Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

Hot on the heels of the Has God Ceased To Dream You EP, as part of the Official Toyah Christmas 2014 Advent, comes another… The Whisper The Elixir EP.

Tracklist: 1. It’s A Mystery (Whispered Elixir Mix), 2. It’s A Mystery (Distant Sirens Mix), 3. It’s A Mystery (Acoustic Poolside), 4. Waiting (Alternate Mix).

The Official Toyah Willcox Website say: The final release to mark the twentieth anniversary of the 1994 album Take The Leap is a free digital EP exclusive to toyahwillcox.com. Whisper The Elixir brings together a further four related tracks/versions from the Leap! period.

On the A-Side (in the old money) or tracks 1/2 are two previously unissued remixes of It’s A Mystery prepared at the same time as the tribal version aka Weybridge Mix. On the b-side/ the final two tracks are alternate versions of songs recorded in the main album sessions for Leap…

• Continue reading/Download the EP at toyahwillcox.com.

A new four-song digital EP, Has God Ceased To Dream You, has just been released by Toyah.

Tracklist: 1. God Ceases To Dream (Remix), 2. Now I’m Running (Remix), 3. It’s A Mystery (Weybridge Mix), 4. Tears For Elie (Demo).

The Official Toyah Willcox Website say: This exclusive digital EP release is a companion piece to the full length Take The Leap! album. Has God Ceased to Dream You contains alternate mixes and demos related to the album which were previously issued on various hard copy CD releases which are now deleted.

The first three tracks did all originally appear on the Take The Leap! album but are presented here in quite radically different versions and are all re-vocalled. Tears For Elie originates from the same sessions and was previously available on the 2006 UK CD release of Take The Leap! issued by Demon Records.

• Buy at iTunes or Amazon. Stream at Spotify. This is Toyah’s 28th single (29th if 2010’s multi-artist “Re-Joyce (In The Bleak Midwinter)” is included in the tally).

Toyah is included on the, just released, Smash Hits 80s Annual 3CD Set.

‘It’s A Mystery’ is track 14 on the second CD of the 66 song collection, released by Warner/Universal Music.

Other artists include: Wham!, Bananarama, Duran Duran, Adam & The Ants, Madness, Soft Cell, Kim Wilde, The Human League, Dexys Midnight Runners, The Specials, Belinda Carlisle, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Yazoo. Echo & The Bunnymen, Tears For Fears and many more.

• View the full tracklist here, and a larger version of the cover here. The CD is available to buy 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)

Thunder In The Mountains is included on a new three-disc CD (and download) compilation, Rewind – The 80s Album, released this Monday, 4th August.

The soundtrack to you Rewind Festival filled summer is here… This 3CD collection features a decade of classic pop hits from some of the most talented acts and Rewind performers past and present, all laced with nothing but pure nostalgia. Including Rick Astley, Chesney Hawkes, Jason Donovan, The Human League, Go West, Kool & The Gang, Earth, Wind & Fire plus loads more.

The enduring, and classic, Thunder In The Mountains, which thanks to Nick Tauber’s amazing production skills still sounds as fresh today as it did 33 years ago, is the final track on Disc Two of the collection.

• View further info on the CD set, at the Rewind Festival website. It’s available to order/buy at Amazon.

An exclusive new photo book has been made available by Ilse Ruppert, featuring never before published, and frankly quite amazing, photos of Toyah. These photos were taken by llse whilst Toyah was on a German promotional trip to Hamburg for The Blue Meaning album in 1980.

You can buy the book online at blurb which also carries a preview of the full content.

• The book is only available via blurb and the link will only be available for a short period. (Info Source: Breaking Through)

The book marking the 35th anniversary of the release of the film, Quadrophenia: A Way Of Life – Inside The Making Of Britain’s Greatest Youth Film, by Simon Wells is published today.

It’s 35 years since the film Quadrophenia first hit the world’s cinema screens. Jimmy the Mod’s search for identity against the backdrop of the May Bank Holiday riots of the 1960′s, is regarded as the finest example of a British “youth” movie and a warmly remembered timepiece.

As the generation that first saw it now approach their fifties with teenagers of their own, Quadrophenia has become a glorious benchmark for their own youthful excesses, hopes, dreams and nostalgia. To critics, admirers and casual observers, it’s intriguing: what makes a 30 plus year-old film like Quadrophenia so appealing? And similarly, why do people return to it time and time again?

