Dreamscape - Fan Article : Day The Music Died (Rob Cope)

Looking at the music scene today it is never more apparent that nostalgia is in, be it a re-forming of old bands or the covering of their hits by contemporary artists, many so lacking in original ideas that it's about the only thing they can do successfully. Duran Duran have got their original line up back together, so have Roxy Music. It's even rumoured that Spandau Ballet are on the verge of a revival. But in this tidal wave of eighties sepia tinted fondess just where is Toyah ? It is a question we long term fans should seriously be asking. There was a major insult a few days ago at the Top Of The Pops reunion when Miss Willcox turned up - looking stunning - and was interviewed for a few moments but her music contribution amounted to little more than a few seconds during a montage of clips from the era. Why ? Is it the music itself ? Each to their own tastes I know but just listen to the quality of the material, from the jazzy influenced Neon Womb, the spiritual dawning of Danced, the almost ethereal Ieya... Rock and roll classics to be sure. Perhaps this isn't best illustrated by her hit singles, I Want To Be Free is at best commercial fodder but It's A Mystery is a good singalong anthem, Thunder In The Mountains has a gothic quality which you would have thought might have transcended generations, Rebel Run similarly has an epic quality. These are good songs performed by a classic band, just why are they being virtually ignored today ?

We must face facts, Toyah has not found a new generation of admirers by and large. There is a large devoted core who perhaps were teenagers in the 80's but who are now thirty something and still craving for more from the Minx that they knew back then. Other bands such as Culture

Club, Madness, Duran etc. have gone forward and not only retained their generation but gathered a new younger following. This has not happened with the Toyah band . If we assume her most popular recordings were for Safari then their independent label status has over the years been a problem. Other bands signed to more populist labels (or having been brought out by larger companies) are instantly included on eighties compilation CD's through package deals but not Toyah. How many Toyah recordings have you found on 80's compilation CD's. Very few indeed. Because she is not found on these types of releases the music isn't heard in department stores, on radio, at football grounds... Anywhere music is played publically. So therefore the public at large are not hearing the Toyah music. How can you hope to attract new followers if the music is silent. Another long term problem of course is that with Toyah Willcox's very strong image it might be thought by some bystanders that the music was secondary to the image (which as every true follower knows is far from the case.) The Anthem and Changeling reissues were moderate successes but a refusal to continue the trend with Love Is The Law showed that they were expected to sell better.

The only real hope for a reversal of fortunes is for a Toyah track to be included in the soundtrack of a major television or movie release. That way the songs would attract attention with a different generation but as movies usually use one track by a particular artist it would be extremely difficult to predict which track would be most suitable for getting the attention in today's music market where anything that can't be successfully played on the dance floor is relegated to minority interest. The other possibility of a current artist covering one of her songs is rather remote of course, although I personally would

like to see Oasis have a go at Danced or even Hear'Say try a stab at Don't Fall In Love (I Said).

Toyah herself seems to have given up the ghost of her music career. She
understandably concentrates on acting (a profession which still welcomes her) and the rather dubious presenting. I sometimes wonder what sort of shows Toyah turns DOWN if she says yes to the sort of drivel that she sometimes emerges on our screens

I can only think that Through The Keyhole and it's like pay good money. At 42 years old she is perhaps no spring chicken in the rock world, but as Tina Turner and Cher have proved, age counts for nothing when good songs and a talent to create abound.

I would think that Toyah herself is as saddened as we are that she is no longer up there with the best selling acts, or even as a strong concert performer, through no fault of her own. It seems a gross injustice that music which once inspired a generation can no longer find a voice in the new Millennium. That does not stop us from feeling the thrill of her recordings of course, but like the hump backed whale we are an endangered species. Isn't it time to launch our own self preservation society: Save The Toyah otherwise the only place you'll find us is "Over the hill and far away where the Teletubbies come out to play..."

Rob Cope
June 2001