Toyah guested on Andy Potter’s BBC Radio Derby show this afternoon.
Toyah and hedgehog mapping: We hear from People’s Trust for Endangered Species which wants to map sightings of hedgehogs across the country.
Toyah’s interview ran for approximately six minutes and she chatted about playing at the forthcoming Flashback Festival in Worksop, Notts, as well as the difference in set list choices for such a concert and the diversity of her live audience in 2015. There was also some Teletubbies talk.
• Listen to Toyah’s interview via iPlayer at BBC Radio Derby. The full show is also available here.
The earnest 1979 TV series where Nigel Kneale’s Professor Bernard Quatermass bowed out
Urban streets are littered with bodies. Barricades constructed from cars are ablaze. The national broadcaster works behind security suitable for a prison camp, Fearful old people live communally in underground warrens. Gangs roam cities while in the countryside, the hippy like Planet People chant and wander, looking for sites from where they can ascend to salvation on another, mythical planet.
Professor Bernard Quatermass arrives in this chaos from his Scottish retirement retreat to take part in a TV show marking the moment when Russian and American space projects become one, linking with each other in orbit above the Earth. He sees the programme as a platform to help in the quest for his missing granddaughter, who he thinks has had her head turned by the Planet People. Over its four episodes, the 1979 TV series Quatermass portrayed a world gone to pot.
This important release, a two-disc set out on Blu-ray and DVD, collects the 1979 TV series and its spin-off film. Quatermass is played by a magnificently sideburned, yet often wooden, John Mills. As Quatermass‘s foil Kapp, Simon MacCorkindale overeggs the theatricals but is nonetheless robust. Watch out for Toyah Willcox amongst the Planet People.
• Continue reading at The Arts Desk. View further info on the recent Quatermass DVD/Blu-ray Box Set here.
Setting this year’s New Mills Festival off with an enormous bang, and following on from last year’s hugely successful fundraiser, this year sees the colourful, dynamic and unique Toyah Willcox and her band take to the stage at New Mills Art Theatre on Saturday 12 Sept 2015. Toyah will be belting out all her old hits including the iconic hit singles – It’s A Mystery, I Want To Be Free and Thunder In The Mountains, as well as newer material, in her famous high-energy style.
New Mills Art Theatre, Derbyshire
On Saturday 12 September 2015
Doors Open at 7:00pm | Starts at 8:00pm
Ticket Price: £15.00 – £90.00*
News on Aaaaaaaah!, from Ransom Note, which also includes some info on where you’ll be able to see the film, over the next couple of months, after it premieres at FrightFest 2015..
Aaaaaaaah! is Steve Oram’s directional debut starring Julian Barrett, Toyah Wilcox, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Steve Oram, Lucy Honigman, Tom Meeton, Noel Fielding and Sean Reynard. Aaaaaaaah! (think this is the right amount of A’s, I’m not entirely sure, my glasses aren’t quite the right prescription… Sorry…) is a story about two men, primal and caveman-ish, who plan on taking over a local community. They hook up with restless female, Denise, which brings boiling emotion in the sense of fueds and grudges to take the high ground. The film raises the question: are we men or beasts? The entire cast speaks not in prose but in grunts and jibberish – just because we have a language, does that mean we have discarded or ancestial traits? Well Aaaaaaaah! attempts to cross the barrier and make us think about human life and evolution all at the same time.
Aaaaaaaah! will be touring around the country, the world premiere is at FrightFest on the 28th of August, Picture House Central on 4th September where it will have a residency and the film will call on to End of the Road Festival from the 4th to the 6th of September and Mayhem, Nottingham from the 15th to the 18th of October. More dates will be announced soon.
Household name, pop icon, TV presenter and actress Toyah is coming to the Engine Shop at Enginuity on Friday evening, 2 October. ‘Acoustic, Up Close & Personal with Toyah’ is a wonderful chance to experience the 1980s pop superstar up close and personal at a lively song and storytelling style gig.
Toyah will be entertaining the audience with a selection of her much loved hit singles. Supported by musicians Chris Wong and Colin Hinds, her performance will include It’s a Mystery, Thunder in the Mountains, I Want to be Free and Good Morning Universe.
Tickets to ‘Acoustic, Up Close & Personal with Toyah’, which are priced at £20 per person, are available in advance only. They can be purchased online or from the Ironbridge Visitor Information Centre and any of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum shops. Tickets include admission into Enginuity from 5pm, the auditorium opens at 7pm and the performance starts at 8pm.
