There’s no specific reason for this post (do we seriously need an excuse to emblazon these photos here once more?), other than since the last time another picture from the ‘Quicksilver’ session has appeared (top right), and the large one was previously only available in black & white. Lots of lucky people will get to hear ‘Quicksilver’ live in just over a week! Let the fires burn…
As previously mentioned, The Humans section at Toyah’s Official website has been completely re-Humanised!! A veritable schmorgasbord of information, photos and videos await you! “Does this look like the images in your head?“
The posters/promo flyers for The Humans two, just announced, warm-up gigs. Click on either for complete poster and full details on these exclusive concerts.
Much more information on these gigs at The Official Toyah Facebook. If, like me, you aren’t a Facebooker further details are also available at Toyah’s other official webspaces; The Official Toyah MySpace, The Humans MySpace, and The Offical Toyah Willcox website. (Thanks to Craig)
Saturday 20th February: Bishops Cleeve Church, Gloucester
Special warm-up gig – See Official Toyah Facebook
Sunday 21st February: St. Anne’s Church, Pershore
Special warm-up gig – See Official Toyah Facebook
Monday 22nd February: The Assembly, Leamington Spa
www.leamingtonassembly.com [ Tel: 01926 523001 ] Tickets
Tuesday 23rd February: The Junction, Cambridge
www.junction.co.uk [ Tel: 01223 578000 ] Tickets
Wednesday 24th February: The Scala, London
www.scala-london.co.uk [ Tel: 02078 332022 ] Tickets
Thursday 25th February: Haiti Earthquake Fundraiser
www.haitiearthquakefundraiser.com – Roundhouse, London
Produced by Bill Rieflin, the 10-song CD, We Are The Humans, was mixed in Seattle by Rieflin and Don Gunn and mastered by Simon Heyworth (Tubular Bells, Brian Eno) in Devon, UK.
Comparisons are always misleading but if The White Stripes met with the vocal adventures of Lou Reed, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel and Captain Beefheart then you might have a compass for where the band are headed musically.
We have five copies of “We are The Humans” up for grabs for our lucky readers. To enter simply tell us who Toyah is married to.
The first five correct entries out of the bag will win a copy of the band’s new album. Good Luck!
Go here to enter the competition. No closing date is indicated.
The Humans Announce Two Special Warm-Up Shows
Prior to their first live performances in the UK, The Humans with their
special guest Robert Fripp will be playing two warm-up dates. These shows
will offer a unique opportunity to see The Humans in very intimate and
beautiful surroundings. The warm-up concerts will take place on
Saturday 20th February at St. Michael’s & All Angels’ Church, School Road,
Bishops Cleeve, Gloucestershire, GL52 8BA.
Sunday 21st February at St. Anne’s Church, Church Street, Wyre Piddle,
Pershore, Worcestershire, WR10 2JD
Doors 7pm, Performance 7.30pm.
To reserve tickets, please e-mail info@moriartymusic.com with the subject of “The Humans at Bishops Cleeve” or “The Humans at Wyre Piddle” stating how many tickets you require and include your contact details.
Tickets for both shows are VERY limited. If you arrive without a confirmed reservation we cannot guarantee you admission!
Admission is FREE but there will be a collection for the local parish community.
February is all about The Humans; With the gigs in Leamington Spa, Cambridge and London just over a week away, as well as the Haiti Earthquake Fundraiser. Now is as good a time as any for a recap of some of the positive reviews ‘We Are The Humans’ has garnered over the last nine months.
The album itself is a startling work. Startlingly brave and ambitious – and startlingly different from the general public perception of what a Toyah album is, despite her own creatively diverse body of work since the ‘glory’ days of the early ‘80s. Spacerock
Remember the way Bowie deconstructed pop in Low and Lodger? Toyah pulls off the same trick, only more so. Sunday Mercury
Quicksilver is a genuine score, however, with Labyrinth a close contender. Both capture a genuine sense of other-ness without seeming as arch as the other tracks. Die Shellsuit Die
Toyah’s bitter-sweet, rasping vocals are always appealing. Northern Echo
As well as the Official Toyah MySpace streaming of ‘Is It Wrong’, it’s also available via DGM Live as a free download. You will have to register with DGM. ‘Is it Wrong’ features Robert Fripp, and was recorded live in Estonia in May 08. (Thanks to Michael and Stephen)
Another Humans competition. This time tickets for The Scala gig in London are up for grabs. Comp entry closes 19th February.
The band – featuring Toyah Willcox, Bill Rieflin (REM) and Chris Wong with a special guest appearance from the legendary Robert Fripp, will perform at Leamington Spa Assembly on 22 February, Cambridge Junction on 23 February and The Scala, London on Wednesday 24 February.
