Toyah continues the series of expanded deluxe reissues of her solo catalogue with Demon Records this autumn. On 21 November limited edition picture discs and Deluxe 2CD Editions of the solo Toyah albums Ophelia’s Shadow and Take The Leap! are issued. The releases can be pre-ordered now.
Rare and sought after material can be found on the Deluxe 2CD Editions whilst the vinyl picture discs carry on the set began earlier in 2025 with Minx, Desire and Prostitute.
Ophelia’s Shadow
Pre-order here… See also the deluxe 2CD full tracklisting.
Toyah’s 1991 solo album Ophelia’s Shadow is released as an expanded Deluxe 2CD Edition for the first time ever. Packaged in deluxe 7”-sized gatefold packaging, it continue the series of expanded solo Toyah albums released by Edsel.
Alongside the studio album that features Robert Fripp playing guitar on two tracks, CD1 adds six tracks Toyah recorded in 1993 with Kiss Of Reality, previously available on a very rare CD released only in Germany.
CD2 adds a full 1992 concert recording of Toyah and Kiss Of Reality in Warsaw, Poland. All 10 live tracks are previously unreleased with highlights being the otherwise unrecorded vocals for Amazon, Daydreaming and Shirt Of The Muse plus a rendition of Toyah’s 1987 album track Revive The World.
A selection of 1992 demos Toyah recorded with Kiss Of Reality in Berlin also feature including Dan The Man plus three demos (previously available only on a strictly limited self-released cassette) making this a treasure trove of Toyah rarities.
The booklet contains rare and previously unseen colour photography from the original album shoot. A new sleevenote by Toyah archivist Craig Astley chronicles the making of the album with reflections from Toyah herself on why this album is a personal favourite and so important to her.
Take The Leap!
Pre-order here… See also the deluxe 2CD full tracklisting.
Toyah’s 1994 studio album was recorded with Salisbury band Friday Forever and includes eight re-recordings of classic Toyah material and six original compositions. CD1 adds four tracks of which three are previously unreleased. This includes demos of album tracks Invisible Love and Lust For Love, first recorded in 1992 with Kiss Of Reality.
CD2 contains 16 rarities with seven of these previously unreleased. CD2 features the long-awaited release of original material Toyah wrote with members of Girlschool for their ‘supergroup’ project Strange Girls, who played live UK gigs and supported The Beach Boys in Germany. Long desired by fans who saw the Strange Girls live gigs; these three studio demos were recorded in 1991 but have remained unheard until their rediscovery in 2025.
Further rarities, demos and remixes include a rehearsal demo of live Strange Girls favourite King Of Pain and previously unreleased home demos recorded with Cris Bonacci. The booklet contains rare and unseen photography from the album original shoot. A new sleevenote by Toyah archivist Craig Astley chronicles the 1991-1994 period and reveals how the solo album Toyah originally envisaged from the extensive material recorded in 1992 morphed into the Take The Leap! project.
We’re hoping for a great chart placing for Chameleon: The Very Best Of Toyah tomorrow evening when the Official Charts Top 100 Albums is announced. The album is currently at #10 but streaming is the best chance for the album to stay in the upper reaches of the chart. We have 24 hours… PS. Here’s some Chameleon fan art I created – to celebrate the new release and it’s fantastic debut chart placing – and will be including in the new issue(s) of Toyah Fanzine.
