Four from Toyah

"Four from Toyah" is the sixth UK single, and second EP by the band Toyah, fronted by Toyah Willcox, and was released in 1981. It was the first to feature the new band lineup of Willcox, Joel Bogen, Phil Spalding, Nigel Glockler and Adrian Lee. This was the breakthrough single for the band, reaching #4 in the UK Singles Charts on the back of its lead track, "It's a Mystery". The single also marked the band's first appearance on Top Of The Pops.[1]

Four from Toyah
EP by
Toyah
Released14 February 1981
GenreNew wave
LabelSafari
ProducerNick Tauber
Toyah chronology
Danced (Live)
(1980)		 Four from Toyah
(1981)		 I Want to Be Free
(1981)

Initially Toyah had great reservations about recording the song. "When I first heard It’s a Mystery I thought it wasn’t for me. It was written by a friend called Keith Hale for a band called Blood Donor and the record company wanted me to cover it. ... Because I'd worked from 1977 right up to 1980 and I had an army of followers and I just knew this song wasn’t for them," she said in a 1980 interview.[2]

"It's a Mystery" would later appear on the album Anthem, although the other three tracks from this EP would not appear on an album until the original CD release of Anthem in 1985. Many years later, these tracks would appear on other compilations and the eventual 1999 CD re-issue of Anthem itself. They were also featured on the 2005 compilation The Safari Singles Collection Part 1: 1979-1981. In several territories, "It's a Mystery" was released as a standalone single instead of being part of an EP. Toyah has not been receiving royalties for the song even though she wrote the lyrics.[3]

Track listing

Original 7" EP

Side A

Side B

  • "War Boys" (Toyah Willcox)
  • "Angels and Demons" (Toyah Willcox, Keith Hale)

Catalogue Number: TOY1

German/French/Dutch 7" Vinyl
  • A: "It's a Mystery" (Keith Hale)
  • B: "War Boys" (Toyah Willcox)

Catalogue Number: METRONOME 0030482 [Germany], EMI 1C 006 64359 [Germany reissue], SAF 5003 [France], SAFE 1450 [Holland]

Australian 7" Vinyl
  • A: "It's a Mystery" (Keith Hale)
  • AA: "Elocution Lesson" (Toyah Willcox, Joel Bogen)

Catalogue Number: SAFARI 20709692

Produced by Nick Tauber. Published by Sweet 'n' Sour Songs Ltd.

Both sides ran at 33RPM. There were two variations of the single artwork - one with white lettering, and one with gold lettering.

Personnel

References
  1. "Toyah - Rock Legends Documentary 2003 Part 2". Carlton television. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  2. "Toyah - Rock Legends Documentary 2003 Part 1". Carlton television. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  3. "With Ross Hemsworth". Net Talk Radio. 2006-03-24. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
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