The National Album Listening Party 2020 for Anthem took place one year ago this week. You can listen to a replay of it by clicking below. Toyah tweeted on Tuesday: “we shall celebrate the 40+1 anniversary of the Anthem album in 2022“.
Retail joy as National Album Day makes biggest impact yet
National Album Day’s 2020 edition has been celebrated as the most successful yet, with the BPI’s Geoff Taylor leading the celebrations.
Taylor said the team behind the event has “taken it to the next level” as National Album Day releases claimed three places in the albums Top 20 and contributed to a 24% lift in sales for Saturday, October 10.
National Album Day ambassador, Toyah Willcox, said: “It has been a huge privilege to be a NAD ambassador this year. Celebrating the music of the ’80s, a decade that is loved by generation after generation. The art in making an entire album is a journey the artist wants to take the audience on, personally I have treated all my albums as an audio journey. This year’s re-releases encouraged music lovers to buy timeless music. I like to think NAD has also encouraged new up-coming artists to think about making full albums as their right of expression, thus keeping the high street retailers stocked and trading in decades to come. It has been a really lovely experience in a crazy year!”
• Continue reading at Music Week.
National Album Day Organisers Hail Impact Of 2020 Event
The third edition of National Album Day, held last Saturday, 10th October, has been hailed the most successful yet by industry figures and by its joint organisers, the BPI and The Entertainment Retailers Association, with the impact reflected in the Official Vinyl Charts, the Official Album Charts and sales overall as well as across media and socials.
Presented in association with broadcast partner BBC Sounds and audio partner Bowers & Wilkins, National Album Day celebrates our love of the album, the continuing importance of the format, and the personal stories artists can share through the artform. This year the day paid tribute to the musically rich decade of the 1980s, supported by a host of artist ambassadors and album platforms such as Tim’s Twitter Listening Parties and Classic Album Sundays.
• Continue reading at bpi.co.uk.
National Album Day: 80s theme helps boost sales of classic albums
Several popular titles were reissued to coincide with this year’s 80s-themed National Album Day.
This year’s National Album Day resulted in a boost in album sales last week, new figures have revealed.
The UK-wide event – a celebration of the album format organised by The BPI and the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) – took place on Saturday, October 10 and was themed around the 1980s.
The BPI reports that of all the albums released to coincide with National Album Day, 25,000 copies were sold on vinyl, contributing to a total of just under 112,000 vinyl albums sold that week – a week-on-week uplift of 9.2%.
The Saturday of National Album Day itself (Oct. 10) saw vinyl sales rise by 24% on the previous Saturday (and 19% year-on-year), while the Friday – the day the albums were largely all released – saw a 44% year-on-year spike.
One of this year’s National Album Day ambassadors, Toyah Willcox said: “This year’s re-releases encouraged music lovers to buy timeless music. I like to think NAD has also encouraged new up-coming artists to think about making full albums as their right of expression, thus keeping the high street retailers stocked and trading in decades to come.”
• Continue reading at Official Charts.
“Remove the thorn from the lion’s paw, hear my words, pain no more…”
Last Saturday’s episode of Toyah At Home , a National Album Day 2020 special, featured two archive performances: The iconic Brave New World, from The Changeling, and Toyah’s 1981 single, I Want To Be Free, from Anthem.
Click below to watch/rewatch episode 17, with lots of album chat from Toyah as well as memories about the “first album cover and back cover” (Sheep Farming In Barnet), and She from The Blue Meaning – “Steve Bray’s drums… Charlie Francis on Bass!”. Episode 18 of Toyah At Home airs tomorrow at 11am at Toyah’s official You Tube channel, and Facebook.
Today is National Album Day 2020 and Toyah is one of this year’s Ambassadors, with the 2020 theme of the event being the 80’s!
In celebration, Toyah is hosting a Listening Party this afternoon for the iconic 1981 album Anthem.
There was also another episode of Toyah At Home this morning, as well as Toyah’s Album Escapes. Read Toyah’s HMV Record Collection interview, and win a Sheep Farming In Barnet reissue rarity.
Keep an eye on Toyah at Twitter for more National Album Day news and updates. Click below for the Anthem Listening Party venue, taking place from 3pm today.
Win a rare Sheep Farming In Barnet reissue rarity, courtesy of HMV…
It’s National Album Day on Saturday 10th October and to celebrate we will be running a new prize draw everyday with prizes from some of the National Album Day Ambassadors who are supporting this exciting day.
Happy National Album Day!! Today, we have a prize from Toyah Willcox where you could win a signed test pressing of remastered Sheep Farming vinyl!
• To enter, all you have to do is enter your details here or by clicking below. (The prize draw ends at 11:59pm Saturday 10th October. Entries received after this time will not be included.)
