Toyah previews her new single on this week’s Sunday Lunch with Robert Fripp
Toyah’s take Slave to The Rhythm will be released as a single on 1 August.
Credit: Toyah Official YouTube
King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah Willcox have presented a different twist on their Sunday Lunch cover series with a preview of Toyah’s upcoming single, a cover of Grace Jones’ classic Slave to The Rhythm.
This edition of the long-running cover series sees Fripp and Toyah lip-syncing to a studio recording of Toyah’s take on the track, which also frees up Fripp in particular to express himself in a way we haven’t seen on Sunday Lunch so far as he stands up and animatedly pulls on his strings. The duo are also joined remotely by songwriter Simon Darlow.
This week’s message from the couple on their kitchen cabinets reads “Rhythm for Life”. Have a preview of Toyah’s upcoming single here.
Toyah announced her single in a blog post back in April, writing”It sounds amazing, totally different to Grace Jones’ iconic and perfect original.”
“My version will surprise all, it has a connection to the words that suddenly revealed itself as soon as I put the main vocal down and Fripp played. The three of us really are a great musical team, we are very excited.”
Toyah has an intimate connection with the Darlow, Trevor Horn, Bruce Woolley and Stephen Lipson-written track, having originally sung on the demo that was rejected by Frankie Goes To Hollywood before it was picked up by Jones. Toyah’s take on the track will be released on 1 August.
The couple’s Sunday Lunch series first started in 2020 during pandemic lockdowns and has seen them tackle a number of classic hits including Black Keys’ Lonely Boy, Smashing Pumpkins’ Bullet with Butterfly Wings and Billy Idol’s White Wedding.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Toyah opened up about the couple’s relationship, saying that Fripp had not seen her as more than a homemaker before lockdown began and the couple started up their series. “For the first 30 years of our marriage Robert never saw what I did beyond the home environment,” she shared.
“It’s since lockdown – during which I’ve released an album and created our Sunday Lunch YouTube videos – that he has realised just what I do. Getting him involved with the videos was an experience. He has a reputation for being stubborn, but over the years has become kinder and more fun.”