Swanky Modes. The outfit was worn by Toyah in the single’s promo video inspired by sci-fi movie Tron. A colour inner bag features yet further rare imagery.
A limited edition postcard of a previously-unseen image of Toyah will come with every 10” vinyl EP.
TRACK LISTING
REBEL SIDE (SIDE ONE)
1. Rebel Run (Extended)*
2. Love Is The Law (Alternate)*
RUN SIDE (SIDE TWO)
1. Rebel Run (Instrumental)*
2. To The Mountains High
3. Baptised In Fire
* previously unreleased
• Pre-order at Cherry Red Records. See further info at toyahwillcox.com. See Toyah announce the release at this morning’s Toyah At Home.
In anticipation of the upcoming deluxe reissue of, Toyah’s 1985 debut solo album, Minx – a couple of previously unseen variations of Toyah photos from the Terence Donovan Minx-era shoots have been made available… Pre-order Minx here.
Warrior Rock – remastered, expanded & reissued – has placed in a number of this week’s Official Charts.
Toyah said: “Thanks to all for supporting the WARRIOR ROCK release with the new remastered / deluxe editions. The album went back into various LP charts last Friday, so thank you. Toyah xx”
This continues a fantastic run of recent charting for Toyah on the Official Charts, dating back to April 2019, when In The Court Of The Crimson Queen charted.
#12 – Official Independent Albums Chart
#18 – Official Physical Chart
#20 – Official Sales Chart
#22 – Official Scottish Chart
#30 – Official Vinyl Album Chart
#56 – Official Update/Midweek Album Chart
• Browse Toyah’s Official Charts history – dating back to June 1980, with the first chart entry for The Blue Meaning – including numerous releases from recent years on a variety of Official Album Charts, here. Order the Remastered reissue of Warrior Rock here. Browse Dreamscape’s Toyah Official Charts archive here. Read Toyah’s comment, alongside a rare Changeling Tour photo, at Facebook.
Toyah’s first solo album ”Minx” was released in July 1985 on CBS’s label Portrait Records (home at the time to Cyndi Lauper), presenting a sophisticated sound and image for Toyah Willcox who to date had enjoyed eight top 75 singles and five studio albums with the band “Toyah”.
Originally recorded in 1984, this very special 40th Anniversary set expands the album into a deluxe 2CD edition for the first time. Pre-order now
CD1 features the original album with two bonus tracks originally available on the 1985 cassette & CD formats only plus two non-album B-Sides, two extended 12” versions, and a 12” remix.
CD2 contains 16 rarities of which 14 are previously unreleased, including:
• The unheard album session demo “The Fight” and previously unreleased 7” Remix of third single “World In Action”.
• Two previously unreleased home demos of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” and Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out”, recorded by Toyah and Joel Bogen in the spring 1984.
• Two previously unreleased instrumental demos of “All In A Rage” and “Snow Covers The Kiss” recorded by Joel Bogen.
• Eight previously unreleased Backing Tracks of “Minx” songs, retaining their distinctive backing vocals by Toyah.
• The two CDs are presented in brand new seven-inch deluxe gatefold packaging. An 8-page booklet features rare photos by Terence Donovan and Curator’s Notes by Toyah archivist Craig Astley detailing the origins of the bonus tracks and rarities.
”Minx” was produced by Christopher Neil, with a musician line-up featuring Peter Van Hooke, Ian Wherry and Adrian Lee who made up the majority of Mike Rutherford’s Mike + The Mechanics. The rhythm section of Killing Joke guested on a cover of “School’s Out”. Toyah collaborator Simon Darlow played keyboards and co-wrote several tracks including lead single “Don’t Fall In Love (I Said)”. The album also features unique readings of Latin Quarter’s “America For Beginners” and Rare Bird’s “Sympathy”, the latter being the first time Toyah would be heard accompanied by an orchestra.
• Visit toyahwillcox.com for the full release info, images and tracklist. Pre-order Minx from your favourite online music store now. The 2020 translucent red vinyl reissue of Minx is also available from Amazon. See Toyah announce the release on Toyah At Home.
