Dreamscape – Toyah Willcox Fansite

Toyah attended Film Birmingham’s Meet The Filmmaker event on Thursday evening at the Birmingham Hippodrome.

The Producers’ Forum and Creative Shift with Electric Flix are delighted to present this exclusive event with film director Debbie Isitt (Confetti, Nativity, Nativity 2, Nasty Neighbours) on July 11th at the Hippodrome.

View a photo of Toyah at Meet The Filmmaker here. The Producer’s Forum tweeted: “Great to have the wonderful Toyah Willcox with us tonight at the Debbie Isitt event“.

• More info on Meet The Filmmaker at Film Birmingham’s website.

More great photos from last night’s Club to Catwalk: London Fashion In The 1980s press launch at the V&A in South Kensington. Toyah, Giddy Gavin and Steve Strange all looking fabulous. See another of Gavin’s photos of Toyah at our Gallery. (Thanks to Gavin | Photos © Giddy Gavin & V&A)

Toyah attended this evening’s launch of Club to Catwalk at the V&A Museum in London. The other photo is of the Melissa Caplan outfit, included in the exhibition, that Toyah only wore once and subsequently donated to Sheffield Rock Museum in 1987. Toyah also tweeted a photo of herself and Helen David at the launch, and the Official Toyah Facebook posted another photo of Toyah with the outfit. (Thanks to Andi)

The V&A Club To Catwalk: London Fashion In The 1980s exhibition opens on Wednesday, and runs for the next six months. Time for some related newsy bits:

• The Guardian: 1980s Throwback: Clubland’s charming impact on fashion examined at V&A: Curator of Club to Catwalk says Dynasty shoulder pads kept to a minimum in show that includes Adam Ant’s pirate outfit… The subcultures explored include familiar ones like New Romantic (see that pirate shirt and stagewear worn by Toyah Willcox), Goth and Rave.

• Charlie Porter: Club To Catwalk: London Fashion in the 80s opens soon at the V&A. A tour of its amazingness with curator Claire Wilcox: On Wednesday, an exhibition opens at the V&A titled Club To Catwalk: London Fashion In the 1980s. It’s taking the space previously occupied by the Ballgowns show, in the centre of the fashion room, split over two levels. Lower level is catwalk. Upper level is club. Both levels are amazing… “And then we have an outfit worn by Toyah by Melissa Caplan“.

• V&A: Club to Catwalk: About the Exhibition: Discover the creative explosion of London fashion in the 1980s in a major exhibition at the V&A. Through more than 85 outfits, Club to Catwalk: London Fashion in the 1980s showcases the bold and exciting new looks by the most experimental young designers of the decade.

• The Wall Street Journal: King’s Of The Wild Frontier: Club Culture and fashion collided head-on in 1980s London. As the city’s new nightclub scene became ever more frenetic and fantastical, young designers such as Rifat Özbek, Betty Jackson and John Galliano sought inspiration for their collections in the basements of West End venues.

• The Telegraph: From Club to Catwalk: Back to the Eighties: It was the ‘weird and wonderful’ clubbers who decided what we wore in the Eighties, says designer Wendy Dagworthy.

• Grazia: Club to Catwalk: London Fashion in the 1980s – An AMAZE New Exhibition At The V&A: If you enjoyed the V&A’s most recent block-busting exhibition, David Bowie Is, then there’s a strong chance you’ll like the next thing to pop up at the revered West London museum.

• Ultravie: From Club to Catwalk | Spandex and Sparkles at The V&A: Lycra pants, over-sized tees and form-fitting knits are coming out of the closet for the V&A’s fashion exhibition this summer.

The artist Toyah continually cites as her greatest influence, including in a radio interview which aired just yesterday, David Bowie is the subject of an amazing exhibition, David Bowie Is, currently running at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Toyah Willcox, singer, actress and author

‘Fluidity and adaptability essential for business success.’