The shows are the first time in 20 years that Toyah has shared a UK stage with her husband Robert Fripp. (The last time was when their 1989 band, Sunday All Over The World, played a handful of UK dates.)
The Humans comprise a very different musical direction for Toyah, not surprising given the band line-up with their own individual musical backgrounds. Their first single These Boots Are Made For Walkin has just been released along with their debut album We Are The Humans.
Click here for the chance of winning one of five pairs of tickets.
To celebrate The Humans first ever string of live concert dates (anywhere in the world outside of Estonia…..) we have a prize of a sealed copy of the debut album WE ARE THE HUMANS limited edition CD packaging version PLUS a copy of the very rare 1-track radio promo CD of the single THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKIN’ featuring Robert Fripp.
To win these two CDs simply send the answer to the following question to: humans@toyahwillcox.com by 19 February 2010.
Apart from last year’s launch concert in Estonia, what year did Toyah and Robert Fripp last share the stage as part of the same band?
With only three weeks to go until The Humans embark on their UK tour things are gearing up…
The set list for the concerts will include some new songs which may include some or all of the following: “Sugar Rush”, “Put A Woman On The Moon”, “Sweet Agitation” and “Fragment Pool”.
Check out Toyah’s new blog for February 2010 at www.toyahwillcox.com and www.myspace.com/toyahofficial for the full scoop on preparations for the tour.
You can buy tickets for the three live dates from the links below….
22 Feb 2010 Assembly, Leamington Spa
23 Feb 2010 The Junction, Cambridge
24 Feb 2010 The Scala, London
Additionally, The Humans are confirmed as one of the acts performing a short set at a concert raising funds for Haiti at The Roundhouse on 25 Feb, the night after their Scala London gig. The benefit gig has been organised by Bill Drummond and acts are being announced daily…. so far alongside The Humans, those playing live sets include KT Tunstall, Paul Weller and The Futureheads.
Just Announced! The Humans will perform a live set at the Haiti Earthquake Fundraiser at The Roundhouse on Thursday 25th February. Please click below for line-up and ticket info on the fundraiser event, plus donation details.
Further news on The Humans, from Official Toyah Facebook: With only three weeks to go until The Humans embark on their UK tour things are gearing up… The set list for the concerts will include some new songs which may include some or all of the following: ‘Sugar Rush’, ‘Put A Woman On The Moon’, ‘Sweet Agitation’ and ‘Fragment Pool’.
DGM News are currently running a competition with the prize of ‘We Are The Humans’, plus the spiffingly rare CD version of ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin’:
When did Robert Fripp last play a non-soundscape / King Crimson gig in the UK? If you know the answer to this head-scratcher you could win a copy of The Humans album, We Are The Humans, and a CD copy of their cover of These Boots Are Made For Walking featuring RF on guitar.
As Robert prepares for his guest slot as part of The Humans’ gigs next month in Leamington Spa, Cambridge and London we wondered when he last appeared on a UK stage where he wasn’t soundscaping, Crimsonising, Craftyising or even RFSQing!
So the question is this: when did Robert last play in the UK where he wasn’t soundscaping? Providing the name of the group gets you The Humans booty for your trouble.
All you need to do is send an email with the answer to competitions@dgmlive.com with HUMANS in the subject header and we’ll announce the lucky winner on Tuesday 2nd February.
NB: John Young has just been announced as support for The Humans on all of their forthcoming live dates. Visit the John Young MySpace here.
DSD, aka Die Shellsuit Die, reviewed ‘We Are The Humans’ at the end of 2009:
It would appear we have the President of Estonia to thank for the existence of this band – or perhaps it should be Robert Fripp, who declined the Presidential invitation to tour the country, thus galvanising his hard-working wife, Toyah Willcox. Whoever deserves the gratitude; let us not bow down too far, too soon – although by no means a poor effort, this debut album is far from exemplary. Plenty of it is self-indulgent, bass-heavy dribble, with la Willcox’ oh-so-serious tones singing of who-knows-what around the sides. Quicksilver is a genuine score, however, with Labyrinth a close contender. Both capture a genuine sense of other-ness without seeming as arch as the other tracks. I sense that without the big names, this would not stand up for long on its musical merits but who knows where the band may go next? At least it isn’t more turgid identi-pop.
Review by Palmer Eldritch – 30/12/2009
Local Secrets, “the lively guide to everything local”, are offering visitors to their website the opportunity to win two tickets to see The Humans live at The Junction in Cambridge on 23rd February.
Enter the competition at their website here. There’s no closing date but they say they will inform the winner on 31st January.
Two new live solo (with full band) gigs have been announced by Toyah for March/April 2010, as well as confirmation of the two Pontins/48Hour Party dates we previously mentioned.
