Toyah’s October blog is available to read at toyahwillcox.com. As well as an abundance of news – there’s a very special announcement coming on 1st November, I think most of us are hoping this is about a much rumoured book – the blog also includes Part Two of Toyah’s personal insights into the songs included on her recent Chameleon album.
Toyah – Chameleon : The Very Best Of
(3CD/ Blu-Ray Box Set)
Chameleon is certainly well named; it perfectly describes singer & actor Toyah Willcox’s ability, much like David Bowie (the greatest chameleon of them all) to evolve and change with the musical times, whilst still holding her own identity and artistry.
It’s also, courtesy of Cherry Red Records, her first ever all-encompassing collection, one that covers every era and musical slant of her four-and-half decade career, from her late 70s new wave/ punk beginnings to the ultra-successful 80s pop period and into the 21st century as an artist who remains relevant through her contemporary pop and rock stylings.
CD1 is collated to showcase the best of Toyah the band, from 1979-1983; it also, unsurprisingly, leads with the Top 10 trio of glossy, new-wave pop hits ‘I Want To Be Free,’ ‘It’s a Mystery’ and ‘Thunder In The Mountains.’
Other chart successes, such as the atmospheric ‘Brave New World,’ feature, but the selected album tracks are their equal; choice cuts here include the pop-punch of ‘We Are’ (from best-selling album Anthem), the slightly darker textures of ‘Dawn Chorus’ and the semi-theatrical, new wave stylings of ‘Angel & Me.’
There’s also space for tracks from the band’s debut EP Sheep Farming In Barnet, including the frantic jazz-punk of ‘Neon Womb’ and the spacey synth & guitar led ‘Danced.’ The live version of the band’s first ever single, punk-pop hybrid ‘Victims Of The Riddle,’ closes out the first disc.
• Continue reading at Fabrication HQ. 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.
A specially created extended cut of the classic 1982 promo video of Brave New World for the release of Chameleon: The Very Best of Toyah. Utilising the iconic and original footage filmed at Battersea Power Station and Birling Gap, this new edit includes previously unseen B-roll footage without any AI effects or recreations, to extend the narrative of the original audio-visual production.
The quintessential image of Toyah, and a firm favourite of Toyah herself, the striking hair was by Robert Lobetta and ethereal otherworldly make-up by Carolyn Cowan. (Screenshots from a video that is © Cherry Red)
Toyah guested on Channel 5 News on Thursday evening, talking Chameleon, her career, her imagery and look, AI, next year’s Songs & Stories Tour and more. (Screenshot © 5)
Chameleon: The Very Best Of Toyah entered numerous Official Charts rundowns on Friday, the highest placing being at #9 on the Independent Top 40.
More importantly the album placed at #10 on the Physical Album chart and #11 on the Album Sales chart. Great stats!
#9 Independent Chart
#10 Physical Album Chart
#11 Album Sales Chart
#15 Scottish Charts
#22 Vinyl Album Chart
#35 Record Store Chart
• Browse Toyah’s Official Charts history, dating back to 1980, and also including numerous releases from recent years on a variety of Official Album Charts.
Toyah guested on David & Carrie Grant’s BBC Radio London show on Saturday morning. Talking Chameleon: The Very Best Of Toyah, her career, touring and more.
• Click below to listen at BBC Sounds – Toyah’s interview is in the final half hour of the four-hour show.
Good Morning Britain‘s studio looking amazing this morning with some of Toyah’s most iconic imagery as the backdrop…
Toyah talked her 45-year music career, working with Katharine Hepburn and George Cukor, making – or not making – music with AI, the upcoming tours, including Songs & Stories, and a new book Meteorite, which she said will be published in November. (Screenshot © GMB)
The interview has resulted in numerous press articles… Most centring around Toyah mentioning she chose her dance partner for Strictly last year, rather than the show choose one for for her!
Underneath the Toyah “Top Stories” news links at Google, there just happened to be a link to this very website :)
NB. Toyah guests on David & Carrie Grant’s BBC Radio London show tomorrow morning.
Toyah – Chameleon – The Very Best of Toyah: Album Review
First-ever career-spanning collection covers Toyah’s entire recording career – the band years, the solo years and the adventures alongside husband Robert Fripp. Chameleon REALLY is a ‘Best Of’ collection
Release Date: 5th September 2025
Label: Cherry Red Records
Formats: 2xCD, 3xCD+Blu Ray, 2LP Vinyl
A TRUE ‘BEST OF’ COLLECTION
Rule-breaker, boundary-pusher, consummate entertainer. Even, dare I suggest it – National Treasure. Toyah Wilcox has been, and remains, all of these things – and she fulfills her roles in many guises, from attitude-loaded punk to loving companion. As the title to this career-spanning collection suggests, Toyah is a persona-shifting chameleon.
It’s hard to believe that Chameleon is the first ever comprehensive retrospective of Toyah’s varied recording career, a career that began as long ago as 1977 when fledgling actor Toyah hooked up with guitarist/songwriter Joe Bogen and keyboardist Pete Bush to form the band that would soon be christened ‘Toyah.’ Tall trees from little acorns grow – Toyah’s musical career went on to spawn over 20 albums and delivered eight Top 40 singles. And the highlights of that career are all here. Chameleon is, truly, a ‘Best Of’ collection.
• Continue reading at At The Barrier. 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.
We’re hoping for a great chart placing for Chameleon: The Very Best Of Toyah tomorrow evening when the Official Charts Top 100 Albums is announced. The album is currently at #10 but streaming is the best chance for the album to stay in the upper reaches of the chart. We have 24 hours… PS. Here’s some Chameleon fan art I created – to celebrate the new release and it’s fantastic debut chart placing – and will be including in the new issue(s) of Toyah Fanzine.
Toyah: Chameleon: The Very Best Of Toyah
Box Set Review
From humble beginnings of a young girl from Kings Heath in Birmingham, the rebellious nature shone through early with acts that thrill the heart such as setting off a multitude of clocks from underneath the stage of her school that disrupted a speech from the then Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher, and which led rightly to her being hailed within a few short years as the Queen of the British Punk movement.
It is in that reassurance of Time shaping our future without our realising that those who hear the ticking of the clock act with a kind of urgency that commands attention, that regards even a minute wasted as a tolling bell ringing out the laments of lost opportunities and creative despair; a kind of passing of the moment that would never resurface.
The be the best in the world you have to take it on, the ticking of the clock that signals each beat of a life’s intended mission, the chameleon’s camouflage adapting, changing, altering with every circumstance and yearning, of breaking free…this is the heartfelt and honourable belief that comes from every pore of the Cherry Red release of Chameleon: The Very Best Of Toyah.
• Continue reading at Liverpool Sound and Vision. 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.
Toyah said “Thank You” on the day Chameleon was released… (Image © Toyah)
Toyah guested on The Diamond Dave Show on Total Rock yesterday, talking Chameleon: The Very Best Of Toyah, her career and much more. Listen by clicking below.
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)
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.
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.
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….