Toyah Willcox: ‘You can’t copy me, I’ve trademarked my name’
Toyah Willcox, a National Album Day 80s ambassador, has copywritten her name to stop copycat artists from emerging
“I gave girls the right to believe in themselves. I was getting 10,000 letters a week, most of them starting with ‘I’ve just been expelled from school for dyeing my hair pink,’” reflects Toyah Willcox, the singer and actress whose electric hair and rebellious anthems lit up the charts in the 1980s.
A Top of the Pops fixture with hits like It’s A Mystery, I Want To Be Free and Thunder In The Mountains, accompanied by a video of Toyah thundering across a barren landscape on a chariot, the empowered image portrayed by the Birmingham-born singer directly inspired Shirley Manson and other singers who adapted her punk style.
The only pop star to have acted opposite Laurence Olivier and appeared in two films directed by arthouse auteur Derek Jarman, before going on to narrate the BBC’s Teletubbies, Toyah, 62, has now trademarked herself as a one-word “brand.”
• Continue reading at inews.co.uk.
National Album Day follows on Saturday, with an 80s theme of its own. Record stores will be stocked with limited editions of classics like ZZ Top’s Eliminator, Paul Simon’s Graceland, Cyndi Lauper’s She’s So Unusual, Prefab Sprout’s Steve McQueen and Duran Duran’s self-titled debut album.
On Twitter, Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess will hold an all-day session of his album listening parties, featuring Toyah Willcox (15:00 BST), Marillion (17:30 BST), Matthew Wilder (19:00 BST), Blossoms (20:00 BST) and La Roux (21:00 BST).
• Continue reading at BBC News. Toyah’s Anthem Listening Party will be held at 3pm on Saturday at Tim’s Twitter Listening Party.
Toyah says: “Tomorrow is World Mental Health Day as well as National Album Day, and given the incredibly difficult year we’ve all had music can be powerful in helping ease anxieties. I’ll be revealing the music that comforts me + My Album Escape at 9am on Sat 10 Oct”.
My Record Collection by Toyah Willcox
A National Album Day Special
In My Record Collection, we dig down to the bottom of musicians’ souls to find out what the most treasured parts of their record collection are. This week, we’re counting down to National Album Day.
This year, the organisers are taking us back to the 1980s, to a time when nu-romantics, big hair, arena rock and electronics ruled the chart. We’re celebrating all week on hmv.com with a selection of features from the day’s ambassadors, which this year include La Roux, Blossoms, Kim & Marty Wilde, Toyah Willcox and more! Each day this week, we’ll be showing off the record collections from an ambassador, as they count down their memories of the 1980s, as they lived it, or just as they wished they had.
We continue today with Toyah Willcox…
The record that made me want to make music was…
“For me, it’s David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. It is almost impossible to pinpoint one Bowie album that made me want to write music because they all did, but the unique thing Bowie achieved above all other artists was to have a burst of creativity that lasted a whole decade from the early ’70s into the ’80s.”
“Bowie surfed the Zeitgeist effortlessly like a Pied Piper and lead a generation into the brilliant unknown with each album release. Ziggy was my first discovery of Bowie’s genius and thereafter he awed me with everything he ever did.”
The record I played throughout the 1980s was…
“It was Roxy Music’s Avalon. I have loved Roxy Music since their first album. Their sound is utterly unique, but tricks you into thinking that it is familiar, it isn’t, they are one of the cleverest bands of all time, creating a whole movement of stylish cool and smooth dance-inducing music. Avalon is a super commercial album but it hasn’t sold out in any way. It is the definition of lounge cool.”
The record that takes me back to the 1980s was…
“It’s Tears For Fears and their album Songs From The Big Chair. There are easily three albums that define the 80’s Kate Bush’s Hounds Of Love, Peter Gabriel’s So and Songs From The Big Chair.”
“Songs From The Big Chair has a wealth of classics that have inspired so many who followed. ‘Shout’ is an all-time anthemic great and ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’ must be one of the cleverest songs of the ’80s, a decade often associated with greed.”
• Continue reading at hmv.com. Browse our National Album Day 2020 news archive.
The next episode of Toyah At Home is coming this Saturday (10th October), which is also National Album Day 2020. Do you have any questions about Toyah’s albums..?
Sheep Farming In Barnet, The Blue Meaning, Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!, Anthem, The Changeling, Warrior Rock – Toyah On Tour, Love Is The Law, Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! All The Hits, Minx, Mayhem, The Lady Or The Tiger, Desire, Prostitute…
There are many to choose from, and that impressive list is just Toyah’s album releases of the 1980s!!
Submit your questions in the comments section at Toyah’s official Instagram and Twitter, about albums or anything else and tune in at 11am on Saturday at You Tube and Facebook. (Photo © Toyah Willcox)
British Home Entertainment Wants the ’80s Back
“The ’80s called. They want their store back,” was a memorable line from RadioShack’s 2014 Super Bowl ad. Now, the British Association for Screen Entertainment is launching a marketing campaign pushing top movies and music albums from the 1980s onto coronavirus-rattled consumers in the 21st Century.
