Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

New Crime And Punishment musical part of London’s Free Open-Air Theatre Season

London’s Free Open-Air Theatre Season is back as part of the London Bridge City Summer Festival, offering 40,000 free tickets for great theatre within the heart of London. Running since 2003, this is still London’s only ‘free to all’ annual festival of theatre. There’s no need to book so just turn up and take a seat!

This year, Gods and Monsters Theatre are shaking things up with a new rock musical version of Crime and Punishment, with songs by the legendary Toyah Willcox. This newly revamped production of this 19th century masterpiece marks the increasingly important role Russia plays in London’s economy and the way our work, social and cultural life is enriched by a strong Eastern European presence in our capital.

• Continue reading at Live Theatre UK.

The Dartford Festival 2016: Bad Manners, Toyah and The Hoosiers

Heavyweight ska legends Bad Manners will be headlining the Dartford Festival this weekend. The two-day free festival on Saturday, July 16, and Sunday, July 17, will be packed with music acts on two stages and a funfair throughout the weekend.

On the main stage will be 1980s singer Toyah, Bad Manners, The Hoosiers and 4th Impact, along with a string of other acts over the two days. There will also be a Battle of the Bands throughout the weekend with local groups competing for a slot on the main stage.

This year the festival celebrates its 80th birthday. The annual shindig in Central Park has been providing free family fun since 1936. Up to 25,000 people turned up for the two-day event last year, and this year the council are expecting to welcome even more. The extravaganza will also feature a fairground with £1 rides, a licensed bar and a 6D cinema.

• Continue reading at Kent Online.

The event will feature big names and local talent

Toyah, Bad Manners and The Hoosiers are among the acts set to perform at this year’s Dartford Festival, which will take place at the weekend.

The two-day event in the town’s Central Park will feature a variety of live acts on the main stage as well as performances from local groups on the community stage.

Birmingham-born punk icon Toyah Willcox, who is currently touring and performing at festivals up and down the country, will appear on Saturday.

• Continue reading at the Bromley Times.

Quadrophenia: Sky Select HD: Sunday 24th July: 0.00am
The Who wrote and produced this energetic story of a young man disillusioned with his life in 1960s London. Phil Daniels excels as the alienated anti-hero Jimmy Cooper. Director: Franc Roddam. Starring: Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Toyah Willcox, Philip Davis, Mark Wingett, Sting, and Ray Winstone. (Sky Select HD is on Sky Channel 312)

“We are delighted that Toyah is headlining our festival this year” – That’s Graze Festival 2016. Toyah plays on Sunday 28th August. Click here for a larger version of their flyer and below to visit the festival website. Browse all of Dreamscape’s Graze Festival news, so far, here.

Fab photos of Toyah onstage at Dorchester Corn Exchange on Friday night for an Acoustic, Up Close & Personal date. Click below to view larger versions. (Photos © Angus Turner)

Toyah tweeted a photo from Dorchester on Friday. Remembering a special purchase made in the town some 30 years ago…

Thousands get ready for 80s fest as Let’s Rock gets underway

Southampton’s feast of the 80s has got under way on the Common. Thousands of neon clad revellers have already gathered for Let’s Rock Southampton.

Revellers are getting in the spirit and a Pamela Anderson lookalike stag can be seen leading a whole pack of his Baywatch style lifeguard mates in a Grease singalong at Let’s Rock Southampton. Meanwhile Ghostbusters are patrolling the field, Subbuteo players are in full kit and there are a few superheroes and Star Wars characters at the 80s revival festival.

They are being entertained by 2 Tone ska revival band The Selecter in a change to the advertised line up. Doctor and the Medics, Toyah and Bucks Fizz were set to follow this afternoon before the 80s big guns including current chart-topper Rick Astley.

Organisers are expecting around 9,000 party-goers for today’s third annual event.

• Continue reading at the Southern Daily Echo. (Photo © Southern Daily Echo)

More great shots of Toyah’s Proud, Loud & Electric gig at Hole In The Roof, Deal on June 26th. Thanks to Angus for the photos. Click below to view larger versions. (Photos © Angus Turner)

• Wessex FM: Toyah Tells Us About ‘Quadrophenia 2’: It was great to have a chat with actress and punk legend Toyah on the Wessex FM Breakfast Show, ahead of her appearance at the Corn Exchange in Dorchester. She told me more about her busy work schedule, including her appearance in the follow up to the classic movie Quadrophenia, and also that she’s no stranger to this part of Dorset – Listen to the short interview at Wessex FM…

• Dorset Echo: The Guide: 8 of the best events happening this weekend in Dorset: The much-loved musician and actress Toyah will be performing at the Dorchester Corn Exchange tonight at 8pm – Continue reading…

