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Toyah – The Blue Meaning (Expanded Deluxe Edition): Album Review

Dark, intense and disturbingly graphic – an early masterpiece by Toyah revisited

Release Date: 28th May 2021
Label: Cherry Red Records
Formats: 2CD + 1DVD, Limited Edition Coloured Vinyl

Cherry Red Records have done it yet again! This week’s lucky recipient of their deluxe reissue treatment is Toyah and the band’s second album, 1980’s The Blue Meaning. In fact, Cherry Red are working their way through Toyah’s Safari Records catalogue – the band’s debut album, Sheep Farming In Barnet, has already received the deluxe repackaging and the rest of the bunch, Anthem (1981) The Changeling (1982) and Love Is The Law (1983) will be along soon – a veritable treasure trove from the happiest, most productive and most creative period of Toyah’s career. Oh – and for clarity – at this stage in the career of Toyah Willcox, Toyah was the collective name for the band in which she featured – Joel Bogen on guitar, Charlie Francis on bass, Steve Bray on drums, Peter Bush on keyboards and Toyah herself on vocals (or verbals and unusual sounds, as the album’s excellent sleeve notes put it.)

• Continue reading at At The Barrier.

Toyah – The Blue Meaning
Expanded Edition (Cherry Red)

With the context of the passing of time, this is all brilliantly boundary-pushing music, and The Blue Meaning is an album which could astound the unprepared. Pure gold

The Cherry Red Toyah reissue programme continues with the second album, 1980’s The Blue Meaning, following on from the excellent reissue of the Sheep Farming In Barnet debut. As with its predecessor, The Blue Meaning is a very different proposition to the impression casual listeners tend to have of the pop-punk singer with the wild hair taking It’s A Mystery and I Want To Be Free to the upper reaches of the singles charts. In truth, that image was always a false one when the albums were listened to in their entirety, but even more in the case of these earliest records. In fact, the next studio album following this would be Anthem, the first big hit album which contained those two singles, but you would never guess that from the music contained here, which is dark, edgy and often brilliantly experimental. The Sheep Farming In Barnet album had contained a great mix of post-punk attitude with a sort of ‘difficult prog’ edge to it, but on this follow-up things got even more serious and uncompromising, both in terms of lyrical matter and musical content, and this three-disc reissue rounds it up with some tremendous extra material from the time to produce a definitive edition if ever there was one.

• Continue reading at Velvet Thunder.

Toyah unboxes the new 2CD+DVD edition of The Blue Meaning, released by Cherry Red Records this Friday, 28th May 2021. Pre-order this or the neon pink vinyl LP edition at Cherry Red.

Today’s Toyah At Home was a one-hour special dedicated to The Blue Meaning, which is reissued in deluxe CD/DVD format and colour vinyl next week! Watch at You Tube by clicking below.

Toyah features in the new book, Bill Smith Studio: Cover Stories.

A beautiful 12-inch square hardback book featuring the influential album art produced by Bill Smith Studio and the stories behind them.

Across five decades Bill Smith Studio worked on countless covers for the likes of Kate Bush, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, Toyah, Marillion, Genesis, No-Man, Thomas Dolby, Richard Barbieri, Mike Oldfield and others.

In Cover Stories you’ll find the stories of over 70 albums, featuring contributions from the bands, artists, photographers and painters involved, all offering a unique insight into the creation of several iconic sleeves.

Includes 40 album covers at original 12-inch size. Cover Stories offers a unique insight into the creation of several iconic sleeves and includes 40 album covers at original 12-inch size.

• Further info/Order the book at Burning Shed.

A review of The Blue Meaning by We Are Cult.

Toyah: ‘The Blue Meaning’

“Cherry Red’s second re-release of Toyah’s early output, The Blue Meaning is full of lyrics that reflect her interest in sci fi, occultism and Nostradamus… Self-admittedly pretentious in a good way, Toyah’s lyrics and singing style often also seem to be influenced by Broken English-era Marianne Faithful and Patti Smith.”

1980 was a busy year for Toyah. Working as both an actress and a musician she was only 22 but had already appeared in films such as Quadrophenia, Derek Jarman’s Jubilee and The Tempest and George Cukor’s remake of The Corn Is Green with Katherine Hepburn and Patricia Hayes. As well as television work in Shoestring, Second City Firsts and the TV remake of Quatermass, Toyah had also already acted in productions at the National Theatre.

In this short one-year period Toyah starred in a Royal Court production of the controversial Nigel Williams play Sugar and Spice, filmed over the course of three months for an hour-long ATV documentary, appeared in the TV series A Question of Guilt and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and guest-hosted the talk show Friday Night, Saturday Morning in which she interviewed (and played Space Invaders with!) Steve Strange, Derek Jarman and Vivian Stanshall. The year was also the prelude to her chart success of 1981, which occasioned hit singles It’s A Mystery, I Want To Be Free and Thunder in the mountains and numerous Smash Hits and Look-In covers.

• Continue reading at We Are Cult.

A new video to previously unreleased Jack & Jill including footage of Toyah in Park Gates Studio with producer Steve James. This track is a bonus track on the deluxe edition of The Blue Meaning, out 28 May. Pre-order the three-disc set here. Click below to watch the video.

