A great new Official Toyah 40th Music Anniversary feature on social media, with entries so far for Sheep Farming in Barnet, The Blue Meaning, Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!, Anthem, The Changeling, and Warrior Rock – Toyah On Tour… with lots more still to come!
Toyah, Owen Paul, Brother Beyond, Hazell Dean, Tight Fit and Black Lace are playing Preston Guild Hall next month (Saturday 23rd February). More info on/Book tickets for 80’s Live here.
Step back into the 80’s with 80’s Live!
Featuring Toyah, Tight Fit, Brother Beyond, Hazell Dean, Owen Paul, and Black Lace’s Dene Michael! A night of 80’s pop hits!
Toyah (It’s A Mystery, I Want To Be Free), Tight Fit (The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Fantasy Island), Brother Beyond ( The Harder I Try, He Ain’t No Competition), Hazell Dean (Searching, Who’s Leaving Who), Owen Paul (My Favourite Waste Of Time, Pleased to Meet You), Dene Michael’s Black Lace (Agadoo, Superman) – all live on stage!
Box Office: tickets@prestonguildhall.co.uk | Enquiries: info@prestonguildhall.co.uk
He runs to the water’s edge, To feel the sea, To smell the air, To feel he’s free, He does not really need to see…
Toyah’s third single, and first new music of the Eighties, was the double A-Side, Bird in Flight/Tribal Look. The single was released in February 1980 on Safari Records. Bird in Flight is a brave, raw and ambitious classic from Toyah’s discography and has stood the test of time well, still sounding as good today as upon its release 39 years ago! Though Toyah has said she now finds the lyric “excruciatingly wrong”!
Bird in Flight/Tribal Look were both written by Willcox/Francis/Bogen/Bush/Bray.
• Matches Fashion: Raf Simons ‘Toyah’ graphic-print cotton T-shirt – It an be yours for £265! – Raf Simons’ pink T-shirt is inspired by Toyah Willcox’s character ‘Monkey’ in the film Quadrophenia. The cult item features a bold black graphic print across the front, a ribbed crew-neck loose-fit style. Tap into the label’s current punk aesthetic and style with an oversized leather jacket, maxi skirt and boots – See here…
• Quadrophenia: See Monkey, Jimmy et al on the big screen at the Classic Cinema Club’s screening of Quadrophenia at Ealing Town Hall on 15th February – More info…
• #ToyahLPCountdown: A great new Official Toyah 40th Music Anniversary feature on social media, with entries so far for Sheep Farming in Barnet, The Blue Meaning and Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!
• Lovely’s Vintage Toyah Wardrobe: All Toyah pieces are now half price! The charity sale on behalf of Ms Toyah Willcox ends soon, so shop now! – See here…
• Toyah Live 2019: Toyah’s gig at Leeds Brudenell Social Club on Friday 22nd February has Sold Out!!
• Pop Matters: Jubilee (1978) Retro Review – Derek Jarman’s Jubilee is cagier than its simplistic ‘resist the system’ message suggests – As long as the music’s loud enough, we won’t hear the world falling apart. — Borgia Ginz (Jack Birkett), Jubilee – Continue reading…
• Exclusive Back to the 80’s Concert in Bali: Toyah is playing this concert, which takes place on the 10th day of the cruise to Bali, along with Marc Almond, Belinda Carlisle, T’Pau and Midge Ure. Tickets are already at Limited Availability – More info here…
Jubilee is showing at the Harvard Film Archive, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, tomorrow evening, in a double-feature with Fires Were Started.
Fires Were Started, Humphrey Jennings’ only feature film, is a docudrama centered around a real group of heroic firefighters as they extinguish the destructive blazes of war; Derek Jarman’s Jubilee follows a group of nihilistic punks who love nothing more than to set anything ablaze. In both films the spirit and mettle of the directors’ respective Britains are on display, and Jennings’ heart-heavy optimism is starkly opposed by Jarman’s bitterness. A mythic inferno opposes the British spirit, but may also be the only way to access it as it slips away, and both Fires Were Started and Jubilee explore this in contrasting but similar ensemble narratives.
The Harvard Film Archive (HFA) is a film archive and cinema located in the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• Continue reading/More info at Harvard Library.
Toyah talked, her unique and experimental album, Prostitute, while guesting on Bob Fischer’s BBC Radio Tees show recently.
“I always have to walk away from the job I’ve just done. That’s creatively, idea wise. I just have to walk away. I feel trapped. Which is why my career is so varied. And I think “Prostitute” came after doing “Minx” and “Minx” was a signing to Portrait CBS where I was being told to be everyone but me. I was being told to be like Pat Benatar…
I’ve got nothing against that but I am me – I’m not trying to be another person. I’m not an imitator. So I remember I just got married and the only question I was being asked was when was I going to start a family? Which was never the reason I got married and certainly never the reason I’m here on this planet.
