Dreamscape – Toyah Willcox Fansite

Fairport’s Cropredy Convention 2023: Live Review

Fairport’s Cropredy Convention adds another year to its long list of great bills and festivals. It really is a festival to cherish.

Toyah and Robert Fripp
It was back in 2015 that Toyah Wilcox last had the Cropredy stage to herself. She wowed us then, and -by heck – she certainly delivered the goods this year! Armed with a top-notch band, led, of course by husband Robert Fripp, figurehead of the mighty King Crimson, she left us breathless – and glamour-struck as she blasted through set of favourites from the couple’s hilarious – some might even say ‘notorious’ Sunday Lunch podcast series. The band was on top form, and Toyah had the whole field captivated as she rocked, twirled, enchanted and, of course, sang her way through a set that was thoroughly familiar and contained something for absolutely everyone.

• Continue reading at At The Barrier.

TOYAH – LIVE AT THE RAINBOW / LIVE AT DRURY LANE (CHERRY RED)

These two releases now available form a perfect set of stepping stones leading from the club-venue rawness of Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! to the theatrical, large scale Changeling shows which birthed Warrior Rock. They have been a long, long time coming, and they are most welcome to say the least.

Continuing the excellent Toyah reissue series comes the bonus of two albums, both originally recorded in 1981, to follow up the slightly earlier Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!, recorded the previous year. Interestingly, however, these two albums – which nicely bridge the gap between the raw Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! album and the later more populist Warrior Rock double – are less reissues than they are entirely new releases. Live At The Rainbow, of course, from a February 1981 show, was a popular video release back in the day, but oddly enough has never seen the light of day in audio form until now. Live At Drury Lane, on the other hand, is a show from the latter end of that same year, originally broadcast by the BBC on the annual Old Grey Whistle Test Christmas In Concert programme, and has only ever been available, for a relatively short time in incomplete form, on a BBC videotape called Good Morning Universe. The differences between the two releases really highlight how much was going on within a few months of this highly successful year, and is a large part of what makes these releases a fascinating back-to-back listen for fans.

• Continue reading at Velvet Thunder. Live At The Rainbow and Live At Drury Lane are available in both CD+DVD and colour 12″ vinyl from Cherry Red Records.

Toyah – Four More From Toyah – Expanded 12″ Neon Violet Vinyl Version: Album Review

The story continues – The latest triumphant installment in Cherry Red’s reissue series of Toyah’s Safari Records catalogue.

Release Date: 9th December 2022
Label: Cherry Red Records
Formats: Vinyl

And so the story continues. Back in early 2021, we were pleased to review the deluxe reissue of Toyah’s second album, The Blue Meaning and then, last May, we raved over the combined CD/DVD repackaging of her seminal 1980 live album, Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! Cherry Red has certainly been busy and, since we last paid a visit to Toyah-land a super-deluxe edition of her 1981 album, Anthem, has hit the racks, along with a CD version of her breakthrough February 1981 concert at London’s Rainbow Theatre – a recording that was previously only available in video formats. And now, Toyah’s back again, this time with a delightful, expanded, 12” neon violet vinyl version of her third EP, Four More From Toyah.

Originally released in November 1981, the EP continued Toyah’s run of chart success, thanks this time to the popularity of lead track, Good Morning Universe. The original EP climbed to No.14 in the UK singles chart; for 2022 viewers, it’s been expanded into a mini-album, with the addition of four further tracks, two of which receive a commercial release for the first time.

The original EP comprised the first material to be studio-recorded since drummer Nigel Glocker’s departure to join NWOBHM-ers, Saxon, and the line-up on display for the eight tracks in this package is: Toyah Willcox (vocals), Joel Bogen (guitar), Adrian Lee (keyboards), Phil Spalding (bass) and new drummer, Simon Phillips. And the band sound rock-solid! I was particularly impressed by the concrete foundation, often edging towards the funky side of things, that Phil and Simon laid down; and Toyah sings with a maturity that is only hinted at on her earlier recordings, without losing any of the sinister edge that could often make her vocal delivery such a chilling experience.

• Continue reading at At The Barrier. Buy Four More From Toyah at Cherry Red.