An extra “secret warm-up concert” by The Humans (with special guest Robert Fripp) has also been confirmed for February. Please see the Calendar at www.toyahwillcox.com for further information on all of these dates.
The full 2010 live schedule, so far, for Toyah and The Humans is now as follows:
The Humans In Concert 2010 (with special guest Robert Fripp)
Saturday 20th February – Secret warm-up concert – Further info tba
Monday 22nd February – The Assembly, Leamington Spa
Tuesday 23rd February – The Junction, Cambridge
Wednesday 24th February – The Scala, London
Toyah In Concert 2010
Friday 19th March – 48Hour Party, Southport
Friday 26th March – 48Hour Party, Cambersands
Saturday 27th March – The Robin 2, Wolverhampton
Friday 23rd April – The Asylum, Birmingham
From Official Toyah: TOYAH LIVE DATES FOR SPRING 2010
Toyah has announced a busy live gig calendar for Spring 2010 which will see both live dates with her band The Humans in addition to solo headline gigs. The Humans will perform their material for the first time in the UK in a short tour of 3 dates with an additional secret warm-up gig in an intimate venue to be announced nearer the time. Toyah will also perform solo headline gigs with her full band in Birmingham’s Asylum and Wolverhampton’s Robin 2.
A great review of ‘We Are The Humans’ by The Humans, by Ian Abrahams at his ‘Spacerock Reviews’ blog. Ian has interviewed Toyah for a future issue of ‘Record Collector’ magazine:
A couple of weeks back I had the pleasure of half an hour’s telephone interview with Toyah Willcox for a forthcoming magazine feature, which gave me the opportunity to ramble around Toyah’s classic output and talk to her about her current project, the vocals and bass focused trio The Humans.
The concept of The Humans is essentially to mesh bass frequencies with vocals to achieve something both pure in sound and which pushes boundaries in its goal of deconstructing the traditional pop music format – their cover of ‘These Boots…’ is a manifesto to this respect you’d have to conclude. It’s sharp, snappy and sexy, has a vitality all of its own and a delicious sense of irony in its sparseness that takes it far away from the original. It’s available for digital download and though it’s not on my copy of the accompanying album, I do understand it is now included with subsequent versions.
Read the full review here.
The Humans have dedicated pages/sections at each of the venue websites where they will play dates next February. Visit the Cambridge Junction here, Leamington Spa Assembly here, and Scala London here.
The Official Toyah Willcox Discography has been updated, with the “Collaborations” section now having further info on The Humans releases. This includes details on the highly rare ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ one-track promo CD.
The Humans debut single, released exclusively as a digital download, is available at iTunes here.
A Toyah interview/feature, on The Humans, from Birmingham’s ‘Sunday Mercury’. This was published on 20th September.
If you just love Brummie pop icon Toyah Willcox for her 1980s hits, then you’re in for a rude awakening. If you thought she was wonderful as Calamity Jane, and adore her on the panto stage, look away now. Because the 51 year-old singer and actress has a new band so darkly disturbing that it will send the unwary running for cover. The Humans comprise Toyah, husband guitarist Robert Fripp, bass virtuoso ChrisWong and REM drummer Bill Rieflin. But don’t expect an easy ride. From the album insert image of a porcelain baby doll smoking a cigarette to a setlist of songs suggesting the future is bleak, this is edgy.
Remember the way Bowie deconstructed pop in Low and Lodger? Toyah pulls off the same trick, only more so. “I love European film noir,” she says. “It’s a love affair reflected in the album. It’s bleak territory exploring the deeper emotions that are only hinted at on the surface. “We’ve stripped down the traditional pop song, then rebuilt it, adding things you don’t hear on first listen, but which later creep up and surprise you.” Certainly, the band’s taster single, a cover of Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ doesn’t prepare you for the stark sonic surrounds of the main course. And what about that doll?
“Despite all the efforts of the NHS, and news coverage of the importance of a healthy lifestyle, the tobacco industry causes more damage than anything else on the planet,” she says. “We had to use the doll because in the USA, you’re not allowed to show images of people smoking. And it’s more disturbing, too.” We Are The Humans is released tomorrow, a second album has already been written, and they’ll tour in February next year. The real Toyah is back.
By Paul Cole. Please click on the picture to view a larger version of the article.
The Humans have announced three live dates for early 2010, with gigs in Leamington Spa, Cambridge and London.
Full details can be viewed in the Press Release announcement (see directly below), at www.toyahwillcox.com, and/or The Official Toyah Facebook.
This will be the first time since the late 80’s that Toyah and Robert have performed together onstage.
Tickets for all three dates are on sale now (again, see below for full details).
