Album
Toy
Toy is a David Bowie album that sat on the shelf for two decades. He recorded it in New York between July and October 2000 with his touring band of the day: Earl Slick, Gail Ann Dorsey, Mike Garson, Sterling Campbell and Mark Plati, who co-produced. The songs are fresh takes on material Bowie first cut between 1964 and 1971, alongside a couple of new tracks.
The plan was to rehearse, play it live in the room and get it out fast, but EMI/Virgin shelved it ahead of a intended March 2001 release. Bowie left the label and moved on to Heathen, which borrowed two of its songs. Different mixes leaked in 2011, and the official release came in 2021, in the Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) box set. It reached number five in the UK, and critics singled out his vocals.
Toy: tracklist, credits and charts
38 tracks · 2:39:15Tracklist
- Disc 1
- 1I Dig EverythingDavid Bowie5:04
- 2You’ve Got a Habit of LeavingDavid Bowie4:49
- 3The London BoysDavid Bowie3:47
- 4Karma ManDavid Bowie3:47
- 5Conversation PieceDavid Bowie3:53
- 6Shadow ManDavid Bowie4:40
- 7Let Me Sleep Beside YouDavid Bowie3:14
- 8Hole in the GroundDavid Bowie3:33
- 9Baby Loves That WayDavid Bowie4:37
- 10Can’t Help Thinking About MeDavid Bowie3:25
- 11Silly Boy BlueDavid Bowie5:35
- 12Toy (Your Turn to Drive)David Bowie4:16
- Disc 2
- 1Liza JaneLeslie Conn4:47
- 2You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving (alternative mix)David Bowie4:49
- 3Baby Loves That Way (alternative mix)David Bowie4:44
- 4Can’t Help Thinking About Me (alternative mix)David Bowie3:26
- 5I Dig Everything (alternative mix)David Bowie5:05
- 6The London Boys (alternative version)David Bowie3:49
- 7Silly Boy Blue (Tibet version)David Bowie5:12
- 8Let Me Sleep Beside You (alternative mix)David Bowie3:15
- 9In the Heat of the MorningDavid Bowie3:53
- 10Conversation Piece (alternative mix)David Bowie3:52
- 11Hole in the Ground (alternative mix)David Bowie3:55
- 12Shadow Man (alternative mix)David Bowie4:50
- 13Toy (Your Turn to Drive) (alternative mix)David Bowie4:52
- Disc 3
- 1In the Heat of the Morning (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric mix)David Bowie3:52
- 2I Dig Everything (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric mix)David Bowie4:59
- 3You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric mix)David Bowie3:45
- 4The London Boys (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric mix)David Bowie3:45
- 5Karma Man (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric mix)David Bowie3:44
- 6Conversation Piece (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric mix)David Bowie3:51
- 7Shadow Man (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric mix)David Bowie4:19
- 8Let Me Sleep Beside You (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric mix)David Bowie3:05
- 9Hole in the Ground (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric mix)David Bowie3:18
- 10Baby Loves That Way (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric mix)David Bowie4:34
- 11Can’t Help Thinking About Me (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric mix)David Bowie3:30
- 12Silly Boy Blue (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric mix)David Bowie5:29
- 13Toy (Your Turn to Drive) (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric mix)David Bowie3:53
- Produced by
- David Bowie, Mark Plati, Tony Visconti, Marc Platti
- Recorded at
- Sear Sound (New York), Looking Glass Studios
- Recorded
- *July–October 2000 *Mid-2021 (Unplugged overdubs)
- Mixed by
- Mark Plati
- Mixed at
- Looking Glass Studios, Alice's Restaurant
- Engineered by
- Peter Keppler, Tony Visconti
- Labels
- Parlophone, ISO
- Length
- 2:39:15
Line-up
- Sterling Campbell · drums (drum set), percussion · guest
- Gail Ann Dorsey · bass, background vocals, vocals · guest
- Mike Garson · keyboard, piano, organ · guest
- Gerry Leonard · guitar · guest
- Mark Plati · bass, guitar, keyboard · guest
- Earl Slick · guitar, acoustic guitar · guest
- David Bowie · lead vocals, background vocals, Dubreq Stylophone · guest
- Emm Gryner · background vocals, vocals · guest
- Holly Palmer · background vocals · guest
- Lisa Germano · violin, recorder, trumpet · guest
- Marc Platti · guitar, acoustic guitar · guest
- Cuong Vu · trumpet · guest
Singles
- “You've Got a Habit of Leaving” · 29 September 2021
- “Karma Man" / "Silly Boy Blue (Alternative Ending Mix)” · 15 October 2021
- “Can't Help Thinking About Me” · 19 November 2021
- “Shadow Man (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix)” · 6 January 2022
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 2022 | 5 |
| Scottish Albums · 2022 | 2 |
| German Albums · 2022 | 3 |
| Austrian Albums · 2022 | 4 |
| Dutch Albums · 2022 | 4 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2022 | 5 |
| Portuguese Albums · 2022 | 7 |
| Swiss Albums · 2022 | 7 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2022 | 8 |
| Finnish Albums · 2022 | 10 |
All 20 charts
| Hungarian Albums · 2022 | 11 |
| French Albums · 2022 | 12 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) · 2022 | 13 |
| Norwegian Albums · 2022 | 17 |
| Ireland 3 · 2022 | 18 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) · 2022 | 21 |
| US Alternative · 2022 | 22 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) · 2022 | 28 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2022 | 32 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2022 | 37 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
76.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
1.6k
ListenBrainz listeners
81k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
—
Deezer fans (all editions)
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date sources disagree on the year (2011, 2021)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 20 March 2011 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 26 November 2021 | |
| Wikidata | 26 November 2021 |
4 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 January 2022 | XE | Parlophone | 0190296773372 | other |
| 7 January 2022 | XW | Parlophone | 190296773242 | other |
| 7 January 2022 | FR | Parlophone | 0190296773235 | other |
| 5 August 2022 | XE | — | 0190295253264 | other |
Cover art sources
fanarttv · upscaled: major: best source 1000x1000, upscaled to 1500 (x1.50)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| fanarttv ✓ | 1000×1000 | upscaled: major: best source 1000x1000, upscaled to 1500 (x1.50) |
| coverartarchive | 599×598 | upscaled |