So it was an album that really came out of anger. And it’s a very expressive piece – it’s the most critically acclaimed album I’ve ever done. Billboard gave it five stars and then claimed it was an antidote to Madonna…”
• Read the full transcript at The Toyah Willcox Interview Archive.
Toyah made her first live appearance on New Year’s Eve 1977, fronting Ninth Illusion in Swiss Cottage, London. There were only two gigs under this name.
Rechristened TOYAH, their first gig was at Finchley Christ College Disco in April 1978, followed by a string of dates through the rest of that year.
The debut TOYAH tour was The Resurrection ’79 Tour, starting on 27th March 1979, at London Dingwalls, playing 12 dates throughout the UK in March and April.
The Resurrection ’79 Tour played a number of legendary live venues: Factory, Manchester, Eric’s in Liverpool, Tiffany’s in Edinburgh and Music Machine, Camden. The line up was: Toyah (Vocals), Joel Bogen (Guitar), Mark Henry (Bass), Steve Bray (Drums), Pete Bush (Keyboards).
Toyah, 40th Anniversary Scottish Tour ‘Thunder in the Highlands’ Ironworks, Inverness.
Following “sparkling reviews and glowing audience feedback from her autumn tour” punk pop icon Toyah Willcox is set to take the Ironworks by storm as part of her 40th anniversary Scottish tour ‘Thunder in the Highlands’.
2019 marks 40 years in music for the Birmingham born beauty Toyah, as she invites fans old and new to join her in a retrospective celebratory performance of chart hits and fan favourites spanning 40 years of her career.
Toyah celebrated her 60th birthday last year with the release of her new digital EP ‘Four From Toyah: Birthday Edition’ featuring four new songs from the age defying artist including Telepathic Lover.
• Continue reading at Inverness Gigs.
Toyah’s second single, the Sheep Farming In Barnet (EP/AP), was released in July 1979. The traditional EP contained four songs, Safari Records wanted to differentiate from that format and decided to release SIX songs on one single (a mini album really). This was the first, and last, AP release. Tracks were: A. Neon Womb, Indecision, Waiting; B. Our Movie, Danced, Last Goodbye.
The band members were Pete Bush: Keyboards, Mark Henry: Bass, Joel Bogen: Guitar, Steve Bray: Drums, Toyah Willcox: Verbals. As with the debut single, this was a huge hit on the UK indie chart, and also increased the band’s, already growing, popularity in other parts of Europe. The, now iconic, cover shot for the single was taken at the RAF Fylingdales radar station near Whitby in Yorkshire. Unfortunately, the “golf balls” were demolished in the mid 1980′s.
Toyah guested on Bob Fischer’s show on BBC Radio Tees on Friday evening. The show is available to listen to at BBC Sounds.
Back on BBC Tees from 7pm tonight! And in the first hour of the show I have a fascinating chat with the ace Toyah… about Derek Jarman, Celebrity Mastermind, Elizabeth I, her incredible experimental album ‘Prostitute’… and her upcoming show at Stockton Arts Centre!
The 40th anniversary year of Toyah’s recording career has got off to a great start with news of new recordings!
Toyah has recorded a new song for the end credits of Kaleidoscope Man. In The Court Of The Crimson Queen is also currently being remixed by Toyah and Simon Darlow. (Photos © Toyah Willcox)
The BFI will release Jarman Volume Two: 1987-1994, its second Limited Edition collection of the iconoclastic filmmaker’s works, in a Deluxe 6-Disc Blu-ray Box Set on 25 February 2019.
Marking the 25th anniversary of Derek Jarman’s untimely passing, the box set brings together Jarman’s final six features – all now presented in High Definition for the very first time in the UK – made in the prolonged burst of creativity and political activism that followed his HIV diagnosis in 1987.
The collection also includes Jarman’s posthumously-released elegy to Super 8, Glitterbug (1994), along with an incredible 66 special features – both new and archival, plus trailers, image galleries of rare stills and promotional materials and a 100-page perfect bound book of essays, film credits and more.
The films included are:
· The Last of England (1987) with Tilda Swinton
· War Requiem (1989) with Nathaniel Parker, Tilda Swinton, Laurence Olivier
· The Garden (1990) with Tilda Swinton
· Edward II (1991) with Steven Waddington, Andrew Tierman, Tilda Swinton
· Wittgenstein (1993) with Karl Johnson, Michael Gough, Tilda Swinton
· Blue (1993): contributing musicians include Simon Fisher Turner, Coil, Scanner and Brian Eno
· Glitterbug (1994) with Adam Ant, Andrew Logan, Toyah Willcox, Marianne Faithfull, William S Burroughs, Genesis P-Orridge and Tilda Swinton
The box set includes a huge selection of Special Features.
• Continue reading at The Arts Shelf.
