On This Day, 21 Oct in 1979, Toyah played at London Marquee with Joel Bogen, Pete Bush, Steve Bray & Charlie Francis. This slideshow includes images from that evening, set to an audio clip of the early (abandoned) song “Watch Me Sane” from a bootleg of the gig. Get your tickets for Toyah’s four anniversary gigs this autumn.
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.
On this day – February 22 – in 1980, Toyah’s Sheep Farming in Barnet album was released. It began life as six-track EP (or AP – Alternate Play – as Safari Records called it), in August the previous year, but was expanded to full album status by Safari.
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.
Great news! ‘Sheep Farming in Barnet’ is included in Slicing Up Eyeballs‘ Top 100 Albums Of 1980 poll, announced online yesterday. The respected and influential music website – named after a lyric in the song ‘Debaser’ by the amazing PIXIES – is running a year-long “Best of the 80s” feature – an ambitious, year-by-year poll to determine just what were the best albums of each year of the 1980s.
‘Sheep Farming in Barnet’ places at #92 and is in the company of some truly incredible albums. Slicing Up Eyeballs’ poll for 1981 opens next week – Surely ‘Anthem’, with some support from Toyah’s online fans, will also figure?
• Coincidentally, I put together a ‘Sheep Farming in Barnet’ image earlier this week before I knew about the Slicing Up Eyeballs poll, Click above to view a larger version.
A very rare, and fantastic, photo of Toyah from around the time of the release of ‘Sheep Farming In Barnet’ (AP, not album) in 1979, along with a mini-poster by Dreamscape. Please click to zoom on that. (Thanks to Andi for the original photo)
Classic Toyah @ Dreamscape: Celebrating Toyah’s unique, colourful and exciting past while reporting the bang up-to-date Toyah news and views too. The Best Of Both! ;))
Original member of TOYAH, drummer on the iconic albums ‘Sheep Farming In Barnet’ and ‘The Blue Meaning’… Stevie Bray. Check out FTE’s interview with him…
I hope to occasionally bring you some rare Toyah footage. Here’s Toyah performing ‘Danced’ live on Friday Night Saturday Morning in 1980. The also performed ‘Mummies’.
This will possibly be a regular feature on ‘Falling To Earth’. Collecting together key images from a specific Toyah “era”. Starting us off… Various Toyah photos from the ‘Sheep Farming in Barnet’ days.
