Carol Decker’s 30 Rock Chicks!: NOW 80s: Sunday 28th April: 9pm
T’Pau’s Carol Decker brings a bit of Heart and Soul to a countdown of ’80s ladies who like to rock! With Joan Jett, Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks and Pat Benatar. (as well as Toyah via the Thunder In The Mountains video)
It’s the 1981 Gallery! It’s Anthem, it’s I Want To Be Free, it’s Thunder In The Mountains, it’s At The Rainbow, it’s Good Morning Universe, it’s the College Tour, it’s The Old Grey Whistle Test, and yes… It’s A Mystery!
Ieya, Toyah’s fourth single, was released in June 1980. The song has become one of the cornerstones of Toyah’s music career. Ieya began its extraordinary life as a soundcheck jam:
A lot of my band were Jewish, and we all found it particularly offensive that the NF would recruit at concerts – they’d go around the audience intimidating the youngest, the smallest, the scrawniest boys into joining the NF By the end of this concert in Bath, the NF were chanting ‘Sieg heil’ at the back. Charlie Francis, our bass-player, found this intolerable, and Joel kept taking his guitar off to go and beat them up, which we all had to stop him from doing. Instead we just shouted back ‘Nazi scum’ and got the audience to chant ‘Nazi scum’. For the fourth encore, all we could think of doing was something that had started as a jam in the sound-check that day, which was ‘IEYA’. It was a sequence of chords that grew, so every verse had more chords added to it, and it had a fantastically simple chorus, a chant, ‘IEYA’. ‘IEYA, I am solar, IEYA I’m the beast.’
Ieya was re-recorded and re-released as a single in 1982. The song is almost always played during a Toyah gig, often during the encore. Ieya was written by Willcox/Bogen/Bush. Browse the full history of the song at Wikipedia.
He runs to the water’s edge, To feel the sea, To smell the air, To feel he’s free, He does not really need to see…
Toyah’s third single, and first new music of the Eighties, was the double A-Side, Bird in Flight/Tribal Look. The single was released in February 1980 on Safari Records. Bird in Flight is a brave, raw and ambitious classic from Toyah’s discography and has stood the test of time well, still sounding as good today as upon its release 39 years ago! Though Toyah has said she now finds the lyric “excruciatingly wrong”!
Bird in Flight/Tribal Look were both written by Willcox/Francis/Bogen/Bush/Bray.
Toyah was included on Carol Decker’s Rock Chicks which aired on NOW Xmas on Boxing Day and a few other times over Christmas. Toyah was number 30 on the rundown, with the Thunder In The Mountains video being shown.
From our friends NOW 80s T’Pau’s Carol Decker brings a bit of heart and soul a countdown of 80s ladies who like to rock.
On This Day, via the Official Twitter presence of the BBC Archive – 1980: Toyah Willcox introduced Steve Strange, Vivian Stanshall, Derek Jarman and Christopher Biggins to Space Invaders. Nothing about this clip makes any sense…
As well as interviewing a handful of guests she herself chose on the above programme – Saturday Night, Sunday Morning (Series Three, Episode 10) – Toyah, Joel and band also performed two songs. Incredible live versions of Mummies and this…
• Friday Night, Saturday Morning was a television chat show with a revolving guest host. It ran on BBC2 from 28 September 1979 to 2 April 1982, broadcast live from the Greenwood Theatre. The programme was the idea of Iain Johnstone and Will Wyatt, who insisted on a changing presenter every fortnight. Another innovation was that the presenters chose the guests they were to interview. (Info Source: Wikipedia)
Strictly limited edition handwritten lyric artworks by Toyah were available at the merch stall last night at The Fleece Bristol. Voodoo Doll, Danced, Angel & Me… (Photos © Official Toyah)
Definitely the best mug design ever – Drink your tea/coffee from a Brave New World mug. This was on sale at Toyah’s Acoustic… dates at the weekend and will also be available on Toyah’s Anniversary Tour dates later this month and in early November!
Toyah’s October 2018 blog is live at toyahwillcox.com. It’s a Toyah60 Tour edition with hints at the new setlist, new tour merchandise and details of a special guest appearance at the London date. Click below on our brand new Brave New World blog image to read…
Toyah’s debut Top 10 hit It’s A Mystery (from the 1981 Four From Toyah EP) is included on the forthcoming The 80s Pop Annual 2 double-vinyl compilation album.
The 80s Pop Annual 2 is the Latest Exclusive to Vinyl release on Demon Records. 4 Sides of Vinyl containing 30 Tracks of Essential Classic Pop of The Eighties. Housed in a Gatefold Sleeve with Original Artwork & Pressed on 2x 180G Heavyweight Vinyl. Hits from artists such as; Cyndi Lauper, Belinda Carlisle, The Bangles, The Jacksons, Adam & The Ants and many more.
Release information Label: Demon Records
Format: Vinyl • Date: 09/11/2018
Cat#: DEMRECOMP020 • Genre: Pop
• Further info on The 80s Pop Annual 2 here. Last year I Want To be Free was included on the first vinyl release – The 80s Pop Annual.
Toyah, via one of her 80s chart hits, makes yet another appearance on a 100 Hits compilation CD set – It’s A Mystery is included on 100 Hits: The Best 80s Album which is scheduled for release on 2nd November.
