"Be Proud Be Loud (Be Heard)" is a song by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

new wave band Toyah, fronted by

Toyah Willcox Toyah Ann Willcox (born 18 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter, actress, and television presenter. In a career spanning more than 40 years, she has had eight top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 ...

, released as a single in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

Safari Records Safari Records was a British independent record label based in London, England, and operating between 1977 and 1985. Safari Records was formed early in 1977 by Tony Edwards (former co-manager of Deep Purple), Andreas Budde (the son of German mu ...

. It was a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

chart success in the UK and Ireland.

Background

The track was written by

and

Joel Bogen Joel Bogen (born 3 September 1958) is an English rock and punk guitarist. He worked with Toyah Willcox from the late 1970s to 1983 as the guitar player in her eponymous band and was the co-writer on nearly all of the material they recorded. B ...

, and produced by

Nick Tauber Nick Tauber is a British record producer best known for his work with Thin Lizzy, Toyah and Marillion in the 1970s and 1980s. Nick Tauber continues to manage, produce, and consult with acts/artists/and producers. In the late 1990s, Tauber was inv ...

. Toyah explained that the song was written "for fans that were feeling they weren't being seen and weren't being heard, and that they stood away from society because they felt different". She reflected that she wanted to write "something that was up and happy, and that we could give back to the fans. I was getting so many letters back then from fans who had been suspended from school, who'd been in permanent detention, who were banned from leaving their home because they dyed their hair bright colours like me. So, we thought, why don't you just be proud, be loud, be heard". The song was released in August 1982 as a 7" vinyl single and a 12" transparent picture disc. The song was a

success in October 1982, peaking at number 30 and 29 in the UK and Ireland, respectively. Toyah promoted it with performances in British TV shows '' Razzmatazz'' and ''

Crackerjack! Cracker Jack is a snack consisting of caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts. Cracker Jack or Crackerjack may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Cracker Jack (Street Fighter), Cracker Jack (''Street Fighter''), a ch ...

'', among others, as well as ''

Discoring ''Discoring'' was a music show broadcast by Rai 1 from 1977 to 1989, created by Gianni Boncompagni, aired mainly on Sunday. The program could be considered analogous to the English show ''Top of the Pops''. History The first episode was broa ...

'' on Italian television. The single and its B-side "Laughing with the Fools" were not included on an album at the time, though both would eventually be included on the 2005 reissue of '' Love Is the Law'', while the title track became the lead song on the 1998 compilation ''The Best of Toyah: Proud, Loud & Heard'', hand-picked by Toyah Willcox herself.

Track listing

* 7" single :A. "Be Proud Be Loud (Be Heard)" (

) :B. "Laughing with the Fools" (Willcox, Bogen)

Personnel

– vocals *

– guitar * Adrian Lee – keyboards *

Phil Spalding Philip Trevor Spalding (19 November 1957 – 5 February 2023) was an English bass player. He was best known as a session musician and player of Fender Precision Bass guitars. He played and appeared with performing artists such as Mike Oldfiel ...

– bass *

Preston Heyman Preston Heyman is a British record producer, drummer and percussionist. He is credited on the Kate Bush album '' Never for Ever''. Not too long afterwards, he was recruited to be the drummer for Atomic Rooster's reformation, and appeared on th ...

– drums

Charts

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
at

Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for the future, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...

Official audio stream
on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

The official Toyah website
{{authority control 1982 singles 1982 songs Toyah (band) songs Songs written by Toyah Willcox Songs written by Joel Bogen Safari Records singles