One more sleep till Christmas! This has been Dreamscape’s 25th year celebrating Christmas online… Wishing everyone who has visited this website over the last 12 months a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year… Joyeux Noël, Frohe Weihnachten, God Jul, Feliz Navidad, Buon Natale, Feliz Natal, Vrolijk Kerstfeest.
Last year I designed an oversized Toyah card for Christmas, and as I’m known to repeat myself, here’s one for this year too…
We’ve reached the final day of our countdown to Christmas for 2024. Browse it all here. I’ve really enjoyed reminiscing about past Decembers this year, and here’s one final festive memory…
Christmas 2016, Toyah attended a ceremony and was inducted into the Birmingham Walk Of Stars.
Toyah said: “I am thrilled to be receiving a star on the Birmingham Walk of Stars. Having spent my childhood and teenage years in this great city, I developed my love of music and theatre here, thanks to all the great music venues and theatres available within the one city.“
• See news on Toyah attending the Birmingham Walk Of Stars event here and here. (Photo © Express & Star)
Christmas 2022, Toyah announced the release of a special 10” cherry red coloured vinyl EP commemorating the classic 1982 single Brave New World. To be released in March 2023, and limited to 500 copies only.
This became the first in a series of 10″ single releases by Toyah, with Rebel Run, and I Believe In Father Christmas also receiving limited edition releases on the format in 2024.
The EP contained four tracks, all previously unreleased versions, including the long-awaited Dawn Chorus (6.55 Special Mix). The release was part of Cherry Red Records’ special ‘45s at 45’ vinyl series marking the 45th Anniversary of the label.
The Tracklist: Side One: 1. Brave New World (Razzmatazz Mix). 2. Street Creature (Razzmatazz Mix) | Side Two: 1. Dawn Chorus (6.55 Special Version), 2. Ieya 1982 (Edited Version)
A review, by Yorkshire Times, of last night’s closing Christmas Party Tour gig, at Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton.
Toyah And Robert Fripp Impressive Musical Legacies
Toyah and Robert Fripp boast their own impressive musical legacies; however, as a result of a lockdown silly video, the married couple saw their personal partnership thrust into the viral domain. Alongside the likes of Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Joe Wicks, they became an escapist treat during one of the toughest periods the world has known in recent years.
Their sheer zest for life and laughter puts smiles on faces around the world, and their popularity has only increased in the aftermath. While Toyah made a fleeting appearance on Strictly earlier this year, the duo have enjoyed two Glastonbury appearances in subsequent years and even joined Billy Idol on tour. As the holiday season approaches, they have embarked on a short UK tour to unite their devoted fan base for a memorable sing-along.
• Continue reading at the Yorkshire Times.
Christmas 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984. In the early eighties Toyah’s Official Fanclub – Intergalactic Ranch House – sent out Christmas cards to subscribing members each December, with Toyah taking the time to sign each and every card, which numbered around 6,000 at the height of the fanclub’s popularity.
This tradition was carried on for an extra year, in 1984, when the Intergalactic Ranch House became simply the Toyah Fanclub following Toyah leaving Safari Records after five years and signing to CBS/Portrait Records.
All four cards featured photos of Toyah, showcasing great early eighties imagery and creating a unique set of fanclub memorabilia that became collector’s items. Here’s a snapshot of a feature on the Christmas cards from an issue of Dreamscape’s fanzine.
Tipping Point – Lucky Stars: U&W: Sunday 5th January: 8am
Series 7, Episode 7. Ben Shephard presents a celebrity edition of the quiz, with the Rev Richard Coles, Toyah Willcox and Sharron Davies answering questions to win turns on an arcade-style machine. Dropping tokens down a choice of four chutes, they hope to knock piles of them off a moving shelf – and the more they collect, the better their chances of collecting the £20,000 prize for their selected charity. (Photo © ITV)
A selection of Toyah on TV this festive season. Quadrophenia airs tonight on BBC Two.
Quadrophenia: BBC Two:
Sunday 22nd December: 11.45pm
The Who wrote and produced this energetic story of a young man disillusioned with his life in 1960s London. Phil Daniels excels as the alienated anti-hero Jimmy Cooper. Director: Franc Roddam. Starring: Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Toyah Willcox, Philip Davis, Mark Wingett, Sting, and Ray Winstone.
Loose Ends: BBC Radio 4: Boxing Day: 9pm
Toyah Willcox, Adam Riches and John Kearns, Barb Junger, 30 years of Stay Another Day. In a glorious fusion of 1990s boy and girl band nostalgia Loose Ends will celebrate the 30 years since boyband East 17 scaled the charts with Stay Another Day – songwriter Tony Mortimer will perform the song with Edele Lynch of B*Witched for a festive Loose Ends recorded with a live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre.
