Prostitute (1988) is a concept album, highly experimental in nature, marking a considerable divergence from Toyah’s previous works. It was inspired particularly by the scrutiny her recent marriage to Robert Fripp was under in the press, which made her feel that she “had gone from all-powerful artist to invisible woman”.
Produced by Toyah Willcox and Tony Arnold, the material was written and recorded only by Toyah and Steve Sidelnyc in a space of a few weeks.
It is presented as a continuous piece of music, although a time-code programme has been provided to enable the listener to access a particular title. To accommodate the two-sided format of the LP and cassette releases, side one – subtitled Lie Down – contains the first seven titles, and side two – subtitled Think of England – contains the rest of the album.
The cover photo comes from Stuart Brisley’s performance The Game (1969).[6]