In June 1977, the band played their first gig without a name or a bass player. After several line-up changes, they spent a brief period under the name Ninth Illusion, without recording any music. In the beginning of 1978 they met again and the idea of Toyah the band was born. Bogen auditioned several musicians and chose Pete Bush (keyboards), Dave Robin (drums), and Windy Miller (bass), quartet quickly taking their name from their unusual vocalist and figurehead. Toyah debuted in Barnet's pub Duke of Lancaster on 27 June, and gave three more concerts in London. On 13 July, the band performed at Young Vic Festival. [2] The band began to record early demos in Willcox's converted warehouse called Mayhem – which comprised offices, recording and rehearsal rooms for many young bands on the London scene of the time. [2]
Early demos recorded during 1978 included songs called "Mother", "Hunger Hill", "Eyes", "Computers", "Gaoler", "Waiting", "Danced", "Neon Womb", "Problem Child", "Little Boy" and "Israel", several of which would make it onto the band's early releases, and several others would emerge on the later rarities compilation Mayhem in 1985. And then a record company offered them a contract. In 1980 Willcox remembered:
Commercial success
Following Willcox's appearance as punk musician Toola in an episode of the UK TV series Shoestring , ATV [9] filmed the band during this period, both off-stage and on. The result was a hit documentary watched by 10 million viewers, propelling Toyah into the mainstream, and the live album Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! (1980) at No. 22 in the UK Albums Chart. [6]
By this time it became clear that Willcox, rather than her band members, was getting the attention from the press. "I can't help it if I have so much charisma I wipe four blokes off the stage – I don't believe that's true. If people prefer watching me it's not through my doing. I’d say – all due respect to the band – I work harder than any of them and it's up to them to keep up with me if they want as much publicity as I get", she argued in 1980. [3] "When anything went wrong with the band a particular member would say it was because Toyah was acting. Which was a load of crap. So the band would go out, make mistakes, not rehearse enough, lose money, and they'd blame it on me because I was away acting. They couldn't live without me. They were totally dependent on me, so that overworked me. I was having to mother them the whole time. Which was ridiculous. They were like a bunch of old women, continually having periods as far as I was concerned", she told Paul Morley, adding that the group resented the attention she was getting, her tendency to want to write the music, the time she was away pursuing a role that created her image and diminished theirs. [8]
The line-up change
In 1981, the line-up changed, with only Willcox and Bogen remaining for the band's next set of releases. They were joined by Phil Spalding on bass, Nigel Glockler on drums and Adrian Lee on keyboards, and released the hit EP Four from Toyah , the lead-track from which is a cover called "It's a Mystery" – originally recorded by Sheep Farming in Barnet's producer Keith Hale and his band Blood Donor. "When I first heard 'It's a Mystery' I thought it wasn't for me. It was written by a friend called Keith Hale for a band called Blood Donor and the record company wanted me to cover it…" Toyah remembered. She hated it, thinking it was the end of her career, "of four brilliant years' work as a credible rock artist... Because I'd worked from 1977 right up to 1980 and I had an army of followers and I just knew this song wasn't for them", she added. [5] But the song proved to be a major success, and subsequent promotion pushed the EP to No. 4 in the UK singles charts. [6]
The album it was taken from, entitled Anthem (1981), reached No. 2 that same year, [6] and also featured the hit "I Want to Be Free", which charted highly in the UK (No. 8), [6] Ireland (No. 10) and South Africa (No. 10). "It was resonated with how I felt about my school years which was very strong even if I was only 22", Toyah said later. [10] The singer felt "We Are" might have been released as a single too. "I think history would have been re-written and we would have played Wembley in 1982 instead of Hammersmith for two nights. This was discussed between Safari and the promoters, that I could have been the first female artist to play Wembley Arena, but everyone played safe. Back then there would have been an audience backlash if we released three songs off the same album, we'd have been accused of ripping the fans off, it just wasn't done", she said in 2011. [11]
A non-album single, "Thunder in the Mountains", also hit the No. 4 spot. [6] "In 'Thunder in the Mountains' I wanted to be Bodicea, set in the future, a woman breaking free… everything I did that year was on the concept of breaking free", Toyah commented later. The Four More from Toyah EP followed, with its lead track "Good Morning Universe". This introduced Simon Phillips on drums ( having previously played for Judas Priest and Brian Eno), who had replaced Nigel Glockler (who had left to join Saxon who were prominent on the New wave of British heavy metal circuit ) . "Simon Phillips joining the band certainly changed me and Joel, he was so totally bloody awesome. He raised the bar and gave the band huge credibility", Willcox later remarked. [11] Both Phillips and Spalding later were quoted to mention their time with the band Toyah as being a turning point for them as musicians. "We were a great band. We had a kind of ESP on stage. For many musicians, they are told what they can and can't play and above all must never shine above the lead singer. With me I want a solid team where all the members are unique and I think this is why Phil and Simon enjoyed the experience", Willcox said. [11]
Now seeing Adrian Lee's keyboard duties taken over by newcomer Simon Darlow and Joel Bogen, the band recorded a much darker gothic album entitled The Changeling (1982). The album, made at the times Toyah described as being the hardest for her, [11] was still a success, as was lead single "Brave New World", but neither reached the heights of their predecessors, and a follow-up single announced as "Dawn Chorus" never materialised – a new track, "Be Proud Be Loud (Be Heard)" emerging instead. The album was followed by a tour, captured on the double live album Warrior Rock: Toyah on Tour (1982).
Split
The final Toyah album, Love Is the Law , followed in 1983, and again saw another line-up change, with only Willcox, Bogen and Darlow remaining. Phillips had been replaced by Andy Duncan, and Spalding shared bass duties with Brad Lang: both Phillips and Spalding had moved on to work with Mike Oldfield. Singles from the album failed to chart highly with the band's final single, "The Vow" (1983), peaking at No. 50. [6]
Willcox and Bogen parted ways the following year – the pair writing several songs which never reached the recording studio, and Bogen co-writing one song for Toyah's debut solo album Minx in 1985. Toyah herself had left Safari at this point, after being signed to CBS offshoot Portrait Records as a solo artist. Safari released the rarities compilation Mayhem (1985) – featuring demos and unreleased songs – however, this was done without Toyah's consent or knowledge – she found out about the album by spotting it on import in a record store in America. The Mayhem compilation issued by Safari in 1985, was an un-authorised release. "Of all the albums I wish had not been released 'Mayhem' is the one. It's sub standard, with songs not intended for release. In fact it makes my blood boil when I think of the plain exploitation of this album, but hopefully it never sold many copies. The songs on it were rehearsal demos, never intended for anything other than workshopping ideas", Willcox said later. [11]
Nigel Glockler joined Saxon where he stayed for many years. Simon Phillips was already a session musician when he joined Toyah and remains so. Phil Spalding became a session bassist and played bass with GTR. Toyah Willcox started her successful solo career. Her first album Minx was more a pop-oriented than her previous works; later she took a more experimental approach ( Prostitute ), collaborating on several records with her husband, Robert Fripp, and in 2000s returned to her late-1970s roots ( Velvet Lined Shell , In the Court of the Crimson Queen ). There were discussions regarding a Toyah band reunion in the late 1990s-early 2000s, but the project never got off the ground.
In 2020, the Sheep Farming in Barnet album was released as an expanded deluxe edition by Cherry Red Records, containing the original album, and demos and previously unreleased material as bonus material. It also includes a DVD with interviews and performances of the songs off the album from 1979 and 1980, as well as acoustic interpretations of several of the songs recorded in 2020. [12]
