Dreamscape – Toyah Willcox Fansite

The Dundee Evening Telegraph‘s interview with Sharon has also now been published online. Click below to see it! (Photo © Dundee Evening Telegraph)

My faberoonie pal Sharon was interviewed in yesterday’s Dundee Evening Telegraph, in a feature about being a lifelong fan of Toyah and following the recent Thunder In The Highlands Tour on all of its Scottish dates.

Sharon is one of the most generous and gorgeous people I’m privileged to know. Incredibly modest, fiercely loyal to Toyah and hugely supportive of her career. A real credit to Toyah fandom!

It’s No Mystery: Dundee lookalike is Toyah’s Biggest Fan

A woman travelled more than 500 miles to see ’80s pop star Toyah Willcox in four different venues in as many days – and proved it’s no mystery why she’s her number one fan.

Sharon Dickson has followed the punk rocker around the UK seeing her perform more than 40 times.

Toyah, whose hits include It’s A Mystery and Thunder In The Mountains, performed four shows across Scotland last week to celebrate her 40 years in the music industry.

Sharon, 48, said she has beein going to her shows for almost as long.

She said, “I have been planning to go to all four gigs since last November, I got all my holidays booked and got my accomodation sorted – it was a great buzz to be able to go to all of the gigs”.

• Continue reading the interview by clicking here or below.

Celebrity Ghost Stories: Lifetime: Saturday 18th May: 9pm
Series 1, Episode 6. Sue Cook reveals creepy encounters with a malevolent nutcracker and a UFO, Toyah Willcox speaks of a spooky apparation, and Alex Fearns discusses sinister sounds he caught on tape.

There’s another chance to catch Toyah’s Sack The Stylist?! Top 30. It airs again this Wednesday, at 12pm, on NOW 80s

Here’s the show’s full playlist: 30. Love and Pride – King, 29. Fade To Grey – Visage, 28. Bad Boys – Wham!, 27. The Slightest Touch – Five Star, 26. Synchronicity II – The Police, 25. You Think You’re A Man – Divine, 24. I Found Someone – Cher, 23. The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow) – The Jam, 22. Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye – Bananarama, 21. What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For? – Shakin’ Stevens, 20. Touch Me (I Want Your Body) – Samantha Fox, 19. You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) – Dead Or Alive, 18. Things Can Only Get Better – Howard Jones, 17. Lucky Star – Madonna, 16. Just Say No – Grange Hill Cast, 15. London Town – Bucks Fizz, 14. The Look Of Love – ABC, 13. More Than This – Roxy Music, 12. Open Your Heart – The Human League, 11. Just Can’t Get Enough – Depeche Mode, 10. Blue Jean – David Bowie, 9. Ant Rap – Adam & The Ants, 8. Starting Together – Su Pollard, 7. The War Song – Culture Club, 6. Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) – A Flock Of Seagulls, 5. Thunder In The Mountains – Toyah, 4. Too Shy – Kajagoogoo, 3. The Wild Boys – Duran Duran, 2. Wired For Sound – Cliff Richard, 1. I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Perfect For You) – Grace Jones. Bonus Track: Sensational – Toyah

“Well, I’ve been taking an affectionate look at fellow pop stars and their styles so I had to balance things out with that. My hair, make-up and outfit on Thunder In The Mountains was pretty crazy. But I loved it!”

A great retro Barmy Aunt Boomerang photo of Toyah and Richard Madden was included in The Guardian‘s interview with Richard, published on Saturday.

The lengthy feature also references Toyah and Barmy Aunt Boomerang:

Madden has had a taste of this all-consuming busyness before: with Game Of Thrones, in his early 20s, and even before then, when he was cast, aged 12, in a BBC One series called Barmy Aunt Boomerang. So, he says, he knows enough for the shift in status not to go to his head

… Then he got the lead part in Barmy Aunt Boomerang (Toyah Willcox played the eponymous aunt), so he didn’t really go to school much between the ages of 11 and 13, and when he went back, he struggled.

