Dreamscape – Toyah Willcox Fansite

Singer Toyah Willcox with be coming to Kent next month with band The Humans.

The Humans’ third album ‘Strange Tales, recorded in Pearl Jam’s studio, is available digitally now and will be available exclusively on CD at the six UK tour dates. The band is the brainchild of Toyah Willcox and brings together three lifetimes of musical experience, experimentation and craftsmanship.

Ms Willcox is best-known for being a household name since the early 80s with platinum selling-albums, a string of top 40 UK hit singles and screen and stage roles alongside Katharine Hepburn and Laurence Olivier.

Bill Rieflin is a respected figure from the us music scene and was the live drummer for rem for over ten years. Most recently he played drums on the Robbie Williams album Take the Crown and the no1 hit single Candy.

Chris Wong is a Cambridge-born musician and a professional guitarist, bass guitarist, arranger, orchestrator, composer and musical director. Alongside band work Chris musically directs extensively in musical theatre. His debut solo album The Edible Suite reflects his interest in jazz/funk/rock.

The Telling Strange Tales tour comes to Chatham On April 19, at the Britannia Theatre. For tickets call 0844 858 6656 or visit www.thebritanniakent.com. Tickets cost £20 on the door, or £15 in advance (plus a booking fee).

• Continue reading at Kent News.

She will be Up Close and Personal this month

The Musician in Leicester will welcome Toyah to the stage on March 26.

A spokesman said: “A colourful character, part of the ’80s post-punk New Wave scene, Toyah had considerable chart success with hits such as It’s A Mystery, I Want To Be Free and Brave New World. Alongside her ongoing recording career and role as a TV presenter, Toyah has also trod the boards with the lead role in the musical Anne Get Your Gun. (Dreamscape: Nope, it was Calamity Jane)

“Tonight Toyah will perform songs in acoustic form and take us on a journey through her life history.”

• Continue reading at the Hinckley Times.

A repeat airing for “Toyah’s episode” of Kavanagh Q. C. later this month on, the still shiny and relatively new, ITV Encore.

Kavanagh Q.C.: ITV Encore: Tue 24th March: 3.05pm
A Family Affair (1995). Kavanagh finds himself caught up in a bitter family feud when he represents a frustrated father who has kidnapped his son in a desperate attempt to win custody. On the home front, Kavanagh’s daughter wants to let her boyfriend stay overnight. Directed by Renny Rye. With John Thaw, Holly Aird, Robert Ashby, Toyah Willcox and Lisa Harrow. Also airing on ITV Encore HD and Plus 1.

A reminder that Toyah is guesting on Steve Lamacq’s Roundtable on BBC Radio 6Music today. The programme will be available at BBC iPlayer after it airs.

Steve Lamacq’s Roundtable: BBC Radio 6Music
Thursday 12th March: 4.00pm
Steve hosts Roundtable and is joined by Toyah Willcox and Gideon Coe.

Toyah’s March blog is available at The Official Toyah Willcox Website. Along with some fantastic new photos. Click below to read/view.

Flexipop!, the legendary 80s magazine which featured Toyah on one of its covers, is back. A new book is in the planning, but they need your help.

THE FLEXIPOP! BOOK IS READY TO ROCK!

Here it is. After two years of blood, sweat and tears, The Flexipop! Book.

But this isn’t just any old book. It’s a catalogue of calamity, cock-ups and guffaws featuring many of the greatest moments to ever grace the pages of Flexipop! There’s also a Best Of Magazine plus an exclusive free flexi disc by Spandau Ballet and Marc Almond made with love by Pirates Press – the only flexi-making company left in the world and based in San Francisco.

We originally published 27 issues of Flexipop! with flexi discs on the cover (the next six didn’t have one) so the new record is numbered 28. But here’s the thing. We can’t publish the book without a bit of help and we need to hit a figure of £10,000 to breakeven. You can help us reach that goal by pre-ordering a copy now, which retails at £24.99.

• Continue reading/further details at Flexipop!

A great promo for the, just announced, Here and Now Carlisle concert, taking place in August. Toyah tweeted yesterday: “I am thrilled to announce that I will be performing at Carlisle Racecourse Ultimate Ladies Night on 3rd August alongside Here & Now – The Very Best Of The 80’s stars Belinda Carlisle, Sonia, Altered Images and Kid Creole and The Coconuts. Tickets go on general sale 9am this Friday.”

Did you catch Toyah’s Electric Ladies on Vintage TV at the weekend? Toyah wrote and presented the 60-minute programme, which airs again tonight at 8pm.

