Chameleon is currently in the Top 10 – at #10 – of the Official Chart’s Top 10 Albums (Chart Update).
Official Charts: Midlands-born singer Toyah may earn a third Top 10 with greatest hits compilation Chameleon: The Very Best of Toyah (10).
• Browse all of our ‘Toyah on the Official Charts’ posts here…
Review | Chameleon – The Very Best of Toyah [Cherry Red Records]
Toyah Willcox’s career has always defied easy classification, and Chameleon – The Very Best of Toyah leans into that restlessness, offering a panoramic view of her 45-year arc as punk agitator, pop icon, and enduring creative force. Released via Cherry Red Records, this career-spanning anthology is the first to fully embrace the breadth of her recording history, and it does so with a curatorial precision that mirrors Willcox’s own chameleonic artistry.
The collection’s structure tells a story. CD1 captures the original Toyah band years (1979–1983), where the collision of Joel Bogen’s spiky guitar and Willcox’s commanding, otherworldly vocals forged a sound that felt both feral and theatrical. Singles like “It’s A Mystery” and “I Want to Be Free” may have cemented her as a chart presence, but it’s deeper cuts like “Jungles of Jupiter” and “We Are” that underline her singular lyrical vision, tapping into cosmic anxieties and spiritual yearning against the urgency of post-punk rhythms. The material retains its charge, a reminder of how Toyah helped broaden the vocabulary of British new wave beyond mere attitude.
• Continue reading at Ottic Media. See links to other Chameleon: The Very Best Of Toyah reviews here. Buy the album on 3CD/Bluray Boxset, 2CD & Double Vinyl at Cherry Red.
“Chameleon is so respectful of my 45 years in music and that means so much to me. What I love about this epic release is virtually every song on it has been a single or an exceptionally important song to me. Because of that, I thought I would give a brief explanation of what each song means to me on this remarkable double album in my Blog. The first part of this covers disc 1, the songs from the band years 1979-1983, now live.” Toyah xxx
• Continue to read Toyah’s Chameleon blog, and the first part of Toyah talking about the songs included on the double album, at toyahwillcox.com. (Text/Photo © Toyah/Cherry Red)
We had a, much needed, fun day out in Glasgow on Friday. Beginning with a big breakfast at The Crystal Palace, then onto the amazing Tutankhamun: The Immersive Experience at the SECC, a walk around the city centre, lunch and then a visit to King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, where Toyah played in 1993 & ’94.
• See all our 2025 “tour dates” :) here! (Photos © David Fleming)
50 Wild Women Of The 80s!: NOW 80s: Monday 8th September: 11am
Brilliant songs, big voices, blazing hair & bags of attitude – the ladies of the 80s had the lot! From Toyah to Tina & Joan Jett to Janet Jackson.
It’s Chameleon Release Day Eve… Less than 24 hours until one of the finest ever Toyah compilations is released, and there have been many since that first Toyah retrospective vinyl album, cassette and video back in 1984 – Which was, of course, Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! All The Hits.
Toyah has worked her socks off recently promoting the album via numerous radio, TV and press interviews. Scroll back through our recent news posts or visit Toyah’s official website, Facebook, Instagram and You Tube for much more.
Toyah guested on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row on Tuesday evening.
She is also guesting all this week on BBC Radio 2’s The Vernon Kay Show revealing her ‘Tracks Of My Years’ daily.
• Listen to both at BBC Sounds: Front Row | Vernon Kay/TOMY.
A new interview with Toyah, from The Sunday Post. This was also included in P.S. magazine, with Toyah on the cover.
Toyah Willcox on the 50 years of hard graft that have kept her at the top of her game
It’s Wednesday lunchtime and I am telling Toyah Willcox my own favourite Toyah story.
I remember going to see you as part of a 1980s revival night in Glasgow, alongside Belinda Carlisle, Go West and various members of Spandau Ballet, I say. This must have been back in the late 1990s, early 2000s. I’m a bit hazy on the date, I admit.
But Toyah’s not. “2002,” she interrupts emphatically.
Ah, right. Anyway, you came bounding on to the stage and exclaimed: “Glasgow, I’ve come for your men!” And a woman in the crowd shouted back: “Take them! Take them!”
“I remember it happening!” Toyah tells me gleefully over Zoom.
Speak to the singer, actor and presenter and it’s quickly clear that she remembers everything. Dates, chart positions, people. Her memory is a Google search engine containing the records of nearly 50 years in showbiz. And there’s a lot to remember.
• Continue reading at The Sunday Post.
• Saturday Song: The Vow – Watch… • Toyah & Robert: UpBeat Moments: Watch… • Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch – Yummy Yummy Yummy – Watch…
Press for Toyah & Robert’s new Sunday Lunch. This week covering Ohio Express. (Image © Toyah Willcox)
• Classic Rock/Louder: Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp are back and they’re more brightly-coloured than ever: Aaaggh! My eyes! – Continue…
• Brooklyn Vegan: Watch Toyah & Robert Fripp cover Ohio Express’ “Yummy Yummy Yummy” – Continue…
• Far Out: Watch Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp cover ‘Yummy Yummy Yummy’ for ‘Sunday Lunch’ – Continue…
• inkl: Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp are back and they’re more brightly-coloured than ever – Continue…
• DGM Live: Toyah & Robert’s Weekend – Continue…
Cherry Red will release Chameleon: The Very Best Of Toyah next month across three formats
A 3CD+blu-ray edition comes in clamshell box packaging with disc one devoted to the band Toyah with hits such as ‘I Want To Be Free’ and ‘It’s A Mystery’ while the second CD covers Toyah’s career as a solo artist. CD 3 is devoted to rarities, while the blu-ray includes 12 promo videos, 22 TV performances and concert footage.
