Hot – yup it is exceedingly hot at the moment etc. ;) – on the heels of last month’s Breaking Through newsletter, comes another! With juicy Toyah updates on Aaaaaaaah! and more… including:
• Toyah will host a screening of, the Derek Jarman inspired, The Raft of the Medusa at Barbican, London on Thursday 16th July – Further details/tickets here…
• Toyah will appear at the Celebrity Autograph Convention event at Viva Blackpool on 24 October along with other cast members from Quadrophenia – Further details/tickets here…
• A trio of classic Toyah albums – Desire, Prostitute and Ophelia’s Shadow – will be available digitally in August. Full details to follow.
• Subscribe: Sign up to ‘Breaking Through’, to receive regular newsletter updates, here.
Like Punk Never Happened: Smash Hits Archive has been continuing to upload retro issues of ‘Smash Hits’ magazine 30 years to the day they were originally published in the UK.
Various “recent” issues have included Toyah – Minx and its related singles were being released around this time back in 1985.
• Smash Hits, June 19 – July 2, 1985: This issue includes a full-page advert for the single Soul Passing Through Soul. Toyah is also included in the feature – “Who Is Pop’s Mr Clever Trousers?” – Read the issue here…
• Smash Hits, June 5 – 18, 1985: Toyah is included in the feature – “Oh! You’re Not As Tall As You Are On The Telly!” – Read the issue here…
• Smash Hits, May 22 – June 4, 1985: This issue includes the feature – “Toyah: Personal File” – Toyah answers lots of slightly odd questions, such as “When was the last time you saw a spirit?“. This was Toyah’s second “Personal File” for ‘Smash Hits’, the other was in early 1983 – Read the issue here…
• Smash Hits, May 8 – 21, 1985: This issue includes the songwords for the single Don’t Fall in Love (I Said) – Read the issue here…
• Smash Hits, April 24 – May 7, 1985: This issue includes a full-page advert for the single Don’t Fall in Love (I Said) – Read the issue here…
Celebrating the forthcoming 30th anniversary of the release of Toyah’s debut solo album MINX. View a larger version of Dreamscape’s fan art by clicking on it and another image here.
Toyah’s brilliant 2003 mini-album, Velvet Lined Shell, is now available digitally…
Toyah’s iconic imagery from 1980/The Blue Meaning is currently being referenced as an influence on Tesco’s new womenswear trend/range at their F&F clothing/fashion webstore.
AW13 Depeche Mode: 80s chic meets modern attitude in our edgy new collection, Depeche Mode. Sportswear styles and couture silhouettes in a fresh colour palette make for a look that’s luxe yet easy to wear.
Key Pieces: Take inspiration from the 80s. Singer and actress Toyah Willcox mastered edgy chic.
• Click below to visit Clothing at Tesco/F&F.
The 2014 edition of The Acoustic Album and last year’s third album by The Humans, Strange Tales, are both now available to order/buy online on CD. Further info at toyahwillcox.com. Click below to go directly to the Burning Shed store.
• Angel and Me: Tears Of An Angel: A couple of lines of lyrics from Toyah’s iconic Angel and Me, from the 1982 album The Changeling, have been used in this Harry Potter fan story at fanfiction.net – See here…
• The Letters of Derek Philpott (and Wilf Turnbull): The Crowd Fund Kickstarter Campaign For The Book has succeeded!! The deadline to secure a copy is Sunday May 3rd at 3.40pm. I am only printing sufficient copies to provide for everyone that has pledged because I am one ordinary fellow who will be sending these out from where they are being delivered to .. my front room! The book will not be in the shops or available anywhere else – Continue reading…
• Get it On… With Bryan Burnett: It’s A Mystery, from The Safari Records Singles Collection Part 1: 1979 – 1981, was included in Bryan’s BBC Radio Scotland show playlist yesterday evening. I only mention it because I was listening at the time, and coincidentally I’ve also been playing both the Safari Collection CDs this week! #stillgetexcitedwhentoyahgetsplayedontheradio – Visit Bryan’s page…
• Kiss & Make Up – Carl Stanley: Yesterday I posted about Carl’s forthcoming book. Today I received an email from him saying thank you. A rare occurrence. Thanks Carl, wishing you every success with your book.
• FlexiPop! The Book: There’s still time to pledge and help get this fantastic book published – Further info here…
Incredible but true. Don’t Fall in Love (I Said), Toyah’s first bona fide solo single, entered the UK singles chart exactly 30 years ago tomorrow! Written by Toyah and Simon Darlow, and backed by, if truth be told, the far superior, Snow Covers The Kiss, it was taken from the album Minx, which would go on to be released in late July of 1985. Don’t Fall in Love (I Said) – A great pop single that brings back memories of happy times.
• Visit the DFIL page at Toyah’s official website, view an iconic appearance by Toyah on Formel Eins, listen to/watch Toyah performing the song live in 2014 at You Tube, view the single’s chart info at The Official Charts Company, browse some of Dreamscape’s previous posts relating to the song, and view photos from that era at our Gallery.