For the first time, QUADROPHENIA… A WAY OF LIFE explores the making of Britain’s finest youth film and its subsequent influence on popular culture. With interviews with principal cast members, director Franc Roddam, scriptwriter Martin Stellman and other involved in the creation of the film, this is the definitive account of Britain’s greatest cult movie.

• View further details and buy the book at Countdown Books.

You’ve been asking for a t-shirt with tour dates on…..and here it is!

From this Saturday’s gig at Kent Astor Theatre, you will be able to get your hands on one.

The reverse of the t-shirt carries all 2014 dates up until the Intergalactic Ranch House Tour. The front carries the classic Toyah logo on the breast.

Get these on tour at the gigs this year. If any remain they will be sold online but they might not last!

• Check out larger photos at toyahwillcox.com.

As previously posted there are two Toyah songs on the new 2CD compilation Let’s Rock: Ultimate 80s Festival. It’s now been confirmed which versions of the songs these are:

On CD1: It’s A Mystery (Orchestral Version) – featuring strings from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and originally released on The Acoustic Album in 1996.

On CD2: Thunder In The Mountains (1994 Re-recorded Version) – rock version from 1994, originally re-recorded for the album Take The Leap!.

• Toyah plays Let’s Rock Bristol this coming Sunday (8th June). Buy the Let’s Rock: Ultimate 80s Festival CD here.

The Power Of Three, in which Toyah plays one of the lead characters, is now available on DVD. Please click below for details on contacting, the film’s writer, Ann Cameron for purchase info.

Toyah is included on the new 2CD compilation Let’s Rock 80’s which was released on Monday. ‘It’s A Mystery’ is one of the songs on CD1 and ‘Thunder In The Mountains’ on CD2.

The full tracklist is: Disc One: 1 ABC – The Look of Love, 2 Tony Hadley – Gold, 3 Howard Jones – New Song, 4 Rick Astley – Lights Out, 5 Bananarama – Now or Never, 6 Nik Kershaw – Wouldn’t It Be Good, 7 Toyah – It’s a Mystery, 8 Go West – Call Me, 9 Kim Wilde – Kids in America, 10 Billy Ocean – When The Going Get’s Tough, 11 Dr & The Medics – Spirit In The Sky, 12 Modern Romance – Everybody Salsa, 13 Matt Bianco – Lost In You, 14 Owen Paul – Favourite Waste of Time, 15 ABC – When Smokey Sings, 16 Tony Hadley – True

Disc Two: 1 Go West – We Close Our Eyes, 2 Nik Kershaw – The Sky’s The Limit, 3 Billy Ocean – No Woman No Cry, 4 Tony Hadley – Take Back Everything, 5 Go West – Skin Deep, 6 ABC – Ride, 7 Toyah – Thunder In The Mountains, 8 Imagination – Flashback, 9 Brother Beyond – The Harder I Try. 10 Then Jerico – Big Area, 11 Modern Romance – Best Years of Our Lives, 12 T’Pau – China In Your Hand, 13 T’Pau – Heart And Soul, 14 The Real Thing – You To Me Are Everything, 15 The Real Thing – Can You Feel The Force

• Further info on the CD at the Let’s Rock 80’s website. There’s also a CD/Programme bundle. Toyah plays the Let’s Rock Bristol festival in June.

The Humans’ third album Strange Tales has been becoming available worldwide as each timezone hits Midnight and the world enters March 2014.

Here in the UK it has just been released and is now available to buy at Amazon UK and iTunes. You can also get it at Amazon US and no doubt many other digital music stores very soon.

The much anticipated album has been previewed over the last week via a series of Tell Tales at a selection of Toyah/Humans-related websites.

View further information on the album and listen to previews of all seven songs here. There’s a new page for the album at Toyah’s Official Discography. There’s also a great page celebrating the release of ‘Strange Tales’ at The Humans fansite Sugar Rush.

Tracklist: 1. Slow Descent, 2. She’s Fast, 3. Get In Your Car, 4. Amnesia, 5. Bedhead, 6. Improbable Thing, 7. Sleep Tight

Recorded in Seattle, seven tracks make up the third album created by the transatlantic band comprising Toyah Willcox, Chris Wong and Bill Rieflin. Rieflin once again helmed production of the album. As previously stated, this third instalment in the musical adventures of The Humans adds more instrumentation into the mix with saxophone and violin featuring for the first time.

