Your never too old and it’s never too late to live your dreams. All you need is the Power of Three.
Next week The Power Of Three, the film Toyah has a lead role in, plays at two US film festivals.
The Women’s International Film & Arts Festival: March 28-April 1, taking place in Miami and The Brooklyn Girl Film Festival: March 29-31 in New York.
The film plays on the opening day of WIFF and is a “Red Carpet Event”, and on Saturday 31st March at BGFF. View further details and the film festival’s respective shedules here (WIFF) and here (BGFF).
‘She-Bop-A-Lula’, the photo exhibition in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer Charity, opened at the Strand Gallery, London on the 7th March.
The exhibition features over 60 pictures of some of the most successful and creative women singers from the last six decades. The pictures, all taken by women photographers, are a mix of candid and intimate backstage scenes, sensitive and stylised portraits, through to the excitement and raw power of live performance.
It’s highly likely that the photograph of Toyah and Jenny Runacre, from 1977, by Caroline Coon is included in the exhibition. View further info on ‘She-Bop-A-Lula’ here. There are also recent online press articles on the exhibition by The Guardian, The Independent and NME.
The revised dates for ‘The Changeling Resurrection’ are confirmed and Toyah tweeted yesterday: “2’day I officially start learning the tour set. Its meaty, its chewy, its deep, its dark, its moody, its dance-able“. Get set for the Madhatter’s tea party: The Resurrection begins soon…
Toyah’s ninth song choice from My Vintage, ‘Stay’.
“1992 was not the greatest year of my life I have to say. It was a year of massive changes and challenges. Deeply personal things going on, and when I first heard this song it actually made me burst into tears, because this song, I think, encapsulates how women feel about letting go of something. It encapsulates how women feel so intensly connected… to a person, and things in their lives. I don’t think I’m wrong in saying this and I don’t think I’m sexist in saying this…”
• Read the full transcript of the reasons for this song choice here.
An interesting Toyah-related blog from, the brilliantly titled, ‘Unthought Of, Though, Somehow’.
By November 1979 I had been in my first full-time job, at an insurance company, for around 18 months.It was soul-destroyingly dull, a dullness only alleviated by some of the good people I worked with and also the chance to spend my lunch & post-work hours hanging out in the local independent record shop – a matter of yards away. I spent a huge amount of time (and money) in the place and got to know most of the staff quite well.
• Read the the rest of this blog here. (Thanks to Andrew York for the photo)
Simon Fowler took some iconic photos of Toyah in the late 70s/early 80s and he is responsible for a handful of the best Toyah photo shoots, as well as amazing photos of other bands. Visit his website by clicking below.
80s Music. All Grown Up. ‘Remember The Eighties’ website was relaunched today and is now ‘This Is Not Retro’. The site is looking great and is packed full of news, interviews, reviews and much more. There is also substantial Toyah content, including four interviews. Visit ‘This Is Not Retro’ here and click below for lots of Toyah.
• Steve Lillywhite, producer of ‘The Changeling’ and numerous other great albums, by among many others, Morrissey, U2 and The Chameleons, was recently awarded a CBE. (Thanks to Stephen Bennett)
• BBC2’s documentary series The Tube, behind the scenes of London Underground, this week featured the underground’s most unusual employee, a hawk called Toyah. If you missed it The Tube is repeated tonight at 11.20pm on BBC2. (Thanks to Paul Johnson)
• It looks like Remember The Eighties will be returning very shortly. The new website is currently “99% completed”.
There’s another new Toyah website on the block. Check it out (and good luck to David).
Lytham Proms Festival Weekends three day event line-up is now complete, with Friday 3rd welcoming ‘Here and Now The Very Best of The 80’s’ and Saturday 4th ‘Alfie Boe- Last Night of the Proms’. The winner of local talent competition Fylde’s Got Talent will perform alongside Olly Murs on Sunday night.
Friday 3rd August 2012 – “Here and Now, The Very Best of the 80’s”
A fantastic selection of iconic 80’s popstars will headline the opening night of Lytham Proms Festival Weekend 2012.
“Here and Now, The Very Best of the 80’s” will feature stars: Bananarama, Rick Astley, The Real Thing, Belinda Carlisle, Toyah, Curiosity Killed the Cat and T’Pau in what is dubbed as being the Fylde Coast’s biggest party EVER!
Remember ‘Ladies Love The Beatles’? A couple of recent related pieces of news on this forthcoming compilation:
• Katrina Leskanich, of Katrina & The Waves, posted on her 8th March 2012 website update: “I was in the studio recording a couple of Beatles tracks for a new compilation which includes Kim Wilde, Mica Paris, Toyah and several other female artists which will be released in 2012”.
