Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

Strictly star Toyah Willcox reveals why she was strip-searched in Sweden

We catch up with singer, actress and TV presenter Toyah Willcox on her top holiday spots and why she was regularly strip-searched on arrival at certain destinations during her early years touring.

Earliest holiday memory?
Playing on the estuary between Rock and Padstow in Cornwall, aged two or three. My siblings and I spent all day in an out of the water and I snacked on everything from candyfloss to cockles.

First trip abroad?
Jersey when I was seven. I fell in love with the island. Among the highlights was visiting Devil’s Hole, a 200ft deep crater, but I was disappointed that we didn’t get to meet the Devil.

Earliest touring memory?
My frustration as a vegetarian on learning that everything food-wise in Germany arrived with bacon, even the cabbage.

How’s touring changed?
On my first UK tour in 1977 I travelled to gigs on a motorbike; now I drive in my car or have a driver.

• Continue reading at the Daily Mail. Browse our Daily Mail archive of Toyah content here.

• Saturday Morning Song: It’s A Mystery (Live in Ulster) – Watch… • Toyah & Robert: UpBeat Moments – Watch… • Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch – The Best – Watch…

Press for Toyah & Robert’s new Sunday Lunch. This week covering Tina Turner. (Image © Toyah Willcox)

• Classic Rock/Louder: Toyah and Robert Fripp return to action with spirited cover of Tina Turner’s evergreen sporting anthem The Best: Better than all the rest, etc – Continue…

• Brooklyn Vegan: Watch Toyah & Robert Fripp cover Tina Turner’s “The Best” – Continue…

• inkl: Toyah and Robert Fripp return to action with spirited cover of Tina Turner’s evergreen sporting anthem The Best – Continue…

• Far Out: Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox cover ‘The Best’ in ‘Sunday Lunch’ return – Continue…

• MSN: Toyah and Robert Fripp return to action with spirited cover of Tina Turner’s evergreen sporting anthem The Best – Continue…

• Brave Words: Robert Fripp and Toyah Perform Tine Turner’s “The Best” In New Sunday Lunch Video – Continue…

• DGM Live: Toyah & Robert’s Weekend – Continue…

This isn’t actual Toyah news, but seeing as Spring is finally here – in the UK anyway – after what felt like a very long Winter, I thought I’d post a sun-is-shining shot of myself and my pal Brian spreading the Toyah love in Fort William last week. We found ourselves talking to so many people about Toyah that day. It was a lot of fun, and The Highlands has such stunning landscapes and scenery. Just beautiful! (Photo © David Fleming)

Out Now! Toyah’s Sheep Farming In Barnet & The Blue Meaning are now available as stunning picture discs vinyl LPs which come in die-cut jackets with rare and unseen imagery.

Toyah performing It’s A Mystery at Jasper Carrot’s Trevor Francis Memorial Concert on Thursday night at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall.

• Saturday Song: Ieya (Live in Wolverhampton 1980) – Watch… • Toyah & Robert: UpBeat Moments – Watch… • Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch – Born To Be Wild – Watch… (Image © Toyah Willcox)

Mother’s Day: An original short story written & read by Toyah Willcox (with Special Guest, Eno)

“I have always loved short stories, they can inhabit any world from suburbia to the fantastic. When time is short and long distances need to be travelled, the short story has taken me to places I willingly want to go to. So whether you have five minutes to spare, or you want to escape for a while…join me and my love of the unpredictable. Welcome to Toyah’s Wonderful World of Weird….”

• Listen at Toyah’s official You Tube and Facebook. (Image © Toyah Willcox)

Happy Release Day to Sheep Farming In Barnet and The Blue Meaning – Two of Toyah’s three 1980 albums are released on gorgeous Picture Discs today. (Image © Toyah Willcox)

Top Of The Pops: BBC Four: Friday 21st March: 8.35pm
Top Of The Pops: BBC Four: Saturday 22nd March: 1.15am
19/03/1981. Peter Powell presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 19 March 1981. Featuring Sharon Redd, Bucks Fizz, Colin Blunstone and Dave Stewart, Toyah, The Who, Phil Collins, Shakin Stevens, Visage, Roxy Music and Duran Duran. Plus, a dance performance from Legs & Co.

NB. This originally aired on BBC1 on Thursday 19th March 1981 and was Toyah’s second Top Of The Pops studio appearance/performance (screenshot below, with details from an episode featuring a repeat of Toyah’s very first TOTP studio performance).