There’s a chance to experience Toyah Willcox up close and personal at the Exchange Sturminster Newton in what promises to be a lively unplugged/storyteller’s style gig, which will include Toyah performing an acoustic set of her loved hit singles and classic songs, alongside recalling stories from her colourful, thirty-five year career.
Toyah will be at the Exchange on Thursday 15th October 7.30pm. Tickets: £18. Contact the box office 01258 475137.
Toyah’s Gig Diary for the remainder of 2015 is packed full of concerts, including a variety of Summer festivals; Fairport’s Cropredy Convention (15th August), Flashback Festival (22nd August), Cottingham Folk Festival (6th September). There’s also the Acoustic, Up Close & Personal UK Tour, numerous Proud, Loud & Electric gigs and a number of one off appearances.
Toyah makes her debut at Eastbourne Bandstand next month (14th August), and plays the New Mills Festival, Derbyshire (12th September). There’s also a return to Bristol for a Proud, Loud & Electric gig at The Fleece (5th November).
• Click on any of the promo images above for the full list of upcoming gigs, plus links to buy tickets, at The Official Toyah website. (Thanks to Andrew Payne for the Eastbourne photo)
There’s been a fair amount of press and photos from last weekend’s Rewind Scotland festival – browse all our news here – and following that comes…
Toyah’s full set – Good Morning Universe, Thunder In The Mountains, It’s A Mystery, I Want To Be Free – at Rewind Scotland 2015 has been uploaded to You Tube. Toyah really gets the crowd going, after being introduced by Nik Kershaw. Toyah also presented/hosted the two day event. (Thanks to Nosh MacQuinn)
• Eastbourne BC: August Welcomes Busiest Month of Eastbourne Bandstand Season!: Another highlight of Airbourne weekend, ‘Toyah in Concert’ on 14 August promises a dynamic concert from the punk princess, Toyah Willcox – Continue reading…
• Love Horror: Film4 FrightFest 2015 Announces Guest Line Up: Barbara Crampton, Rick Wakeman, James Cosmo, Toyah Willcox, Neil Marshall and Bernard Rose amongst dazzling array of guests set to re-animate FrightFest – Continue reading…
• Flexipop! at Tumblr: Lifelines (Toyah Willcox) from Flexipop (Issue #5, 1981) – Continue to Tumblr…
• Frome Standard: Club Tropicana comes to the Cornerhouse in Frome for a night of hits: While the bar serves pina coladas and mojotis all night, DJ Fordy will have you danzing to the best (and worst) of the 80s with smash hits from the likes of Wham!, Kajagoogoo, Bananarana, Adam Ant, Rick Astley, Toyah, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, Kim Wilde, Cyndi Lauper – Continue reading…
A decade of music and four seasons of weather were rolled into one at Rewind Festival at the weekend.
But neither the hail, rain nor wind could dampen the spirits of the 35,000 crowd, who were determined to have a blast at the fifth 80s festival at Scone Palace. And every now and then, just to brighten the mood even more, the sun shone.
However, as the hail and rain battered down, the bands played on and the enthusiastic, mostly middle-aged, crowd sang and danced their way through what were near monsoon conditions at times. Old favourites such as Kid Creole, Howard Jones, Hue and Cry, Dave Edmunds, Nik Kershaw, Belinda Carlisle and Kim Wilde were among those getting everyone rocking to the classic sounds of the 80s.
(Caption: Toyah (top) was one of the hosts who introduced, among others, Kid Creole and Clare Grogan.)
• Continue reading here. (Thanks to Sharon Dickson for the scan)
There are very few left as of making this post, but you may still be able to get hold of a “Single” ticket to see Aaaaaaaah!, as part of FrightFest 2015. There may also still be some “Day” passes, but the “Festival” passes for FrightFest are all sold out.
Celebrity Fantasy Homes: Really: Saturday 8th August: 6pm
Celebrities hunt for a new home. Gaby Roslin helps punk-pop princess Toyah Willcox search for a second home, in Richmond upon Thames, with a budget of £650,000.
An award-winning singer will be performing at a Bristol venue with a full live band in what promises to be an evening packed with hit songs.
Toyah Willcox has amassed 13 top-40 UK singles in a career which has spanned 35 years, recording 24 studio albums to date. Between 1977 and 1983 she fronted the band Toyah, before embarking on a solo career in the mid-1980s.