Third instalment in Cherry Red’s deluxe reissue series of Toyah’s Safari Records catalogue

Release Date: 13th May 2022
Label: Cherry Red Records
Formats: CD + DVD, Limited edition neon yellow vinyl

So – here we are again. Just about a year ago, we were pleased to review the deluxe reissue of Toyah’s second album, The Blue Meaning, and now, here comes installment number three in Cherry Red Records’ Toyah reissue series – a CD/DVD reassessment of the seminal 1980 live album, Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! And, as usual, it’s a cracking package. The CD-half of the package comprises, for the first time, the entire concert – complete with encores – from Toyah’s show on 17 June 1980 at Wolverhampton’s legendary Club Lafayette. The CD is accompanied by a DVD of the 1980 ATV documentary film ‘Toyah’ – a splendid period piece that captures Toyah at home, at work and at play, just as she reached the very cusp of her major commercial breakthrough. As usual, the package comes complete with an informative booklet, this time with detailed sleevenotes from Craig Astley, Toyah’s official archivist, and an introductory reminiscence from Toyah herself.

The gig at the Club Lafayette was added, for the benefit of the ATV camera crew, to the itinerary of Toyah’s 1980 Ieya Tour to provide some live footage for inclusion in the documentary that was in the process of being compiled. The band played a slightly shorter set than was normal for the time, with material drawn exclusively from the debut album Sheep Farming In Barnet and the (then) new release The Blue Meaning and the resulting live album, Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! was a triumph. Toyah is on top form as she shrieks, squeaks, groans and howls her way through a dramatic performance. The recording captures the enclosed atmosphere of the packed club wonderfully – in the way that the best live albums always seem to manage – and the setlist is inspired. Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! Reached number three in the indie chart and stayed in that chart for over a year and was Toyah’s first album to creep into the national album chart, peaking at number 22. Big things were just around the corner, and that impending breakthrough seems to ooze from the very grooves of this album.

• Continue reading at At The Barrier. See links to three other Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! (Deluxe Release) album reviews… + recent news!

Anthems, hope and escapism – it’s all there on the first Toyah album for 13 years!

Release Date: 27th August 2021
Label: Demon Music Group
Formats: CD / CD+DVD / Vinyl / Digital

“Thank you, Toyah, for a great album. And welcome back – we’ve missed you!”

The last time Toyah graced these pages was back in May, when we reviewed the reissue of her 1980 album The Blue Meaning. In that review, we gave a brief a resumé of what Toyah has been up to in recent years, including a mention of the hilarious You Tube postings, Toyah and Robert’s Sunday Lunch (and if you haven’t seen this yet, check it out – it’s unmissable!) and releasing her (until now) most recent album, 2008’s In The Court of the Crimson Queen.

Well… She’s back, and how!! Posh Pop is Toyah’s first album of new material for 13 years, and it’s a blast. Toyah herself is very proud of Posh Pop, considering the album “A career best,” and she could very well be right. It’s a joyful album that draws copiously on Toyah’s glam and punk roots and builds upwards from there; the 80’s synth sound is still around, tempered and enhanced by lots of stunning rock guitar from Toyah’s husband, “Bobby Willcox” and the lyrics are clear and excellent, covering topics as diverse as the lockdown “Zoom Boom,” space exploration, ageing, bereavement, the devastation of war, the fate of humanity and the Beirut explosion. And it all comes enclosed in a wrapper of addictive, anthemic rock and pop.

• Continue reading at At The Barrier. The album is released on Friday. Pre-order Posh Pop here.

Toyah – The Blue Meaning (Expanded Deluxe Edition): Album Review

Dark, intense and disturbingly graphic – an early masterpiece by Toyah revisited

Release Date: 28th May 2021
Label: Cherry Red Records
Formats: 2CD + 1DVD, Limited Edition Coloured Vinyl

Cherry Red Records have done it yet again! This week’s lucky recipient of their deluxe reissue treatment is Toyah and the band’s second album, 1980’s The Blue Meaning. In fact, Cherry Red are working their way through Toyah’s Safari Records catalogue – the band’s debut album, Sheep Farming In Barnet, has already received the deluxe repackaging and the rest of the bunch, Anthem (1981) The Changeling (1982) and Love Is The Law (1983) will be along soon – a veritable treasure trove from the happiest, most productive and most creative period of Toyah’s career. Oh – and for clarity – at this stage in the career of Toyah Willcox, Toyah was the collective name for the band in which she featured – Joel Bogen on guitar, Charlie Francis on bass, Steve Bray on drums, Peter Bush on keyboards and Toyah herself on vocals (or verbals and unusual sounds, as the album’s excellent sleeve notes put it.)

• Continue reading at At The Barrier.