Favourite Singers With Nick Heyward: NOW 80s: Saturday 22nd March: 3am
Mr Favourite Shirts is back on NOW 80s – this time he selects his Favourite Singers! Including some who influenced him the most such as David Byrne & XTC’s Andy Partridge.

• Saturday Song: Neon Womb (1980 Footage) – Watch… • Toyah & Robert: UpBeat Moments – Watch… • Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch – Barracuda – Watch… (Image © Toyah Willcox)

Carol Decker’s 30 Rock Chicks!: NOW Rock: Sunday 23rd March: 7am
T’Pau’s Carol Decker brings a bit of Heart and Soul to a countdown of ’80s ladies who like to rock! With Joan Jett, Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks and Pat Benatar. (as well as Toyah via the Thunder In The Mountains video).

Toyah’s bold, defiant and most experimental work, the 1988 solo album “Prostitute” is released for the first time as an expanded CD edition in deluxe 7” sized gatefold packaging on 6 June from Edsel.

This Deluxe 2CD Edition features a previously unreleased live recording of the album from Chichester. In November/December 1988 Toyah formed a new band Fripp Fripp with musician Robert Fripp and embarked on a 22-date tour. On the 7 UK and 15 European gigs Toyah performed the Prostitute album live, accompanied by Paul Beavis on live drums as the tour’s first act

For Toyah fans and collectors, it’s a fascinating document of Toyah performing an impressive volume of vocals, dialogue and lyrics with precision and defiance. The package includes rare imagery, ephemera and a new sleevenote by Toyah archivist Craig Astley.

The album was written and played entirely by Toyah Willcox and Steve Sidelnyk who went on to record and play live with Madonna (Ray of Light, Music), Seal and Richard Ashcroft, amongst many others. A fiercely independent lyrical work, it is sonically also a radical departure from previous albums comprising drums, vocal and guitar meshed with a scrapbook of samples and found sound.

Toyah explains: “I would get up at four in the morning and capture the dawn chorus, record church bells, snippets of conversations and producer Tony Arnold would marry them into the tracks. We worked as if we were compiling a scrapbook with glue and paper, old newspaper cuttings, lost love letters, odd thoughts and tons of fractured emotions.”

• Pre-Order Prostitute on 2CD and/or Picture Disc here. Read more info/the press release at toyahwillcox.com. See also the reissued album’s page. Watch Toyah announcing the release during last weekend’s Toyah At Home.

Released by Edsel on 6 June, Toyah’s 1987 solo album “Desire” receives its first ever standalone CD reissue as a new expanded edition in deluxe 7”-sized gatefold packaging.

This deluxe 2CD edition includes a second disc of 18 rare and ‘desirable’ bonus tracks including the 12” mix of lead single Echo Beach plus outtakes and B-Sides. Excitingly six previously unreleased tracks feature including the long-awaited release of the post-Desire rarity We Play Machines.

Originally issued on the EG label, the album was produced by Mike Hedges (Siouxise & The Banshees) and recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in the autumn of 1986.

This deluxe 2cd edition includes a second disc of 18 rare and ‘desirable’ bonus tracks including the 12” mix of lead single Echo Beach plus outtakes and B-Sides from the album sessions. Excitingly six previously unreleased tracks feature including the long-awaited release of the post-Desire rarity We Play Machines.

Rare live concert recordings of Desire songs have been unearthed especially for this release; Revive The World performed at The Orange Club, Kensington with Kiss Of Reality in 1992, Desire and Moonlight Dancing from 1994 plus Echo Beach from Toyah & Robert Fripp’s summer 2024 Rock Party Tour.

The Desire album recording sessions ran concurrent to Toyah starring in the Strand Theatre revival of celebrated musical Cabaret. Toyah appeared as the lead Sally Bowles, alongside Wayne Sleep in the Gillian Lynne-directed production. Although a cast recording was made of the Strand production it was before Toyah took over the role of Bowles. Ten years later, Toyah revisited Cabaret with a recording of four songs, one of which is a duet with British actor Nigel Planer. This marks the first time these tracks have ever been included on a Toyah release.

The Desire album includes an eclectic set of musicians across the 11 tracks with guest guitar spots from Ronnie Wood, Robert Fripp, and The League of Crafty Guitarists. Engineered by Haydn Bendall (Hounds of Love), the album’s lead single was a sparkling cover of the 1980 Martha & The Muffins’ new wave hit “Echo Beach”. Reissue compiled/project manager; Craig Astley.