• Continue reading at The Guardian. (Photo © BBC) NB: Toyah and Barmy Aunt Boomerang were previously included in a BBC feature on Richard Madden earlier this year.

A full transcript of Toyah’s recent Celebrity Radio interview is now available to read online at The Toyah Willcox Interview Archive.

Well, I trained in opera from about the age of 14 right through to 18. German opera. I keep catching myself talking German although my German isn’t great. But that really helped me. And if anything it’s hard to get it out of the voice because when I have to do the big notes at the end of songs that’s when I kick the opera in.

I have a real ambition to be in an opera one day and I never say never and I don’t think doors close. I think one day it might happen. But if I did go into an opera it would have to be really modern and really extreme. Because I am a rock singer.

• Continue reading at The Toyah Willcox Interview Archive. Watch the interview here.

• Toyah’s Sack The Stylist?! Top 30 – a 150-minute video pop fest – Pop legend Toyah brings 30 memorable videos featuring a cavalcade of clothing calamities from superstars including Bowie, Madonna, Adam Ant and many more in this crazy countdown! – is repeated this morning on NOW 80s, beginning at 9am…

• Now 80s: Look out for other Toyah music on this great channel. I’ve spotted the videos for Thunder In The Mountains, I Want To Be Free and, even, Sensational (which isn’t an 80s track) being played during various shows recently…

• Live 2019: Toyah played Harpenden Public Hall last night. “Ready to Bank Holiday Rock” – See Toyah’s tweet…

• Thunder In The Highlands @ The Church, Dundee: Watch 15 videos from last weekend’s tour – Courtesy of the Toyah Fan Videos You Tube channel…

• Thunder In The Highlands: Songs played on the four-date tour: Dance In The Hurricane, Who Let The Beast Out, Good Morning Universe, We Are, Neon Womb, All In A Rage, Be Proud Be Loud (Be Heard), Telepathic Lover, Angel and Me, Thunder In The Mountains, Rebel Run, It’s A Mystery, Sensational, Come, Brave New World, Echo Beach, 21st Century Supersister, Latex Messiah (Viva La Rebel In You), Danced, I Want To Be Free, Ieya…

• Mumble Music: The Divine Toyah: The Thunder In The Highlands Tour, Edinburgh Liquid Room 25.04.19 – A fan opinion piece plus review of Toyah’s Edinburgh gig – Continue reading…

• Official Charts: In The Court Of the Crimson Queen spends its third week in the Official UK Charts Rock & Metal Albums Top 30.

Toyah presents a new pop rundown show on the NOW 80s music channel this evening and also repeated this weekend. Toyah’s Sack The Stylist?! Top 30 airs for 2hrs 30mins.

Toyah’s Sack The Stylist?! Top 30: NOW 80s:
Wednesday 1st May: 6pm / Saturday 4th May: 9am
Pop legend Toyah brings 30 memorable videos featuring a cavalcade of clothing calamities from superstars including Bowie, Madonna, Adam Ant and many more in this crazy countdown!

NOW 80s is a British music television channel, focusing exclusively on playing music from the 1980s. The channel launched in its current form on 27 December 2016, initially as a temporary pop-up rebrand of NOW Music, previously a contemporary pop channel; the 80s format was subsequently made permanent.

• Watch NOW 80s on Sky (Ch 371), Virgin Media (Ch 346), Freeview (Ch 83).

CONCERT REVIEW: TOYAH with support from THE MEDIA WHORES – The Church. Dundee – April, 2019

The Church in Dundee is not large in size but full of character and given the capacity is less than 400, this was always going to be an intimate gig and the chance to experience a Goddess of Rock at close quarters.

First up on stage were The Media Whores a 4 piece post-punk band from central Scotland.

… With only a short break and time to replenish one’s glasses it was time for Toyah. The soundsystem, hit the intro ‘Every girl born is the queen of her own domain’ so let’s Dance in the Hurricane, a new track included in Toyah’s repackaged album and 2CD package In The Court Of The Crimson Queen.

