Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

Toyah’s November blog is available at The Official Toyah Willcox Website. Click below to read.

For 15 years, Jonathan Sale interviewed the famous about their school years for a column in ‘The Independent’. Here’s what he discovered about how triumph or failure, diligence or dissent, shaped their working lives.

… Dragon James Caan flogged leather jackets from his father’s shop during break – and added a mark-up that his dad didn’t know about. Toyah Willcox was one of several who thought that their first day at school was a one-off; they didn’t realise that you went back the next day, and the day after and…

• Continue reading at The Independent.

Celebrity Fantasy Homes: Really: Saturday 15th November: 5pm
Celebrity Fantasy Homes: Really: Thursday 27th November: 12pm
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.

Today, 35 years ago, the movie Quadrophenia was released.

…and did you know…? “Monkey” was Toyah Willcox who you might know as TOYAH from the New Wave scene in the 80s. She is still quite a beauty.

The opening scene at the beach and the scooter ride… “Can you see the real me?”

• Continue reading at This Is Indie.

The Joy Of The Guitar Riff: BBC4: Saturday 15th November: 10.30pm
Lauren Laverne narrates a documentary tracing the ebb and flow of the guitar riff over the last 60 years of popular music, from Chuck Berry through to the White Stripes. The guitar riff is the DNA of rock ‘n’ roll, a double helix of repetitive simplicity and fiendish complexity on which its history has been built. With riffs and stories from an all-star cast including Brian May, Dave Davies, Hank Marvin, Joan Jett, Nile Rodgers, Tony Iommi, Robert Fripp, Johnny Marr, Nancy Wilson, Kevin Shields, Ryan Jarman, Tom Morello and many more.

The Acoustic Album went on sale at Thursday’s Acoustic, Up Close & Personal date at Shire Hall, Howden.

The newly pressed CD, with completely revised artwork, will also be available to buy online in the near future. Keep an eye on the official Toyah website for info on this.

There will also be an opportunity to win a signed copy of the album via the November issue of the ‘Breaking Through’ newsletter.

• View a larger preview of the CD here. (Thanks to toyahwillcox.com)

A new Toyah artwork, by Alison T Bond, based on the iconic ‘Brave New World’. View the full version at Twitter. (© Alison T Bond)

An interesting new interview with Robert Fripp was published in The Telegraph today. The article includes a couple of references to Toyah.

Robert Fripp, interview: ‘I’m a very difficult person to work with’

Guitarist Robert Fripp influenced David Bowie and Peter Gabriel but it’s only the latest revival of his band King Crimson that has brought out his happy side

… He’s explaining the finer details of this protracted wrangle when he suddenly catches sight of his other half, emerging from the driveway of their home. Toyah waves over, he waves back and even digs out his camera to take a picture.

“There’s my lovely wife, driving off in my car,” he muses, almost to himself. “I must’ve done something right to have Toyah as my wife. She’s a lot sharper than me, she has a very fine critical intelligence.”

• Continue reading at The Telegraph.

The Acoustic Album, Toyah’s 1996 re-working of a selection of previous recordings, including Blue Meanings, Angels & Demons, The Vow and Moonlight Dancing, will be available again on CD soon. The album, which has become a real fan favourite in recent years, has been out of print for some time.

The CD, which will feature all new artwork, will be available to buy at future Toyah concerts, exactly when TBC by toyahwillcox.com.

• The Acoustic Album was released digitally, for the first time, in February of this year. View further info on the album at The Official Toyah Discography.

• Happy Halloween: To all our visitors – Dreamscape has no specific spooky updates this year, but why not take a look back over our Halloween posts from recent years…

• Official Toyah: Songs From The Intergalactic Ranch House: A gallery of shots from the tour – View here…

• Vintagerock’s Weblog: Toyah Newcastle City Hall 1981 & 1982: So Toyah became a pop star. She had major chart success with a run of hit singles. First “It’s a Mystery” which was the stand out song on a hit EP – Continue reading…

• The Telegraph: Following on from the previous “Newsy Bits” post which included a link to Paul Gorman’s blog, in which he lampooned Philip Hoare’s review of the new Vivienne Westwood book – Here is a scan of the review… (Thanks to Lärwi)

• Alison Buchanan Photography: Toyah Willcox performing live by music photographer Alison Buchanan: Toyah Willcox played to a packed crowd at Trading Boundaries last Friday. This very unique venue is really getting a name for itself amongst artists where they perform in an intimate setting rather than the usual larger venues – Continue reading…

The latest issue of Breaking Through, Toyah’s Official newsletter, was emailed to subscribers last week.

Included was news on and photos from the Songs From The Intergalactic Ranch House tour, an overview of the countdown to the tour, news on forthcoming releases and more.

• Subscribe: Sign up to ‘Breaking Through’, to receive regular newsletter updates, here.

The first confirmed Here and Now concert of 2015, at Burghley House, Stamford in Lincolnshire, includes Toyah in the line up.

Here and Now Tours are proud to present Here and Now Stamford: Bananarama, Midge Ure, Odyssey, Toyah and Curiosity Killed The Cat on Sunday 7th June 2015.

• Further information and tickets at the Here and Now website. Please bear in mind that this date hasn’t been officially confirmed as yet.