• Live 2016: Toyah plays two live gigs tomorrow – Saturday 9th July – Let’s Rock Southampton in the afternoon and a full band Proud, Loud & Electric gig in Devon tomorrow night – That’s following an Acoustic, Up Close & Personal date tonight in Dorchester – Phew! Browse Toyah’s complete Gig Diary at toyahwillcox.com…

• Toyah @ Twitter: An update on Toyah and Simon Darlow collaborating on new music for the forthcoming Crime and Punishment musical – View the update/photo…

• Southern Daily Echo: Eighties acts such as Rick Astley, Jason Donovan, Soul II Soul and Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Holly Johnson to appear at Let’s Rock in Southampton: It’s the decade that fashion forgot, but the music is still topping the charts! – Also on the bill are Scottish rockers Big Country, 2 Tone ska revival band The Selecter, Eurovision favourites Sonia and Cheryl, Mike and Jay from Bucks Fizz, plus chart-topping Toyah and rockers Dr & The Medics – Continue reading…

• M-Magazine: Interview – Toyah: We caught up with her in the PRS for Music tent at Glastonbury 2016 to learn more about her enduring love affair with music – Continue reading…

Toyah’s blog for July 2016 – a tribute to WillyFred – is available to read at toyahwillcox.com.

Singer-songwriter Toyah Willcox has been a quirky tour de force in British culture since she found herself in the heart of London’s music scene as punk imploded in 1977.

Her eclectic musical tastes and penchant for penning life affirming songs have ensured she’s never been far from the public eye during her 40 year career. With eight top 40 singles under her belt, several lauded albums, a new acoustic show plus a musical in the pipeline, she’s a versatile songsmith whose background in acting has helped raise her performance chips.

We caught up with her in the PRS for Music tent at Glastonbury 2016 to learn more about her enduring love affair with music…

Singer and actress Toyah has had many Top 20 hits and appeared in films with stars such as Katharine Hepburn. She has also written several books. She starred at The National Theatre with John Gielgud, and she acted alongside Laurence Olivier in TV’s The Ebony Tower.

Toyah will be singing at The Rewind Festival, Scone Palace, Perth, on Sunday, July 24.

Why do the Rewind Festival?
The audience there is from three to 83 and I seem to get rediscovered by every new generation. It’s very rewarding. It becomes a party for all of us and every song is a hit.

What do audiences say to you?
Usually they say their mothers hate me because I’m the reason they dyed their hair as a teenager, or because I got them expelled from school.

Are you still a rebel?
I prefer to think that I’m just not a conformist. If that makes me a rebel, then I guess that’s what I am.

Is image still important when performing?
Yes, but I’m 58 now and I don’t want to look stuck in the past, so when I dress for stage I try to be age appropriate and reinterpret the songs for today.

• Continue reading at The Sunday Post/in10 Magazine.

Celebrity Fantasy Homes: Home: Sunday 17th July: 10pm
Celebrity Fantasy Homes: Home: Monday 18th July: 3am
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.

Furious front women, terrifying girl gangs and a film that pissed off Dame Vivienne – these are the riotous movie classics you need to see

Punk was never a gender-bound movement. Propelled by a riotous sense of freedom and rebellion, it offered women the chance to break free from the constraints of conformity; and marked a major cultural moment for oppressed outsiders everywhere. Now, to celebrate its 40-year anniversary, one of punk’s principal spearheads Don Letts has announced an excellent programme of films centred on the movement. In anticipation of its premiere at the British Film Institute this summer, we round up some of the season’s biggest female-focused features.

JUBILEE (1978, DIR. DEREK JARMAN)

Derek Jarman’s twisted post-apocalyptic nightmare sees fashion, sex and satire clash in a dystopian London, the streets of which are ruled by an army of terrifying girl gangs. A bizarre narrative in which the Queen is transported 400 years into the future to view what the country will become lets Jarman channel fury and mayhem through his female protagonists. It’s a glorious and gorgeously shot piece of punk history, with a joyous list of cameos including Adam Ant, Toyah Willcox and Brian Eno (with his first film score). Its release garnered mixed reactions (Vivienne Westwood notoriously printed an open letter to Jarman on a t-shirt stating how much she despised the film), but the director remained unperturbed, relishing the tribal-like fierceness of his women at a time when chaos ruled.

• Continue reading at Dazed.

Exclusive interview with Simon Cox, director of Kaleidoscope Man

You’ve just returned from the cinema and what an experience: the music, the action, the story, the special effects and those edge-of-your-seat moments! If you’re an independent filmmaker or film fan you might dream one day of making such a film. So you’ve decided to make to make a feature film, not only that, but fund it independently, gather a wonderful team and five hundred supporters from around the world. Simon Cox, director of sci-fi feature film Kaleidoscope Man, has done just that. I was intrigued to find out more , so I caught up with him.

