Anthem (Toyah album)

Anthem is a 1981 album by Toyah. It was the band's most successful album, reaching number 2 in the UK Albums Chart and featuring the Top 10 singles "It's a Mystery" and "I Want to Be Free".[2] The album was certified Gold in 1981 for selling more than 100,000 copies in the UK.[3]

Anthem
Studio album by
Toyah
Released22 May 1981
StudioThe Marquee Studio, London, UK
GenreNew wave
Length41:42
LabelSafari
ProducerNick Tauber
Toyah chronology
Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!
(1980)		 Anthem
(1981)		 The Changeling
(1982)
Singles from Anthem
  1. "I Want to Be Free"
    Released: 7 May 1981
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Melody Maker(favourable)[1]

Original vinyl issues of the album came complete with a colour insert featuring photographs of the band wrapped in bandages, with various exposed body parts sprayed gold, and Egyptian themed drawings across the lyrics pages. A picture disc variation, featuring the album's front and back artwork and no sleeve, was also issued at the time.

Track listing
Side One - Once upon a Time...
  1. "I Want to Be Free" (Toyah Willcox, Joel Bogen) - 3:10
  2. "Obsolete" (Willcox, Bogen, Nigel Glockler) - 2:36
  3. "Pop Star" (Willcox, Adrian Lee, Glockler) - 3:56
  4. "Elocution Lesson" (Willcox, Bogen) - 2:32
  5. "Jungles of Jupiter" (Willcox, Bogen, Phil Spalding) - 5:12
  6. "I Am" (Willcox, Bogen) - 3:22
Side Two - Happy Ever After?
  1. "It's a Mystery" (Keith Hale) - 4:08
  2. "Masai Boy" (Willcox, Lee, Willcox) - 4:06
  3. "Marionette" (Willcox, Bogen) - 5:37
  4. "Demolition Men" (Willcox, Lee) - 3:50
  5. "We Are" (Willcox, Bogen) - 3:13

Original CD bonus tracks
  1. "Revelations" (Bogen, Willcox) - 3:34
  2. "War Boys" (Willcox) - 3:39
  3. "Angels & Demons" (Willcox, Hale) - 6:55
  4. "Thunder in the Mountains" (Willcox, Lee, Glockler) - 3:34

1999 CD bonus tracks
  1. "Walkie Talkie" (Willcox, Bogen) - 1:59
  2. "Alien" (Willcox, Bogen, Glockler) - 3:28
  3. "Revelations" (Willcox, Bogen) - 3:34
  4. "For You" (Willcox, Bogen) - 3:06
  5. "War Boys" (Willcox) - 3:39
  6. "Angels & Demons" (Willcox, Hale) - 6:55
  • "I Want to Be Free" (video)

Toyah's comments on songs
  • Pop Star. "Of all the songs, 'Blue Meanings' and 'Pop Star' are the most exciting to sing because they are both stunning and haven't aged, so when I sing them today I experience them today. I really enjoy them and they make my hair stand on end. 'Pop Star' is hard to sing because I need complete silence to perform it and that isn't going to happen, but practice on stage will help my confidence with the timing... It is thrilling that a 30 year old song can hold me spellbound and I can be very proud of it." (2011)[4]
  • It's a Mystery. "'It's a Mystery' was never a favourite of mine but it has given me 30 years in the business, on many levels, as a singer, actress and writer. If I'd just stuck with the indie sound I'd probably never have surfaced above cult popularity. Street cred always sounds nice but in practice it doesn't open the doors my name opens today, and has done for the past 30 years." (2011)[4]

Personnel
Production

Charts
Chart (1981) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 68
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company) 2

References
  1. Mercer, Mick (1981). "Toyah - Anthem". Melody Maker. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  2. "Toyah Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  3. "BPI Awards Database: Search for Toyah". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2017-12-26.
  4. "Toyah Talks Music". FSF-A Interview. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 312. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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