2015 is the 30th anniversary of Minx. One of the best songs on Toyah’s 1985 album was America For Beginners. Steve Skaith of Latin Quarter, who wrote and originally recorded the song, is just about to release a new version of the song on the album Bare Bones. More info by clicking below.
Two live Toyah classics, Thunder In The Mountains and I Want To Be Free, both from the 1982 Safari Records album Warrior Rock, are included in the new Vintage TV/HMV Digital link-up. Toyah played acoustic versions of both on The Vintage TV Sessions (Episode 4) in early 2014. That show is airing again soon.
Vintage TV is delighted to announce an exciting new relationship with HMV Digital!
Vintage TV music-lovers, you can now listen to all your favourite tracks from The Vintage TV Sessions, courtesy of HMV Digital. From Steve Harley to Lulu, Marc Almond to Lisa Stansfield, simply head over to HMV Digital to download your top songs and listen to them over and over again! There are over a 100 songs for you to add to your music library, so what are you waiting for?
• Continue reading at Vintage TV. Visit Vintage at HMV Digital.
The edition of The Janice Long Review Show which featured a second guest appearance from Toyah, and a look back at the 1982 album ‘The Changeling’, is also being repeated next month. This originally aired in August 2012.
The Janice Long Review Show: Vintage TV
Tuesday 13th January: 3am
Toyah and Sex Pistols. Broadcaster Paul Sexton returns, alongside producer Trevor Horn and 80s starlet Toyah, to discuss her 1982 gothic release ‘The Changeling’ and Sex Pistols’ ground-breaking ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’.
Toyah’s 1993/94 album Take The Leap! is now available digitally for the first time.
The album was initially sold on cassette on the 1993 ‘Take The Leap!’ UK Tour, and released on CD in Japan only the following year.
After over a decade of only being available on import the album was released in the UK on CD in 2006 on Edsel Records. The CD had an additional four previously unavailable bonus tracks, including the stunning Requite Me and Tears For Elie.
• Buy at iTunes or Amazon. The CD is also still available at Amazon.
The Acoustic Album went on sale at Thursday’s Acoustic, Up Close & Personal date at Shire Hall, Howden.
The newly pressed CD, with completely revised artwork, will also be available to buy online in the near future. Keep an eye on the official Toyah website for info on this.
There will also be an opportunity to win a signed copy of the album via the November issue of the ‘Breaking Through’ newsletter.
• View a larger preview of the CD here. (Thanks to toyahwillcox.com)
The Acoustic Album, Toyah’s 1996 re-working of a selection of previous recordings, including Blue Meanings, Angels & Demons, The Vow and Moonlight Dancing, will be available again on CD soon. The album, which has become a real fan favourite in recent years, has been out of print for some time.
The CD, which will feature all new artwork, will be available to buy at future Toyah concerts, exactly when TBC by toyahwillcox.com.
• The Acoustic Album was released digitally, for the first time, in February of this year. View further info on the album at The Official Toyah Discography.
“The acoustic gigs have been so successful that I really need to consider doing another acoustic album.” said Toyah in a recent interview with The Argus. I would love to hear songs from Minx and In The Court Of The Crimson Queen recorded acoustically. In the meantime The Acoustic Album is available at iTunes.
Yesterday was day nine of toyahwillcox.com’s, excellent and eclectic, countdown to the start of the Songs From The Intergalactic Ranch House tour, with an acoustic version of ‘Dreamscape’ being made available. Today a Sheep Farming In Barnet archive has been added to Toyah’s Official Website. Open door ten by clicking below…
• Toyah has been tweeting over the last few days about possible outfit ideas for the Intergalactic Ranch House tour, saying she may wear something different for each date, and posting a photo of a previously unseen design by Melissa Caplan.
Phil Spalding’s Official Website has recently been updated with more content, including his memories of working on Warrior Rock and Love Is The Law. Read by clicking below.
Toyah @ Twitter today: “learning ALL IN A RAGE, DONT FALL IN LOVE and SOUL PASSING THRU SOUL 2day. talk about walk down memory lane”
It has now been confirmed that songs from Minx will be included in the Songs From The Intergalactic Ranch House Autumn tour, the first time anything from the 1985 album has ever been performed live by Toyah (though for some reason I thought that ‘Don’t Fall In Love’ had been played live at some point at a PA, I’m obviously mistaken or mis-remembering). Click below for the full tour dates schedule and links to buy tickets.
Could songs from Minx be played live this Autumn for the very first time? – An excerpt from the latest Breaking Through newsletter mentions the possibility: “The autumn live dates as previously reported will focus on the Safari catalogue with some resurrected rarities putting in an appearance. There’s also a chance that one or two (maybe even three!) selections from Minx may just make a live debut too. They will be tried in rehearsal so it’s all still to play for. It would be the first time ever they’ve been performed in a Toyah set list”.
Toyah performing at yesterday’s Rock Choir event in Birmingham Symphony Hall. ‘It’s A Mystery’, ‘Angel In You’ and ‘Sensational’. Sounding great with the choir.