JT: What was the moment you decided to embark on making a sci-fi feature film ?

SC: I’ve wanted to make an epic sci-fi movie since I first saw the original Star Wars when I was 13. I came up with the initial idea for Kaleidoscope Man back in 1999 after I’d finished my first feature Written in Blood (1998). I had no idea it would take me nearly 20 years to make!

JT: How did you go about getting the team together to make K – Man?

SC: Having worked in TV and film over the years, a lot of the people I’ve brought in were people I’d met along the way. I also found a few local people who have since joined the team. Our cameraman, Gordon Hickie, shot my first feature film (Written in Blood) and he now shoots Holby City, Casualty and The Inspector Lyndley Mysteries.

I found the cast via acting agencies apart from Toyah Willcox who I met at a film meeting a few years ago.

• Continue reading the interview at D&C Film. Browse Dreamscape’s Kaleidoscope Man news archive. (Photo © kaleidoscopeman.com)

It’s the 4th of July so we had to do something cool for US Independence Day. So, of course, Stuart Mulrain sat down with audiomeister Dirk Maggs to remember Independence Day UK. Caution: contains envy-inducing photos of Dirk sitting in fighter planes…

In 1996, Independence Day became the smash hit blockbuster of the summer, spawning the usual array of tie-in TV specials, toys, books, magazines and games. Perhaps the most interesting tie-in though is the BBC Radio audio movie Independence Day UK, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on Sunday 4th August 1996 and depicted the events of the alien invasion from the view point of the UK.

The audio movie starred Radio 1 DJ’s Nicky Campbell & Mark Goodier and astronomer Sir Patrick Moore as themselves, along with a cast that included Colin Baker, Toyah Willcox, Simon Treves, Peter Serafinowicz and Toby Longworth as RAF Pilots and William Hootkins as Orson Welles.

• Continue reading at Garbage-File.

Dreamscape’s Toyah news for April, May and June 2016 has now been archived. Click below to browse the past – Now close to 16.5 years of retro Toyah news, updates and info. Bonkers!!

• Fife Free Press: Toyah was the cover star of FFP’s “The Weekend” at the end of May – This accompanied the article: Rewind and Pause… at the Eighties!

• The Weekend: Toying With Us: Punk Princess is looking forward to rewinding to the ’80s – See a larger version of this cover here…

• Hound: Browse more on set and behind the scenes, photos from Hound, the new film Toyah is currently shooting, here…

• The Fine Times Recorder: Toyah gets up close & personal: Dorchester Corn Exchange welcomes Toyah Willcox for an evening of acoustic music, up close and personal on Friday 8th July – Continue reading…

• Dorchester Arts: What’s On: Household name, pop icon, TV presenter, and stage/screen actress (Calamity Jane, Cabaret, Peter Pan, Jubilee, Quadophenia) Toyah comes to Dorchester with her Acoustic, Up Close & Personal show – Continue reading…

• Grassington Festival 2016: Toyah onstage yesterday at the Last Night Party in Yorkshire – See the photo here…

• Under The Bridge: Great photo of Toyah with Nicole Rebelro, at the Under The Bridge Acoustic, Up Close & Personal date last month – See the photo here…

Great photo of Toyah and Gary Shail on the set of Hound: “Toyah Willcox has started filming historic drama HOUND. Corsets, pin curls and poetry!”. (Photo courtesy of DAA Management)

Sure, there’s a movie sequel out now called Independence Day: Resurgence. Of course, it’s missing a lot of weird over-the-top charm that made the first movie fun. Thankfully, there’s a better option out there.

Independence Day UK is an hour-long radio play that aired on BBC Radio 1 in 1996, about a month after the original movie premiered in the US. It was meant as a way to promote the film in the UK, and combined the events of Independence Day with Orson Welles’ The War of Worlds. It’s very weird. (All the involved names are doubtless much more familiar to the UK than to anyone else. I apologize in advance for being incurably American)

Independence Day UK has actual BBC broadcasters playing themselves. Well, themselves as they would be if there was a giant alien invasion. So the first half of the play is “UFO Watch,” with actual British presenters Nicky Campbell and Mark Goodier. Oh, and the astronomer Patrick Moore, who had the very strange task of trying to introduce anything remotely scientific into an Independence Day property.

• Continue reading at io9. Further info on Independence Day UK at toyahwillcox.com.

Toyah is interviewed in today’s print edition of ‘The Sunday Post’ – 10 Toughies For Toyah is included in their “In10 Magazine” – We put some hard (and some easy) questions to an 80s icon…