In the Court of the Crimson Queen


In the Court of the Crimson Queen is the fifteenth studio album by British singer Toyah Willcox. It was released on 15 September 2008 by Willow Recordings Ltd. The album title was suggested by producer/co-author Simon Darlow and was endorsed by King Crimson mainstay and Toyah's husband Robert Fripp. "At last my husband's done something for my career!", Willcox commented. The album was reissued on CD and vinyl in April 2019 by Edsel records. It featured 5 additional tracks, including 'Dance In The Hurricane'. The album charted at #74 in the Official UK album charts as well as peaking at #22 in the UK sales charts and #7 in the independent album chart.

Reception

In the 16 December 2008 issue the New York Good Times Magazine, the publication chose In the Court of the Crimson Queen as its "CD of the Year" and published a track by track review. Author of the review, Jimi LaLumia, stated, "I must devote some space to what is, for me, the event of the year, a new CD, In the Court of the Crimson Queen by UK pop/rock icon Toyah."

Track listing

Personnel

The lead single "Latex Messiah " was released digitally in 2007, prior to the album's release and was accompanied by a video made available almost exclusively online. The single reached #6 on the iTunes UK Rock Chart. Further videos for the tracks "Heal Ourselves", "Lesser God" and "Sensational" followed and can be seen on Toyah's official website and YouTube channel.
"Lesser God" was performed on a national UK Tour of Steve Steinman's Vampires Rock, in which Toyah was a guest star during 2008 and 2009.
A track originally recorded for the album, but not included in the initial release, entitled "21st Century Supersister" was subsequently re-worked with new lyrics to be featured in the film The Power Of Three in which Toyah starred in 2011. The track was also released as a digital single along with the original demo as its b-side. The re-worked version was included in the 2013 CD reissue edition of the album.
From 26 December 2012, "Sensational" was used in a national UK TV advertising campaign for slimming brand Weight Watchers.
The 2019 reissue was promoted with a flurry of regional radio interviews, interviews in the Guardian and Express newspapers and appearances on BBC Radio 4's 'Loose Ends' and 'Jeremy Vine' on Channel 5. A UK 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen' tour will commence in Oct/Nov 2019.

Releases