She has also appeared in a variety of film and television roles, including Quadrophenia and Secret Diary Of A Call Girl. Signature songs Morning Universe, Thunder In The Mountains and It’s A Mystery are all sure to feature in this electrifying live show.
Toyah: Loud, Proud and Electric will be performed at Bristol’s The Fleece at 7pm on November 5, with support acts yet to be confirmed.
Pop Punk Princess Toyah Willcox Plays Debut Bandstand Concert!
Toyah Willcox, a British household name and award-winning rock legend, takes to the stage of the Bandstand over the busy Airbourne weekend, in her what will be her Eastbourne debut.
‘Toyah in Concert’ promises to deliver a selection of hits that spans Toyah’s solo career as well as hits by ‘The Humans’, the four-piece contemporary rock band which Toyah put together and leads. ‘It’s a mystery’, ‘Brave New World’ and ‘I want to be free’ are just some of the top hits which Toyah fans can enjoy during her first ever Eastbourne Bandstand appearance.
Tickets for both ‘Toyah in Concert’ and ‘Airshow Seating’ can be purchased online at www.EastbourneBandstand.co.uk, or by calling the Eastbourne Seafront Office on 01323 410611. The Seafront Office is open daily from 10am-6pm and until 9pm on concert nights; tickets can also be purchased from here. For further details visit www.EastbourneBandstand.co.uk.
Britflicks takes a look at the British films at this years FrightFest 2015. From classics like Hellraiser to Aaaaaaaah!, the directional debut from Kill List and Sightseers writer Steve Oram.
Alpha Male Smith and his Beta, Keith, move to take over a local community. They hook up with restless Female, Denise, igniting a deadly feud in which emotions run high and deep-seated grudges resurface amongst the tribe. Are we not men? Or are we simply beasts? Steve Oram, the actor/writer from Sightseers and Kill List stars in his long-awaited debut feature with a host of his friends.
Get ready for the most unusual celluloid primal scream – an anarchic, hilarious, disturbing and touching look at the human condition. Themroc meets Pink Flamingos in the Cult Movie of the Year.
• Continue reading at Britflicks. Browse all of Dreamscape’s Aaaaaaaaah! news and updates here. The premiere of the film is approaching fast, keep an eye on Toyah @ Twitter for direct updates on Aaaaaaaah!
Aaaaaaaah! (Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Steve Oram; Stars: Steve Oram, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Toyah Willcox, Noah Fielding, Julian Barratt)
Alpha Male Smith and his Beta, Keith, move to take over a local community. They hook up with restless Female, Denise, igniting a deadly feud in which emotions run high and deep-seated grudges resurface amongst the tribe. Are we not men?
Barbara Crampton, Rick Wakeman, James Cosmo, Toyah Willcox, Neil Marshall and Bernard Rose amongst dazzling array of guests set to re-animate FrightFest.
Scream Queen legend Barbara Crampton is Film4 FrightFest’s special guest icon, appearing in no less than four films in this year’s line-up. She stars in We Are Still Here, Road Games and Sun Choke plus makes a cameo appearance in Tales Of Halloween. Not only will Barbara be introducing all her films, she’ll also be talking about her amazing career during a special interview event, hosted by Alan Jones, on Sun 30 Aug, 9.15pm.
The eclectic mix of guests also includes Aaaaaaaah! debut director & actor Steve Oram and his co-stars rock legend Toyah Willcox, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Noel Fielding and Alice Lowe.
• Continue reading at Show Film First. browse all of Dreamscape’s Aaaaaaaah! news here, and FrightFest 2015 news here.
Gore Galore As Film4 FrightFest Returns To Leicester Square
Gallons of ketchup are set to splash the screens of Leicester Square next month as Film4 FrightFest returns with a cornucopia of murder, madness and mayhem.
The 16th edition of this ever-popular splatterfest will see 76 horror films screened over five days with old classics such as S&M slanted shocker Hellraiser and a rabid pack of world premieres including Howl.
We’re most excited however about the directorial debut of Sightseers star Steve Oram. Set in South London and billed as a disturbing comedy where all the dialogue is replaced with monkey noises, this one scoops the prize for best title of the festival by being called simply: AAAAAAAAH! The film features Oram alongside fellow comedians Julian Barratt, Noel Fielding and Alice Lowe plus Toyah Willcox and a soundtrack by cult prog rockers King Crimson.
Toyah guested on Andy Potter’s BBC Radio Derby show this afternoon.
