Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

• Mark Satchwill: Snow Covers The Kiss: So I’m a big Toyah fan and have been for nearly 35 years. I’ve painted her several times over the last few years. Back in 1985 she released a song called “Snow Covers The Kiss”. It was relegated to a B-side of the single “Don’t Fall In Love (I Said)” but for me it was equally as good. So this image came about from imagining if “Snow” had been the single and needed a cover image – View/Continue reading… (Photo © Mark Satchwill)

• Let’s Rock Bristol: Toyah hangs out with Darth Vader in Bristol – View the photo @ Instagram…

• Bristol 24-7: Thousands get the taste of a Bristol summer: Some 14,000 people turned up for Grillstock at the amphitheatre and a host of 1980s stars performed at the Let’s Rock Bristol festival at Ashton Court… Over at Ashton Court, a host of 80s pop stars took to the stage to the delight of nostalgia-seeking crowds, including Rick Astley, Tony Hadley, Toyah, Midge Ure and Sunday night headliners Level 42 – Continue reading…

• JM Barrie – Peter Pan: Episode One, Away To Neverland, is available to listen to at BBC iPlayer for the next week.

• Fandor: Derek Jarman: The World Is All: Spells are cast and love is spun throughout Jarman’s films: …Toyah Willcox (as Miranda) and David Meyer (as Ferdinand) beholding a brave new world in ‘The Tempest’ – Continue reading…

• Rock N Roll In My Blood: 34 Years Ago Toyah Released The Blue Meaning: The Blue Meaning is the second album by Toyah, released in 1980 by Safari Records. Although not the first full-length release, this is often considered to be the band’s first “proper” album. It saw its first release on CD in 1990 on the Great Expectations label (As PIPCD 015), and was reissued in a double-CD package with Sheep Farming in Barnet in 2002. The latter release was remastered and included two bonus tracks – Continue reading…

• Toyah 1980 #1: An original copy of the eight-page fanzine Fagends, from 1980, recently sold on ebay for a tidy £77! It includes a review of Toyah’s Glasgow Tiffanys gig from the Ieya UK Tour. The fanzine is available to read online, via scans at the ‘Still Unusual’ website – You may have to scroll down, there’s no direct link – View here…

• Toyah 1980 #2: Three photos, two of which are previously unseen, of Toyah from The Blue Meaning era in 1980 are on sale at photographer Brian Griffin’s website (Photos © Brian Griffin) – View these fantastic photos here…

• Echo News: Clare Balding rambles in Leigh: In the 26 series of the show Clare has made, she has walked with Toyah Willcox in Worcestershire, with taxidermists in Boston, and with a bereavement walking group in Shrewsbury – Continue reading…

• Live 2014: Tickets for the Live Wyre Festival, which Toyah plays on Sunday 1st June, are now on sale – More info and buy tickets here…

• Namechecking!!: Mentions for Toyah in a couple of recent online press articles: Herald Express: South Devon Arts Centre is also hosting artists such as Toyah, The Wurzels, Beverley Craven and China Crisis later in the year – Continue reading… Northumberland Gazette: Some pretty big names in the music industry have graced the series, including Status Quo, 10cc, Marc Almond, Alison Moyet, Toyah and Midge Ure – Continue reading…

• 80s Heaven: Toyah – View here…

The edition of The Janice Long Review Show which featured a second guest appearance from Toyah, and a look back at the 1982 album ‘The Changeling’, is also being repeated later this month. This originally aired in August 2012.

The Janice Long Review Show: Vintage TV
Wednesday 14th May: 10.30pm
Toyah and Sex Pistols. Broadcaster Paul Sexton returns, alongside producer Trevor Horn and 80s starlet Toyah, to discuss her 1982 gothic release ‘The Changeling’ and Sex Pistols’ ground-breaking ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’.

We haven’t had a Classic Toyah post for a while – Rectifying this with a very rare magazine advert from July 1981, from Finnish magazine ‘Soundi’. They also published an issue with Toyah’s Brave New World image on their cover in 1982, and another full-page advert for The Changeling. Click below to see the full size advert. (Thanks to Juha Merilainen for this amazing scan)

Only Toyah could launch two UK tours within days of each other… My favourite workaholic (and singer) premieres Crimson Queen/Greatest Hits…Live! tonight at the Holmfirth Picturedome. Celebrating the wonderful 2008 album In The Court Of The Crimson Queen and other fan favourites too. Click below for full details on the tour, including dates and ticket booking links. Sending best wishes to Toyah for another successful opening concert tonight.

“Toyah Unplugged!” The Acoustic Album is now on sale at iTunes. This is the first time the album, originally released on CD in October 1996, has been available in digital format. Availability via other digital music stores will follow soon. Great vocals on this, by Toyah (and Tayce).