Toyah’s debut single Victims Of The Riddle was released in April 1979. A brave choice as the first release as it was hardly a commercial sounding, radio friendly, song. The single reached number one on the Indie Chart in the UK and spent many months of 1979 there.
The sleeve featured an intentionally disturbing image. At the time of release few knew the gruesome story behind the photo and assumed it was a doll. Victims Of The Riddle was also released later in Spain, with the far more appealing Sheep Farming In Barnet artwork. The beginning of an amazing music career and a brave choice to get started with.
The episode of Minder, “All Mod Cons”, which originally aired in October 1980 on ITV, with Toyah as Kate alongside Dennis Waterman and George Cole, airs again on ITV4 later this month.
Minder: ITV4: Tuesday 29th January: 3.40pm
Minder: ITV4: Wednesday 30th January: 9.10am
All Mod Cons. Arthur decides to sell Terry’s flat without his permission. Meanwhile, Terry gets a job minding at a local club and ends up getting into more trouble than he had planned for when he realises the club’s manager is on the fiddle. Starring: George Cole, Dennis Waterman, Toyah Willcox, Simon Cadell, James Ottaway, and Tony Osaba. (Series 2, Episode 8, 1980). Also showing on ITV4 HD and ITV4 +1.
Tales Of The Unexpected: Sky Arts: Tuesday 29th January: 1pm
Tales Of The Unexpected: Sky Arts: Wednesday 30th January: 9am
Tales Of The Unexpected: Sky Arts: Saturday 2nd February: 10am
Blue Marigold. Series 5, Episode 1. Dropped by her agency for her diva-like behaviour, supermodel Marigold’s mental health deteriorates. Years later, she plots a comeback. Director: Giles Foster. Starring: Toyah Willcox, Ralph Bates, Sharon Duce, Helen Fraser, Billy Hamon, Edward Jewesbury.
Safari Records’ late 70s/early 80s timeline of Toyah dates the band signing to the label as January 1979, though their “Our History” implies it may have been late 1978:
In 1978 a Melody Maker postage stamp picture of Toyah together with a small but glowing review of one of the very few gigs that her band had ever played led us to a leaky rehearsal space under Waterloo Bridge, where we saw the band and they signed with Safari who then were pleasantly surprised to learn of Toyah Willcox, actress, her performances in The Corn is Green (starring Katherine Hepburn), Jubilee, Quadrophenia and her current casting as Miranda in Derek Jarman’s forthcoming The Tempest.
Trailblazers: Sky Arts: Monday 28th January: 5am
New Romantics. Toyah Willcox and Billy Bragg are among those examining the New Romantic movement, from The Human League and Adam Ant, to David Bowie and Ultravox. (Series 1, Episode 16)
The Chase: Celebrity Special: ITV: Saturday 26th January: 6pm
The Chase: Celebrity Special: ITV4: Tuesday 29th January: 6.55pm
Bradley Walsh hosts the quiz show as four celebrities take on the Chaser. Singer Toyah Willcox, ex-footballer John Barnes, writer Germaine Greer and heavyweight boxer Audley Harrison pit their wits against one of the country’s finest quiz brains in the hope of winning thousands of pounds for their chosen charities.
2019 is a very special anniversary year. It marks 40 years since Toyah’s first recordings – Victims Of The Riddle and the Sheep Farming in Barnet AP were both released by Safari Records in 1979.
The genesis of an astonishing, and ridiculously underrated, music career. Did Toyah record and release even one duff song during five years at Safari?
Even tracks that were given away free by Flexipop magazine – Sphinx, For You – were far superior to actual single releases by other bands at the time.
Post-Safari saw Toyah become really experimental and release albums and music that are now considered works of genius – Prostitute, Ophelia’s Shadow, In The Court Of The Crimson Queen – Toyah’s 40 year discography is one of the finest of any artist/musician/pop star, with incredible song after song after song. Soaring choruses, unforgettable melodies, wonderful lyrics – Each album is a completely different experience. For sure, the past 40 years of music would have been far less of an adventure without Toyah!
Stay tuned to Dreamscape for sporadic anniversary updates to mark Toyah’s 40 years of music.
The Golden Globe winner whose big break came from CBBC
Richard Madden winning a Golden Globe capped a stellar year for the actor.
He received glowing praise in the UK for his portrayal of Sergeant David Budd in BBC One’s Bodyguard, but winning a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama showed just how respected the actor has become in Hollywood.
Barmy Aunt Boomerang
Like many actors, Richard’s first break came in Children’s TV, in a show produced in his native Scotland. Back in 1999, 13-year-old Richard starred in Barmy Aunt Boomerang as Sebastian, a boy whose life is thrown into chaos by the arrival of his ghostly aunt, played by Toyah Willcox. The role set Richard off on the path of full-time acting, a career which has seen him play a number of notable roles.
• Continue reading at BBC Scotland.
