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Reviews: Sheep Farming In Barnet – Black Vinyl

June 29th, 2023

A comprehensive review of Sheep Farming In Barnet, by Spectrum Culture. The album was released on 140g black vinyl on 16th June.

Toyah: Sheep Farming in Barnet

Toyah Willcox is much beloved in the UK as a broadcaster/national treasure, a standing which has only been reinforced by her YouTube videos with husband Robert Fripp. Back in the early ‘80s, she and her self-titled band were genuine pop stars too, scoring three Top 10 singles, plus another 10 or so that charted. And yet, though she’s been famous for the past 40 years and has never gone away, her music isn’t much considered compared to many of her post-punk/new wave/new romantic peers. By the time the Toyah’s debut, Sheep Farming in Barnet – initially an EP, and then extended into an album for its European release – came out in 1979, Willcox was already a familiar face and well-known personality on the punk scene and had appeared in a high-profile acting role in Derek Jarman’s 1978 film Jubilee, so there was an element of skepticism in the critical response to the album. But like Jubilee itself, Sheep Farming… is definitively an artifact of its time, and as interesting as it is typical.

The sound of Toyah in 1979 was definitely new wave, but it was a colorful, flamboyant and theatrical new wave, rather than the chilly, bleak and wiry post-punk of peers like the Cure or Wire. At times – also typical of the period – there’s a noticeable Roxy Music and Bowie influence and the band (Toyah, plus guitarist Joel Bogen, Peter Bush and Keith Hale on synths, bass player Mark Henry and drummer Steve Bray – were accomplished enough musicians to stray far outside of the standard three-chord punk template for the majority of the album’s tracks.

• Continue reading at Spectrum Culture. Browse Dreamscape’s Sheep farming In Barnet news archive.

Saturday Morning Song: Computer (Unplugged)

June 20th, 2023

A specially filmed acoustic performance of the song Computer from the album Sheep Farming In Barnet, to celebrate its 2020 remaster being released on black vinyl last Friday. Order now at Cherry Red.

There’s new songs every Saturday morning uploaded to the Toyah channel in the 11am Toyah At Home slot. Remember to catch a new monthly Toyah At Home special at 11am on the first Saturday of each month.

Releases: Sheep Farming In Barnet – 140g Black Vinyl

April 12th, 2023

Toyah’s debut album Sheep Farming In Barnet is now available to pre-order on black vinyl in its 2020 remaster, out 16 June. Pre-order from from Cherry Red by clicking below.

Saturday Morning Song: Danced (SFIB, Shoestring)

April 12th, 2023

A vintage television clip of the song “Danced”, filmed in 1979., from the album Sheep Farming In Barnet.

There’s new songs every Saturday morning uploaded to the Toyah channel in the 11am ‘Toyah At Home’ slot. Remember to catch a new monthly Toyah At Home special at 11am on the first Saturday of each month.

Albums: Sheep Farming/Blue Meaning – Deluxe/Commentary

February 25th, 2022

Available to stream and download now… Track by Track Commentary Editions of the classic Toyah albums Sheep Farming In Barnet and The Blue Meaning. Listen to Toyah go behind the music and listen to the remastered album too.

Albums: Sheep Farming & Blue Meaning – In HD

October 7th, 2021

The remastered and expanded deluxe editions of Toyah’s first two albums Sheep Farming In Barnet and The Blue Meaning can now be downloaded or streamed in 24-bit sound from supported platforms. Click on either, or both, album title for links.

Releases: Sheep Farming In Barnet: Limited Edition Print

August 18th, 2021

Sheep Farming In Barnet will be available to buy as a Limited Edition HQ print later this year.

The print will be available in two sizes: 20x25cm and 50x70cm.

Toyah: Sheep Farming In Barnet
Album Cover Print (20x25cm / 50x70cm)
£99.00 / £199.00
Released: 11th November 2021

Toyah Sheep Farming in Barnet album cover designed by Bill Smith and photographed by Andrew Douglas. The location for the shoot was a secret military installation in Yorkshire. Design by Bill Smith from the book Cover Stories. Signed by the photographer. Numbered edition of 150 copies. Size 50 x 70 cm. Printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308gsm paper with a matte finish. Wrapped in acid-free tissue and sent in cardboard tubes. 50 x 70 cm.

Numbered edition of 300 copies. Size 20 x 25 cm. Printed on Hahnemuhle Gloss Baryta 305gsm paper with a silk finish. Wrapped in acid-free tissue and sent in hard-backed envelopes. 20 x 25 cm.

• Further details and pre-order at HMV.

Books: Bill Smith Studio – Cover Stories

May 22nd, 2021

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.

Sheep Farming In Barnet: Review by Velvet Thunder

March 23rd, 2021

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.

Cherry Red Records: The ‘Toyah Willcox Story’ Interview

November 4th, 2020

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.

Handwritten: Exclusive Personalised Artworks By Toyah

November 2nd, 2020

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.

Cherry Red: My Favourite Flavour – Barnet Fair

November 1st, 2020

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)

Punktuation: Toyah Willcox: “Slow Down? Me? Never!”

October 28th, 2020

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.

