A recent interview with Toyah, from Birmingham Review.
BReview: “Congratulations on your star in the Kings Heath ‘Walk of Fame’. How does it feel to be awarded this accolade?”
Toyah: “It’s wonderful. It’s such an honour, and so good for people to remember me in this way. I lived in Birmingham for 18 years, until I left for London and got my career going. I was born and conceived here. I used to shop on the high street everyday with my mother.
It’s very kind of the business people of Kings Heath, to include me in the names of those associated with the suburb. Amazing people have played here, like Led Zeppelin and Jerry lee Lewis (at the Ritz Ballroom, now Cash Convertors, on York Rd). I think I am the only other woman apart from Helen Shapiro; it’s an absolute honour.”
• Continue reading at Birmingham Review.
After a day of all things Toyah Willcox (star receiving Toyah, interview giving Toyah, buffet lunch eating Toyah), I was finally going to see her in, arguably, her most natural habitat – on stage.
The Hare and Hounds provided the venue for Toyah Wilcox’s one off homecoming gig.
And, although this lady’s musical, stage and acting career has spanned some thirty plus years, I was still surprised to see Venue 2 packed out with die-hard Toyah fans; many having donned their Toyah memorabilia t-shirts and raided wardrobes for their best Goth-like attire.
• Continue reading at Birmingham Review.
After her rainy day ramble down nostalgia lane to receive her Kings Heath Walk Of Fame badge of honour earlier today at The Hare, Toyah Willcox got down to the serious business of reminding us just how and why her Princess of Post-Punk/Goth-lite song-writing and stage theatrics undoubtedly caught the 80s zeitgeist.
• Continue reading at Gig Junkies. (Photo © Ian Dunn/Principle Photography)
Evolution Pantomimes have updated their website with details and images for all of their 2012/13 festive season productions, including Toyah’s Sleeping Beauty.
Sleeping Beauty at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
Cast: Gareth Gates, Toyah Willcox, Katrina Bryan, Ben Roddy, Lloyd Hollett, Faye Brooks, Ieuan Rhys. Director: Paul Hendy; MD: Chris Wong; Choreographer: Paul Tracy.
• Toyah guested on The Janice Long Review Show last Sunday (repeated Thursday), along with Trevor Horn and Paul Sexton. View the preview clip for this at You Tube.
• Toyah guests again on The Janice Long Review Show this evening (Vintage TV @ 8.30pm). The programme includes a discussion on Toyah’s 1982 album ‘The Changeling’ by Toyah, Janice, Trevor Horn and Paul Sexton. Let’s hope Janice’s opinion of the album has ‘mellowed’ over the last 30 years :)
• Footage of Toyah performing at a private party in Kings Lynn in June can be viewed in, “the ultimate party band”, Madhen’s ‘June Video Diary (Part One)’ at You Tube.
• Financial Times: The Day The Music Died: A very rare interview with Robert Fripp.
• It’s A Mystery: A Tribute To Toyah: Listen to a preview at iTunes of the cover by Ameritz. Maybe some songs just shouldn’t be covered? (Thanks to Michael)
• Toyah on TV (in Sweden): Toyah’s edition of Celebrity Fantasy Homes airs again on BBC Lifestyle, Friday 10th August at 12.05pm, and on Saturday 11th August at Midnight.
More photos from Toyah’s ‘Walk Of Fame’ day in King’s Heath last month. A great shot of Toyah with her framed star and pictures from the Hare & Hounds gig later in the evening. All have now been added to Dreamscape’s Gallery. (Thanks to Paul at PAC Photography for these)
The ‘Vintage TV’ August Newsletter confirms that later this year Toyah will be presenting a new music series on the channel.
Celebrating two years of Vintage TV … It’s going to be a busy summer at Vintage TV HQ!
