Christmas 2024, and today Toyah’s version of, the Greg Lake festive classic, I Believe In Father Christmas is released as a standalone single for the very first time.
This is the third in an ongoing series of Toyah 10″ vinyl single/EP releases, following Brave New World in 2023 and Rebel Run in September of this year.
Originally recorded in 1982 for inclusion on the ITV special Pop Goes Christmas, the track features Toyah Willcox (vocals), Joel Bogen (acoustic guitar) and Keith Hale (keyboards).
The new 10″ single is pressed on snow white vinyl and is accompanied with a colour Toyah Christmas Card in a throwback to the annual Christmas cards posted out to members of The Intergalactic Ranchhouse, the official Toyah fan club ran by Safari Records.
Yeeeha!! I just received the prints for Toyah Fanzine‘s bumper celebration of the reissue of Love Is The Law, and I Believe In Father Christmas, as well as Toyah’s Album Discography. As you read this I’ll be festively packaging and postaging (!), while watching MTV Christmas… Ho ho ho!
Cherry Red Records release a special limited edition 10” vinyl EP of Toyah’s 1982 version of the seasonal Greg Lake classic I Believe In Father Christmas.
Originally recorded for inclusion on the ITV special Pop Goes Christmas, the track features Toyah Willcox (vocals), Joel Bogen (acoustic guitar) and Keith Hale (keyboards). The much-loved version is newly remastered from the original master tapes, and the EP also includes three previously unreleased variations unearthed from the archives.
Side One includes the main version and the backing track that enables Toyah’s evocative backing vocals for the track to be heard clearly. Side Two features an alternate vocal from the November 1982 Marquee Studios session, without additional overdubs and backing vocals. An Instrumental version completes the EP.
The 10” vinyl is pressed on snow white vinyl and protected by a festive red die-cut inner disco bag inner sleeve that carries the a gift wrap design featuring a repeated classic Toyah logo motif. The EP outer jacket is a newly designed and sports fantastically festive and relevant period photography from the 1982 television programme the track was recorded for.
All EPs come with a colour Toyah Christmas Card (with a rare colour image of Toyah) in a throwback to the annual Christmas cards posted out to members of The Intergalactic Ranchhouse, the official Toyah fan club ran by Safari Records.
The EP is the third in a series of 10″ vinyl releases. The second 10″ EP, Rebel Run reached number 1 in the UK Singles Vinyl Chart, no.3 on the Physical Singles Chart on Friday 27 September.
• Pre-Order I Believe In Father Christmas on 10″ Vinyl EP at Cherry Red. Read the news at toyahwillcox.com. Watch Toyah announcing the release during, a surprise bonus episode of, Toyah At Home (which also includes a special video for The Vow from The Saturday Show in 1983).
Christmas 1982, The build up/countdown to Christmas wouldn’t be complete at Dreamscape without this… I think I’ve mentionedI Believe in Father Christmasalmost every December for the last 24 years, so here we go again…
Toyah covers the Greg Lake 1975 classic (which I didn’t realise also features Robert Fripp until Toyah mentioned it a few years ago on Toyah’s Christmas at the Zoo) for ITV’s Pop Goes Christmas in 1982. The programme aired on Boxing Day and also featured Musical Youth, Mari Wilson, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, The Nolans, Toto Coelo, The Mighty Wah! and Shakin’ Stevens.
According to an info board posted online, Pop Goes Christmas was only recorded less than a fortnight before it aired. Not sure if this is completely accurate.
Toyah sounds glorious, looks amazing (wearing her Brave New World/The Changeling black contacts) and Keith Hale and Joel Bogen are having a right old festive time in the forest of lit up trees during the recording, which was introduced by David Essex. Bravo!
NB: Official Toyah posted today at Facebook and Instagram: Toyah’s 1982 version of the Greg Lake classic I Believe In Father Christmas is the perfect soundtrack for Christmas Eve Eve. Click below to stream at Spotify.
