Minx (Toyah Willcox album)
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Minx
| type = studio
| artist = Toyah
| cover = Minx (album).jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| released = 22 July 1985
| recorded = 1985
| venue =
| studio = Audio International Studios, London
| genre = {{hlist|New wave|pop}}
| length = 40:08
| label = Portrait
| producer = Christopher Neil
| prev_title = Mayhem
| prev_year = 1985
| next_title = Desire
| next_year = 1987
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Minx
| type = studio
| single1 = Don't Fall in Love (I Said)
| single1date = April 1985
| single2 = Soul Passing Through Soul
| single2date = June 1985
| single3 = World in Action
| single3date = September 1985
}}
}}
Minx is an album by English singer Toyah Willcox, released in 1985 by Portrait Records. It was her first album as a solo artist and spawned the moderate hit "Don't Fall in Love (I Said)".
Background
Although still credited simply as "Toyah" (which was the name of the band she fronted up until 1984), the album was technically the start of Willcox's career as a solo artist, and her first LP for a major label, Portrait Records (part of the CBS group) after she left the independent label Safari which had released all of her music up until then. Minx was to be Toyah's only album for Portrait.
The album represented a departure from her previous works,{{cite book |last=Willcox |first=Toyah |authorlink=Toyah Willcox |title=Living Out Loud |year=2000 |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |location=London |isbn=0340745703 |pages=277–278}} which tended toward thematic albums written almost in their entirety by Willcox and long-standing band members such as Joel Bogen and Phil Spalding. As an attempt to make a more "polished" pop album and supposedly to break into the U.S. market, a lot of artistic control was ceded to the producers leading to an unprecedented four cover versions from the original CD's 12 tracks. The material was produced by Christopher Neil.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTI5JIAS4eE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211218/WTI5JIAS4eE |archive-date=2021-12-18 |url-status=live|title=Toyah At Home: Episode #12 |date=2020-09-05 |publisher=YouTube |accessdate=2021-07-26}}{{cbignore}}
The cover photograph was taken by Terence Donovan, showing Willcox wearing outfits designed by Japanese avant-garde fashion designer Issey Miyake. She wore a number of Miyake's garments during this period, which were used in photoshoots and subsequent artworks.{{Cite web |last=Miyake |first=Issey |title=Issey Miyake - Toyah outfit |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqPrKItXOnU |publisher=YouTube |accessdate=2022-09-05}}
The lead single "Don't Fall in Love (I Said)" was a hit in the UK and Ireland, reaching the top 40, but follow-up releases "Soul Passing Through Soul" and "World in Action" were less successful. Minx debuted and peaked at number 24 in the UK and was Toyah's only entry on the pan-European albums chart (at number 81). It was particularly popular in Israel.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lvqjfRIG38 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211218/4lvqjfRIG38 |archive-date=2021-12-18 |url-status=live|title=Toyah At Home: Season 2 Episode 1 |date=2021-01-09 |publisher=YouTube |accessdate=2021-07-26}}{{cbignore}}
The album, which was out of print by the 1990s, was reissued in 2005 with bonus tracks.{{cite web |url=https://toyahwillcox.com/album/minx/ |title=MINX |publisher=toyahwillcox.com |accessdate=2021-07-26}} In 2020, it was released as part of the Toyah Solo box set and subsequently reissued on red vinyl.{{cite web |url=https://toyah.net/releases-toyah-coloured-vinyl-minx/ |title=Releases: Toyah Coloured Vinyl – Minx |date=2020-02-05 |publisher=toyah.net |accessdate=2021-07-26}} The album was re-released again in 2024, as a 2-CD set.
Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = Side one
| title1 = Soldier of Fortune, Terrorist of Love
| writer1 = Toyah Willcox, Adrian Lee
| length1 = 3:10
| title2 = Don't Fall in Love (I Said)
| writer2 = Willcox, Simon Darlow
| length2 = 3:45
| title3 = Soul Passing Through Soul
| writer3 = Willcox, Michael St James
| length3 = 3:52
| title4 = Sympathy
| note4 = Rare Bird cover
| writer4 = Graham Standfield, David Kassinetti, Stephen Gould, Mark Ashton
| length4 = 3:28
| title5 = I'll Serve You Well
| writer5 = Willcox, Darlow
| length5 = 5:57
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| title6 = All in a Rage
| writer6 = Willcox, Joel Bogen
| length6 = 3:28
| title7 = Space Between the Sounds
| writer7 = Willcox, Darlow
| length7 = 4:32
| title8 = School's Out
| note8 = Alice Cooper cover
| writer8 = Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce
| length8 = 3:56
| title9 = World in Action
| writer9 = Harry Bogdanovs
| length9 = 3:36
| title10 = America for Beginners
| note10 = Latin Quarter cover
| writer10 = Steve Skaith, Mike Jones
| length10 = 4:24
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Original CD/cassette bonus tracks
| title6 = Over Twenty-One
| note6 = DATA cover
| writer6 = Georg Kajanus
| length6 = 3:17
| title12 = Vigilante
| writer12 = Bogdanovs
| length12 = 3:23
| total_length = 46:48
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = 2005 CD additional bonus tracks
| title13 = Snow Covers the Kiss
| writer13 = Willcox, Bogen, Christopher Neil
| length13 = 3:13
| title14 = Kiss the Devil
| writer14 = Willcox, Lee
| length14 = 3:21
| title15 = Don't Fall in Love (I Said)
| note15 = Extended Mix
| writer15 = Willcox, Darlow
| length15 = 5:12
| title16 = Soul Passing Through Soul
| note16 = Extended Mix
| writer16 = Willcox, St James
| length16 = 4:45
| title17 = World in Action
| note17 = Extended Mix
| writer17 = Bogdanovs
| length17 = 5:39
| title18 = World in Action
| note18 = Action Mix
| writer18 = Bogdanovs
| length18 = 9:23
| total_length = 78:21
}}
Personnel
- Toyah Willcox – lead and backing vocals
- Ian Wherry, Simon Darlow – keyboards
- Al Hodge – guitar
- Peter Van Hooke – drums
- Frank Ricotti – percussion
- Alan Carvell, Chris Neil, Lorna Wright, Linda Taylor – backing vocals
;Guest musicians
- Adrian Lee – keyboards on track 1
- Andy Brown – bass on track 3 and 16
- John Earle, Ray Beavis – saxophones on track 3 and 16
- Michael St James – backing vocals on track 3
- Richard Hewson – string arrangements on track 4
- Joji Hirota – percussion on track 5
- Phil Palmer – guitar on track 6
- The English Chorale – additional vocals on track 7
- Paul Raven – bass on track 8
- Paul Ferguson – drums on track 8
- Richard Bull – guitar on tracks 9, 17 and 18
- John Kirby – backing vocals on track 10
- Jon McLoughlin – additional guitar on track 18
;Production
- Christopher Neil – producer
- Simon Hurrell – engineer
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2020)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| scope="row"| UK Vinyl Albums{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/vinyl-albums-chart/20200320/9/ |title=Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40: 20 March 2020 - 26 March 2020 |publisher=Official Charts Company |accessdate=2022-10-21}}
| 33 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n7WXDMD2glfqsd6zooOKReoX9BbgepOiU Official audio stream] on YouTube
- [https://toyahwillcox.com/ The official Toyah website]
{{Toyah Willcox}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minx (Album)}}