Dreamchild (album)

Dreamchild
Studio album by Toyah
Released	May 1994, May 1997 (Phoenix)
Recorded	1994
Genre	Progressive pop, techno
Length	64:20
Label	Cryptic
Producer	Mike Bennett, Paul Moran, Tacye, Paul Mex, John Hillman, Simon Platz
Toyah chronology
Take the Leap! (1993) Dreamchild (1994) Looking Back (1995)
Singles from Dreamchild
"Out of the Blue" Released: 1993 "Now and Then" Released: 1994
Phoenix cover

Dreamchild was the sixth solo album released by Toyah Willcox since leaving Toyah, and was released in 1994 via Cryptic Records in Germany. In 1992, Toyah began preparing a musical which was to be titled Cindy X, and for which several songs were written and recorded. When the Cindy X project was abandoned, the songs were changed and revamped for inclusion in the album. Dreamchild is the album with the least amount of input from Willcox herself, with the singer contributing lyrics to only one track. The album was predominantly written by acclaimed producer Mike Bennett, whose credits for labels such as BMG, Trojan, Radikal and Creation Records include The Fall, BMX Bandits, Bob Marley, Sweet, Tacye, Kim Fowley, King Tubby and Lee 'Scratch' Perry. The dance nature of the album also contrasts with the rest of her catalogue, making Willcox appear like more of a guest vocalist than the leading artist on her own album.

In 1997, the album was reissued by Receiver Records as Phoenix, featuring an additional track of the same name taken from the otherwise unreleased "Eternity (Madhatter)" sessions, and radically different artwork. However, it was missing the complete lyrics included in the original issue

Dreamchild was re-issued in the UK with an alternative cover and extra tracks by Cherry Red Records in July 2010. The added tracks include the original Cindy X versions of some songs and an outtake from the unreleased "Eternity (Madhatter)" sessions.

Track listings

Original release

1. "Now and Then" (Mike Bennett) – 4.41
2. "Let Me Go" (Bennett) – 4.56
3. "World of Tension" (Bennett) – 4.23
4. "Out of the Blue" (Bennett) – 5.51
5. "Unkind" (Bennett) – 4.48
6. "Dreamchild" (Bennett) – 6.22
7. "Lost and Found" (Bennett) – 4.44
8. "Over You" (Bennett, Tacye) – 5.18
9. "I Don't Know" (Bennett, Toyah Willcox, Paul Mex, Tacye) – 5.16
10. "Disappear" (Bennett, Paul Moran, Tayce) – 2.42
11. "Tone Poem" (Bennett, Moran) – 7.10
12. "Now and Then" (Extended X-Rated Mix) – 7.59

1997 Phoenix release

1. "Now and Then" – 4.41
2. "Let Me Go" – 4.56
3. "World of Tension" – 4.23
4. "Out of the Blue" – 5.51
5. "Unkind" – 4.48
6. "Dreamchild" – 6.22
7. "Lost and Found" – 4.44
8. "Over You" – 5.18
9. "I Don't Know" – 5.16
10. "Disappear" – 2.42
11. "Phoenix" (Bennett, Tayce, Bob Skeat) – 8.26
12. "Tone Poem" – 7.10
13. "Now and Then" (Extended X-Rated Mix) – 7.59

2010 expanded release

1. "Tone Poem" – 7.10
2. "Now and Then" – 4.40
3. "Let Me Go" – 4.57
4. "World of Tension" – 4.23
5. "Out of the Blue" (Radio Mix) – 4.49
6. "Unkind" – 4.48
7. "Dreamchild" – 6.22
8. "Lost and Found" – 4.44
9. "Over You" – 5.18
10. "I Don't Know" – 5.17
11. "Disappear" – 2.42
12. "Open the Skies" (Bennett) – 4.20 (bonus track)
13. "Another Way" (Bennett) – 4.37 (alternate version of "World of Tension")
14. "Over You" – 3.57 (Cindy X Version)
15. "Let Me Go" – 4.48 (Cindy X Version)
16. "Lost and Found" – 5.08 (Cindy X Version)

Personnel

Original release

• Toyah Willcox – lead vocals
• Paul Moran – keyboards, brass, programming and arrangements, associate producer
• Mike Bennett - guitar, loops, additional vocals, producer
• Tacye – additional vocals and samples, associate producer
• Jay Stapley – guitars on "Unkind" and "Disappear"
• Paul Mex – producer, keyboards and programming on "Over You" and "I Don't Know"
• Bob Skeat – bass
• Martin Keating, Angus Wallace, Warren Bassett – additional programming

Production

• Martin Keating, Angus Wallace, Warren Bassett, Paul Mex, Simon Stevens - engineers
• Sasha Adams - tape operator
• Phil Nicholas - digital editing
• Simon Davey - mastering
• John Hillman, Simon Platz - executive producers

2010 edition: tracks 13-16

• Toyah Willcox – lead vocals
• Paul Moran – keyboards
• Tony Lowe - guitars, keyboards
• Keith Airey - guitars
• Bob Skeat – bass
• Steve Redford - drums
• Tacye - backing vocals
• Lacey Bond, Pippa Gillaro - backing vocals on track 15
• Simon Townsend - programming

Production

• André Jacquemin, Mike Bennett - producers, mixing
• Craig Astley - executive producer