Dreamscape – Toyah Willcox Fansite

Christmas 1981, Following an incredible year of huge hit singles, gold-selling album, tours, a multitude of images, hundreds of press interviews and numerous television appearances, Toyah closed her/their sensational 1981 by playing the final date of the Good Morning Universe European Tour, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London on Christmas Eve.

This was Toyah’s third, and final, tour of the year, following the College Tour at the beginning of 1981 and the Anthem Tour in the middle of the year.

The gig was broadcast live on BBC2  – and simultaneously in stereo on BBC Radio 1 – on The Old Grey Whistle Test – introduced by Radio 1/TOGWT legend, Annie Nightingale – as their annual Christmas Eve concert for 1981, in a schedule that also included everything from a festive All Creatures Great & Small, to an episode of Russell Harty At Home.

The band were: Toyah Willcox (Vocals|), Joel Bogen (Guitar), Adrian Lee (Keyboards), Phil Spalding (Bass Guitar, Vocals), Simon Phillips (Drums). The concert was released on regular VHS (and Limited Edition hardback cover VHS with an Introduction note by Toyah) by BBC Video in 1982.

As part of Cherry Red Record’s reissue schedule of Toyah’s complete Safari Records discography, Toyah Live At Drury Lane was released on double vinyl album and CD+DVD for the first time in May 2023, a fitting full-circle for this legendary and memorable concert.

Toyah was among a small number who received this not inconsiderable accolade during the 1970s/80s golden era of music. Others bands/artists who were gifted The Old Grey Whistle Test festive concert over the years included Elton John (1974), Queen (1975), Rod Stewart (1976), The Kinks (1977), 10CC (1978), Ian Dury & The Blockheads (1980), Elton John (1982), Paul Young (1983).

Toyah would later recall: “I spent one Christmas in complete euphoria after doing the Drury Lane Whistle Test. I can remember driving home to Birmingham that night and it was snowing. Everything was just wonderful and I remained on a high after doing that show for about ten days.“

Toyah’s Theatre Royal, Drury Lane/The Old Grey Whistle Test concert has become an intrinsic and memorable part of Christmas. A legendary event that thousands attended and many millions watched, and remember as such a special moment in Toyah’s career as well as everyone’s Christmas – past, present and, no doubt, future!

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’s legendary Live At Drury Lane concert, which aired on Christmas Eve 1981 as The Old Grey Whistle Test‘s annual concert, is now available to watch at BBC iPlayer – after being repeated for the first time by BBC Four last Friday.

The BBC website broadcast dates confirm that this is the first full repeat of Toyah’s legendary Old Grey Whistle Test Christmas Eve concert from the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, since December 1981…

Toyah: Old Grey Whistle Test: BBC Four: Saturday 8th July: 00.35am
Annie Nightingale presents a Christmas Eve performance by the punk princess at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, with a band including acclaimed drummer Simon Phillips. Songs include the hits It’s a Mystery and I Want to Be Free.

Toyah: Old Grey Whistle Test: BBC Four: Saturday 8th July: 00.35am
Annie Nightingale presents a Christmas Eve performance by the punk princess at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, with a band including acclaimed drummer Simon Phillips. Songs include the hits It’s a Mystery and I Want to Be Free.

NB: I could be wrong but is this the first ever full repeat by the BBC? This has a running time of 1hr, 10m.

Live At Drury Lane, the sixth album of Cherry Red’s Toyah reissue schedule, entered numerous album charts, compiled by Official Charts, on Friday 19th May.

Album Sales at #9. At #5 in the Independent chart. At #9 in the Physical chart. At #11 in the Scottish Album chart. At #11 in the Vinyl chart. At #38 in the Record Store chart.

Great Official Charts stats for yet another Toyah release.

Toyah: Live At Drury Lane. Album Review
Liverpool Sound and Vision 8.5/10

In one of the great mysteries of life, the fans of one of Birmingham’s finest musical ambassadors, the scintillating and unique Toyah Willcox, have always been left wondering why one of the most memorable performances of her early career was never given the aural treatment it deserved. Why it seemed to appear on every other format except the one it mattered on, the vinyl love it required to truly capture an icon at the height of her powers and majestic best.

Toyah: Live At Drury Lane has become an almost mythic like tale, one of a queen riding into battle to take on the scourge of beige mediocrity, the uniform of men in suits and the screaming banshees of dull complexity. That tale of mythic, even legendary proportions has been mostly lost, the format used at the time that framed the evening as lost as the mists that have enveloped our lives as our bodies have been eroded by tide and the fears of those who wish us to be servient to the commonplace.

• Continue reading Liverpool Sound and Vision.

