David Bowie’s ‘Toy’ album finally gets official release in 2022

David Bowie’s long lost album, ‘Toy’, is finally getting an official release, twenty years after the late singer planned to release it.

A radio edit of Bowie’s 1965 hit ‘You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving’ has been released as a teaser, which you can listen to below.

The album, which was recorded following the Starman’s legendary 2000 Glastonbury performance, features new interpretations of recorded songs.

It’s being released as part of the forthcoming Era Five boxset, titled ‘Brilliant Adventure’, which is celebrating Bowie’s music between 1992 and 2001.

It’s the latest in the series of critically acclaimed box sets chronicling the legend’s career.

Speaking about ‘Toy’, which Bowie had intended to be a surprise drop release (although that had to be scrapped) his co-producer, Mark Plati, said: “Toy is like a moment in time captured in an amber of joy, fire and energy. It’s the sound of people happy to be playing music.

“David revisited and re-examined his work from decades prior through prisms of experience and fresh perspective – a parallel not lost on me as I now revisit it twenty years later.

“From time to time, he used to say ‘Mark, this is our album’ – I think because he knew I was so deeply in the trenches with him on that journey.

“I’m happy to finally be able to say it now belongs to all of us.”

It’s also been announced that all of Bowie’s back catalogue will soon be owned by Warner Music Group (WMG). The acquisitions should be completed by 2023.

In a statement, WMG’s CEO of Recorded Music, Max Lousada, described it as “an incredible honor” to act as stewards to “one of the most important and dynamic bodies of creative work in modern culture.”

He continued: “The impact of Bowie’s repeated reinvention and endless experimentation continues to resonate around the world – through the genres he transformed, the timeless songs and sounds he invented, and the immeasurable influence he’s had on music, art, and fashion.”

‘The Brilliant Adventure’ album will be available from November 26, while ‘Toy’ will be released on January 7 2022, a day before the late Bowie’s birthday.

‘Toy’ will be available in 3CD or 6 x 10” vinyl album formats.