To mark the 2014 acoustic concerts, Toyah’s unplugged recording The Acoustic Album will be available digitally for the first time from next Monday, 24th February. The release has the same track listing as the original album:

1. The Vow, 2. Moonlight Dancing, 3. Revive The World, 4. I Want To Be Free, 5. It’s A Mystery (Piano Version), 6. Danced, 7. Good Morning Universe, 8. Blue Meanings, 9. Jungles Of Jupiter, 10. It’s A Mystery (Up Tempo Version), 11. Ieya, 12. Angels And Demons, 13. I Am, 14. Thunder In The Mountains, 15. It’s A Mystery (String Version)

The digital version features new artwork. This kickstarts a digital release programme which will see Toyah’s non-Safari catalogue become available digitally.

• News Source: Breaking Through: The Official Toyah Newsletter.

To celebrate the acoustic gigs and to accompany The Acoustic Album a downloadable digital exclusive, available only to subscribers to Breaking Through, has also been made available. The Acoustic Collection compiles thirteen unplugged tracks spanning 1976-2006 with some previously unreleased archive live recordings.

• Sign up to Breaking Through: The Official Toyah Newsletter for further info on this and details of how to download The Acoustic Collection.

The latest “Live Track Of The Month” is also something acoustic: ‘We Are’ from one of Toyah’s trio of live, and acoustic, gigs at Bourbon Street, Glasgow back in early 1997. This track is also included in the aforementioned The Acoustic Collection.

• Visit The Official Toyah Gigs page to listen to ‘We Are’. The entire GLR interview with Toyah, which features the fantastic live versions of ‘Now I’m Running’ and ‘Invisible Love’, is available in Dreamscape Downloads. Look for “Leap! Interview 1993”.

This year I’m planning on sporadically looking back at a few of Dreamscape’s past Toyah features – What better way to kick off than with In The Court Of The Crimson Queen, especially as Toyah begins her year-long Crimson Queen/Greatest Hits… Live! Tour later this month. Click below to view our feature all about Toyah’s brilliant 2008 studio album.

• Dreamscape also had a dedicated News & Press page for all things In The Court Of The Crimson Queen – this was updated between September 2007 and May 2010 – View that here.

Dreamchild, Toyah’s 1994 album, will be released digitally for the first time in May of this year. There will also be digital EP releases for the album’s singles Now and Then and Out Of The Blue. These mark the 20th anniversary of the album’s original release, and will include some previously unreleased mixes and versions.

You can listen to the, also previously unreleased, ‘Anthemic Ambient’ mix of Out Of The Blue at The Official Toyah Willcox Discography by clicking on Dreamscape’s Dreamchild “advert” below. (News Source: Breaking Through)

A review, by Darren Lock of ‘Prog Review’, of The Lady Or The Tiger. He says: And so I look at Fripp & Toyah’s first official collaboration (excluding them both appearing on the “Stranglers & Friends” live album).

A few Toyah bits & pieces included in the latest issue of ‘Smash Hits’, November 10 – 23, 1983, uploaded to the Smash Hits Archive exactly 30 years since originally being published.

Singles: Reviewed by Mark Steels TOYAH: The Vow (Safari) Not yer classic rock ballad but enough folksy guitar bits and flowery keyboard patterns to get a whole forest of peace-signs pointing skywards at next year’s Reading Festival. Laurence Olivier will love it – View at the SH Archive…

Bitz: Toyah’s latest single, “The Vow” precedes a massive British tour – her first since her pre-Christmas jaunt in ’82 – that takes her through November and December. See Dates for details  – View at the SH Archive…

Dates: Includes a Love Is The Law photo of Toyah and the full tour dates for the Rebel Run Tour  – View at the SH Archive…

There has been speculation and rumours a-plenty since Toyah first mentioned the possibility in her blog earlier this year. Breaking Through has now confirmed Crimson Queen/Greatest Hits… Live!

The news which many Toyah diehards have been waiting for. The 2014 gigs will focus on Toyah’s most recent solo album alongside the newly introduced Love Is The Law material plus a smattering of well-loved and known classics. CRIMSON QUEEN/GREATEST HITS…..LIVE! will run across the whole of 2014 as a long series of gigs rather than concentrated month tour. There will be more dates added throughout 2014 but there are already so many dates for your diary.

The Crimson Queen/Greatest Hits… Live! first gig is on 21st February in Holmfirth, and over the following five months will play Nuneaton, Bury St. Edmunds, Wimborne, London, Hastings, Wakefield, Blyth, Isle of Man, Kent and Norwich. More dates are expected to be added to this over the coming months.

• Full details on all of these dates at the Official Gigs page. Tickets are already on sale for some of the dates.