Toyah – Sheep Farming In Barnet
Expanded Edition (Cherry Red)

Any time is a good time to have Toyah’s often-overlooked early ’80s albums revisited, but in this case there seems to be no more expedient occasion to have this album back in the public eye, in its most impressive form yet. Toyah has come to prominence very much on social media during the Covid pandemic and associated lockdowns, appearing in a series of light-hearted and very amusing videos with her husband, Robert Fripp. Now, many of those in the ‘prog rock’ fraternity – who may have passed over Toyah’s output with little more than a cursory glance at the hit singles – have been fond of expressing their surprise at the union of the ultra-serious King Crimson frontman, with his almost ‘Prog Godfather’ reputation, and the woman often looked back on as a kind of ‘post-punk pixie’ with wild hair and a handful of hits. This album comes out just at the right time to remind people that, in truth, the relative musical outputs of both parties at the dawn of the 1980s really weren’t as far apart as you may think. This isn’t punk, and it certainly isn’t pop-punk. If you want to give it a name at all, art-punk is closer, as what is found among the 41 tracks here is a brilliantly adventurous mix of the post-punk approach of bands like Magazine or Wire, combined with an art-rock influence in the music itself, which is astonishingly mature considering these were 20 year olds at the time.

• Continue reading at Velvet Thunder.

Released 16 years ago, The Safari Records Singles Collection – Parts 1 and 2 were, and are, an amazing addition to Toyah’s mighty and comprehensive discography. Extended versions of both compilation albums are now available to stream. Listen to Part 1 here, and Part 2 here.

Evoke Candle Co. have announced their officially licensed Anthem by Toyah candle.

The candle comes boxed and is scented with a fragrance chosen by Toyah. Pre-order the candle. Click here to watch Toyah unbox the candle.

The candle celebrates Anthem – an album that inspired so many people around the world and reverberates with a kick ass spirit to this day. It features the iconic album artwork and a gorgeous blue vessel.

In honour of the 40th Anniversary of the album Anthem by Toyah in 2021, Evoke Candle Co. are pleased to have partnered with Cherry Red Records on this limited-edition candle. Released in 1981, Anthem went to number two on the British Record Charts, had two Top Ten singles, It’s A Mystery and I Want To Be Free, and has been awarded Gold Record Status. A tour in support of Anthem followed, with sold out shows all over the UK.

In honour of the 40th Anniversary in 2021 of the Toyah album Anthem, Toyah is pleased to have partnered with Evoke Candle Co. & Cherry Red Records for this limited-edition candle.

Toyah and Cherry Red Records are delighted to announce the newly remastered and expanded release of Toyah’s 1980 album “The Blue Meaning” on 28 May 2021. This is the second in a reissue programme of Toyah’s entire Safari Records catalogue.

PRE-ORDER NOW

Produced by Steve James with arrangements by Steve James and ‘Toyah’ the band (Joel Bogen, Pete Bush, Toyah Willcox, Steve Bray and Charlie Francis), the album reached number 1 on the UK Independent Album Chart and charted in the main UK Top 40 album chart in June 1980.

Remastered by Nick Watson from the original mastertapes and original sources, overseen and approved by Joel Bogen. The album features the ultimate fan favourite ‘Ieya’ considered a signature song by the band, which was also released as a single.

2-CD+DVD digipack with a fully illustrated 24-page booklet containing a brand new introduction note from Toyah plus rare and unseen imagery including album cover outtakes taken at Wykehurst Place, a gothic revival mansion in Bolney, Sussex.

This expanded edition features 27 remastered bonus tracks including single mixes, live tracks, rarities and unheard demos compiled by Craig Astley. Amongst the 20 previously unreleased tracks are the final recordings made by this band line-up including ‘Silence Won’t Do’ and ‘Jack & Jill’, as seen being recorded on the 1980 ITV documentary “Toyah” and have been long awaited by fans for forty years.

The very first demo of ‘Angels & Demons’ recorded at Eel Pie Studios, an Alternate Vocal take of ‘Blue Meanings’ with the previously unheard original longer song outro and three tracks recorded live at the ICA London all make their release debuts.

Includes the early original version of ‘It’s A Mystery’ by Blood Donor feat Toyah Willcox that a ‘new’ line-up of Toyah ‘the band’ went on to record and enjoy their first hit single with in 1981.
A sleevenote by Toyah’s archivist Craig Astley, with input from Toyah Willcox and Joel Bogen, chronicles the creation of the album and reveals the recording origins of the bonus material.

Includes a DVD (NTSC/Region Free) containing three brand new features with Toyah Willcox, an interview about the album/period, a track-by-track album commentary and an exclusive acoustic three-song session of songs from the era – all filmed October 2020.

The DVD also includes rare archive BBC TV performances of ‘Mummies’ and ‘Danced’ from Friday Night, Saturday Morning (November 1980) available on DVD for the first time ever.

Strictly limited edition neon pink coloured vinyl echoes Toyah’s hair colour from the back sleeve and the colourful glow surrounding the gothic mansion, Wykehurst Place in Sussex on the LP’s front cover. The vinyl LP features the original album track listing and features rare unseen imagery plus full album lyrics.