Toyah spoke passionately about her experiences in show business from a woman’s perspective. She focussed on the need to constantly adapt her image to maintain longevity and success.

Toyah described herself as a small cottage industry. She spoke about the changes in show business during an eventful thirty five year career. In particular, Toyah believes that the power of social media such as twitter and you tube, has allowed her to cultivate numerous images for significantly less money than would have been the case many years ago and that this power should be harnessed by micro firms.

• Continue reading at the FSB website.

Toyah tells The National Trust about her favourite walk at Croome Park in Worcestershire. Why not tell ‘The National Trust’ about your favourite walk? Watch Toyah’s walk by clicking below, and view all of our Toyah related ‘Great British Walk’ news here.

There’s also a brief Toyah article on Toyah’s Great British Walk at the National Trust website: It’s the setting of Croome Park that appeals to Toyah Willcox, the multi-talented singer, performer and writer. ‘We tend to forget the fabulous countryside we have all around us, and it’s there for us to discover’, she said. There’s also a PDF file available with details of Toyah’s walk.

Two more photos of Toyah at Wynne’s Cakes & Coffee Shop VIP Night last week. Click here to view larger. All of the recent photos of Toyah at Wynne’s have been added to Dreamscape’s Gallery. View all of our recent Toyah @ Wynne’s Cakes news. (Thanks to Jenni & John)

Toyah visiting Wynne’s Cakes & Coffee Shop in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent yesterday. She tweeted: “Just visiting john wain’s new cafe Wynnes and sampling the cakes . Yummy“. Click below to view larger photos. More info here. (Photos © Wynne’s Cakes/Toyah Willcox)

Toyah being presented with her star, by Bev Bevan of ELO, at the King’s Heath ‘Walk Of Fame’ ceremony this morning.

Robert Fripp unveiled Toyah’s star, on York Road in the town, just before Midday. Initial reports from those who attended are that it was a great morning.

The celebrations continue this evening with a two-set, two-hour, career-spanning homecoming gig at the Hare & Hounds. PAC Photography, who were also at this morning’s event, will be photographing each person at the gig. These will be made into a very special mosaic which will be presented to Toyah as a momento of the concert.

• View the full photo of Toyah & Bev. (Photo © King’s Heath Bid). Catch up on all of our ‘Walk Of Fame’ news.

Well deserved. Wishing Toyah a wonderful day!

Toyah’s official website reported during the week that Toyah is to be honoured by her hometown next month.

TOYAH HONOURED AS FIRST STAR IN KING’S HEATH WALK OF FAME

A new Walk of Fame will launch this summer celebrating King’s Heath’s amazing musical and comedy heritage. King’s Heath-born Toyah will be the first star to be inducted on the Birmingham Walk of Fame with the official unveiling taking place in early July. We will bring you further details on this exciting project in the coming weeks.

• News Source: toyahwillcox.com | View more info on King’s Heath ‘Walk Of Fame’.

It’s the Diamond Jubilee Bank Holiday Weekend…

• Toyah guests on Saturday Cookbook on ITV1 tomorrow morning in a special edition celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee:

Saturday Cookbook: ITV1: Saturday 2nd June: 8.25am
Nadia Sawalha and Mark Sargeant are joined by chef Phil Vickery and Toyah Willcox to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

• On Sunday Toyah plays Birmingham Pride, the UK’s largest LGBT two-day festival, being held on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd June, or as the Brum Pride website says “The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Bank Holiday Weekend”. Toyah appears at Bar Eden on Sunday.

• No doubt Derek Jarman’s Jubilee will be aired and watched in numerous places over the next few days: The two confirmed showings in the UK are at The ICA (6th June) and Nottingham Contemporary Arts Centre (5th June).

• Capital Celluloid 2012 – Day 158: Wed June 6: Jubilee (Jarman, 1978): ICA Cinema, 8.30pm: No more appropriate film could screen in Diamond Jubilee week.