Our Second Birthday! September marks our 2nd birthday, and boy do we have a lot to celebrate! It has been a prolific year for us in terms of our very own productions, with the conception and broadcasting of several new series, including The Janice Long Review Show, My Vintage, and Pat Sharp’s Top Ten @ Ten. As we speak, even more new content is getting ready for production – in our third year, look out for Pat Sharp’s Time Warp, Mike Hurst’s Moments in Music, and a new series fronted by Toyah Willcox… Watch this space!
NB: Toyah has also confirmed this in her latest blog: “It looks like being a 12 part series“.
Toyah’s August blog is available to read at toyahwillcox.com: Toyah talks the ‘Walk Of Fame’ day, the forthcoming BBC4 Love & Marriage documentary, The Humans, Vintage TV, the Olympics, ‘The Changeling Resurrection II’ and more. Click below to read.
With spandex, crimped hair, mullets, neon and leg warmers – the 80s were back with a bang at Lytham Proms.
A stellar line-up brought an impressive crowd of more than 8,000 to the Green, but this was a night for nostalgia, reliving one’s youth and revelling in the chance to wear infamous clothing from yesteryear,
DJ Pat Sharp, famous for his recent I’m a Celebrity exploits, kicked things off with a well worn set, spinning classic tunes of the era as a warm-up for the main event. Early acts on stage included Toyah and T’Pau.
• Continue reading at the Blackpool Gazette. (Photo © Blackpool Gazette)
Two weekends ago Toyah played the ‘Here & Now’ show at Glasgow Green and ‘Newcastle Pride 2012’. The Glasgow concert took place on Saturday 21st July and was a huge event, with Toyah opening the show at 7.30pm. She also tweeted a photo, saying: “Glasgow was fantastic. Truly great people“. At ‘Newcastle Pride’, the following night, Toyah played a Live PA at Easy Street, part of the Northern Pride Afterparty.
Hot on the heels of last night’s huge ‘Here and Now’ concert at ‘Lytham Proms 2012’, Toyah plays another Eighties-fest today, The Greatest 80′s Party…Ever! at Audley End Concerts 2012.
Saturday 4th August it’s time to relive your youth. Rick Astley, Jimmy Somerville, Midge Ure, Nik Kershaw, T’Pau, Toyah, Wang Chung and Dr and the Medics will wow the crowd into a party frenzy with their famous hit songs.
Toyah: From punk princess to high priestess of TV, Toyah Willcox is a uniquely gifted performer. Toyah is going to rock Audley End with some of her 80′s classics.
Poster promotion for Toyah’s forthcoming ‘Changeling Resurrection II’ date at Manchester Academy. Click below to view larger versions. (Thanks to Paul Lomas for the photos)
Following last Sunday night’s programme, Toyah makes a second appearance on The Janice Long Review Show tomorrow night (repeated Thursday) on ‘Vintage TV’.
The Janice Long Review Show: Vintage TV:
Sun 5th August: 8.30pm/Thu 9th August: 11.00pm
Toyah and Sex Pistols. Broadcaster Paul Sexton returns, alongside producer Trevor Horn and 80s starlet Toyah, to discuss her 1982 gothic release ‘The Changeling’ and Sex Pistols’ ground-breaking ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’.
Sugar Rush: The Humans Fansite have an exclusive Q&A with new Human Igor Abuladze.
Igor plays guitar, keyboards and percussion. He lives and works in Seattle as a music instructor at Seattle Drum School. He is currently working on a second solo album. See his mini-bio at The Humans Official.
• Read the full Igor Abuladze Q&A at Sugar Rush.
The first photo of Toyah from this evening’s ‘Lytham Proms 2012’ concert. Toyah opened the three-day festival as the first artist of the ‘Here and Now’ show.
Tweeted by Lytham Proms: Toyah sings her hit It’s A Mystery as she opens the 80s night at Lytham Proms. A great photo of the huge crowd was also tweeted by Pat Sharp.