The 2CD digipak edition omits the rarities and the blu-ray from the box set and a 2LP set pressed on gold-coloured vinyl offers 28 tracks from band and solo years.
Chameleon: The Very Best Of Toyah will be released on 5 September 2025, via Cherry Red.
• Continue reading at Super Deluxe Edition.
A new episode is coming soon, but here’s a catch up of Toyah’s most recent Wonderful World Of Weird… short story which premiered online on Wednesday 23rd July at YouTube and Facebook.
Toyah’s Wonderful World Of Weird | The Bone Hut
An original short story Written & read by Toyah Willcox
“I have always loved short stories, they can inhabit any world from suburbia to the fantastic. When time is short and long distances need to be travelled, the short story has taken me to places i willingly want to go to. So whether you have five minutes to spare, or you want to escape for a while…join me and my love of the unpredictable. Welcome to Toyah’s Wonderful World of Weird…”
• Listen at Toyah’s official You Tube. Browse our other Toyah’s Wonderful World Of Weird posts, here. (Image © Toyah)
Celebrity Fantasy Homes: Really: Saturday 13th September: 6am
Toyah (Series 2, Episode 2). Celebrities hunt for a new home. Gaby Roslin helps the original punk-pop princess Toyah Willcox search for a second home, in Richmond upon Thames, with a budget of £650,000.
Still Bouncing: Toyah on 46 Years of Music, Strictly, and Her New Greatest Hits
It is 46 years since Toyah bounced onto the music scene as the lead of a band that took her name. With her distinctive vocals, captivating image, and lyrical prowess, it’s hardly surprising that she continues to thrive 46 years later. After experiencing a significant surge during the Covid-19 lockdowns, Toyah ventured into Strictly and has been on the road multiple times in the past few years. As the touring continues, she has teamed up with Cherry Red for a fully comprehensive Greatest Hits collection – Chameleon – which not only celebrates the hits but also offers real insight. We caught up with Toyah to learn more…
J: Hello Toyah, How are you?
T: I’m good. How are you, Jeremy?
J: I’m very well, very well indeed, thank you. Thank you so much for joining us today. Now, the important thing we need to know is—are you ready to share some juice with us?
T: Okay? Oh, I just hope my mind is in gear—but you know, cross your fingers, Jeremy. Anything could happen!
J: Let’s see what happens. Here we go. We want to take you back to your childhood for now—what was your initial ambition? Did you always want to be a performer?
T: In the beginning, when I didn’t yet understand the difference between boys and girls, I wanted to be a muscle man—which amused everybody. Then I wanted to be an astronaut. But very quickly, by the time I was seven and had seen The Sound of Music about seven times, I knew I wanted to become a singer and an actress.
• Continue reading at Chimeo.
In early August Toyah recorded a number of interviews with Greatest Hits Radio, Greatest Hits Radio 80s, Absolute Radio 80s, Virgin Radio and BBC Radio 2 among others. These are airing now and also in the lead up to the release of Chameleon: The Very Best Of Toyah.
• A couple of great shots of Toyah below, one with Kate Thornton from a couple of the interviews. More details about the Greatest Hits Radio interviews here. Watch interview clips here and here. (Photos © Greatest Hits Radio)
Something I’m working on for inclusion in the new fanzines… A huge, celebratory feature on – in my humble opinion the most iconic moment in music history – Toyah’s Brave New World. I’ve covered and featured BNW in the fanzine (and on this website) many times previously but the new extended cut of the video has brought fresh inspiration and a timely reminder – not that I need to be reminded – of how truly iconic the imagery, song and era is….
The Drought Of 1975: Channel 5: Saturday 30th August: 7.30pm
Beginning in May 1975, Britain was gripped by a record-breaking spell of erratic weather that stretched for 16 long months. This extraordinary period culminated in the Standpipe Drought of 1976, where across the country thousands of households had to rely on communal outdoor taps for their water. Featuring archive footage and first-hand accounts from famous faces including John Kettley, Toyah Willcox, Don Letts, Tony Blackburn, Ann Widdecombe and Neil Kinnock, this documentary tells the compelling story of the drought and its enduring legacy.
Welcome to a catch up of Toyah news and happenings for the past five weeks. My beautiful cat, George, died on 25th July at the age of 24 and I took a short break away from online work. George was a huge part of my life for more than two decades, such a gentle soul, and I’ll miss him more than I could ever articulate here x
Toyah’s August blog is available at toyahwillcox.com. “I am having a fantastic time promoting CHAMELEON and it’s really lovely that everyone is enjoying this very special album”.
All next week, Toyah chooses her ‘Tracks of My Years’ on BBC Radio 2 with Vernon Kay (Gary Davies sits on for Vernon on Monday’s show).
Vernon Kay Show: BBC Radio 2: Mon – Fri: 9.30am
Toyah. Toyah chooses her Tracks Of My Years. 80s icon Toyah takes us on her 10-song journey all this week on Tracks Of My Years.
• Catch it each day commencing Monday 1st September on Vernon’s daily BBC Radio Two show – beginning on Monday morning – or hear the entire selection in one programme on BBC Sounds from Sunday 31 August. (Photo © BBC)
Toyah had a fab day at Southport Flower Show in mid-August, with some great photos shared online, including this colourful shot! See another photo and interview with Toyah at Instagram. (Photo © Toyah)