Clive talks to punk princess Toyah Willcox about her Xmas Party tour with King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp and a blistering year that’s seen her perform at Glastonbury, take part in Strictly Come Dancing and join the cast of Now That’s What I Call Music, the musical.
Way Back When! 1981: NOW 80s: Friday 27th December: 3pm
60 minutes of lesser heard hits from 1981. Including The Pretenders, Spandau Ballet, George Harrison, Toyah & The Pointer Sisters.
Toyah’s Sack The Stylist?! Top 30: NOW 80s: Saturday 28th December: 8pm
Pop legend Toyah brings 30 memorable videos featuring a cavalcade of clothing calamities from superstars including Visage, Five Star, Divine, Cher, The Jam, Bananarama, Dead Or Alive, Bucks Fizz, ABC, Depeche Mode, David Bowie, Madonna, Adam & The Ants, A Flock Of Seagulls, Roxy Music, Kajagoogoo, Duran Duran, Grace Jones, Su Pollard, Toyah herself and more in this crazy countdown!
Lives Well Lived: BBC Two: Sunday 29th December: 6pm
Episode 2. Kirsty Wark presents the second of two programmes celebrating notable famous names who died in 2024. Kiefer Sutherland gives a personal tribute to his actor father Donald, novelist Irvine Welsh and singer Toyah Willcox pay tribute to DJ Annie Nightingale and Rob Burrow’s widow Lindsey and former Olympic champion Kelly Holmes remember the former rugby league player’s impact on raising awareness of motor neurone disease. There are also tributes to former deputy prime minister John Prescott and music producer Quincy Jones.
Minder: ITV4: New Year’s Eve/Hogmanay: 8.20am
All Mod Cons. Series 2, Episode 8. Terry tries to help his friend Kate evict some unwanted tenants, but comes to doubt her motives. Meanwhile, Arthur is desperate to get into the property market and tries to sell Terry’s flat without telling him. Guest starring Toyah Willcox and Simon Cadell. Director: Ian Sharp. Also starring: George Cole, Dennis Waterman, Peter Childs, George Layton, Patrick Malahide, Michael Troughton.
Tales Of The Unexpected: Sky Arts: Saturday 4th January: 8.50am
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.
It’s the final date of Toyah & Robert’s festive five-date Christmas Party Tour. After playing Edinburgh, Sunderland, Bath and London, T&R bring their seasonal joy to Wolverhampton tonight.
Christmas 2018, Toyah became a Mastermind! She won Episode Two of Series 17 of Celebrity Mastermind, which aired on BBC1 on Saturday 22nd December.
John Humphrys puts four celebrities to the test in another episode of the classic quiz. Taking part are comedian Joe Pasquale, Newsround presenter Ricky Boleto, singer Toyah Willcox and Olympian Jeanette Kwakye. They answer questions on werewolf films, 1990s number one singles, Boudica and Disney animations.
A reminder, Toyah is guesting on BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends this evening, joining Clive Anderson to talk about the Toyah & Robert Christmas Party Tour, and no doubt much more. The programme is being repeated on Boxing Day. Listen live or at BBC Sounds post-airing.
Loose Ends: BBC Radio 4: Sat 21st Dec: 6.15pm
Loose Ends: BBC Radio 4: Boxing Day: 9pm
Toyah Willcox, Adam Riches and John Kearns, Barb Junger, 30 years of Stay Another Day. In a glorious fusion of 1990s boy and girl band nostalgia Loose Ends will celebrate the 30 years since boyband East 17 scaled the charts with Stay Another Day – songwriter Tony Mortimer will perform the song with Edele Lynch of B*Witched for a festive Loose Ends recorded with a live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre.
Clive talks to punk princess Toyah Willcox about her Xmas Party tour with King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp and a blistering year that’s seen her perform at Glastonbury, take part in Strictly Come Dancing and join the cast of Now That’s What I Call Music, the musical.
We’re promised bromance, baubles and banter with Edinburgh Comedy Award winners Adam Riches and John Kearns who are collaborating on a “once in a lifetime, yuletide extravaganza” show at the Soho Theatre
Toyah Willcox shares ‘most embarrassing moment of her life’ after tech blunder
Toyah Willcox has opened up about the embarrassing moment that unfolded after she forgot to turn the camera off while recording a TikTok video with her husband
Strictly star Toyah Willcox has opened up about a TikTok mishap that led to what she describes as the ‘most embarrassing moment of her life’.
The unfortunate incident occurred when singer Toyah and her husband, musician Robert Fripp, were filming a new video for their social media platforms, which have garnered over 120 million views.