The full roster of “Electric Ladies”: Chaka Khan (I Feel For You); Debbie Harry/Blondie (Atomic); Cher (If I Could Turn Back Time); Celine Dion (My Heart Will Go On); Bjork (Human Behaviour); Annie Lennox/Eurythmics (Love Is A Stranger); Grace Jones (Pull Up To The Bumper); Janet Jackson (That’s The Way Love Goes); Wendy James/Transvision Vamp (Baby I Don’t Care); Whitney Houston (I Wanna Dance With Somebody).

Toyah’s Electric Ladies: Vintage TV: Tuesday 10th March: 8pm
New! The princess of punk shines the light on those iconic female artists through the years who have inspired and made their own mark.

Choccywoccydoodah: Good Food: Sunday 22nd March: 9.30pm
Choccywoccydoodah: Good Food: Friday 27th March: 11.30pm/4.30pm/8.30pm
Show Business. Another morsel from the ultimate chocolate shop. Tom and Christine make their live TV debut on Sunday Brunch, and Dave creates a chocolate replica of Toyah.

TOYAH AND BELINDA CARLISLE AMONG STARS HEADING TO CITY FOR CONCERT

The very best of the 1980s will be relived during the ever-popular ladies’ night at Carlisle Racecourse this summer.

Stars such as Kid Creole and The Coconuts, Belinda Carlisle, Altered Images, Toyah and Sonia will be appearing on August 3 as part of the annual Ultimate Ladies’ Night celebration.

The five different music acts have amassed 17 UK top 10 hits during the very best of the 1980s, including number ones for Belinda Carlisle (Heaven Is A Place On Earth) and Sonia (You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You).

The event is one of the highlights of the county’s social calendar, combining an evening of flat racing with musical performances.

• Continue reading at the News & Star.

Belinda Carlisle, Toyah and Sonia amongst five acts to play Carlisle Racecourse

Carlisle Racecourse will have FIVE headline acts performing live at Ultimate Ladies’ Night this year, it was announced today (Mon Mar 9).

The appropriately named Belinda Carlisle will appear along with fellow 80s stars Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Toyah, Altered Images and Sonia at the Cumbrian track’s annual music and racing extravaganza on Monday August 3.

All five acts – appearing as the Here and Now tour – will perform consecutively on a giant trackside stage after the final race at the evening’s race meeting. Ultimate Ladies’ Night is a unique event as it is the only racing fixture in the world at which every horse in every race is ridden by a woman.

Toyah said: “I cannot wait for Here and Now to come to Carlisle.” As a keen historian, she added: “I will make time to visit the castle and the magnificent cathedral and then I can’t wait to perform. Here and Now is always an uplifting party of a concert. Every song from every artist is a winner and we always make sure the audience have the time of their lives. See you soon!”

• Continue reading at Cumbria Crack. See also ‘Carlisle is coming to Carlisle’: Ladies’ Night line up announced @ ITV News.

Burghley House concert tickets can now be bought in Spalding

The South Holland Centre in Spalding will now be selling tickets for the forthcoming concerts at Burghley House in Stamford.

The concerts star the legendary rockers Status Quo on Saturday, June 6 and The Greatest 80s Show, with Bananrama, Toyah, and Midge Ure n Sunday, June 7.

Concert organisers Live Promotions said: “We wanted to have a local outlet for the concerts especially as so many people come to our events from Spalding.

• Continue reading at the Spalding Guardian.

A reminder that Toyah’s Electric Ladies premieres this evening on Vintage TV.

Toyah’s Electric Ladies: Vintage TV: Sunday 8th March: 6pm
Toyah’s Electric Ladies: Vintage TV: Tuesday 10th March: 8pm
New! The princess of punk shines the light on those iconic female artists through the years who have inspired and made their own mark.

Last night Toyah played a sold out gig at Yardbirds in Grimsby and tonight it’s Warehouse 23, Wakefield. Some tickets for that are available here. There are numerous opportunities to catch Toyah live this year, including the Acoustic, Up Close & Personal tour, Toyah & The Humans Telling Strange Tales tour and many festival appearances, full band concerts and PAs. Click below to browse Toyah’s full live 2015 itinerary.

If you’re an avid Twitter user, you can’t help but have noticed the buzz mid-week when the poster for Aaaaaaah! was revealed.