It’s Christmas Eve! And the final day of Dreamscape’s Christmas Countdown2022…
Christmas 1982, The build up/countdown to Christmas wouldn’t be complete at Dreamscape without this… I think I’ve mentionedI Believe in Father Christmasalmost every December for the last 23 years, so here we go again…
Toyah covers the Greg Lake 1975 classic (which I didn’t realise also features Robert Fripp until Toyah mentioned it a few years ago on Toyah’s Christmas at the Zoo) for ITV’s Pop Goes Christmas in 1982. The programme aired on Boxing Day and also featured Musical Youth, Mari Wilson, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, The Nolans, Toto Coelo, The Mighty Wah! and Shakin’ Stevens.
According to an info board posted online, Pop Goes Christmas was only recorded less than a fortnight before it aired. Not sure if this is completely accurate.
Toyah sounds glorious, looks amazing (wearing her Brave New World/The Changeling black contacts) and Keith Hale and Joel Bogen are having a right old festive time in the forest of lit up trees during the recording, which was introduced by David Essex. Bravo!
Christmas 2022, Toyah At Home on Saturday 10th December was a festive special – featuring Toyah and Robert – airing at Toyah’s Official You Tube channel and Facebook feed.
Toyah and Robert watched and reacted to Toyah’s performance of, Greg Lake’s wonderful, I Believe In Father Christmas from the tv show Pop Goes Christmas, which originally aired at Christmas 1982 on ITV. The full retro festive clip was also shown at the end of the episode.
In today’s Toyah At Home episode, Toyah reacts to the fantastically festive 1982 performance of the Greg Lake classic I Believe In Father Christmas. Filmed in December 1982, this clip turns 40- this year and features Toyah sporting black contact lenses and accompanied by Joel Bogen and Keith Hale. Happy 40th to this version!
Christmas 1982, Toyah covers a 70’s Christmas classic! The build up to Christmas wouldn’t be complete at Dreamscape without this… I think I’ve mentioned I Believe in Father Christmas every December for the last 20 years, so here we go again…
Toyah covers the Greg Lake 1975 classic (which also features Robert Fripp, Toyah confirmed a few years ago on Toyah’s Christmas at the Zoo) for ITV’s Pop Goes Christmas in 1982. She sounds great, looks amazing and Keith Hale and Joel Bogen are having a right old festive time in the forest of lit up trees. Bravo!
Christmas 2019, and only 6 days until Christmas Day, why not download some, Christmas/festive-related, Toyah music/releases to help make the rest of the countdown more melodic.
1. I Believe In Father Christmas; Toyah’s version of the Greg Lake 70s festive classic (which was voted one of the greatest ever Christmas songs in a 2012 poll) has gathered quite a history over the years: It was originally recorded for ITV’s Pop Goes Christmas in 1982, Safari then included it on the Mayhem compilation album in 1985, and later it was also made available on the CD Live & More. At Christmas 2012 it was released as a digital single. Download at iTunes.2.Winter In Wonderland; One year on and at Christmas 2013 there was another new digital single, make that an EP, for Christmas – Winter in Wonderland… Download at iTunes.3. Has God Ceased To Dream You; Toyah released this four-song EP in December 2014 as a companion piece to the recently digitally released Take The Leap! album… Download at iTunes.
Christmas 2018, and only five days until Christmas Day, why not download some, Christmas related, Toyah music…
1. I Believe In Father Christmas; Toyah’s version of the Greg Lake 70s festive classic (which was voted one of the greatest ever Christmas songs in a 2012 poll) has gathered quite a history over the years: It was originally recorded for ITV’s Pop Goes Christmas in 1982, Safari then included it on the Mayhem compilation album in 1985, and later it was also made available on the CD Live & More. Six years ago, at Christmas 2012, it was released as a standalone digital single. Download atiTunes. 2.Winter In Wonderland; One year on and at Christmas 2013 there was another new digital single, make that an EP, for Christmas – Winter in Wonderland… Download atiTunes. 3. Has God Ceased To Dream You; Toyah released this four-song EP in December 2014 as a companion piece to the digitally released Take The Leap! album… Download at iTunes.