Toyah, 66, inadvertently left the camera on, capturing the star in her underwear as she went about her daily activities.
“It was one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever done,” admitted Toyah. “My husband Robert and I were dressed as unicorns for a video we were filming and I left the camera on afterwards.”
• Continue reading at The Mirror. See also The Sun, Express, and Daily Star.
Christmas 2012, BBC Radio 4 aired Neil Tennant’s Smash Hits Christmas on 20th December – a real festive pop treat for everyone who grew up in the 1980s. The programme was an interesting look back at the golden years of the UK’s biggest music magazine of the eighties. Neil recalls the golden days of, the iconic, Smash Hits magazine, when he worked as a writer in their Carnaby Street office.
There were also contributions and memories from founder and legendary magazine maker Nick Logan, editors David Hepworth and Mark Ellen, writers Miranda Sawyer and Sylvia Patterson, and from regular Smash Hits cover girl, Toyah., talking about Smash Hits in general and her Brave New World cover from the Summer of 1982.
Neil Tennant had a life as a journalist before he became famous as a Pet Shop Boy. In fact, it was on a Smash Hits trip to New York that he had his big breakthrough with the record producer Bobby O. Also included is a rare recording from the 1982 Christmas Flexidisc (a message from the stars) and probably Neil Tennant’s first recording – the music for a trailer advertising Smash Hits stickers. (Producer: Susan Marling. A Just Radio Ltd. production for BBC Radio 4). Click on any of the images in this post to listen to Neil Tennant’s Smash Hits Christmas at You Tube.
Minder: ITV4: New Year’s Eve: 8.20am
All Mod Cons. Series 2, Episode 8. Terry tries to help his friend Kate evict some unwanted tenants, but comes to doubt her motives. Meanwhile, Arthur is desperate to get into the property market and tries to sell Terry’s flat without telling him. Guest starring Toyah Willcox and Simon Cadell. Director: Ian Sharp. Also starring: George Cole, Dennis Waterman, Peter Childs, George Layton, Patrick Malahide, Michael Troughton. Also showing on ITV4 HD. (Photos © ITV)
A great review – by God Is In The TV – of Monday’s Toyah & Robert: Christmas Party at The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh. I agree with every word!
…Wow. Just wow.
Toyah Willcox is not a woman to let the ground rest beneath her feet, and nor, one suspects is her husband Robert Fripp. Not only did they do their best to keep music lovers’ spirits up during the pandemic with their Sunday Lunch videos on YouTube (which racked up millions of views), she’s just competed in Strictly and now here they are just before Christmas touring together.
I might say this normally at the end of a review, but I’m going to get this in now: if you get the chance to see one of the handful of remaining shows before Christmas, go and see them. Because I’ve been to a lot of gigs this year, and there’s been a lot of great ones, but of them all, this was The. Most. Fun.
• Continue reading at God Is In The TV. (Photos © David Fleming)
Christmas 2024, and The Official Toyah Willcox website and related social media announced two exciting new releases for March 2025, beautiful picture discs of Toyah’s first two albums: Sheep Farming In Barnet and The Blue Meaning.
Official Toyah also revealed: In 2025, an exciting series of releases will mark Toyah’s over 45 years in music with a celebration of albums, singles and images.
Way Back When! 1981: NOW 80s: Friday 27th December: 3pm
60 minutes of lesser heard hits from 1981. Including The Pretenders, Spandau Ballet, George Harrison, Toyah & The Pointer Sisters.
Christmas 2012, Toyah guested on Steve Lamacq’s Rock College on BBC Radio 2 as ‘Guest Lecturer’, discussing how absolutely life-changing first discovering David Bowie was for her when growing up in Birmingham in the early 1970s.
Toyah talks about the legendary album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and of first glimpsing, and hearing, Bowie performing Starman on the music programme Lift Off With Ayshea.
“This was a moment that changed my life forever…”
This was such a great audio clip/opinion piece by Toyah it would’ve been a real shame to just let it disappear after its week on iPlayer back in 2012… so here it is! Click below to listen.
Toyah’s Sack The Stylist?! Top 30: NOW 80s: Saturday 28th December: 8pm
Pop legend Toyah brings 30 memorable videos featuring a cavalcade of clothing calamities from superstars including Visage, Five Star, Divine, Cher, The Jam, Bananarama, Dead Or Alive, Bucks Fizz, ABC, Depeche Mode, David Bowie, Madonna, Adam & The Ants, A Flock Of Seagulls, Roxy Music, Kajagoogoo, Duran Duran, Grace Jones, Su Pollard, Toyah herself and more in this crazy countdown! See the full Toyah’s Sack The Stylist?! Top 30 playlist here.
“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!”