• Producer/Mixer Martin Sutton’s ‘Wikipedia’ page has recently been updated to include his Programming, Instrumentation & Mixing on “The Ladies Love…The Beatles”. Artists listed are: Mica Paris, Beverley Craven, Des’ree, Kim Wilde, Toyah, Heather Small and Katrina Leskanich.
Toyah played ‘The Magical Faerie Festival’ last April in Canterbury. An interview from then has just been uploaded to ‘You Tube’. Toyah talks punk, steampunk, acting, Canterbury and fairy wings. Click below to view.
On Tuesday Toyah tweeted an update on The Humans writing sessions.
“Humans last writing day. 20 songs in the demo pot! Sooooo excited! Soooo rockin”, along with a photo of the band.
• Visit ‘The Humans Official’ here.
• Visit the ‘Sugar Rush’ fansite here.
The Classic Grand website has now been updated with the new Glasgow date for ‘The Changeling Resurrection’: 12th October.
It also reiterates what Toyah said in her tweet on Tuesday: “20th April tickets valid for 12th Oct”.
80’s Music Sensations Confirm Scottish Date
It may have been over 20 years since they first burst onto the music scene with their catchy hits, but over two decades on, the greatest line up of eighties music icons is coming to Glasgow for an exclusive outdoor show this summer. Here and Now, a concert featuring the biggest artists from the 1980s, will take music lovers down memory lane as a cast list of seven pop icons take to the stage. Paul Young will get heart rates racing when he performs his massive number one hit, ‘Wherever I lay my hat’, while Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ will get the crowd on their feet. Others include Toyah, The Real Thing, Curiosity Killed the Cat, Belinda Carlisle and T’Pau.
The night has been billed by event organiser CK Events as the biggest party on the green this summer. The back to back, hit only concert takes place at Glasgow Green, in the heart of Glasgow, on Saturday 21 July 2012.
Tickets, priced at £36, go on sale on Friday (9th March 2012) from www.ticketline.co.uk. Gates open at 6.30pm on Saturday 21 July 2012.
This black-tie event promises a fabulous night out including reception drinks, a delicious three course dinner and superb entertainment including the fantastic Toyah Willcox to get you dancing the night away.
Join us on Saturday 19 May 2012 for The Stroke Association’s 20th Anniversary Ball at Radisson Blu Hotel in the beautiful City of Durham.
Tickets are £45 per person or £450 for a table of 10. Don’t miss out, tables are selling fast! Book your tickets online today! For more information please contact Janet Price on 0191 492 6191 or at janet.price@stroke.org.uk
It’s the official flyer for ‘Let’s Rock The Moor!’ Summer 2012, the one day festival that includes Toyah in its line-up.
‘Lets Rock The Moor!’, taking place in Cookham, Berkshire on Saturday 12th May, has also had more bands added. Nick Heyward and Modern Romance are both now also on the bill.
The festival’s website has also been updated. Visit it here. View a larger version of the official flyer here.
From the website: Let’s Rock The Moor! will be returning for its 4th year on Saturday May 12th, with an action packed day of live music at this Boutique, Family Friendly, 80’s Festival. Now relocated on to a much larger site, Billy Ocean, Go West, Heaven 17, Boney M, Toyah, Nick Heyward, China Crisis and Modern Romance are all confirmed. Set in the picturesque village of Cookham in Berkshire, this event has plenty to do for everyone!
Win one of three Family Tickets to ‘Let’s Rock the Moor 2012’.
Let’s Rock The Moor! will be returning for its 4th year on Saturday May 12 with a massive 80’s line up and plenty to do for everyone! Families Online has three sets of family tickets to giveaway for this great event in Cookham.
Go here to enter the competition. Closing date – 9am April 10th 2012.
30 Women Photographers and the Women Photographers Who Inspired Them: A Blog Series in Honor of Women’s History Month, March 1 – 31
Caroline Coon is a multi-talented artist born and based in Britain. She is a painter, designer and photographer whose work has been exhibited at major London galleries, including the Saatchi Gallery and the Tate. Her photographs are in the National Portrait Gallery, and currently on display at the Strand Gallery in She-Bop-a-Lula, an exhibit celebrating female singers captured by women photographers.
In the 1970’s and 80’s, Coon wrote about, designed for, and photographed a number of Punk Rock bands, including The Slits and The Clash. Her New Wave Punk Rock Explosion is an inside, “as it happened” story of punk, with iconic images, and commentary by musicians and fans. (Photo: Jenny Runacre and Toyah Willcox 1977 © Caroline Coon/Camera Press)
You bought and read the, ruddy excellent, book… so why not go one step further and be loud, proud and seen in your ‘I Was A Teenage Toyah Fan – Were You?’ t-shirt.
There are numerous colours to choose from. Go here for more details on how to add the ‘IWATTF’ to your t-shirt collection.