Only 4 days until Christmas, why not download some, Christmas related, Toyah music…
1. I Believe In Father Christmas; Toyah’s version of the Greg Lake 70s festive classic (which was voted one of the greatest ever Christmas songs in a 2012 poll) has gathered quite a history over the years: It was originally recorded for ITV’s Pop Goes Christmas in 1982, Safari then included it on the Mayhem compilation album in 1985, and later it was also made available on the CD Live & More. Four years ago, at Christmas 2012, it was released as a standalone digital single. Download atiTunes. 2.Winter In Wonderland; One year on and at Christmas 2013 there was another new digital single, make that an EP, for Christmas – Winter in Wonderland… Download atiTunes. 3. Has God Ceased To Dream You; Toyah released this four-song EP in December 2014 as a companion piece to the recently digitally released Take The Leap! album… Download at iTunes.
Toyah performed I Believe in Father Christmas live today for the very first time at the Birmingham Walk of Stars event. She was also interviewed by ITV Central and BBC Midlands. See photos from today’s ceremony/concert at Instagram and Facebook.
Such sad news – Greg Lake, legendary bass guitarist and writer of the greatest Christmas song, I Believe in Father Christmas, died yesterday. Read The Guardian’s tribute to Greg here.
Only 6 days until Christmas, why not download some, Christmas related, Toyah music/releases to help make the rest of the countdown more melodic.
1. I Believe In Father Christmas; Toyah’s version of the Greg Lake 70s festive classic (which was voted one of the greatest ever Christmas songs in a 2012 poll) has gathered quite a history over the years: It was originally recorded for ITV’s Pop Goes Christmas in 1982, Safari then included it on the Mayhem compilation album in 1985, and later it was also made available on the CD Live & More. Three Christmasses ago it was released as a standalone digital single. Download atiTunes.2.Winter In Wonderland; One year on and at Christmas 2013 there was another new digital single, make that an EP, for Christmas – Winter in Wonderland… Download atiTunes.3. Has God Ceased To Dream You; Toyah released this four-song EP last December as a companion piece to the recently digitally released Take The Leap! album… Download at iTunes.
The build up to Christmas wouldn’t be complete at Dreamscape without this… I think I’ve mentionedI Believe in Father Christmasevery December for the last 15 years, so here we go again… Toyah covers the Greg Lake 1975 classic (which I didn’t realise also features Robert Fripp until Toyah mentioned it a few years ago on Toyah’s Christmas at the Zoo) for ITV’s Pop Goes Christmas in 1982. She sounds great, looks amazing and Keith Hale and Joel Bogen are having a right old festive time in the forest of lit up trees. Bravo!
The build up to Christmas wouldn’t be complete at Dreamscape without this… I think I’ve mentioned I Believe in Father Christmas every December for the last 14 years, so here we go again… Toyah covers the Greg Lake 1975 classic (which I didn’t realise also features Robert Fripp until Toyah mentioned it a couple of years ago on Toyah’s Christmas at the Zoo) for ITV’s Pop Goes Christmas in 1982. She sounds great, looks amazing and Keith Hale and Joel Bogen are having a right old festive time in the forest of lit up trees. Bravo!
• MM Band Services: Top 10 Christmas songs of all time: Here’s our top 10!: 8. “I Believe In Father Christmas” – Greg Lake/Toyah Wilcox/Elaine Paige “I Believe In Father Christmas” is a song by Greg Lake (most famously a member of King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer), with lyrics by Peter Sinfield – Continue reading…
• Oxford Mail: Big names revealed for Cropredy music festival: The Proclaimers, ex-Marillion singer Fish and Toyah Willcox are the first acts to be announced an annual music festival in Cropredy, north Oxfordshire. Fairport’s Cropredy Convention will be hosted by folk rock legends Fairport Convention from Thursday, August 13 to Saturday, August 15 – Continue reading…
• Banbury Guardian: Proclaimers are walking 500 miles to Cropredy: On Saturday, Toyah Willcox will be another welcome newcomer to Cropredy when she performs with her band – Continue reading…
• Belfast Telegraph: In my day: Diane Roberts of Cell Partners on the time of her life: Q: And the style, what was that like? A: Flares and duffle coats to start, then ending up with tight jeans and big hair, a la Toyah Willcox, that’s a bit of a confession there! – Continue reading…
• Edinburgh Evening News: Real Lives: ‘One-off’ Brian was home in The Dome: The man credited with turning The Dome in George Street into one of the city’s leading venues has died. A larger-than-life character, Brian Crawford’s many friends and customers ranged from royalty to sporting heroes and actors. He had a close “gang of girlfriends” who included Lorraine Chase, Cilla Black, Rula Lenska, Sheila Ferguson, Shirley Bassey, Angela Rippon, Toyah Willcox and Lorna Luft – Continue reading…
Only 11 days until Christmas, why not download some festive Toyah music to help make the rest of the countdown more melodic.
