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.
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 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.
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.
Band shots, solo shots, live shots! – Amazing, previously unseen, photos from the Sheep Farming In Barnet era and beyond have been shared on Toyah’s official social media spaces over the past fortnight… (Photos © 1, 3 & 4. Cherry Red Records Ltd, 2. Watkins/Astley)
On June 6, 1980 Toyah released The Blue Meaning, an album that would top the UK Indie charts. Fronted by the multi-color haired Toyah Willcox, who played Monkey in 1979’s The Who album-inspired Quadrophenia and acted beside Kate Hepburn, the band had already scored a UK#1 Indie single with “Victims Of The Riddle”and expectations were big.
The album, now considered a cult classic by some, peaked at UK#40 on the mainstream album charts. The band would soon break up.
The articles I’ve read about Toyah Willcox from that time don’t reveal much, but in 2017, she was interviewed by BBC Radio for their Inheritance Tracks segment and we learned she had strict parents who, when she was very young, made sure she was in bed by 6:30 at night, not to be seen again until 7 AM the next day. Her mother picked out her clothes. She was dyslexic, number-blind and club-footed, and she determined to be seen and heard:
• Continue reading at 40 year Itch.
Rounding off The Blue Meaning‘s 40th with… this! Play loud and celebrate!!
Happy 40th Anniversary to one of the great landmarks of Toyah’s music career – The Blue Meaning. The second long-player (as they were once called) and first full studio album, was released exactly 40 years ago today, in June 1980.
An amazing album and Toyah era, The Blue Meaning is significant for a number of reasons: It was the first Toyah release to enter the Official UK Chart (though earlier singles and the first album had all scaled the peak of the Indie Chart).
It also boasted incredible imagery, artwork and high design standard which would become synonymous with Toyah’s music career and future releases. The album also includes Toyah’s most legendary song, the perennial fan-favourite, Ieya! No Toyah gig is complete without it.
Over the past four decades the album has increased in significance, becoming a crucial part of Toyah’s discography. Everyone loves Anthem (who couldn’t?), The Changeling is a favourite of many fans, Love Is The Law saw Toyah’s vocals soar, Minx still divides opinion, Prostitute mindboggled us all, Ophelia’s Shadow as beautiful, intricate and unique as any album by Kate Bush or Tori Amos, In The Court Of The Crimson Queen introduced Toyah to a new audience while also delighting longtime fans, and yet The Blue Meaning came before all of the aforementioned and 40 years later still intrigues and entertains with each and every listen. Click below for our feature.
Tomorrow – 06.06.2020 – is the 40th anniversary of the release of an iconic album from Toyah’s music career, The Blue Meaning. Incredibly ahead of its time, both musically and in its artwork/design/imagery. Check back tomorrow for our feature – which is an amalgamation of four of Dreamscape’s previous Blue Meaning articles reworked to create a comprehensive feature.
Fast approaching the 40th – yes 40th – Anniversary of the release of The Blue Meaning.
Following The Resurrection Tour (1979), Sheep Farming In Barnet Tour (1979) and Bird In Flight Tour (1980) Toyah again hit the road, for the fourth time in just 18 months, for the Ieya Tour in the Spring and early Summer of 1980. The tour promoted the new album The Blue Meaning.
The band line-up was Toyah (Vocals), Joel Bogen (Guitar), Charlie Francis (Bass Guitar), Steve Bray (Drums), Pete Bush (Keyboards).
The Ieya Tour began at Tiffany’s, Glasgow on 25th May and culminated at Wolverhampton’s Lafayette Club on 17th June. A gig that was filmed and recorded for inclusion in the ATV documentary TOYAH, and the related live album Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!
The tour was an eventful one, with tales of water-pistol fights, Toyah injuring her ankle at Ruffles, Aberdeen, and even fans helping build the stage for the date at Bristol’s Factory. The largest gig of the month-long tour was at The Lyceum, London.
Bird in Flight, Ieya, The Blue Meaning, Sugar & Spice, The Old Grey Whistle Test, The Ieya Tour, Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!, ATV documentary… 1980 was a great Toyah year! Visit the 1980 Gallery by clicking below.
Toyah’s debut studio album, The Blue Meaning, was released in June 1980. There has always been a degree of confusion regarding this as Sheep Farming In Barnet was, obviously, released first but that album is a compilation. Not that these details matter as both albums are incredible, accomplished collections of recordings.
The Blue Meaning was recorded during April 1980 at Parkgate Studios in Battle, East Sussex and mixed at Marquee Studios, London: The band line-up was Toyah Willcox – Verbals & Unusual Sounds, Joel Bogen – Guitar, Pete Bush – Keyboards, Trumpet, Charlie Francis – Bass Guitar, Steve Bray – Drums. All songs were written by the Toyah band, and the album was produced by Steve James and Toyah. James also engineered and mixed the album with Perry Morgan as Assistant Engineer.
The album was released while the band travelled the UK on the Ieya Tour. Promotion for The Blue Meaning was “multi-media”, an idea that was a fairly new concept in 1980 but something Toyah was interested in and had mentioned previously in interviews.
