JON BAUCKHAM
On the cover of new double album In The Court Of The Crimson Queen, Toyah Willcox is shown seated on an elaborate velvet throne, her head surrounded by a crown of silver thorns. While the title is a not-so-subtle nod to her marriage to King Crimson’s Robert Fripp, you might assume that the choice of royal imagery is also proof that Toyah – once punk rock’s princess – is now acknowledging her status as a musical monarch. However, turn the sleeve over and you’ll see that the throne has been kicked away.
“I wanted a suggestion of rebelliousness, so I introduced the idea that falling off the Crimson Queen’s throne is liberating and the only way to gain true personal power,” Toyah explained on her website earlier this year. “Pedestals are always troubled by expectation. It’s not about a fallen queen – it’s about a liberated queen.”