1. Re-Joyce (In The Bleak Midwinter)by The Hazel O’Connor Collective, which included Toyah, was released four years ago at Christmas 2010. A charity single, raising funds for the hospice Hazel’s mum was looked after before her death. A great cause and a really good song. Download atiTunes.2. I Believe In Father Christmas, Toyah’s version of the Greg Lake 70s festive classic (which was voted one of the greatest ever Christmas songs in a 2012 poll) has gathered quite a history over the years: It was originally recorded for ITV’s Pop Goes Christmas in 1982, Safari then included it on the ‘Mayhem’ compilation album in 1985, and later it was also made available on the CD ‘Live & More’. Two Christmasses ago it was released as a standalone digital single. Download atiTunes.3. Winter In Wonderland, One year on and there was a new digital single, no make that an EP, for Christmas – Winter in Wonderland… Download atiTunes.
Yipee! It’s our first Christmas Countdown post – A great way to start, download some festive Toyah music to get you through the month.
1. Re-Joyce (In The Bleak Midwinter)by The Hazel O’Connor Collective, which included Toyah, was released three years ago at Christmas 2010. A charity single, raising funds for the hospice Hazel’s mum was looked after before her death. A great cause and a really good song.Download at iTunes. 2. I Believe In Father Christmas, Toyah’s version of the Greg Lake 70s festive classic (which was voted one of the greatest ever Christmas songs last year) has gathered quite a history over the years: It was originally recorded for ITV’s Pop Goes Christmas in 1982, Safari then included it on the ‘Mayhem’ compilation album in 1985, and later it was also made available on the CD ‘Live & More’. Last year it was released as a standalone digital single.Download at iTunes. 3. Winter In Wonderland, One year on and there’s a new digital single, no make that an EP, for Christmas – Winter in Wonderland…Download at iTunes.
A great photo of Toyah, taken backstage at ITV’s Pop Goes Christmas in late 1982. The song Toyah performed on the programme, ‘I Believe In Father Christmas’ was released as a digital single yesterday. Toyah’s 26th UK single, it’s available from iTunes and Amazon (and Amazon.com). Click below to zoom for the full version of the photo. (Thanks to Andi)
• Toyah’s 26th UK single was released yesterday. The 1982 recording of the Greg Lake classic ‘I Believe In Father Christmas’ is now available to download from from iTunes and Amazon (it’s also available at Amazon.com for anyone outside the UK). The song was recently placed 24th in the Top 50 Best Christmas Songs Of All-Time by PRS for Music.
• Toyah’s Christmas At The Zoo: The next airing for the three-hour Christmasfest is today at 7.30pm on Vintage TV.
• BBC Radio 4: Neil Tennant’s Smash Hits Christmas: Neil Tennant had a life as a journalist before he became famous as a Pet Shop Boy. In fact, it was on a Smash Hits trip to New York that he had his big breakthrough with the record producer Bobby O. (Includes a brief clip from the programme)
• The Telegraph: Today’s Radio Highlights: Thursday 20th December: Neil Tennant’s Smash Hits Christmas (Radio 4, 11.30am) makes it an even better day for 6 Music-inclined listeners to start tuning to this network.
• Neil Tennant’s Smash Hits Christmas: Lots more online press and interest on this, including Radio Times, Dummy and The Stage.
Toyah’s Christmas Countdown is well and truly under way at toyahwillcox.com, with the third reveal today. There’s a new box to open every day at around 1pm right through until Christmas Eve… Not only that but to celebrate its 30th anniversary ‘I Believe In Father Christmas’ is to be released as a digital single very soon.
Christmas 2024, and today Toyah’s version of, the Greg Lake festive classic, I Believe In Father Christmas is released as a standalone single for the very first time. 
