"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: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

new wave band Toyah, fronted by

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

, 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 bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

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 musi ...

. It was a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 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. "Top 40" or " con ...

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 in ...

. 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!'', 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 broadc ...

'' 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 Adrian Lee (born 9 September 1957, London, England) is an English musician, known especially for his brass instrumentation work with several well-known acts of the 1980s. Career Lee was first signed to Phonogram Records in the late 1970s as g ...

– keyboards *

Phil Spalding Philip Spalding (born 19 November 1957, London, England) is an English bass player. He is best known as a session musician and player of Fender Precision Bass guitars. He has played and appeared with performing artists such as Mick Jagger, Sea ...

– bass *

Preston Heyman Preston Heyman is a British record producer, drummer and percussionist. He is credited on the Kate Bush album ''Never for Ever''. He played Oriental percussion instruments on the track "Blood Sucking" of Mike Oldfield's soundtrack for the fil ...

– 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 future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...

Official audio stream
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

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