To mark the 2014 acoustic concerts, Toyah’s unplugged recording The Acoustic Album will be available digitally for the first time from next Monday, 24th February. The release has the same track listing as the original album:

1. The Vow, 2. Moonlight Dancing, 3. Revive The World, 4. I Want To Be Free, 5. It’s A Mystery (Piano Version), 6. Danced, 7. Good Morning Universe, 8. Blue Meanings, 9. Jungles Of Jupiter, 10. It’s A Mystery (Up Tempo Version), 11. Ieya, 12. Angels And Demons, 13. I Am, 14. Thunder In The Mountains, 15. It’s A Mystery (String Version)

The digital version features new artwork. This kickstarts a digital release programme which will see Toyah’s non-Safari catalogue become available digitally.

• News Source: Breaking Through: The Official Toyah Newsletter.

To celebrate the acoustic gigs and to accompany The Acoustic Album a downloadable digital exclusive, available only to subscribers to Breaking Through, has also been made available. The Acoustic Collection compiles thirteen unplugged tracks spanning 1976-2006 with some previously unreleased archive live recordings.

• Sign up to Breaking Through: The Official Toyah Newsletter for further info on this and details of how to download The Acoustic Collection.

The latest “Live Track Of The Month” is also something acoustic: ‘We Are’ from one of Toyah’s trio of live, and acoustic, gigs at Bourbon Street, Glasgow back in early 1997. This track is also included in the aforementioned The Acoustic Collection.

• Visit The Official Toyah Gigs page to listen to ‘We Are’. The entire GLR interview with Toyah, which features the fantastic live versions of ‘Now I’m Running’ and ‘Invisible Love’, is available in Dreamscape Downloads. Look for “Leap! Interview 1993”.

Toyah has released a new EP for Christmas/Winter, Winter in Wonderland, features four songs recorded 20 years ago and all making their digital debut. This is Toyah’s 27th single release.

Toyah’s atmospheric ballad Winter In Wonderland is released digitally this December

Marking twenty years since the track was recorded, the release is also the first ever digital issue of any material from the fan-favourite album Take The Leap!. The track is released just in time for the winter holidays and also also includes three same era-demos as digital b-sides, previously available only on CDs.

Tracklist: 01. Winter in Wonderland, 02. Angel (Demo), 03. Requite Me (Demo), 04. Invisible Love (Demo).

• View further info, including links to download at iTunes & Amazon, at toyahwillcox.com.

Toyah’s 1983 album Love Is The Law is now available digitally for the very first time, marking the 30th anniversary of its original release.

Featuring the full 10-track album, plus nine bonus songs, 13 of these tracks have never previously been available as downloads. Three of the bonus songs were recorded during the ‘Love Is The Law’ sessions in 1983 and were originally issued as b-sides. There’s also a new digital booklet, with 1983 imagery & lyrics.

Full track list: 1. Broken Diamonds, 2. I Explode, 3. Rebel Of Love, 4. Rebel Run, 5. Martian Cowboy, 6. Dreamscape, 7. Time Is Ours, 8. Love Is The Law, 9. Remember, 10. The Vow | 11. To The Mountains High [Bonus Track], 12. Baptised In Fire [Bonus Track], 13. Haunted [Bonus Track], 14. Be Proud, Be Loud (Be Heard) [Bonus Track], 15. Laughing With The Fools [Bonus Track], 16. Urban Tribesmen [Bonus Track], 17. The Furious Futures [Bonus Track], 18. Stand Proud [Bonus Track], 19. Ieya 1982 {Full Length Version) [Bonus Track].

Download the album, & Toyah’s full Safari back catalogue, at iTunes. The digital album, or individual songs from it, is also available at both the amazon.com and amazon.co.uk mp3 stores

The 2011 single, Fallen, the song Toyah wrote with Yomanda (Paul Masterson) will shortly receive its hard copy CD debut when the Extended Mix appears on the compilation album GayFest 2013.

The album will be released by Rumour Records with an exact release date still to be confirmed. This is the 14th album in the Gayfest series of compilations.

The single, which made the higher reaches of the Electronic Chart at iTunes in September 2011, is available to download.

I Must Confess… This is a great pop song. Fusing together a brilliant production with Toyah’s unique and distinctive vocals.

