The singer and actor, who is starring in a stage version of Derek Jarman’s punk movie Jubilee, will answer your questions at 1.30pm GMT on Monday 22 January
Toyah Willcox is not a woman to be pinned down. A singer, actor, TV presenter and stock market magnate, she has been a permanent fixture in British culture since the age of 19, when she played flame-haired pyromaniac Mad in Derek Jarman’s 1978 punk film Jubilee.
Since then, she has recorded 24 albums and had 13 Top 40 singles, including It’s a Mystery and I Want to Be Free. She has also appeared in more than 40 plays and 15 films, including Quadrophenia, The Ebony Tower (opposite Laurence Olivier) and The Corn is Green (with Katharine Hepburn). On TV, she’s been a religious affairs reporter for The Heaven and Earth Show, narrated Teletubbies and done a stint on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!
Now, she is returning to Jubilee in a new stage adaptation at the Lyric Hammersmith in London. She takes on the role of the time-travelling queen who arrives in a dystopia where a new generation seethes with anger at the establishment. “At the time it was made, it was utterly outrageous,” Willcox has said of the original film, describing it as a story of “women who are trying to kind of kill everything that controls them or that has exploited them … It’s a very resonant story today. Nothing’s changed except the technology.”
• Continue reading at The Guardian.
Top Of The Pops: 1981: BBC Four: Tuesday 23rd January: 1am
04/06/1981. Richard Skinner introduces the pop programme, featuring Siouxsie and the Banshees (Spellbound), Shakin’ Stevens (You Drive Me Crazy), Kate Robbins (More Than in Love), Squeeze (Is That Love?), Imagination (Body Talk), The Jam (Funeral Pyre), Michael Jackson (One Day in Your Life), Toyah (I Want To Be Free), Phil Collins (If Leaving Me Is Easy), Adam & The Ants (Stand & Deliver), Odyssey (Going Back To My Roots).
Who’s Doing The Dishes?: ITV2: Wednesday 31st January: 10.10am
Brian McFadden presents the dining challenge. Will it remain a mystery that Toyah Willcox is the celebrity host when she throws a dinner party for four complete strangers?
Rolinda Sharples – Painted out of History (1996) Featuring Toyah Willcox. Director Lee Cox – 19 Feb 2018
Join PJ Crook, Toyah Willcox and Friends in Bristol for a unique celebration of the life and works of the artist Rolinda Sharples.
Rolinda Sharples (1793-1838) was born in Bath and lived most of her life in Bristol. She exhibited at the Royal Academy and at the Society of British Artists, where she became an honorary member. Her painting of The Cloak-Room at the Clifton Assembly Rooms, 1817 (see below) has become one of the most iconic images of the Regency period.
In 1998, Toyah Willcox (as Rolinda Sharples) and PJ Crook (as herself) made a short film for TV entitled Rolinda Sharples: Painted Out of History. For this special screening of the film, we will be joined by PJ and Toyah and also by the film’s director (Lee Cox) and screen-writer/animator (Hazel Gower), who will introduce it.
Ticket price includes entry to and an introduction to the current exhibition Women with Vision from RWA Director Alison Bevan.
• Further info/Book tickets at rwa.org.uk. **NB – Update – Toyah will NOT be at this event – See info here**
Toyah’s first blog of 2018 is available to read at toyahwillcox.com.
Top Of The Pops: 1981: BBC Four: Friday 12th January: 0.00am
Mike Read presents. Duran Duran (Planet Earth), Talking Heads (Once In A Lifetime), Adam & The Ants (Kings Of The Wild Frontier), Toyah (It’s A Mystery), Shakin’ Stevens (This Ole House), Motorhead & Girlschool (Please Don’t Touch), Phil Collins (I Missed Again), Kool & The Gang (Jones Vs Jones), Teardrop Explodes (Reward), The Who (You Better You Bet), Joe Dolce (Shaddap Your Face). This originally aired on BBC1 on 5th March 1981. Toyah’s appearance is a repeat of their first studio performance which aired two weeks previously on 19th February 1981.
Top Of The Pops: 1981: BBC Four: Tuesday 16th January: 1.40am
Peter Powell presents. The Jacksons (Can You Feel It?), Sharron Redd (Can You Handle It?), Shakin’ Stevens (This Ole House), Dave Stewart & Colin Blunstone (What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?), The Who (You Better You Bet), Stevie Wonder (Lately), Phil Collins (I Missed Again), Bucks Fizz (Making Your Mind Up), Visage (Mind Of A Toy), Duran Duran (Planet Earth), Toyah (It’s A Mystery), Roxy Music (Jealous Guy). This originally aired on BBC1 on 19th March 1981 and was Toyah’s second studio appearance/performance (pictured above).
Who’s Doing The Dishes?: ITV2: Wednesday 10th January: 10.10am
Brian McFadden presents the dining challenge. Will it remain a mystery that Toyah Willcox is the celebrity host when she throws a dinner party for four complete strangers?
Minder: ITV4: Monday 15th January: 2.55pm
Minder: ITV4: Tuesday 16th January: 9.40am
All Mod Cons. Drama series about the shady dealings of a spiv and his reluctant sidekick. While Terry is trying to evict two squatters, Arthur decides to sell Terry’s flat without his permission. Meanwhile, Terry gets a job minding at a local club and ends up getting into more trouble than he had planned for when he realises the club’s manager is on the fiddle. Starring: George Cole, Dennis Waterman, Toyah Willcox, Simon Cadell, James Ottaway, and Tony Osaba. (Series 2, Episode 8, 1980). Also showing on ITV4 HD.