The track is quality and so was Toyah, elegantly dressed in a tight fitting shiny golden dress and loaded with neck and wrist jewellery. The heavy drumming on this track excites as Toyah twists and turns to the beat.

• Continue reading at Patchchord News.

Full transcripts of a selection of Toyah’s recent radio interviews are available to read at the Toyah Willcox Interview Archive. A collection of 11 are linked to below. Toyah talks In The Court Of The Crimson Queen… and much more! (Photos © Official Toyah)

• BBC Radio Ulster: The Arts Show: 26.03.2019 – I believe my generation will always be punk. We were born to rebel and I think that is the generation that is forgetting to grow old – Continue reading…

• BBC Radio Guernsey: John Randall: 27.03.2019 – I was sixty last year on May the 18th and my fans downloaded me to number 1. The unusual thing about that is that I was at that time an unsigned artist. That led to me to having a record deal and re-imagining the album because it’s been around for about ten years – Continue reading…

• BBC Radio Kent: Dominic King: 27.03.2019 – When we released it in 2008 it was literally like a fan release. Very limited edition, only available to the fans who knew my work, who came to see the band. Last year on May the 18th I turned 60 and unbeknownst to me my fans downloaded me to number one in the charts and there was a slight problem with this good news. Because I was not signed to a record label we couldn’t ask for radio play even though I was number one – Continue reading…

• BBC Radio Cornwall: David White: 28.03.2019 – It’s kind of confusing that you have to say it’s a re-working because for the majority of people who only remember me from the 1980’s this is actually a brand new album – Continue reading…

• BBC Radio Derby: Steve Jordan: 28.03.2019 – Vinyl is just the phenomena of today isn’t it – because vinyl is selling more than every other product at the moment – Continue reading…

• BBC Radio Wales: Eleri Sion: 29.03.2019 –  For many people it is a new album. For my dedicated fans – they know it. The writing for this started in 2007 and the first single from this album “Sensational” was the Weight Watchers campaign song on TV – Continue reading…

• BBC Radio London: Jo Good: 12.04.2019 – I have all the social media outlets and I provide the content but I employ someone, who I met when he was 4 years old, a Toyah fan, who was considered to be my youngest fan – he’s now just hit 40 and he now manages my archive, my social media, he’s even the executor of my will – Continue reading…

• BBC Radio Sussex/Surrey: Mark Carter: 14.04.2019 – Some people have described it as pure joy and is a joyous album and there’s absolutely no point in me trying to be serious and adult. I do energy and I think this album has it and yes, I really love it. I’ve been living with some of these songs as long as ten years – Continue reading…

• BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester: Tammy Gooding: 09.04.2019 – I’m having a really good time. Everything with the album has had such a positive reaction and I’m 61 this year and I didn’t expect this to be happening in my life and it’s really good – Continue reading…

• BBC Radio Devon: Richard Green: 20.04.2019 – At that time I was an unsigned artist and politically to get radio play and presence you have to be on a label. So a label called Demon Records said “we have to release this because there’s an audience who desperately want it”. So the first song of the album, “Sensational”, did start its life around 2009 – Continue reading…

• Gaydio: Phil Marriott Meets: 03.04.2019 – It’s very crimson. It’s “In The Court Of The Crimson Queen”. We started writing it ten years ago and we slowly drip-fed it to the fans as we toured constantly. So what happened – the only way I can explain is because if people know nothing about me … I was 60 on May the 18th last year and the fans downloaded me to number one in the charts and it was really quite extraordinary because I’m an unsigned artist – Continue reading…

• All of the above Toyah interviews transcripts, and numerous others, can also be read at the Toyah Willcox Interview Archive at Tumblr.

Celebrity Fantasy Homes: Home: Tuesday 14th May: 2pm
Toyah (Series 2, Episode 2). Celebrities hunt for a new home. Gaby Roslin helps the original punk-pop princess Toyah Willcox search for a second home, in Richmond upon Thames, with a budget of £650,000.