The final Toyah album for the Safari imprint gets the Cherry Red deluxe reissue treatment.
Release Date: 8th November 2024
Label: Cherry Red Records
Formats: 2 x CD plus DVD package
1983 – A THRILLING, HECTIC YEAR
1983 was a thrilling, hectic year for Toyah Wilcox. It was a year that she entered on a high, riding the wave of the success of her goth-flavoured 1982 album, The Changeling and her nominations as British Breakthrough Act and Best Female Solo Artist at the 1982 Brit Awards. As 1982 morphed into 1983, the little victories kept on coming. She was awarded the leading, title, role of Trafford Tanzi in the successful production of the play at London’s Mermaid Theatre and was also preparing to ship out to The Dordogne region of France to star, alongside Sir Laurence Olivier in Robert Knight’s film of John Fowles’ novel The Ebony Tower. Busy, huh?
Toyah’s acting commitments were only a part of her 1983 story because, alongside her appearances at The Mermaid, she, along with her band and Producer Nick Tauber, was also fully engaged in composing, recording and producing her 5th album – the last she would record with her eponymous band and for the Safari imprint – Love Is The Law.
It worked like this:
Toyah and the band set up shop in the makeshift studio in Toyah’s house in Finchley to pre-write, programme and demo the songs for the album. They’d do that during the daytime until it was time for Toyah to break off and head to The Mermaid for the evening’s Trafford Tanzi production. Afterwards, she’d rejoin the band to carry on working. Once the demoes were finished, the band relocated to Marquee Studios and Toyah would flit back and forth between Theatre and Studio. In Toyah’s words: “The making of this album was the happiest period of my life… It was a killer timetable, but I loved it with a passion. It all made me extraordinarily creative”
A MODERNIZED SOUND
The effort was worth it – artistically if not necessarily commercially. After exploring the potential of goth for The Changeling, Toyah was keen to probe yet another direction. 1983 was the ‘era of the synthesizer’ and bands and artists like The Human League, Duran Duran and Depeche Mode were all enjoying huge chart success with their electronic concoctions. Toyah wanted to ‘modernize,’ and she saw a way in which she could. Simon Darlow, a guest musician on The Changeling was drafted into the band as full-time member and his synthesizers are an ever-present throughout the album. Visually, too, changes were made. The band’s well-known Toyah ‘signature’ logo was abandoned in favour of a straight-lined ‘arrow’ logo and the new imagery was extended to the album’s artwork and to Toyah’s costumery.
Love Is The Law has been a long-standing favourite of Toyah’s – she’s called it “A vibrant, brilliant rock/pop album” and is ready to declare that: “I love this album. The songs and memories of the period fill me with joy.” Love is the Law is definitely a product of its time; indeed, many of the songs on the original album could ONLY have been written and recorded in 1983. But that’s no bad thing and, as an example of the music of that era, it’s a good one. The songs are powerful and the production is exemplary. Toyah is on top vocal form, with her theatrical experience clearly evident in the drama that she brings to her vocal delivery.
CLASSIC TRACKS
There are some classic songs here, too. Opening track Broken Diamonds – half sizzling rocker, half calming ballad – serves eye-opening notice of the new direction that Toyah was taking; a big, big, sound, a tight, crisp drumbeat, loads of soaring synth and a thoroughly dramatic vocal from the lead lady. I Explode is a true highlight – of the album and, arguably, of Toyah’s entire career. A song about “the intense emotions that destroy the essence of who you are,” it provides a platform for Toyah to slip fully into character.
Elsewhere, lead single, Rebel Run is a truly grand affair in which Toyah gives all – and more. It’s amazing, from the viewpoint of 2024, that the song didn’t climb any higher in the singles chart than No.24, especially considering that Toyah’s competition for places on the chart ladder of the time included names like Adam Ant (Puss ‘n Boots) and Shakin’ Stevens (Cry Just a Little Bit). In her engaging 2024 interview – included on the DVD that accompanies this package – Toyah suggests that sales returns from some record shop chains perhaps weren’t as they should have been….
The band simmer nicely on Martian Cowboy – another album highlight – and the synth/flute sound adds an unexpected folky feel (definitely not the flavour of the month in 1983 but genuinely refreshing in 2024) whilst Toyah channels Kate Bush on the anthemic Dreamscape – “A rallying cry for the human race to unite and liberate itself” (a plea that remains unheeded to this day…)
BRING IN THE REINFORCEMENTS!
During the run of Trafford Tanzi at The Mermaid Theatre, a growing number of Toyah fans had started to gather outside the theatre whilst Toyah was performing and, after the production, they would follow Toyah and her entourage to the Marquee Studio, where the recording of the album was ongoing. The fans called themselves the Angels and Demons and, one morning, at 2am, they were invited into the studio to form a makeshift chorus to contribute to the album’s title track. A raucous, anarchic bunch, they came over all quiet and respectful when they were placed in front of the microphones, but their contribution is joyful.
Perhaps the outstanding moment of the original album is closing track and second single, The Vow. In a truly radical departure, the track features a REAL orchestra, conducted by Simon Darlow’s father. The track represents a totally new aspect of Toyah and a golden opportunity for her to emphasise her versatility. It’s a baroque ballad with dreamy backing vocals that sit in clear contrast to Toyah’s snappy vocals. The single crept into the charts before stalling at No.50. It deserved so much more and, in hindsight, it stands as a song that could have lifted Toyah to an entirely new level.
The time is right for Love Is The Law to receive the reappraisal it deserves. Perhaps, back in late 1983, Toyah’s fans were disorientated by her move in the direction of electronica but, as an example of that genre, it stands comparison with any of the more commercially successful products from less talented, less passionate artists. I’d also suggest that Love is the Law represents a great chance for any Toyah non-believers to reassess their own views, too.
LOTS OF EXTRA GOODIES…
Of course, the original album is far from being the whole point of this reissue. Cherry Red have, once again, done a great job in bringing together all the relevant contemporaneous material associated with the album. For example, the extras that sit alongside the original tracklisting on Disc 1 include alternative versions of Rebel Run and Love Is The Law singles: Be Proud Be Loud (Be Heard and Ieya and a version of Greg Lake’s I Believe in Father Christmas, recorded by Toyah, Joel and Keith Hale for Granada TV’s Pop Goes Christmas, broadcast on Boxing Day 1982.
It’s perhaps Disc 2 that will be of particular interest to Toyah’s diehard fans; it’s a 21-track compilation of rare and archive material that includes instrumental and alternative versions of the Love Is The Law material, alongside a collection of early demos.
Perhaps the real pot of gold in this reissue can be found on Disc 3, a DVD that compiles a 2024 interview, Toyah’s track-by-track commentary of the original Love is the Law album, a live 2018 performance and a host of BBC television appearances. It’s always a pleasure to watch a Toyah interview and her informative recollections of how Love Is The Law was incubated and recorded created – peppered with photos of her encounters with the Angels and Demons outside The Mermaid Theatre – are a delight. The footage of her 2018 London show is – almost literally – explosive and her appearances on such televisual gems as Saturday Swapshop, Top of the Pops and Crackerjack are an alluring time capsule.
Cherry Red have done it again.
Watch the official video to Rebel Run – the lead single from Love is the Law – here:
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