To absolutely no one's surprise at all, it's all gone festive in the Worcestershire kitchen of Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox. It's December, so the pair have abandoned their usual Sunday Lunch programming – covering pop or rock classics – and instead delivered a spirited mangling of George Ratcliffe Woodward's 1924 Christmas banger Ding Dong Merrily On High.
Dressed in suitably festive attire – presumably after an enjoyable session on the ginger wine – Fripp sings with the word "Humbug" scrawled across his forehead, while both musicians appear to have lost a tooth. Despite their injuries, the performance is packed with more festive glitter than you'll find in any tinsel factory.
More to the point, the video is time to coincide with Fripp and Willcox's much-anticipated Christmas Party tour, which promises to spread festive gaiety across the land (full dates below) and Willcox's cover of the Greg Lake classic I Believe In Father Christmas, which will be released on 10” vinyl EP this Friday. The record will be released on "snow-coloured" vinyl and include a Toyah Xmas Card. Get yours now.
In barely related news, ensemble group The League of Crafty Guitarists – originally founded by Fripp in 1986 – returned to action in Argentina this evening after a seven-year break, for the world premiere of The Wine of Silence, alongside the Mendoza Philharmonic Orchestra and the Neuquén Symphony Orchestra. A second performance is scheduled for next Sunday at Cine Teatro Español in Neuquen. Tickets are on sale now.
Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp: Christmas Party Tour
Dec 16: Edinburgh Queens Hall, UK
Dec 17: Sunderland The Firestation, UK
Dec 19: Bath Komedia, UK
Dec 20: London Indigo At The O2, UK
Dec 22: Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall Tickets, UK