Initial copies of the Vinyl LP from Cherry Red website come with a signed postcard by Toyah – design exclusive to the LP pre-order. Initial copies of the 2CD+DVD from Cherry Red website come with a signed postcard by Toyah – design exclusive to the 2CD+DVD pre-order.

• Continue reading at toyahwillcox.com to see the full tracklist, hear a preview track and read further details on the release. Pre-order The Blue Meaning, 2CD/1DVD Deluxe Edition, and Limited Edition Colour Vinyl LP here.

Every Tuesday Toyah is counting down to the release of the newly remastered release of the 1980 album The Blue Meaning, released by Cherry Red Records. You can pre-order the deluxe 2CD+DVD set featuring 27 bonus tracks, or limited edition neon pink vinyl from Cherry Red.

Toyah introduces an amazing appearance from October 1981. We Are, from the album Anthem, performed on German music show Rockpop, a programme that ran from 1977 to 1982. Watch Toyah’s Intro, and then take a trip back to 1981 for We Are.

There’s a very special Flashback Friday tomorrow as Toyah introduces an archive performance of We Are performed on the German TV programme Rockpop in October 1981. Premieres 11am, Fri 6 November. Click below for Toyah’s tweet.

Toyah introducing a classic TV appearance: We Are on the German TV show Rockpop in October 1981. Premieres tomorrow at 11am.

Cherry Red Records, who release Sheep Farming In Barnet as a deluxe CD set next month, recently interviewed Toyah.

The Toyah Willcox story is an in-depth interview which looks at who the real Toyah is, what motivates her and how she became so successful. She also shares many fascinating stories from her incredible career.

“I feel its power within me, bells ringing in my head, so often I have heard its cry, but forgotten what it said, it’s a mystery…”

Last Saturday’s episode of Toyah At Home – the 20th!! – had a few ghosts in the machine (well, it was a Halloween Special) and featured two more archive performances: It’s A Mystery, from the 1981 album, Anthem, and Brave New World, from the 1982 album, The Changeling.

Click below to watch/rewatch Episode 20, with talk about ghosts, pink highlights, making jewellery in lockdown, new films Swiperight and Heckle, film scripts and much more! Episode 21 of Toyah At Home airs this Saturday at 11am at Toyah’s official You Tube channel, and Facebook.

Exclusive personalised artworks handcrafted by Toyah are now available to order. Choose from an illustration or gilt metal artwork created by Toyah for you or a loved one. An extract of your favourite Toyah lyrics also features on the piece alongside a specially dedicated message + autograph, making these true one-off creations.

A new, Sheep Farming In Barnet/Early Years, interview with Toyah, from Cherry Red’s My Favourite Flavour magazine. A classic SFIB era photo of Toyah is also included on the cover!

According to the sleevenotes of the lavish re-issue of Toyah’s debut album ‘Sheep Farming In Barnet’ her progress to punk icon, then pop star, really began back in 1975…

“Back then I just wanted to get out of school, get out of Birmingham. I definitely wanted to act and sing, but there was no way I was equipped for that. I think I was lucky to have been born at the right time and been around for the punk movement, that allowed every shape, size, sound and form into the fold. If you had something to express or to say back then, punk accepted it. That was the saving grace for me.

“I’d left home and got a job at the National Theatre in London, school hadn’t really prepared me for life, I had to land on my feet and learn to adapt to the outside world and somehow mould myself into what I wanted to be.

“At the National, an actor called Ian Charleson introduced me to Derek Jarman who was about to start work on his film Jubilee and around the same time I got into a punk band and started writing with Joel Bogen. We started playing the pub circuit and I was embraced by that whole community, they were amazing times.”

• Continue reading here. (Thanks to Sharon Dickson for the scans)

A great new interview with Toyah, just published by Punktuation. Also includes a shorter interview with Steve James discussing the recording of Sheep Farming in Barnet.

Punktuation chats to the high priestess of punk, Toyah Willcox, about the reissue of her debut album, Sheep Farming In Barnet and her extraordinary career

Toyah is quite simply a force of nature. She is a musician and songwriter, she’s a very successful actress, and she’s a producer and storyteller. She’s had eight top 40 hit singles, released 23 albums, written two books and appeared in over 40 stage plays and ten feature films including Derek Jarman’s Jubilee and Franc Roddam’s Quadrophenia.

Now 62 years old there’s also no sign that Toyah plans to slow down anytime soon. However, the events of 2020 have forced her, like the rest of us, to readjust to the ‘new reality’.

“Yes, it’s been an extraordinary time, hasn’t it? I don’t think I’ve spent so much time at home as I have this year, ” Toyah says over the phone from her English countryside home that she shares with her husband of over 30 years, guitarist Robert Fripp.

“It’s taken a bit of time to get used to. Here we are at the end of October and Robert and I are just finding our stride. We both believe if we can get through this we can get through anything. The reality for us is that we will have to be in quarantine for a while longer as Robert is now 74 – we have to be careful,” Toyah confides.

• Continue reading at Punktuation.