100 Hits – The Best 80s Album contains the best hits from the decade from artists including Bonnie Tyler, Belinda Carlisle, The Bangles, Adam Ant, Nena, Five Star, Kenny Loggins, Run-DMC, Bronski Beat, The Communards, Aretha Franklin and many more.
Release information Label: 100 Hits
Format: CD • Date: 02/11/2018
Cat#: DMGN100227 • Genre: Pop
• Further info on 100 Hits: The Best 80s Album here.
Dreamscape is marking the 35th Anniversary of the release of Toyah’s gorgeous 1983 album, Love Is The Law. Here is a double dose of Eighties rebellion… Rebel of Love and Rebel Run. Click on either to zoom.
October marks the 35th Anniversary of the release of Toyah’s final studio album on Safari Records and final album release as a band, Love Is The Law. A wonderful album released in October 1983 and packed full of Toyah’s most melodic music, great lyrics and soaring vocals – Time Is Ours is such an underrated classic – Broken Diamonds and Dreamscape similarly. Stay tuned to toyah.net over the next few weeks for LITL related content and posts…
• America For Beginners 2018: Toyah tweeted: “Just heard 1st mix for AMERICA FOR BEGINNERS for the soundtrack album of @1985thefilm ….WOW! It’s totally different and very 1985!” – Continue reading…
• BBC Scotland: Barmy Aunt Boomerang: Richard Madden is currently earning fulsome praise for his portrayal of Sergeant David Budd in BBC Oneʼs Bodyguard, but itʼs far from the first time heʼs been on our screens. Back in 1999, 13-year-old Richard starred in Barmy Aunt Boomerang as Sebastian, a boy whose life is thrown into chaos by the arrival of his ghostly aunt, played by Toyah Willcox – Continue reading at BBC Scotland…
• Live 2018: Toyah still has Acoustic, Up Close & Personal gigs in Huddersfield, Evesham and two nights at Trading Boundaries in Sheffield Green, an Electric gig in Bedford PLUS those four #Toyah60/40 Years of Music concerts – More info/Ticket links here…
• Outside Org: Thousands of party goers join Rewind Festival’s sold out 10th Birthday celebrations in Henley-On-Thames: The blissful weekend was compered by Toyah Willcox and The Doctor of Doctor & The Medics with DJ Massaoke keeping the tunes and sing-alongs going strong between the main stage performances, getting everyone hyped with some of the biggest 80s hits – Continue reading…
• God’s Jukebox: Brave New World: Can’t have #HairWeek without Toyah. This was the lead single from her 4th album, The Changeling. The video was directed by David Mallet, who directed the Ashes to Ashes video for Bowie – Continue reading/watching…
A reminder that the Video Killed The Radio Star Toyah Special premieres tonight on Sky Arts at 8.30pm. There’s also a repeat next Tuesday.
Video Killed The Radio Star: Sky Arts: Friday 3rd August: 8.30pm
Video Killed The Radio Star: Sky Arts: Tuesday 7th August: 7.30pm
Toyah Willcox. (Series 7, Episode 6) A look back at the most memorable music videos of Toyah Willcox, who has had eight Top 40 singles over the last four decades.
The Vintage TV Sessions, with Toyah performing acoustic versions of Thunder In The Mountains and I Want To Be Free, which originally aired in March 2014, is repeated this week.
The Vintage TV Sessions: Vintage TV: Thursday 5th July: 4am
Five great acts sing two songs apiece at our Vintage TV Sessions: indie rockers The Struts, punk princess Toyah Willcox, singers Judie Tzuke and Josephine and Nik Kershaw.
Toyah’s legendary Ieya is included on the new compilation CD/Download Extend The 80s Alternative.
Essential 12″ and Extended Mixes of 80s Alternative Tracks.
The 30-track album is released by BMG tomorrow and also includes extended versions of:
Club Country, and Party Fears Two by The Associates, The More You Live The More You Love by A Flock Of Seagulls, No Mercy by The Stranglers, Can’t Get Used To Losing You by The Beat, She Blinded Me With Science by Thomas Dolby, Waiting For A Train by Flash & The Pan, Absolutely Immune by Act, Going Left Right by Department S, Amour Amour by The Mobiles, Duel by Propaganda, Terry by Kirsty MacColl and many more.
• Further info at Amazon.
Exclusively on vinyl next month comes eighties alternative. This offers 30 ‘alternative’ eighties songs from a variety of artists including Scritti Politti, Pixies, Propaganda, Bauhaus and John Foxx.
As is often the case with these kind of compilations the definition of ‘alternative’ is rather broad, so as well as the artists above, tracks from Howard Jones, Bronski Beat and Dead Or Alive also feature.
No CD release for this 2LP set, which is clearly designed to appeal to those who have re-embraced vinyl, and it’s pretty good value at under £17 in the UK. eighties alternative is released on 1 June 2018 on Demon Records.
• Continue reading at Super Deluxe Edition. More info on this here. (NB: I Want To Be Free by Toyah is included on LP2 of this double vinyl album).
Fantastic to see the Four From Toyah: Birthday Edition EP doing so well on its first day of release yesterday. Great new songs from Toyah and Simon Darlow, it’s always special to hear new music from Toyah. Click below to download. (Thanks to Official Toyah for the FFT flyer design)
What’s caused Robert to shake his money maker to Telepathic Lover by Toyah? The news that Four From Toyah (Birthday Edition) is No.1 In Amazon’s Rock Digital Charts pre-order and No.12 in Digital Albums charts as well.