• Visit the ‘Fallen’ page at toyahwillcox.com. Watch the video at You Tube. See Toyah perform the single at Wig Out back in 2011. News courtesy of Toyah’s Official Newsletter. Sign up to Breaking Through.

‘Live At Kings Place’ by Weekend Guitar Trio, Toyah & Jan Bang was released yesterday on CD and Download.

The six songs on the album were recorded in London in February 2011 and each is co-written by Toyah.

Tracklist: 1. Let’s Make A Bomb, 2. Don’t Even Try, 3. Break The Mould, 4. Toyah Bang, 5. How A Group Is Born, 6. Boredom Is A Killer.

• Listen to samples and download the album here (at a very reasonable $7)

The cover for the forthcoming Region A/1 Blu-ray release of Derek Jarman’s The Tempest has been made available. The Blu-ray edition, remastered by Kino International, will be released on 7th August.

The photo used, of Toyah as Miranda, is the same iconic shot used on the Region 1 DVD release from the early 2000s. A different photo is used on the Region 2 release. There’s no word on when, or if, there will be a European Blu-ray release of The Tempest.

SYNOPSIS: Shot on location at the ancient and ghostly Stoneleigh Abbey, The Tempest tells the story of Prospero the magician, who lives with his nubile daughter on an enchanted island and punishes his enemies when they are shipwrecked there. It’s a study of sexual and political power in the guise of a fairy tale. Jarman presents Shakespeare’s intricate comedy of magic and revenge in a form that is at once faithful to the spirit of the play and an original and dazzling spectacle mixing Hollywood pastiche, high camp, and gothic horror. His film recalls the innocent homoeroticism of Pasolini’s versions of classics, while its lush sense of decor and color is worthy of Minnelli. Remastered in HD and available for the first time on Blu-ray!

BONUS FEATURES: Three short films by Derek Jarman: ”A Journey To Avebury”, ”Garden Of Luxor” and ”Art Of Mirrors”, trailers and more.

“Full of magic and surprises…the most truly spectacular British film in years.” – The London Times

Quadrophenia is also coming to Blu-ray in the US later in the year. Blu-ray.com have the film listed for release, through The Criterion Collection, with more information than there is for The Tempest.

Quadrophenia (1979)
London, 1965: Like many other youths, Jimmy hates the philistine life, especially his parents and his job in a company’s mailing division. Only when he’s together with his friends, a ‘Mod’ clique, cruises London on his motor-scooter and hears music such as that of ‘The Who’ and ‘The High Numbers’, he feels free and accepted. However, it’s a flight into an illusionary world.

Quadrophenia (August 28th, 2012)
• New high-definition digital restoration of the uncut version
• Original 2.0 stereo soundtrack as well as an all-new 5.1 surround mix, supervised by the Who and presented in DTS-HD Master Audio
• New audio commentary featuring director Franc Roddam and director of photography Brian Tufano
• New interview with Bill Curbishley, the film’s co-producer and the Who’s co-manager
• New interview with the Who’s sound engineer, Bob Pridden, discussing the new mix, featuring a restoration demonstration
• On-set and archival footage
• Behind-the-scenes photographs
• A booklet featuring an essay by critic Nick James, a reprinted personal history by original mod Irish Jack, and Pete Townshend’s liner notes from the album

Introducing the excellent cover… Introducing the tracklist… Introducing… Sugar Rush.

The Humans recently completed recording and mixing their second album, entitled Sugar Rush. The twelve-track LP, produced by Humans band member Bill Rieflin, includes the songs Sweet Agitation, Fragment Pool, Put A Woman On The Moon and the title track, all of which which were previewed live on The Humans’ February 2010 UK tour. Sugar Rush was recorded in the UK and features guest guitar on all tracks by Robert Fripp.

Details of the album release will be announced on www.thehumansofficial.com soon. In the meantime preview clips of four tracks from the album can be heard in the Multimedia section of the website.

1. Titanium Girl; 2. Love In A Different Way; 3. Sea Of Size; 4. Pebble; 5. Small Town Psychopath; 6. Sweet Agitation; 7. Playing In The Dark; 8. Snow At 10:23; 9. Sugar Rush; 10. This Reasoning; 11. Fragment Pool; 12. Put A Woman On The Moon

• All information from The Humans Official website | Visit here.