The album is a collection of previously unreleased material consisting mostly of demos and outtakes. When the band left Safari Records, the record company found enough material to compile one last album; this was apparently done without the consent of the band members. "We were never asked at the time by Safari if we'd be happy for certain demos to go on that album.[1] (...) Of all the albums I wish had not been released, Mayhem is the one. It's sub-standard, with songs not intended for release. In fact, it makes my blood boil when I think of the plain exploitation of this album, but hopefully it never sold many copies. The songs on it were rehearsal demos, never intended for anything other than workshopping ideas", Toyah commented later.[2]
The cassette version of Mayhem included three additional tracks. The album was reissued on CD by Cherry Red Records in 2005 and featured a further five previously unreleased bonus tracks. This new edition came with a recreated cover art, using better quality photos, and track-by-track sleeve notes.[3]. All tracks from this expanded edition were later reissued across the deluxe edition formats of Toyah's studio albums between 2020 and 2024, within the context of other demo recordings and unreleased songs from their respective recording periods.
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