Remastered and expanded 2023 2CD/DVD ediion of Toyah’s 1982 album The Changeling.

 

A darker, more grown-up sequel to the previous year’s Anthem, the album was produced by the acclaimed Steve Lillywhite and featured a line-up of Toyah with Joel Bogen (guitar), Phil Spalding (bass) and the revered Simon Phillips (drums). Andy Clark (Be Bop Deluxe) guests on keyboards.

 

Includes acoustic and alternate versions, demos, previously unheard bonus tracks, previously unseen footage and unseen, previously thought-lost, imagery.

 

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• This Expanded 2CD+DVD set presents the album in a new remaster by Nick Watson from the original master tapes, approved by Joel Bogen, and further endorsed by Steve Lillywhite.

• 31 bonus tracks are distributed across the two audio discs, including 20 previously unreleased tracks, and a further three previously unavailable on any CD.

• CD1 includes two finished outtakes from the album sessions, B-Side Warrior Rock and the unused Paradise Child. The long-sought after re-recording of Dawn Chorus, previously only available on a BBC television appearance makes its CD debut after appearing in March 2023 on Cherry Red’s 10” vinyl EP of Brave New World which sold out in minutes.

• The eight remastered tracks that featured on Cherry Red’s expanded vinyl release of the November 1981 EP Four More From Toyah also make their CD debut. This includes the previously unreleased tour intro Go Berserk and a re-recording of I Want To Be Free, a try-out for the digital recording equipment subsequently used for The Changeling.

• CD2 contains an alternate run-through of the full album sequence all in revealing ‘work in progress’ variations courtesy of archive master tapes and Joel Bogen’s cassette archive. These include significantly alternate vocals on Brave New World, Creepy Room and Castaways, the latter with an entirely different lyric.

• Many tracks feature placeholder keyboards from Joel Bogen before Andy Clark and Simon Darlow joined the album sessions. A completely unused instrumental outtake also appears.

• Joel Bogen’s previously unheard home Portastudio demos that include Phil Spalding on bass show the embryos that the songs on The Changeling and Four More From Toyah developed from.

• The accompanying DVD (NTSC/Region Free) includes two brand new in-depth feature-length interviews with Toyah Willcox. Creating The Changeling sees Willcox looking back to the period running up to the album sessions, its recording and release. Previously unseen footage from the making of the Brave New World video is a true rare and revealing insight for Toyah diehards.

• The iconic 1982 promo video for Brave New World is included alongside a full song playthrough of completely unused and unseen performance footage from the Brave New World shoot.

• 11 archive BBC clips span the Four More From Toyah and The Changeling eras including Good Morning Universe on Top Of The Pops, It’s A Mystery from the year-end TOTP Christmas Party. A band performance of I Want To Be Free from the British Rock & Pop Awards 1981, at which Toyah collected the award for Best British Female Singer appears alongside TV performances of Brave New World, Street Creature, Castaways, Dawn Chorus and Ieya 1982. There’s also rare rehearsal clips of The Changeling summer tour from a Nationwide TV report.

• The Pebble Mill 6.55 Special from August 1982 includes Toyah’s performance of the re-worked Dawn Chorus and Ieya. This special inclusion includes a full un-broadcast minute of the Ieya performance, not seen due to running over the allocated programming schedule.

• Acoustic versions of the classics Angel & Me, Brave New World and Good Morning Universe feature from an intimate Toyah concert at Trading Boundaries in 2018.

• The package includes a brand new introduction from Toyah Willcox, a special dedication sleeve note to the late Phil Spalding by Toyah band co-founder, co-writer and guitarist Joel Bogen and extensive sleeve note from Craig Astley.

• The artwork package is packed with rare and unseen imagery created for the album, including outtakes from the album cover session, and further unseen photographs taken for the Brave New World front and back covers.