Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

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.

Chameleon: The Very Best Of Toyah entered numerous Official Charts rundowns on Friday, the highest placing being at #9 on the Independent Top 40.

More importantly the album placed at #10 on the Physical Album chart and #11 on the Album Sales chart. Great stats!

#9 Independent Chart
#10 Physical Album Chart
#11 Album Sales Chart
#15 Scottish Charts
#22 Vinyl Album Chart
#35 Record Store Chart

• Browse Toyah’s Official Charts history, dating back to 1980, and also including numerous releases from recent years on a variety of Official Album Charts.

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.

Toyah said “Thank You” on the day Chameleon was released… (Image © Toyah)

Toyah guested on The Diamond Dave Show on Total Rock yesterday, talking Chameleon: The Very Best Of Toyah, her career and much more. Listen by clicking below.

Chameleon is currently in the Top 10 – at #10 – of the Official Chart’s Top 10 Albums (Chart Update).

Official Charts: Midlands-born singer Toyah may earn a third Top 10 with greatest hits compilation Chameleon: The Very Best of Toyah (10).

• Browse all of our ‘Toyah on the Official Charts’ posts here…

It’s Chameleon Release Day Eve… Less than 24 hours until one of the finest ever Toyah compilations is released, and there have been many since that first Toyah retrospective vinyl album, cassette and video back in 1984 – Which was, of course, Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! All The Hits.

Toyah has worked her socks off recently promoting the album via numerous radio, TV and press interviews. Scroll back through our recent news posts or visit Toyah’s official website, Facebook, Instagram and You Tube for much more.

Something I’m working on for inclusion in the new fanzines… A huge, celebratory feature on – in my humble opinion the most iconic moment in music history – Toyah’s Brave New World. I’ve covered and featured BNW in the fanzine (and on this website) many times previously but the new extended cut of the video has brought fresh inspiration and a timely reminder – not that I need to be reminded – of how truly iconic the imagery, song and era is….

Toyah’s first trio of solo albums: Minx (1985), Desire (1987) and Prostitute (1988) All entered various Official Charts last week.

• Read the stats at toyahwillcox.com.

It’s a new month and a new Toyah At Home with news on what’s been going on, what’s coming up and exciting plans for 2025 into 2026. There’s music too, with a concert performance of a track from Minx to celebrate its new picture disc vinyl release.

Toyah’s trio of solo albums: Minx (1985), Desire (1987) and Prostitute (1988) were all released on vinyl picture discs last Friday. The latter two albums were also released on 2CD in 7″ packaging. Minx had already been available on this format, having been released in 2024.

• Further info, tracklists and ordering links are all available at the Music section of toyahwillcox.com.

Toyah’s 1987 promo video for the single, Echo Beach, has been upscaled to HD format

To celebrate Toyah’s birthday on Sunday, Classic Pop re-visited their 2021 Posh Pop interview…

• Read at Classic Pop. See also: RF: On the occasion of Toyah’s birthday, down the garden with Sweetlips Willcox…

Out Now! Toyah’s Sheep Farming In Barnet & The Blue Meaning are now available as stunning picture discs vinyl LPs which come in die-cut jackets with rare and unseen imagery.

Happy Release Day to Sheep Farming In Barnet and The Blue Meaning – Two of Toyah’s three 1980 albums are released on gorgeous Picture Discs today. (Image © Toyah Willcox)

Toyah’s bold, defiant and most experimental work, the 1988 solo album “Prostitute” is released for the first time as an expanded CD edition in deluxe 7” sized gatefold packaging on 6 June from Edsel.

This Deluxe 2CD Edition features a previously unreleased live recording of the album from Chichester. In November/December 1988 Toyah formed a new band Fripp Fripp with musician Robert Fripp and embarked on a 22-date tour. On the 7 UK and 15 European gigs Toyah performed the Prostitute album live, accompanied by Paul Beavis on live drums as the tour’s first act

For Toyah fans and collectors, it’s a fascinating document of Toyah performing an impressive volume of vocals, dialogue and lyrics with precision and defiance. The package includes rare imagery, ephemera and a new sleevenote by Toyah archivist Craig Astley.

The album was written and played entirely by Toyah Willcox and Steve Sidelnyk who went on to record and play live with Madonna (Ray of Light, Music), Seal and Richard Ashcroft, amongst many others. A fiercely independent lyrical work, it is sonically also a radical departure from previous albums comprising drums, vocal and guitar meshed with a scrapbook of samples and found sound.

Toyah explains: “I would get up at four in the morning and capture the dawn chorus, record church bells, snippets of conversations and producer Tony Arnold would marry them into the tracks. We worked as if we were compiling a scrapbook with glue and paper, old newspaper cuttings, lost love letters, odd thoughts and tons of fractured emotions.”

• Pre-Order Prostitute on 2CD and/or Picture Disc here. Read more info/the press release at toyahwillcox.com. See also the reissued album’s page. Watch Toyah announcing the release during last weekend’s Toyah At Home.

Released by Edsel on 6 June, Toyah’s 1987 solo album “Desire” receives its first ever standalone CD reissue as a new expanded edition in deluxe 7”-sized gatefold packaging.

This deluxe 2CD edition includes a second disc of 18 rare and ‘desirable’ bonus tracks including the 12” mix of lead single Echo Beach plus outtakes and B-Sides. Excitingly six previously unreleased tracks feature including the long-awaited release of the post-Desire rarity We Play Machines.

Originally issued on the EG label, the album was produced by Mike Hedges (Siouxise & The Banshees) and recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in the autumn of 1986.

This deluxe 2cd edition includes a second disc of 18 rare and ‘desirable’ bonus tracks including the 12” mix of lead single Echo Beach plus outtakes and B-Sides from the album sessions. Excitingly six previously unreleased tracks feature including the long-awaited release of the post-Desire rarity We Play Machines.

Rare live concert recordings of Desire songs have been unearthed especially for this release; Revive The World performed at The Orange Club, Kensington with Kiss Of Reality in 1992, Desire and Moonlight Dancing from 1994 plus Echo Beach from Toyah & Robert Fripp’s summer 2024 Rock Party Tour.

The Desire album recording sessions ran concurrent to Toyah starring in the Strand Theatre revival of celebrated musical Cabaret. Toyah appeared as the lead Sally Bowles, alongside Wayne Sleep in the Gillian Lynne-directed production. Although a cast recording was made of the Strand production it was before Toyah took over the role of Bowles. Ten years later, Toyah revisited Cabaret with a recording of four songs, one of which is a duet with British actor Nigel Planer. This marks the first time these tracks have ever been included on a Toyah release.

The Desire album includes an eclectic set of musicians across the 11 tracks with guest guitar spots from Ronnie Wood, Robert Fripp, and The League of Crafty Guitarists. Engineered by Haydn Bendall (Hounds of Love), the album’s lead single was a sparkling cover of the 1980 Martha & The Muffins’ new wave hit “Echo Beach”. Reissue compiled/project manager; Craig Astley.

• Pre-Order Desire on 2CD and/or Picture Disc here. Read more info/the press release at toyahwillcox.com. See also the reissued album’s page. Watch Toyah announcing the release during last weekend’s Toyah At Home.

On Friday 6 June 2025, Edsel/Demon Records will issue Limited Edition Picture Discs of the solo Toyah albums Minx (1985), Desire (1987) and Prostitute (1988).

All three are housed in special die-cut vinyl outer sleeves containing rare and unseen imagery. Available exclusively from Townsend Music.

Minx is presented as a Deluxe Edition, adding the 2 tracks from the original 1985 cassette/CD formats – never previously available on vinyl. The album’s two B-Sides also feature on the 14-song track list.

A Minx Deluxe 2CD Edition, released summer 2024, containing a second disc of rarities & previously unreleased demos, is also available.

• Pre-Order the Picture Discs here. Read the press release at toyahwillcox.com. Watch Toyah announcing the release during last weekend’s Toyah At Home.

Toyah promised a bonus Toyah At Home last Saturday… and sure enough it is here, with a special announcement – and a cute cameo from Fripp the bunny!

It’s 1st March and so it’s time for a brand new Toyah at Home. Join Toyah in Edinburgh & Dubai with a catch-up on what she’s been up to including a special appearance in the Now That’s What I Call A Musical theatre show. There’s also music to coincide with the imminent release of two new picture disc vinyl Collector’s Editions for Sheep Farming In Barnet and The Blue Meaning.

• Tune it at the same time next Saturday, 8th March, for a bonus Toyah At Home with announcement.

Toyah presents two new limited edition official t-shirts that are available to order now. Featuring illustrations that celebrate Toyah’s Minx and Blue Meaning eras. Watch Toyah “modelling” both t-shirts at Facebook and Instagram.

• Click below to order the t-shirts. (Images from a video that is © Toyah Willcox)