David Bowie’s Lost 2001 LP ‘Toy’ Will Finally See the Light OF Day

In 2011, a mysterious 14-track collection that included revamped versions of some of David Bowie’s earliest songs was leaked online.

The project, which first appeared on file-sharing sites was distributed rapidly among fans in the digital sphere. Rolling Stone reported in March of 2011 that the Mark Plati-produced album, Toy, was originally slated for release nearly 20 years ago as a follow-up to Hours in 1999. But a disagreement between Bowie and his record label at the time, Virgin, led to the album lying dormant for almost two decades.

The shelved project grew notorious within Bowie’s crazed fandom after the informal internet introduction. Since his death in 2016, the anticipation surrounding the icon’s ‘lost’ album has multiplied.

A Twitter post from Bowie’s estate announced that the release, Toy, will be included in the Era Five: Brilliant Adventure box set. The collection follows a series of career-spanning sets. According to a press release, this forthcoming portion follows Era 4: Loving the Alien (1983-1988) from 2018 with plans to cover his works from 1992 through 2001.

Pre-order Era Five: Brilliant Adventure box set, here.

Heralding the highly-anticipated news is the release of the radio edit of “You’ve Got A Habit of Leaving.” The track features Bowie’s frequent collaborators Gail Ann Dorsey (bass), Mike Garson (piano), Sterling Campbell (drums) and Earl Slick (guitar), as well as Emm Gryner (backing vocals), Holly Palmer (percussion, backing vocals), Lisa Germano (backing vocals, violin) and Plati on acoustic and electric guitar.

Pre-order Toy: Box, here. Listen to “You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving” below.

Photo by Paul Bergen/Redferns