• Pre-Order Desire on 2CD and/or Picture Disc here. Read more info/the press release at toyahwillcox.com. See also the reissued album’s page. Watch Toyah announcing the release during last weekend’s Toyah At Home.

On Friday 6 June 2025, Edsel/Demon Records will issue Limited Edition Picture Discs of the solo Toyah albums Minx (1985), Desire (1987) and Prostitute (1988).

All three are housed in special die-cut vinyl outer sleeves containing rare and unseen imagery. Available exclusively from Townsend Music.

Minx is presented as a Deluxe Edition, adding the 2 tracks from the original 1985 cassette/CD formats – never previously available on vinyl. The album’s two B-Sides also feature on the 14-song track list.

A Minx Deluxe 2CD Edition, released summer 2024, containing a second disc of rarities & previously unreleased demos, is also available.

• Pre-Order the Picture Discs here. Read the press release at toyahwillcox.com. Watch Toyah announcing the release during last weekend’s Toyah At Home.

Toyah’s interview with Michael Parkinson, on his chat show Parkinson, airs for the first time, since it was originally broadcast in October 1981, this weekend on BBC Four.

Parkinson: BBC Four: Saturday 15th March: 10.45pm
Dave Allen, Toyah Willcox and Peter Skellern. Michael Parkinson in conversation with comedian Dave Allen, actress and singer Toyah Willcox and singer-songwriter Peter Skellern. First broadcast 31 October 1981.

An excerpt from a new interview with Toyah, from Blitzed Magazine, talking playing live, her back-catalogue reissues and Strictly.

From princess of punk to accomplished stage actress, Toyah Willcox is a uniquely gifted, well-loved and respected performer. Charismatic, outspoken and very passionate, she is one of Britain’s most beloved household names of stage, screen and radio. The hit singles ‘It’s A Mystery’, ‘I Want to Be Free’, ‘Brave New World’ and platinum-selling albums Anthem and The Changeling confirmed her status as one of the most significant talents of the 1980s. In 1982 she won the Best Female Singer at the British Rock & Pop Awards (which later became The Brits).

In recent years, Toyah has seen her career take on even more challenges with TV, live festivals, re-releases of classic albums, as well as awards and new material too. For issue 18 of Blitzed, we spoke to Toyah about her legacy and kicked off by asking her how she would summarise 2024 in terms of the highs and lows?

The year has been very rewarding, and it’s satisfying to be seen and regarded as an artist of influence in the music industry. I will remember 2024 for the rewards after decades of work. Glastonbury will always be a high point in my life. It is a magical festival that takes place on a very powerful piece of land and the audience add to that. No other experience matches it, it is a truly loving caring community where music is the very heart and soul of everything. The lows, there aren’t really any other than seeing my brilliant 78-year-old husband move into a more fragile time in his life but that is inevitable.

• Continue reading at Blitzed Magazine. Read the full interview with Toyah in issue 18 of Blitzed Magazine.

• Toyah At Home: Bonus Announcement Episode March 2025 – Watch… • Toyah & Robert: UpBeat Moments – Watch… • Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch – Satisfaction – Watch… (Image © Toyah Willcox)

Fans surprised to find out they’re talking to 80s singing legends on shopping hotline

Martin Kemp, Toyah Willcox and Sinitta manned a 1980s style shopping ‘hotline’ to the delight of fans

Martin Kemp, Toyah Willcox and Sinitta were manning a vintage ’80s hotline, sending fans into a frenzy as they sold them retro-inspired clothing.

The trio of ’80s icons got stuck in and took calls from enthusiasts of the era. Kemp, who rocked the ’80s as Spandau Ballet’s bassist, was dishing out some “Gold” one-liners and even broke into song down the line to a gobsmacked punter.

Toyah, a veteran of the music scene with over 20 albums, got in on the action too, joking: “Don’t trust Martin, Sinitta and I to place your order – all we’re good at is singing.”

• Continue reading at the Daily Star. See also the Express, The Sun, and Toyah’s Facebook.

Toyah promised a bonus Toyah At Home last Saturday… and sure enough it is here, with a special announcement – and a cute cameo from Fripp the bunny!

Celebrity PopMaster TV: More4: Tuesday 18th March: 9pm
Series 2. Episode 1. Ken Bruce kicks off the second series of the music quiz with the first of two celebrity editions. Featuring contestants Toyah Willcox, Richard Blackwood, Sally Lindsay, MistaJam and Kimberly Wyatt. (Photo © Channel 4/More 4)