Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

A little, albeit unconventional, Christmas shopping – aka December retail therapy – at one of London’s top department stores – Liberty London, located at 21 Great Marlborough Street and also on Regent Street – made the fourth festive season of the 80s a very memorable one for Toyah fans and viewers of Good Morning Britain on TVAM.

Toyah was sporting her Rebel Run Tour/The Vow look for this, and other notable television appearances/interviews in latter 1983. One of the very few times during her entire career when she had dark hair, similar to her natural colour, which is another reason why this TVAM guest spot and late 1983 in general is a particularly memorable Toyah era.

Christmas 1983, Toyah, and her Brave New World video co-star Messenger, went early Christmas shopping in November… Pop singer and actress Toyah Willcox has always wanted to do her Christmas shopping on horseback! With a little help from TV-am’s ‘Fantasy Time’, and Liberty London in Regent Street, Toyah rode a white horse called Messenger through the store.

• Watch the full TVAM clip at Toyah’s Official You Tube channel and click below to see larger versions of the screen captures of Toyah and Messenger.

Christmas 2025, Dreamscape is celebrating 26 Christmas times online this year, and for almost every one of those we have counted down to the 25th with an advent calendar or sometimes just a selection of seriously Christmassy Toyah related posts.

Christmas has always been incredibly important to me as I’ve always loved the wonderful colours and scents of the season, there is nothing like a beautifully put together Christmas tree or a perfectly curated festive window display.

I also associate this time of the year with my happy childhood and celebrating Christmas with my parents and pets, who are all gone now, but I always remember them even more so than usual at Christmas.

It made perfect sense to me that Christmas would be a big part of Dreamscape’s December each and every year, especially as Toyah and Robert love Christmas too. Aside from all of the above, I always feel that the world feels just a little more joyful and happy during December…

Christmas 1982, The build up/countdown to Christmas wouldn’t be complete at Dreamscape without this… I think I’ve mentioned I Believe in Father Christmas almost every December for the last 25 years, so here we go again…

Toyah covers the Greg Lake 1975 classic (which I didn’t realise also features Robert Fripp until Toyah mentioned it a few years ago on Toyah’s Christmas at the Zoo) for ITV’s Pop Goes Christmas in 1982.

The programme aired on Boxing Day and also featured Musical Youth, Mari Wilson, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, The Nolans, Toto Coelo, The Mighty Wah! and Shakin’ Stevens.

According to an info board posted online, Pop Goes Christmas was only recorded less than a fortnight before it aired. Not sure if this is completely accurate. 

Toyah sounds glorious, looks amazing (wearing her Brave New World/The Changeling black contacts) and Keith Hale and Joel Bogen are having a right old festive time in the forest of lit up trees during the recording, which was introduced by David Essex. Bravo!

Christmas 2011, Toyah presented a fantastic, three-hour, music-filled festive spectacular for the, relatively, new music channel Vintage TV.

Toyah’s Vintage Christmas was a constant that Christmas, airing numerous times through December, with Toyah introducing festive pop videos and sharing seasonal trivia.

As well as festive shows on the channel there were many more Toyah shows, including appearances on My Vintage, Toyah & Robert, Toyah’s Electric Ladies, Toyah Willcox At The Water Rats, Needle Time, Live With… Toyah and more.

Much of this great content is now unavailable but Toyah’s Official YouTube channel has occasionally uploaded footage from a selection of these, hopefully not lost forever, shows.

Toyah’s Vintage Christmas was repeated in subsequent years, and Toyah would go on to present other Christmas shows – including A Very Vintage Christmas, Toyah’s Christmas At The Zoo – right through until Vintage TV ceased broadcasting in 2017.

Christmas 2011, ITV’s This Morning got into the festive spirit with their Big Fat Panto Quiz, with a bunch of celebs who were starring in pantos around the country that Christmastime!

Paul Ross was Quizmaster, with Bonnie Langford, The Krankies, Timmy Mallet, Lynda Bellingham, Kevin Cruise and Toyah (playing the Wicked Queen), all in full panto dress/character, answering the questions.

Panto is a huge Christmas tradition here in the UK. Oh yes it is!

It just seems to grow more popular each and every year, with huge panto productions taking place at major London and Birmingham theatres every December, as well as numerous smaller productions at almost every theatre and venue in every town, city and village in the UK. Long may the tradition continue, and continue to flourish.

A short clip from The Big Fat Panto Quiz is still available online here. Please click on the caps to view larger versions.

NB. We miss Toyah appearing in panto, though I think the last one was, Sleeping Beauty, way back in 2012, just one year after this TV appearance. I went to a few – even travelling all the way to lovely Canterbury one Christmas – and they were always fun

Christmas 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984. In the early eighties Toyah’s Official Fanclub – Intergalactic Ranch House – sent out Christmas cards to subscribing members each December, with Toyah taking the time to sign each and every card, which numbered around 6,000 at the height of the fanclub’s popularity.

This tradition was carried on for an extra year, in 1984, when the Intergalactic Ranch House became simply the Toyah Fanclub following Toyah leaving Safari Records after five years and signing to CBS/Portrait Records, with a card being sent out to all members of the fan club for one final time.

All four cards featured photos of Toyah, showcasing great early eighties imagery and creating a unique set of fanclub memorabilia that became collector’s items.

Official Toyah have referenced the cards sporadically over the years, recalling an extra special few years when receiving a Christmas card from our favourite pop star just added to the magic of our childhood Decembers.

Here’s a snapshot of a feature on the Christmas cards from an issue of Dreamscape’s fanzine.

Welcome to the first day of our Countdown To Christmas for 2025…

At Dreamscape headquarters we are seriously excited about Christmas this year, and hoping December will be magic again, after a tricky few months… and we are travelling back three years for our first festive missive… Stay tuned all month as we dig out or old – and a few shiny and new – decorations to get you into the festive mood, with an extra sprinkling of Toyah Christmassy magic!

Christmas 2022, Toyah wished everyone a Merry Christmas Eve on Toyah At Home, on, yup, Christmas Eve. The show aired at You Tube and Facebook. It was a wonderfully festive show, adding to the excitement and anticipation that is always in the air on Christmas Eve – Such a magical day!

Toyah talked Christmas, as well as taking us back to a vintage performance of It’s A Mystery on Top Of The Pops, Christmas Day 1981. It was great to see that performance again as I could still clearly remember watching that edition of Top Of The Pops on Christmas Day all those years ago!

Toyah’s Christmas Eve At Home festive special is still available to watch/rewatch at Toyah’s official You Tube channel – Click below to return to Christmas 2022. (Image © Toyah Willcox)