I wish you all health, love, happiness and dreams come true in 2021.
You all deserve it! For your patience, your inner strength, you’re resilience, you deserve your dreams to come true in 2021.
This is the year that made heroes of you all. The incredible work of the NHS, scientists, carers, delivery people and those who held on with all their inner strength against the incredible fear, isolation and confusion, those who taught their children, who cooked and delivered for others, who shouted “I LOVE YOU” through glass windows to their elderly loved ones, may we never go through this again. God Bless you, you are remarkable.
Here it has been a phenomenal end to 2020. The release, mid year , of box sets TOYAH SOLO and TOYAH AND THE HUMANS lit my sky like a brilliant sun on the morning horizon.
This was a major achievement considering the amount of geographical ground covered just to produce the product in lockdown.
SHEEP FARMING IN BARNET sees the light of day for the first time in decades. Released on Friday 11 December.
It has taken 30yrs of constant, civilised, pressure from myself , Joel Bogen and Craig Astley but when record companies keep an artist’s work as a future asset to be sold and are not active with it, it’s the artist who suffers. We can now put all this behind us and start to bring this music back to the fans, thanks to Cherry Red.
AND it’s not the end of this particular battle for me, Universal hold the rights to so many other TOYAH ALBUMS and Publishing, no matter how much I point out they are inactive with my life’s work they are holding onto their vast pool of dormant assets for future sale of the company when the CEOs want to retire.
We need regulations where an artist can claim back inactive work that has ownership in another company. If you are not familiar with this practice, publishers and large record companies for the past 15yrs have been asset building artists work… it’s all just numbers to them… then they sell the company for billions.
In the late 80s I had management who sold not only my work but other artists on their roster to keep cash fluid, we were never consulted…..but I keep on pushing, offering to buy my work back…one day this practice will be forced to stop by law.
For 2021 good news out shines the not so good news, the end of isolation is in sight and a new future awaits us all.
This means I will be gigging solidly, I do need to have the vaccine, but once I have it there’s no stopping me. I believe all artists and musicians will have to so venues don’t have liability if we catch Covid. This is all a new era for everyone.
My year looks like its starting with two months on a movie, for which I am studying guitar for over and hour every day (hopefully more once things quieten for Christmas)……more on that when I am based in Portugal where the shoot is taking place.
POSH POP is on schedule. Simon Darlow and I have signed a brand new recording contract with DEMON MUSIC…WOW! I am a woman in my 60s, working flat out and I have never been so grateful.
This year has given me the chance to launch TOYAH TV on YOU TUBE. We have loved every moment. Fripp is a totally new man. Embracing martial arts, singing, dancing and excited that in 2021 we will be branding TOYAH AND ROBERT AT HOME as our semi-retirement creative work for the future.
Acquiring a fan base from around the world has been one of lockdown’s surprises. Another was an invite to sing Happy Birthday to Babe Station TV! I declined. That is a place purely for the physically young and vivacious!
Paid work is happening at last. 10 months without income has been terrifying but in the last four weeks the ball is rolling again.
I found myself in Elstree Studios with a dressing room opposite Gok Wan, Brian Conley and Jonathan Ross. NEVER NEVER have I been so pleased to see other human beings.
Jonathan Ross came and said hello with his face mask on…rather sexy I must say and we caught up with our “lockdown” news. Jonathan really enjoyed Marc Almond’s Marc Bolan tribute, which I took part in, he said he paid to view it which made me chuckle. He loved Fripp, Nigel Clarke and myself performing RIDE A WHITE SWAN.
Having never met Gok before I am happy to say he is as fabulous as you would expect, a ton of fun and really lovable and as for Brian, that silver fox gets better and better, I have so much admiration for him. He looked great.
This year will be a budget Christmas, one of the best because I am far more thoughtful. In my spare moments, usually midnight onwards I’ve been making gifts for people. Artworks.
Our home had to change during lockdown to accommodate all the publicity I needed to do, so as you know we now have a Green Screen area, a recording set up but also my art studio has moved to the downstairs dining room, a room we never used and I love it. My insomnia now has a purpose. I can draw, paint and create!
As I look at my 74year old hubby I thank God for the precious 10 months with him in isolation.
The beginning was tough. I am used to being alone. We have never had 10 months together 24 hours a day in 35 years together. I thought I knew him, I didn’t , but I do now!
The one thing I will change, once lives are normal again, I will not cook another lunch for at least a year! I really do not enjoy cooking!
So much was challenging but following the lives of others online, other people who were alone, needing money, needing food, or not getting on with their partners we realised how fortunate we actually are.
The past month has been quite a challenge. Apparently I experienced exhaustion levels, I wouldn’t know I just keep going till the job in hand is done but I woke up one morning with a black eye and the doctor saw me immediately and diagnosed Shingles. I’ve had it twice before, always because of physical exhaustion, but a few days later I was looking in the mirror and I saw what look liked a “ toothbrush bristle” sticking out my eye socket…….yes somehow, I, the most accident prone person I have ever known managed to lodge an entire one inch brush bristle in my eye socket! Removing it I was hugely relieved not to have Shingles! How it got there in the first place…….. it might have been due to sleepwalking!
Myself and my wonderful creative team leave 2020 knowing that SHEEP FARMING IN BARNET is where it should be, released out into the world, for its devoted fans. Those of you who are discovering it for the first time I hope you enjoy this uniquely special album.
Now we can guarantee not only SHEEP FARMING but BLUE MEANING, TOYAH! TOYAH! TOYAH!, ANTHEM, THE CHANGELING, WARRIOR ROCK and LOVE IS THE LAW are all going to be re-released thanks to CHERRY RED RECORDS.
I am so grateful.
TOYAH AT HOME: SHEEP FARMING SPECIAL is available on TOYAH OFFICIAL YOU TUBE and it’s a celebratory beauty! So much great archive footage, it captures that special energy of the time brilliantly.
I WISH YOU ALL HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR. STAY SAFE, THIS IS THE LAST HURDLE THEN WE ARE THERE.
BE PROUD, BE LOUD, BE HEARD BIG LOVE TOYAH XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
HELLO THERE AND HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!