Toyah – Chameleon – The Very Best of Toyah: Album Review

By John Barlass on 10th September 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

First-ever career-spanning collection covers Toyah’s entire recording career – the band years, the solo years and the adventures alongside husband Robert Fripp. Chameleon REALLY is a ‘Best Of’ collection

Release Date: 5^th September 2025

Label: Cherry Red Records

Formats: 2xCD, 3xCD+Blu Ray, 2LP Vinyl

A TRUE ‘BEST OF’ COLLECTION

Rule-breaker, boundary-pusher, consummate entertainer. Even, dare I suggest it – National Treasure. Toyah Wilcox has been, and remains, all of these things – and she fulfills her roles in many guises, from attitude-loaded punk to loving companion. As the title to this career-spanning collection suggests, Toyah is a persona-shifting chameleon.

It’s hard to believe that Chameleon is the first ever comprehensive retrospective of Toyah’s varied recording career, a career that began as long ago as 1977 when fledgling actor Toyah hooked up with guitarist/songwriter Joe Bogen and keyboardist Pete Bush to form the band that would soon be christened ‘Toyah.’ Tall trees from little acorns grow – Toyah’s musical career went on to spawn over 20 albums and delivered eight Top 40 singles. And the highlights of that career are all here. Chameleon is, truly, a ‘Best Of’ collection.

THE PACKAGE OPTIONS

First, let’s cover the bare facts of Chameleon. The set is available in three separate formats – a 2LP vinyl album, a 40-track 2CD set or as a deluxe 3CD plus Blu Ray package. All of those chart hits are here, of course, and they’re accompanied by a rash of classic album cuts and a few deeper dives from both the Toyah band years and her days as a solo performer. And it’s an even spread, too, with Toyah’s most recent album, Posh Pop (2021), deservedly garnering as much attention as the songs from what the uninitiated might describe as Toyah’s ‘glory years.’ And it doesn’t stop there, the set also includes a couple of tracks from her most recent adventures alongside husband Robert Fripp.

The set, in whichever format you’d care to choose, comes accompanied by a 48-page booklet, packed with photos (many rare) from down the years and an illustrated timeline of Toyah’s career, from the early days of the late seventies to her 2024 appearances at the Glastonbury and Isle of Wight festivals. Perhaps most tellingly, the booklet also includes quotes from Shirley Manson (Garbage) and Saffron (Republica), both of whom revel in the empowerment that they feel was inspired by Toyah.

Toyah – At Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, August 2023

HITS, CLASSIC CUTS – AND MORE

Disc One of this set covers the Toyah band years, 1979-1983 – arguably the most commercially successful period of Toyah’s career. Like a lot of people, I hadn’t heard many of these songs for quite some time, and I was pleasantly surprised by how fresh and – yes – ageless they still sound. The hits are here, of course; the spite and rebellion in Toyah’s voice in I Want to Be Free comes over as clearly and sincerely as ever and, whilst not as overtly punky, there’s no shortage of attitude in Toyah’s delivery of her 1981 chartbuster, It’s A Mystery. She was becoming a star by then, but Toyah never let that status get in the way of what she had to say…

Thunder in the Mountains – another single from halcyon year of 1981 – is laden with synths and electro-rhythms and is very much of its day. It’s great to hear it again, and I was struck – possibly for the first time – by the similarity between Toyah and an agitated Kate Bush. Brave New World, a 1982 #21 hit still sounds as creepily sinister as ever whilst, by way of contrast, Good Morning Universe is bright and sparkly and 1983 hit, Rebel Run is confident, driven and typically (for the era) dystopic.

NOT A DUFFER TO BE FOUND

Elsewhere on Disc One, 1982 single Be Loud Be Proud (be Heard) could only ever be Toyah. Toyah and the band scrape the surface of spacy reggae for Jungles Of Jupiter – a standout track from the band’s 1981 Anthem album. Meanwhile, the supreme Dawn Chorus remains the highlight of 1982’s The Changeling – and the collection wouldn’t be complete without the flesh-freezing Ieya – tour-de-force and the climax to many-a live show.

I’ve picked out a few favourites from amongst the treasures on offer on Disc One of this set, but I can say, without fear of contradiction: there isn’t a duffer to be found here. Back in the late seventies and early eighties, Toyah meant business.

DISC 2 – THE SOLO YEARS

The Toyah band was disbanded in 1983 and Disc Two of the set covers Toyah’s solo work, from 1985 to (almost) the present day – from 1985 Top 30 hit, Don’t Fall In Love to 2024 single, Roses In Chains. The disc opens with a relatively new song, Dance In The Hurricane, a track from Toyah’s 2019 album, In The Court Of The Crimson Queen. It’s an inspired choice and the song’s spoken word intro: “Her hair the colour of rainbows, her emerald eyes so bright and unexplained; she was like no other – nothing could be tamed…” drives home the iconic status of this very special lady.

Toyah’s version of Echo Beach is electronic and electrifying and knocks spots off the Martha And The Muffins original and it’s great to see a selection of songs from Toyah’s triumphant 2021 studio return, Posh Pop, make the cut. Levitate, that album’s synth-drenched opening track, the bouncing, hyperactive Space Dance and the joyous Take Me Home are all here and each song demonstrates that Toyah lost none of her chutzpah during the 13 years that separated Posh Pop from its predecessor, the aforementioned In the Court Of The Crimson Queen.

INTRODUCING ROBERT…

Perhaps the greatest curios to be included in the first two discs of this set are the pair of tracks recorded with husband Robert. Worst In Me, apparently a personal favourite of Toyah’s, was recorded during the sessions for Kneeling at the Shrine, the 1991 album by Sunday All Over the World, a short(ish)-lived Fripp/Toyah joint venture. “I’m screaming in the bathroom, smashing all the mirrors,” sings Toyah in a powerful and energetic song that’s remained unreleased until now. And, to wrap up Disc Two, there’s a storming live recording of Bowie’s Fashion that features a marvelous Robert Fripp guitar solo (he played lead guitar on the Bowie original, remember).

FOR THE DELUXE PURCHASER…

Purchasers of the deluxe Chameleon package will also acquire an exclusive disc of Toyah rarities and collaborations that span the years 1980-2024, including an alternate mix of Rinaphobia, a song recorded with friend Keith Hale’s band, Blood Donor, in 1980. Hale was the composer of It’s A Mystery, and the first version of that song, also recorded with Blood Donor, is here, too. Toyah’s mid-nineties dalliance with German prog trio Kiss of Reality is represented by a trio of tracks, two of which – Daydreaming and Shirt of the Muse – are previously unreleased live recordings from a 1992 gig at The Orange Club, Kensington. And Toyah’s ongoing story is brought up to date with Blue Pearl and Darkest Moment/Well Connected, both recorded for the radio drama, Children of the Circus.

Finally, to wrap up the deluxe edition, the Blu Ray brings together 12 promotional videos, 22 classic BBC appearances and 6 songs from recent concerts. As with the rest of the collection, the promo videos are career-spanning and cover the period bookended by I want to Be Free and Roses In Chains.

Chameleon is, truly, a collection that collects the very best of a remarkable artist. And – you know what I like best about it? It demonstrates that Toyah hasn’t lost an ounce of her energy or attitude, despite the fact that she owns a bus pass now!

Watch Toyah perform her biggest hit, It’s A Mystery, on Top Of The Pops, 1981, below: