The song, “Slave To The Rhythm”, was originally recorded by Grace Jones in 1985
“Slave To The Rhythm” was written by Bruce Woolley, Simon Darlow, Stephen Lipson and Trevor Horn, who also produced the song, for singer and actress Grace Jones (b.1948). It formed the title track of her 1985 album and was released as the lead single in October that year, four months after Grace had starred in the James Bond film ‘A View To A Kill’. The song topped the US Club chart and peaked at No.12 on the UK single sales chart as well as being a top ten hit internationally.
In 2022, British singer Toyah (Willcox, b.1958), performed the song as part of a TV series of cover versions, but such was the popularity of this version, which is almost indistinguishable from the original, the track was released officially as a single to download. This was followed by a video that sees Toyah in typical retro-rock attire. As yet, her version does not feature on any album, although Toyah’s most recent record, “Posh Pop” (2021), was written entirely by her and Simon Darlow, co-writer of “Slave To The Rhythm”!
But which version is the best? GRACE’s original or TOYAH’s cover?
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