Now that the details are out in the open, we can confirm that Steve Oram‘s directorial debut will star a cavalcade of comedic talent and a post-punk icon for good measure. In alphabeticalorder then, Aaaaaaah! will star: Julian Barratt, Holli Dempsey, Noel Fielding, Lucy Honigman, Shelley Longworth, Alice Lowe, Tom Meeten, Steve Oram, Sean Reynard, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Waen Shepherd, Tony Way and Toyah Willcox.

… Toyah Willcox, of course, has been crossing over between a successive music career and acclaimed roles on stage and screen for over 35 years now, with roles in Jubilee, Quadrophenia, The Tempest, Barmy Aunt Boomerang and Secret Diary of a Call Girl showcasing her range, and a string of classic albums including Anthem, The Changeling, Prostitute, Velvet Lined Shell and In The Court of the Crimson Queen behind her, she still tours the UK regularly with her live band, and records with her side-project The Humans. Like many of the stars of Aaaaaaah!, TVO is a bit of a fan…

• Continue reading at The Velvet Onion.

A few screen caps from the, very recently made available, new trailer for Toyah’s Electric Ladies, coming soon on Vintage TV. View the full trailer at You Tube, larger versions of the screen caps and further details on the programme, plus airdates and times.

As previously mentioned late last year, a physical CD version of The Humans’ third Album Strange Tales will be on sale at the forthcoming Telling Strange Tales UK Tour next month. The CD is currently in production.

Tracklist: 1. Slow Descent, 2. She’s Fast, 3. Get In Your Car, 4. Amnesia, 5. Bedhead, 6. Improbable Thing, 7. Sleep Tight

Recorded in Seattle, seven tracks make up the third album created by the transatlantic band comprising Toyah Willcox, Chris Wong and Bill Rieflin. Rieflin once again helmed production of the album. As previously stated, this third instalment in the musical adventures of The Humans adds more instrumentation into the mix with saxophone and violin featuring for the first time.

• View more info on this at toyahwillcox.com.

The promo poster for John Shuttleworth & Friends, in “A Knight At The Palladium”.

Featuring Chas & Dave, Gordon Giltrap, John Otway, Martyn Ware (Heaven 17), Toyah, Sooty & Sweep with Richard Cadell, Leee John (Imagination) and Jon McClure (Reverend & The Makers) in an evening of wonderful music and hilarious comedy!

Sunday 28 June 2015, 7.30pm at The London Palladium.

View a larger version of the poster/flyer here.

Sheffield singer/songwriter and amateur philosopher John Shuttleworth (as portrayed by character comic Graham Fellows) hosts a night of music and chat to raise money for MS charities. His musical guests include rockney singalong duo Chas And Dave, new wave survivor Toyah, Heaven 17’s Martyn Ware and ‘Really Free’ rock strummer John Otway, with more announcements on the cards.

• Thanks to/Visit the gig page at toyahwillcox.com.

To mark the forthcoming Telling Strange Tales UK Tour by The Humans I’m currently transferring all of Dreamscape’s archive news on the band over to this format from its current html. This will mean the complete history of The Humans, from the very first news post back in June 2007, right through to the present will be available and searchable as a whole or as individual posts. More details soon…

“I’m so very pleased and proud to be a part of this truly strange and wonderful film!” TOYAH xxx

The film poster for AAAAAAAAH! has been released. A film by Steve Oram (Sightseers), the British film stars Julian Barratt, Steve Oram, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Noel Fielding, Alice Lowe, Toyah Willcox, Sean Reynard, Tom Meeten, Holli Dempsey, Shelly Longworth and Tony Way.

The film is set for release in 2015.

Written and directed by Steve Oram | Produced by Lincoln Studios | Featuring music by King Crimson ProjecKts.

• Continue reading at The Official Toyah Willcox website.

Proudest bloody day of my life. Us here at Lincoln Studios have finished our first ever feature film!!!! It’s called AAAAAAAAH! I almost had to be given the kiss of life when I finished watching it round the director’s place last night. I collapsed to the floor head in hands, I was so overwhelmed. It was better than when I finally opened the salon in Grantham after 16 months of crap with the contractors. It is a fantastic feeling for me but the credit goes to the brilliant actors, crew and production team.

Here’s the poster for AHHHHHHH!!!! Shitting hell it’s brilliant isn’t it! And f-ing creepy. Won’t be putting it on my wall. Don’t fancy seeing that when I get up for a pee in the night, I’d probably wet myself on the landing!!!! Designed by an American feller called Jay Shaw I think, who has relatives in North Hykeham. Yours. Derek Evans

• Continue reading at Lincoln Studios.