Sheep Farming In Barnet: Listening Party

October 13th, 2020

Following last weekend’s Anthem listening party, there’s a possibility Sheep Farming In Barnet will follow sometime soon. See Toyah’s tweet regarding this by clicking below,

HMV.Com: National Album Day Ambassador Prize Draws

October 10th, 2020

Win a rare Sheep Farming In Barnet reissue rarity, courtesy of HMV…

It’s National Album Day on Saturday 10th October and to celebrate we will be running a new prize draw everyday with prizes from some of the National Album Day Ambassadors who are supporting this exciting day.

Happy National Album Day!! Today, we have a prize from Toyah Willcox where you could win a signed test pressing of remastered Sheep Farming vinyl!

• To enter, all you have to do is enter your details here or by clicking below. (The prize draw ends at 11:59pm Saturday 10th October. Entries received after this time will not be included.)

Toyah At Home: Episode #16

October 7th, 2020

Last Saturday’s episode of Toyah At Home featured two archive performances: The mighty Danced, from Sheep Farming In Barnet, and one of the best pop songs of the 1980s (or any other decade), Thunder In The Mountains.

Click below to watch/rewatch episode 16, in which Toyah reveals there are plans to release a trio of live Toyah/Toyah & The Humans concerts from Trading Boundaries, East Sussex, and O2 Islington in the not too distant future.

Toyah At Home: Episode #13

September 16th, 2020

Last Saturday’s episode of Toyah At Home featured two archive performances: The amazing Neon Womb and wonderful Race Through Space, both from Sheep Farming In Barnet.

Click below to watch/rewatch the episode, which includes the official announcement of the forthcoming release of Sheep Farming In Barnet on Expanded CD and Colour Vinyl. #Exciting!

Releases: Sheep Farming In Barnet 2CD + DVD/Colour Vinyl LP

September 12th, 2020

Toyah & Cherry Red Records are delighted to announce the long-awaited newly remastered and expanded release of Toyah’s debut album Sheep Farming In Barnet which kickstarts a reissue programme of Toyah’s entire Safari Records catalogue.

Sheep Farming In Barnet will be reissued on 4 December 2020 as a limited edition white vinyl LP and expanded 2CD+DVD package.

Limited quantities of both formats come with a different design postcard signed by Toyah.

Produced by Steve James and Keith Hale (Blood Donor), the album reached number 1 on the UK Independent Albums in February 1980 and celebrates its fortieth anniversary in 2020.

The album has been remastered from the original mastertapes and the 2CD+DVD package includes 30 bonus tracks including 20 that are previously unreleased.

The 7” single Victims Of The Riddle (1979) was Toyah’s very first release and is included here. This was followed up by 6-track mini-album Sheep Farming In Barnet that contained three tracks per-side on a 33 1/3 playing 7” vinyl. This mini-album was then expanded to a full length 11-track album (originally for the German market) in early 1980 by adding the Victims 7” A-Side/B-Sides and some further tracks also recorded at Chappell Studios, London.

This album contains the fan favourites Race Through Space, Neon Womb and Danced, all of which went on to become signature songs for the band. Non-album Double A-Side single Bird In Flight/Tribal Look produced by The Boys’ lead singer Matt Dangerfield is also included.

2CD+DVD digipack with a fully illustrated 24-page booklet containing a brand new introductory note from Toyah plus rare and unseen imagery including album cover shots taken at RAF Fylingdales Early Warning site, Yorkshire.

The album has been remastered by Nick Watson from the original mastertapes with mastering approved by Joel Bogen.

The expanded 2CD+DVD edition features 30 bonus tracks compiled by Craig Astley and is made up of non-album singles, rarities and demos. Amongst the 20 previously unreleased tracks are versions originally recorded for Shoestring, the original improvisation vocal that became Victims of The Riddle and the band’s first ever pre-signing 1978 demos.

Includes a sleevenote by Toyah’s archivist Craig Astley, researched with input from co-writer/guitarist Joel Bogen, chronicles the creation of the album, musician line-ups and reveals the recording origins of the album and bonus material for the first time.

The package includes a DVD (NTSC/Region Free) containing two brand new features with Toyah Willcox; ‘The Story Behind The Album’ is an in-depth interview about the album/period, a Track-by-Track Album Commentary interview plus an exclusive acoustic three-song session of songs from the era – all filmed August 2020.

The DVD also includes rare archive TV footage available on DVD for the first time ever including a 1979 interview/performance clips of Race Through Space filmed at Toyah’s Battersea warehouse ‘Mayhem’ for broadcast on What’s On (ITV Midlands-only region) and two songs, Danced, Indecision, filmed February 1980 for BBC’s The Old Grey Whistle Test.

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

Rare Toyah Photos: Unseen 1978 – 1980!

September 12th, 2020

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)

Releases: Something Special Coming Soon On Cherry Red

September 12th, 2020

Something special coming soon on Cherry Red – Announcement on Toyah At Home, airing from 11am, today at the official Toyah You Tube channel and Facebook page. (Photos/Images © 1. Neil Anderson, 2. Official Toyah, 3. Cherry Red Records Ltd)

It’s Sheep Farming In Barnet Saturday!

September 12th, 2020

The bold beginning of an awesome music career! Welcome to Sheep Farming in Barnet Saturday!