A new Elle photo feature which includes Louise Brooks, Hedy Lamarr, Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot, Diana Ross, Debbie Harry, Farrah Fawcett, Siouxsie Sioux and Toyah.
The Best Vintage Hairstyles You Never Knew Existed
Haircuts from yesteryear reign supreme for their innovation, technique, and skill to make these larger than life styles stand the test of time. From blunt bobs to abundant afros, we’ve rounded up some of the best curls, cuts, and swirls from the 20th century in order to discover the best hairstyles from the past.
1985: Feathered Bangs – English musician Toyah Willcox’s feathered and uneven bangs became almost as much of a symbol of punk rock as her fiery orange hair colour. (NB. This is 1980 not 1985!)
On June 6, 1980 Toyah released The Blue Meaning, an album that would top the UK Indie charts. Fronted by the multi-color haired Toyah Willcox, who played Monkey in 1979’s The Who album-inspired Quadrophenia and acted beside Kate Hepburn, the band had already scored a UK#1 Indie single with “Victims Of The Riddle”and expectations were big.
The album, now considered a cult classic by some, peaked at UK#40 on the mainstream album charts. The band would soon break up.
The articles I’ve read about Toyah Willcox from that time don’t reveal much, but in 2017, she was interviewed by BBC Radio for their Inheritance Tracks segment and we learned she had strict parents who, when she was very young, made sure she was in bed by 6:30 at night, not to be seen again until 7 AM the next day. Her mother picked out her clothes. She was dyslexic, number-blind and club-footed, and she determined to be seen and heard:
Happy 40th Anniversary to one of the great landmarks of Toyah’s music career – The Blue Meaning. The second long-player (as they were once called) and first full studio album, was released exactly 40 years ago today, in June 1980.
An amazing album and Toyah era, The Blue Meaning is significant for a number of reasons: It was the first Toyah release to enter the Official UK Chart (though earlier singles and the first album had all scaled the peak of the Indie Chart).
It also boasted incredible imagery, artwork and high design standard which would become synonymous with Toyah’s music career and future releases. The album also includes Toyah’s most legendary song, the perennial fan-favourite, Ieya! No Toyah gig is complete without it.
Over the past four decades the album has increased in significance, becoming a crucial part of Toyah’s discography. Everyone loves Anthem (who couldn’t?), The Changeling is a favourite of many fans, Love Is The Law saw Toyah’s vocals soar, Minx still divides opinion, Prostitute mindboggled us all, Ophelia’s Shadow as beautiful, intricate and unique as any album by Kate Bush or Tori Amos, In The Court Of The Crimson Queen introduced Toyah to a new audience while also delighting longtime fans, and yet The Blue Meaning came before all of the aforementioned and 40 years later still intrigues and entertains with each and every listen. Click below for our feature.
Tomorrow – 06.06.2020 – is the 40th anniversary of the release of an iconic album from Toyah’s music career, The Blue Meaning. Incredibly ahead of its time, both musically and in its artwork/design/imagery. Check back tomorrow for our feature – which is an amalgamation of four of Dreamscape’s previous Blue Meaning articles reworked to create a comprehensive feature.
A new Elle photo feature which includes Louise Brooks, Hedy Lamarr, Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot, Diana Ross, Debbie Harry, Farrah Fawcett, Siouxsie Sioux and Toyah.