Out Now! Toyah – Live At Drury Lane. Packaged as a special CD/DVD edition or a semi-transparent pink 12″ double vinyl, these editions mark the first time the stereo audio has been released. Find out more at Cherry Red.

Out Now! Toyah – Live At Drury Lane. Packaged as a special CD/DVD edition or a semi-transparent pink 12″ double vinyl, these editions mark the first time the stereo audio has been released.

A slideshow video with the previously unreleased vintage concert performance of the song Urban Tribesmen live in Milan, 15 Dec 1981. This is a bonus track is from the forthcoming live CD+DVD Live At Drury Lane, released on 12 May by Cherry Red.

A vintage concert performance of the song We Are live at Drury Lane, filmed in 1981. This track is from the forthcoming live 2LP and CD+DVD “Live At Drury Lane”, released on 12 May by Cherry Red.

There’s new songs every Saturday morning uploaded to the Toyah channel in the 11am Toyah At Home slot. Remember to catch a new monthly Toyah At Home special at 11am on the first Saturday of each month.

Toyah, and Toyah & Robert, are included in the latest issue (#81, May/June 2023) of Classic Pop magazine.

There’s a great, four star, review of the forthcoming Live At Drury Lane CD/DVD and 2LP release, and a mini Sunday Lunch Live – 2023 Rock Party Tour feature. As well as numerous festival appearances this Summer, Sunday Lunch is touring in September and October.

• The latest issue of Classic Pop magazine is available to buy instore and online now. (Thanks to Minna of The Toyah Willcox Interview Archive – sending you a big hug Min, I know it’s been a tough couple of weeks for you!)

A new taster of the remastered Toyah Live At Drury Lane is out now… the mighty “We Are”!

• Stream/download now by clicking below. Pre-order LADL on CD+DVD or 2LP vinyl at Cherry Red.

A vintage television clip of the song “Jungles Of Jupiter” live at Drury Lane, filmed in 1981. This track is from the forthcoming live 2LP and CD+DVD “Live At Drury Lane”, released on 12 May by Cherry Red.

There’s new songs every Saturday morning uploaded to the Toyah channel in the 11am Toyah At Home slot. Remember to catch a new monthly Toyah At Home special at 11am on the first Saturday of each month.

Out now digitally, the newly remastered Jungles Of Jupiter / Live At Drury Lane ahead of the 12 May release of the full legendary Christmas Eve ‘81 concert. Listen now by clicking below.

Toyah / Live at Drury Lane
First time on CD, LP and DVD

Cherry Red continue their Safari-era Toyah reissues with Live at Drury Lane, a concert performance from December 1981.

This was broadcast live on the BBC for The Old Grey Whistle Test on Christmas Eve in 1981 and was ‘simulcast’ (as they used to call it) in stereo on BBC Radio One. Live at Drury Lane was never issued on vinyl, CD or cassette but was released as an edited VHS (called ‘Good Morning Universe’) in 1982.

This new reissue is available as a CD+DVD combo pack or as a 2LP set on pink vinyl. The CD contains all 13 songs performed on the night plus three bonus audio tracks recorded live in Milan from earlier on that same Winter Tour. The DVD reinstates ‘War Boys’ and ‘Victims of The Riddle’ which were missing from the VHS, but performed on the night.

• Continue reading at Super Deluxe Edition. Pre-Order Live At Drury Lane on CD+DVD or 2LP at Cherry Red.

Released digitally this Friday (14 April), the first taster of the newly remastered Live At Drury Lane live album. Catch Jungles Of Jupiter on streaming and digital download, ahead of the 12 May release of the full legendary Christmas Eve ‘81 concert.

Meanwhile pre-order the live album on CD+DVD or 2LP vinyl at Cherry Red by clicking below.

Toyah To Bring Out The Audio Of Her Drury Lane Concert

Even though, in the eyes of the uninitiated, Toyah‘s latter-day endeavors may seem to suggest she’s content to be cavorting in the kitchen with her spouse, the singer’s histrionic performances have always been much more than such domestic scenes.

It’s rather surprising, then, that, for all the years she spent on-stage, there’s not a lot of records which captured the chanteuse live, but there are concert videos to allow Ms. Willcox to remedy this situation. Last year saw the reissue of her 1981’s “At The Rainbow” album on CD and DVD, and now it’s time for 1982’s “Good Morning Universe” to follow suit.

Slated to be out as “Live At Drury Lane” on May 12th in CD/DVD and 2LP formats, the remastered video version of this classic Christmas show, where the artist’s band included the great Simon Phillips on drums and the recently departed Phil Spalding on bass, reinstates two pieces that were cut from the original VHS release, while audio variant – issued for the first time ever – is augmented with three numbers Toyah delivered to Milan audience earlier on the same tour. Here’s a chance to experience her magic in all its glory.