Due to one thing or another – being super busy with the Christmas fanzines, work, life, and having a week’s holiday – I missed posting about the final day of toyahwillcox.com’s great IRH Tour countdown. It was the third “Five Live” Toyah EP, so now is a good time to look at the set:

Five Live (Volume One: Rarities): Indecision (Belfast 1981); Ghosts (London 1981); We Are (London 1981); Victims Of The Riddle (Germany 1982); The Packt (Glasgow 1982) – Listen here…

Five Live (Volume Two: Hits): It’s A Mystery (Belfast 1981); I Want To Be Free (Germany 1982); Thunder In The Mountains (Germany 1982); Good Morning Universe (Germany 1982); Brave New World (Glasgow 1982) – Listen here…

Five Live (Volume Three: Classics): Race Through Space (Belfast 1981); Angels & Demons (Belfast 1981); Neon Womb (Germany 1982); Angel and Me (Glasgow 1982); Jungles Of Jupiter (Glasgow 1982) – Listen here…

• Revisit the full countdown at The Official Toyah Willcox Website.

She may be 56 and stand a mere 5ft 1in tall, but there’s no denying that actress, singer and TV presenter Toyah Willcox remains a powerhouse of energy on stage. Last Friday, her 1979 track Danced proved just that… and no doubt left more than a few of us in the audience with sore ankles the next day, having stupidly joined in with the bouncing. We are old enough to know better.

Actually, it’s hard to believe that is 32 years since I went to my first Toyah gig – The 1982 Changeling Tour at the Playhouse, for those who may have been there. Back then she easily sold out the 3000 seater… and I had dyed orange hair. Friday was a more intimate affair and all the better for it… I’ll pass on a hair update.

• Continue reading at the Edinburgh Evening News.

Toyah Willcox is to bring her ‘Up Close and Personal’ show to Lowdham Village Hall as part of the 2015 Lowdham Book Festival.

In this ‘Up Close and Personal’ show Toyah will perform an acoustic set of her much-loved hit singles and classic songs, accompanied by two acoustic guitarists. A big screen presentation will show clips of the many films and videos in which Toyah has participated and she will talk about these – and the various actors and musicians she has worked with over the years – in a relaxed and informal way. Tickets on sale now, priced £20.

• Continue reading at Warthog Promotions.

A fab shot of Toyah from last Friday’s Songs From The Intergalactic Ranch House date at the Classic Grand, Glasgow. Click below to view a larger version at Dreamscape’s Gallery. (Thanks to Sharon | Photo © Sharon Dickson)

Toyah Willcox is one of those performers who seems to be in the public eye but these days is never quite as much in our faces in the way she used to be. Known more these days for TV appearances and her acting it’s easy to forget that she took that acting talent onto the music scene to establish herself as one of the most intense performers to have survived the 1970s UK punk scene.

Tonight she lived up to that reputation from the moment she came on stage exploding into the energy of All In A Rage, her voice still perfect, and making it plain that she was the star here and the focus. She took to the front with her band in darkness against the back line to emphasise her presence. The crowd was here to see her and she was not about to disappoint them.

• Continue reading at Birmingham Live.

Toyah’s autumn tour, Songs From The Intergalactic Ranchouse kicked off in Birmingham on 18 October and so far has wowed Leeds, Glasgow and Manchester.

The tour is treating fans to a reworked set list which spans Toyah’s whole career from Sheep Farming In Barnet through to Crimson Queen. For the first time ever, selections from Minx are included with a fantastic rendition of Soul Passing Through Soul which can you hear a special audio preview of on this page or at Toyah’s official Soundcloud.

• Continue reading at toyahwillcox.com.

A lovely photo of Toyah and Richard, taken at the first date of the IRH Tour in Birmingham the weekend before last. Richard is doing the Fan Faq in the Christmas Issue of our Toyah fanzine too. Click below to view a larger version of this photo, and more, at Dreamscape’s Gallery. (Thanks to Richard | Photo © Richard Smith)

Russell Brand’s revolution, an X Factor star and an 1980s punk princess – here’s three things to do in West Yorkshire tonight

They say variety is the spice of life – and we’ve certainly got that for you today! If you’re looking for a night out, there’s plenty going on in West Yorkshire this evening – from a comedian predicting revolution to the return of an 80s punk princess.

Relive the eighties with Toyah — That’s right, 80s superstar Toyah is back — and she’s performing live in Leeds tonight. Her Songs from the Intergalactic Ranch House tour, her fourth venture this year, is calling at Leeds University Union tonight, features hits from the Safari catalogue through to Crimson Queen.

• Continue reading at The Huddersfield Daily Examiner.

• Toyah @ Twitter: Lots of tour tweets and links to Toyah TV – Go see…

• Memories Of Diana – Attending Women Of The Year Lunch 1986: Today’s Memories Of Diana is from October 27th 1986. Princess Diana was pictured with pop singer Toyah Willcox at the Women Of The Year lunch at the Savoy Hotel in London – Continue reading…

• Paul Gorman: Toyah Willcox and Midge Ure worked in Sex… Nostalgia Of Mud sold bondage trousers… Philip Hoare’s compromised review littered with as many howlers as contained in the Vivienne Westwood book – Continue reading…

• Music Radar: Simon Phillips on Jeff Beck, Toto and Protocol II: The Toto and session legend takes stock – A namecheck for Toyah in this new interview – Continue reading…