Retailers will showcase range of classic 80s titles on Blu-ray Disc, DVD and transactional VOD, including Big, Blade Runner, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Cocktail, Conan The Destroyer, Dirty Dancing, Dune, ET, Ghost, Ghostbusters, The Goonies, Labyrinth, The Lost Boys, Purple Rain, Robocop, Stand By Me, Top Gun and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, among others.
“Great music and cinematic stories have always gone hand in hand and the 80’s is a perfect example,” Toyah Willcox, British musician and National Album Day 2020 ambassador, said in a statement. “Cinema in the 80’s was revolutionary for bringing high octane action and rock music together and I am proud to have been a part of this era. Cinema in 80’s was also about bringing the audience thrills, thrills and even more thrills. Never has there been a more appropriate time to revisit this celluloid adventures.”
• Continue reading at Media Play News.
Toyah’s October 2020 blog is available at toyahwillcox.com. A great read , as always, with info on National Album Day, Bill Rieflin and much more. Fantastic to also hear that my favourite artist is 31% Scottish. And a very Merry Christmas to Toyah and Robert!
As we head towards National Album Day on Saturday 10th October, today’s Sunday Lunch video on You Tube sees Toyah and Robert exploring some of the albums & discs out there in the shops. Premieres 12 noon. (Image © Toyah Willcox)
The Big Vinyl Show: BBC Radio Kent:
Sunday 4th October: 8pm
Mark Punter plays the greatest hits from the 1960s, 70s and 80s, ALL on vinyl. Starting tonight the big vinyl show on BBC Essex can also be heard on BBC Radio Kent. Welcome all! Looking ahead to National Album Day UK on Saturday with one of its ambassadors, the great Toyah. See you at 8pm.
Deezer’s 80’s Drive In, with special LIVE appearance by 80s icon Toyah Willcox.
Grab your car keys, because music streaming service Deezer is hosting a one-off drive-in experience to celebrate National Album Day 2020.
DEEZER’S 80’S DRIVE IN
WED 7 OCT – 7:00PM
PRICE: £15 PER CAR
Doors open: 6pm | Start time: 7pm
Join us for a night packed with 80s music and fancy dress! Grab your snacks at 80s prices while you sing your heart out to Madonna. Retro dress code of leg warmers and bright colours is strongly encouraged!
Pull up to Drive In London and you’ll be treated to original tour performance videos from the decade’s biggest icons: (1985) Madonna, ‘The Virgin Tour’, (1987) Prince, ‘Sign O’ The Times’, (1987) Stevie Nicks, ‘Live at Red Rocks’, (1988) David Bowie, ‘Glass Spider Tour’.
100% of event proceeds will go to the Help Musicians charity. There’s limited spots available – so grab your ticket early and get ready to party 80’s style including a special menu at 80’s prices.
• Continue reading/Book tickets at The Drive In.
Celebrating National Album Day UK, Toyah will be making a live appearance 7pm, Wednesday 7th October at Deezer Drive In, London. Packed with 80s music, food + fancy dress, tickets only £15 per car & 100% of profits to Help Musicians charity. Click below to see Toyah’s tweet about this, and here for ticket info.
Join Toyah on Saturday October 10th at 3pm (UK time) for a National Album Day Listening Party. Anthem will be the featured album, with Toyah as a special guest.
Details of National Album Day 2020 have been announced, which this year celebrates the music of the 80s.
Now in its third year, National Album Day 2020 will take place on October 10 and celebrate the album format through a series of special events. As well as a series of special events (still to be announced), several big 80s releases are being reissued on vinyl or as a boxset. A selected list appears at the bottom of the page.
Five ambassadors have so far been announced for this year’s event: Blossoms, La Roux, Billy Ocean, Toyah Willcox and The Psychedelic Furs.
• Continue reading at Official Charts.
Billy Ocean, Blossoms, La Roux, The Psychedelic Furs & Toyah Willcox
National Album Day will return for its third edition on Saturday 10 October with the perfect antidote to lockdown blues – a celebration of arguably music’s greatest decade, the Eighties!
Toyah Willcox, who emerged from post-punk to become one of the defining voices of the 80s, said: “I am supporting National Album Day because it is important that future generations do not miss out on the fantastic experience of listening to a whole album of songs…A culture could be lost if listeners never experience how life changing it is to discover a hidden gem not deemed worthy of being a single by a record company, ie Bowie’s ‘Lady Grinning Soul’ on Aladdin Sane. When I heard this song I felt the artist was speaking directly to me. Listening to an entire album is enriching and allows the listener precious time to connect with creativity… Albums are akin to a great book, a great party, a brilliant day in the park…they are the whole meal.”
• Continue reading at the National Album Day website.