Aside from the month-long UK tour there were television appearances by Toyah and the band – mostly regional – including Granada Reports in the North West, and Straight Talk in the Midlands. Press ads ran in most of the major music press and Toyah was interviewed by NME, Sounds, Zig Zag, Record Mirror, Time Out, Fab and Smash Hits. Some of these also reviewed the album.
An innovative and interesting aspect of the promotion for The Blue Meaning was a series of in-store appearances at various Woolworth stores, with Toyah meeting fans and signing the album and single(s).
The Blue Meaning was first released on CD in 1990 by the Great Expectations label, along with a cassette and coloured vinyl. There was also a 2CD set in 2002 by Safari Records (with bonus songs and new sleeve notes) which saw the album coupled with Sheep Farming In Barnet.
The Blue Meaning peaked at number 40 on the UK Album chart upon its release and in retrospect is viewed as a crucial part of Toyah’s mighty 40-year discography. A pop-punk-gothy mix of mayhem, magic and magnificent music. A classic!
• See further info on The Blue Meaning at Toyah’s Official Instagram and the album’s Wikipedia page.
A great new Official Toyah 40th Music Anniversary feature on social media, with entries so far for Sheep Farming in Barnet, The Blue Meaning, Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!, Anthem, The Changeling, and Warrior Rock – Toyah On Tour… with lots more still to come!
Toyah’s 1980 album The Blue Meaning was released 38 years ago today. Full of atmosphere, drama and great songs, accompanied by Toyah’s fantastic imagery, it was ahead of its time, and still sounds amazing in 2018!! See a larger version of Dreamscape’s anniversary image here and click below to see Toyah’s tweet about the album.
Toyah Willcox and her band stop by Guildford’s Bonaparte Records shop
Take a trip back to the 1980s, when record shops were 10 a penny, and post-punk visited Guildford
Post-punk singer and actress Toyah Willcox and her band members paid a visit to the Bonaparte Records shop in Phoenix Court, Guildford, prior to playing a gig at the Civic Hall later that night, on May 29 1980.
Toyah, who was only 22 at the time, was signing copies of the band’s new single Ieya, from the album The Blue Meaning.
The shop was crowded with fans of post-punk, who who were pushing towards the counter, where Toyah and her band were signing albums and singles. Later, the band posed for photos outside, before heading off to sound check at the Civic Hall, where they were to play that night.
• Continue reading at Get Surrey.
Burning Shed are now stocking the first four Toyah studio releases, Sheep Farming In Barnet (1979), The Blue Meaning (1980), Anthem (1981) and The Changeling (1982).
Featuring copious bonus tracks, these editions were pressed in 1999 and 2002 (N.B. These are not new pressings or remasters) and showcase Toyah’s adventurous and sophisticated fusion of Post-Punk and Art Rock at its very best.
The Changeling was produced by Steve Lillywhite and featured Be Bop Deluxe’s Andy Clarke on keyboards plus the formidable rhythm section of Phil Spalding and Simon Phillips (both soon to depart for Mike Oldfield’s band).
• Further info at Burning Shed. Pre-order for 21st April shipping.
Two great photos of Toyah: 1. A highly rare photo from 1980 during The Blue Meaning era, which has just recently surfaced, and 2. A photo Toyah tweeted this evening as she prepared to attend Quadrophenia: The Immersive Experience 2016 at the Eventim Apollo – formerly the Hammersmith Odeon. (Thanks to Paul Lomas for photo 1 | Photo 2 © Toyah Willcox)
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.
• Mark Satchwill: Snow Covers The Kiss: So I’m a big Toyah fan and have been for nearly 35 years. I’ve painted her several times over the last few years. Back in 1985 she released a song called “Snow Covers The Kiss”. It was relegated to a B-side of the single “Don’t Fall In Love (I Said)” but for me it was equally as good. So this image came about from imagining if “Snow” had been the single and needed a cover image – View/Continue reading… (Photo © Mark Satchwill)
• Let’s Rock Bristol: Toyah hangs out with Darth Vader in Bristol – View the photo @ Instagram…
• Bristol 24-7: Thousands get the taste of a Bristol summer: Some 14,000 people turned up for Grillstock at the amphitheatre and a host of 1980s stars performed at the Let’s Rock Bristol festival at Ashton Court… Over at Ashton Court, a host of 80s pop stars took to the stage to the delight of nostalgia-seeking crowds, including Rick Astley, Tony Hadley, Toyah, Midge Ure and Sunday night headliners Level 42 – Continue reading…
• JM Barrie – Peter Pan: Episode One, Away To Neverland, is available to listen to at BBC iPlayer for the next week.
• Fandor: Derek Jarman: The World Is All: Spells are cast and love is spun throughout Jarman’s films: …Toyah Willcox (as Miranda) and David Meyer (as Ferdinand) beholding a brave new world in ‘The Tempest’ – Continue reading…
• Rock N Roll In My Blood: 34 Years Ago Toyah Released The Blue Meaning: The Blue Meaning is the second album by Toyah, released in 1980 by Safari Records. Although not the first full-length release, this is often considered to be the band’s first “proper” album. It saw its first release on CD in 1990 on the Great Expectations label (As PIPCD 015), and was reissued in a double-CD package with Sheep Farming in Barnet in 2002. The latter release was remastered and included two bonus tracks – Continue reading…