The final gig of Toyah’s Love Is The Law & More Tour takes place tonight at the O2 Academy in Islington, London. The support acts have already started playing. Have a great gig Toyah and all the lucky fans going! View all of Dreamscape Love Is The Law Tour news and related updates by clicking below. (Thanks to Jo Oliver, Damon King & Official Toyah for the photos I used in the collage)

Game Ends… Runner Wins: Toyah tweeted a couple of photos from the “end of tour tea party” – See them at the Official Instagram. View photos from each gig of the tour at Dreamscape’s LITL & More Gallery.

• Dreamscape Gallery: The latest page addition, Love Is The Law & More 2013, to the Gallery finally has its own index image. There are now comprehensive sections on all of Toyah’s recent anniversary tours, and much more at the Gallery. Visit here… (Thanks to Jo Oliver, Damon King, P A C Photography & Official Toyah for the photos used in the index image)

• Three Sided Coin: Toyah tweeted a “selfie” yesterday, from the set of a new short film she is appearing in – View the photo at the Official Instagram…

• LITL & More @ Bristol: Photos of Toyah from The Fleece on Thursday night (Halloween) at Simon Hendy’s blog – View here…

• LITL & More @ Bilston: Toyah performs ‘Dreamscape’ at the Robin 2 on 25th October – View here…

• Look! Hear!: Toyah Willcox & Duran Duran: Screen caps and a short article on an edition of Look! Hear! at the Pebble Mill blog – View here…

• Generation of Scars: Quadrophenia: This recent article includes a rare pinball poster for the iconic 1979 film – View here…

• News Briefs in, er, Brief!: Toyah receives a namecheck in a review of Susan Boyle’s new Christmas album (yes really!); a screen cap from Shoestring at flickr; A 2004 Toyah and Jack Ryder photo used in an About article on pantomime.

It’s the final day of October and also of Dreamscape’s Love Is The Law Month. I hope you’ve enjoyed all the LITL related posts over the last 31 days. Of course the Love Is The Law & More Tour is still in full swing, with another three dates still to be played. To finish off here’s a really lovely interview with Toyah from Harty, aired by the BBC in late 1983, plus Toyah and Joel performing ‘The Vow’. Click below to watch at Dreamscape’s You Tube channel and view larger versions of the screen caps here. (Thanks to Andy for the clip)

A few fantastic photos of Toyah on the original Rebel Run Tour, which played 19 dates between 25th November and 17th December 1983. View more photos from that tour at Dreamscape’s LITL & More Gallery.

Just uploaded to the Smash Hits Archive, the latest issue (October 27 – November 9 1983) of the late 70s/early 80s must-have magazine, exactly 30 years to the day it was originally published. This includes a full page advert for the Love Is The Law album and a 7 out of 10 review for the album too.

TOYAH: Love Is The Law (Safari) This has imaginatively powerful tracks such as “Broken Diamonds” and “Dreamscape” which conjure up vivid futuristic images of things such as “scrapyards of human emotion” and general planetary desolation. Even so, Toyah has developed a softer side to her music. “The Vow” is a haunting romantic melody and one of the high points of the album. Don’t know whether it will gain her any new admirers but her fans will love it (7 out of 10) Lisa Anthony

• Visit the ‘Smash Hits Archive’ here. Here are direct links to view the advert and review.

We are into the last few days of Love Is The Law Month, and Toyah has now completed over half of the LITL & More Tour. The next date is Halloween in Bristol (ticket info here). Back in 1983 there was a hectic promotional schedule for Love Is The Law, with interviews in numerous magazines and music papers, and Toyah guesting on many TV shows, including a performance of ‘Rebel Run’ on Jugendbund.

It’s Love Is The Law Month here at Dreamscape, and our latest post is an interview with Toyah from the Wide Awake Club on TVAM in 1983. Toyah talks ‘Rebel Run’, The Ebony Tower, writing her life story and more. Click below to watch the clip at Dreamscape’s You Tube channel. (Thanks to Andy)

Love Is The Law was released exactly 30 years ago this week. It entered the UK Album Chart the first week in November, eventually peaking at number 28. The album was reissued, with bonus songs, on CD in 2005 and to mark 30 years a digital release, with even more bonus songs, was made available this year.

The set-list for Love Is The Law & More includes six songs from the 1983 album, along with selected songs from each of Toyah’s other Safari albums.  Here are a few live clips to keep you going until the tour reaches your area: Now the whole of the human race, needs a DREAMSCAPE; and the feeling gets too hard to hold, I EXPLODE; and we’re walking on BROKEN DIAMONDS; to the tiger’s claw LOVE IS THE LAW. Dates and ticket info available HERE. (Thanks to Paul & Dawn for sharing their great footage).