• View the full photo here. (Photo © Lytham Proms)
Please check back over the weekend for a Toyah news catch-up – Lots of stuff from the last few weeks: Press, photos, tv… (Photos © PAC Photography)
Toyah plays the Lytham Proms 2012 Festival this evening. She has been soundchecking this afternoon at Lytham Green. This is a huge ‘Here and Now’ concert and there has been lots of recent press reports on it. Here are a few:
• ITV News: 80s pop stars to perform at Lytham Proms: 80s pop stars including Rick Astley and Bananarama will perform at this weekend’s Lytham Proms. Pegged as the region’s biggest seaside music festival of the summer, the event kicks off with performances from The Real Thing, Belinda Carlisle, Toyah, Curiosity Killed the Cat, and T’Pau.
• Blackpool Gazette: What’s On Friday 3rd August: Here and Now. The launch of the latest Lytham Proms with a retro night featuring Bananarama, Rick Astley, The Real Thing, Belinda Carlisle, Toyah, Curiosity Killed the Cat and T’Pau. Lytham Green, Lytham. Gates open 5pm.
• Lancashire One: Lytham Proms 2012: A selection of iconic 80’s popstars will headline the opening night of Lytham Proms Festival Weekend 2012 on Friday 3rd August 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!
• View all of our Lytham Proms Festival Weekend 2012 news.
… To Illuminate The Fylde Coast’s Party Of The Year
A fantastic state-of-the-art system will light up this year’s Lytham Proms Festival like never before – as organisers set the stage for the Fylde Coast’s party of the year.
The stars of this year’s three-day musical extravaganza will create their magic on the festival’s biggest-ever stage. The fantastic festival line-up includes Eighties stars Rick Astley, The Real Thing, Belinda Carlisle, Toyah, Curiosity Killed the Cat, Bananarama and T’Pau wowing the crowds on the opening Friday night.
• Continue reading, at the ‘Lythams Proms Festival Weekend 2012’ website, here.
Music lovers flocking to this year’s Lytham Proms Festival are doing it in style, with record numbers snapping up its VIP packages – after a surge of sales during the Open. In a recession-busting revelation, all the VIP tickets for Friday’s ‘Here and Now, The Very Best of the 80s’ show – featuring a host of Eighties music legends – have already sold out.
And similarly for Saturday’s hugely-popular ‘Last Night of the Proms’, featuring local hero Alfie Boe has just a few VIP tickets remaining, with all his General Admission tickets now sold out. There are now only a last few VIP places remaining for Sunday’s highly-anticipated appearance of Olly Murs for his only show in the North West this summer.
Those lucky enough to have already grabbed VIP packages for the ‘Last Night of the Proms’ will also enjoy a three-course meal, as well as a champagne and canapé reception, plus a private bar area. This year’s event will take place at Lytham Green on August 3, 4, and 5 – just two weeks after the eyes of the world were on the resort for the Open.
All the VIP tickets for ‘Here & Now’ and the ‘Last Night of the Proms’ have already sold out and packages for the Sunday night are selling very quickly, with less than a handful left. People are really looking forward to the Fylde Coast’s biggest ever party and they want to do it in style!
The ‘Here and Now’ line-up includes Rick Astley, The Real Thing, Belinda Carlisle, Toyah, Curiosity Killed the Cat, Bananarama and T’Pau wowing the crowds on the opening Friday night. Legendary DJ Pat Sharp will get the party started, with a two-hour set of 80s classics. English soprano Laura Wright will be special guest at Alfie Boe’s ‘Last Night of The Proms’ show on Saturday night.
Tales Of The Unexpected: Sky Arts 2: Thursday 16th August: 1.00pm
Tales Of The Unexpected: Sky Arts 2: Friday 17th August: 00.05am/6.00am
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. Also airing on Sky Arts 2 HD.
Minder: RTÉ Two: Friday 10th August: 2.50am
All Mod Cons. Arthur is desperate to get into the property market and tries to sell Terry’s flat without telling him. Guest starring Toyah Willcox. Also airing on RTÉ Two HD.
