Victims of the Riddle
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| “"Victims Of The Riddle"” | |||||
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| Single by Toyah from the album Sheep Farming In Barnet |
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| B-side | Victims Of The Riddle (Vivisection) | ||||
| Released | 1979 | ||||
| Format | 7" | ||||
| Genre | New Wave | ||||
| Label | Safari | ||||
| Writer(s) | [Willcox/Hales/James/Bogen/Bush] | ||||
| Producer | Steve James, Keith Hales | ||||
| Toyah singles chronology | |||||
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"Victims Of The Riddle" was the debut single from the post-punk band Toyah, fronted by Toyah Willcox, and was released in 1979.
The single courted controversy due to its intentionally disturbing front cover image - a photograph of one of the mummies of Guanajuato in Mexico (from a book by Ray Bradbury entitled "The Mummies of Guanajuato"), holding a note which asked "Is there a heaven? Is there a hell? Do both exist? Who can tell?". This was drawn over the original inscription, which bore the name of the actual mummy - Magdalena Aguilar, and her date of burial which was the 8th of September, 1897. Her mummified body was exhumed on the 27th of December, 1909.
The single, and its b-side were eventually featured on the LP version of Sheep Farming In Barnet, which was itself an extended reissue of the band's next single. They also featured on the 2005 compilation album The Safari Singles Collection Part 1: 1979-1981.
[edit] Tracklisting
[edit] 7" Vinyl
- A: Victims Of The Riddle [Willcox/Hale/James/Bogen/Bush]
- B: Victims Of The Riddle (Vivisection) [Willcox/Hale/James/Bogen/Bush]
Catalogue Number: SAFE 15
Produced by Steve James/Keith Hales. Published by Sweet 'n' Sour Songs/MCPS.
Side A ran at 45RPM, while the lengthier Side B ran at 33RPM.
[edit] Personnel
- Toyah Willcox - vocals
- Joel Bogen - guitar
- Mark Henry - bass
- Steve Bray - drums
- Peter Bush - keyboards