• Continue reading at Let It Rock. Pre-order Live At Drury Lane, on CD/DVD and double vinyl, at Cherry Red.

To the delight of fans old and new, comes the long-awaited ‘Toyah Live At Drury Lane’ – Toyah’s legendary Christmas Eve 1981 concert released on 12 May 2023 by Cherry Red Records.

Toyah the band were invited by the BBC to play a special live concert on 24 December 1981 for broadcast live on BBC2 for The Old Grey Whistle Test Christmas Special. Simultaneously the concert was broadcast in stereo on BBC Radio 1. Previously, the concert footage was only ever available on a BBC VHS video cassette in 1982.

Following a year of top ten hit singles in 1981 plus the Gold-selling album Anthem, the band closed out the year with this fantastically energetic and celebratory concert. The band line-up for this concert saw Toyah Willcox (vocals), Joel Bogen (guitar), the late Phil Spalding (bass) and Adrian Lee (keyboards) joined by acclaimed drummer Simon Phillips. The much-loved Christmas Eve 1981 concert was watched by an astonishing 12 million viewers on BBC 2 television.

The 2LP and CD contains all 13 songs as performed at the momentous concert at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, as broadcast live on BBC 1 for Toyah In Concert.

The DVD contains all 13 songs as performed at the momentous concert at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, with two songs from the broadcast reinstated following their cut from a 1982 VHS video release Good Morning Universe.

Exclusive to the CD in this package are 3 bonus audio tracks recorded live in Milan on the band’s Winter Tour, which culminated in the Drury Lane concerts on 23/24 December 1981. These three rarely performed tracks are Stand Proud, Urban Tribesmen and Pop Star and come from a previously unreleased sound desk concert recording, courtesy of Joel Bogen.

The 24-page colour booklet includes an introduction by Toyah to the concert and new sleevenotes by Craig Astley, Toyah’s archivist who compiled this release.

Brand new artwork includes photography of Toyah’s iconic stage entrance for the gig, 20ft above the band and audience. Rare and previously unseen photographs of the band’s Drury Lane concert the day before (23 Dec 1981) from the Safari Records archive also illustrate the CD booklet.

• Pre-Order Toyah Live At Drury Lane on CD+DVD, and semi-transparent pink vinyl at Cherry Red (The editions with postcards sold out almost immediately!). Read the news/press release and album page/full tracklist/Release Gallery at toyahwillcox.com. Watch Toyah announce the release on today’s Toyah At Home.

Tomorrow’s Toyah At Home – airing at 11am (UK time) on Toyah’s official You Tube channel and Facebook – is a Live At Drury Lane episode and will will include a special announcement related to Toyah’s legendary 1981 concert at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

Christmas 1981, Following an incredible year of huge hit singles, gold-selling album, tours, a multitude of images, hundreds of press interviews and numerous television appearances, Toyah closed her/their sensational 1981 by playing the final date of the Good Morning Universe European Tour, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London on Christmas Eve.

This was Toyah’s third, and final, tour of the year, following the College Tour at the beginning of 1981 and the Anthem Tour in the middle of the year.

The gig was broadcast live on BBC2  – and simultaneously in stereo on BBC Radio 1 – on The Old Grey Whistle Test – introduced by Radio 1/TOGWT legend, Annie Nightingale – as their annual Christmas Eve concert for 1981, in a schedule that also included everything from a festive All Creatures Great & Small, to an episode of Russell Harty At Home.

The band were: Toyah Willcox (Vocals|), Joel Bogen (Guitar), Adrian Lee (Keyboards), Phil Spalding (Bass Guitar, Vocals), Simon Phillips (Drums).

The concert was released on regular VHS (and Limited Edition hardback cover VHS with an Introduction note by Toyah) by BBC Video in 1982.

Toyah was among a small number who received this not inconsiderable accolade during the 1970s/80s golden era of music. Others bands/artists who were gifted The Old Grey Whistle Test festive concert over the years included Elton John (1974), Queen (1975), Rod Stewart (1976), The Kinks (1977), 10CC (1978), Ian Dury & The Blockheads (1980), Elton John (1982), Paul Young (1983).

Toyah would later recall: “I spent one Christmas in complete euphoria after doing the Drury Lane Whistle Test. I can remember driving home to Birmingham that night and it was snowing. Everything was just wonderful and I remained on a high after doing that show for about ten days.“

Toyah’s Theatre Royal, Drury Lane/The Old Grey Whistle Test concert has become an intrinsic and memorable part of Christmas. A legendary event that thousands attended and many millions watched, and remember as such a special moment in Toyah’s career as well as everyone’s Christmas – past, present and, no doubt, future!