• Gay Times: Derek Jarman’s Jubilee: With the Queen’s Jubilee bank holiday creeping closer and close and your schedules are getting tighter and tighter, we thought that now would be an opportune time to remind you of another Jubilee. In 1977 influential gay director Derek Jarman filmed a little punk gem of a film.

• Topman Generation: With the Golden Jubilee around the corner we recall Derek Jarman’s classic punk film. (Membership required)

• To Do List: To Jubilee Or Not To Jubilee? That Is The Question: A guide to ignoring/enjoying the Jubilee: Watch Derek Jarman’s cult punk classic Jubilee at the ICA | Wednesday 6th June at 2030.

• Whats on TV: Include a clip from Jubilee (“My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose”) in their latest “Whats on You Tube” feature.

Jubilee will show at The ICA next week, in their “Artists’ Film Club”, coinciding with the Diamond Jubilee…

Derek Jarman’s 1978 feature-length classic Jubilee is the focus of the special Artists’ Film Club. A 35mm print of Jubilee will be screened alongside a new transfer of the 8mm Jordan’s Dance (1977), a short which would later be incorporated, in part, in Jubilee. Coinciding with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the screening will also be accompanied by a panel discussion including actress Jenny Runacre (Jubilee’s Queen Elizabeth I and Bod), producer and long-time collaborator James Mackay and others.

Jubilee is a dystopian tale of time-travel and punk, set in 1970s London. Queen Elizabeth I (Jenny Runacre) travels forward in time to find Queen Elizabeth II dead and London in disarray; she encounters a cast of numerous characters including Amyl Nitrite (Jordan), Bod (Jenny Runacre), Chaos (Hermine Demoriane), Crabs (Nell Campbell), and Mad (Toyah Willcox).

Institute Of Contemporary Arts: Wed 6th June 2012, 8.30pm | £5/Free to ICA Members.

Derek Jarman’s 1979 film The Tempest, with Toyah as Miranda, will be part of a study day, focusing on Shakespeare on film, at The British Museum later this year. This role gained Toyah a nomination for Best Newcomer at The Evening Standard Film Awards in 1980.

Tony Howard, University of Warwick, introduces extracts from Macbeth films made in Britain, Madagascar, Japan, Australia, Brazil and the USA, exploring how they have mapped the play’s politics, psychology and ethics. The afternoon session will place Derek Jarman’s 1979 reimagining of The Tempest in the context of other film adaptations. Producer Don Boyd and actor David Meyer will relate their experiences of Jarman’s version.

Filming Shakespeare’s Magic
Saturday 17 November 2012, 10.30–16.30
Stevenson Lecture Theatre, TBM, London

To mark what would have been director Derek Jarman’s 70th birthday, Nottingham Contemporary Arts Centre are showing Jubilee on 5th June at The Space.

Derek Jarman Jubilee (1978): Honouring the name behind the Jarman Award in what would have been his 70th year we are screening a film that many regard as Derek Jarman’s first masterpiece. In Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth I is transported to a bleak, broken Britain – where violence and anarchy reign and Buckingham Palace is a recording studio for punk musicians. Serving to upset and unnerve the conventional cinemagoer, Jubilee defines the confrontational abandon of punk cinema.

• View further info here and here.

Toyah has been confirmed as one of the artists participating in ‘The Marc Bolan 35th Memorial Concert’, taking place at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire on Saturday 15th September 2012.

Other artists confirmed, so far, are Boy George, Steve Harley, Glen Matlock, Alvin Stardust, Rick Wakeman, Linda Lewis, Andy Ellison, and T.Rextasy. All proceeds from the concert are going to the PRS (Performing Right Society) Charity, for the music members benevolent fund.

Tickets go on sale from 16th April. Stay updated on the concert at the Facebook Event page.

NB: TOYAH IS NO LONGER APPEARING AT THIS EVENT

‘She-Bop-A-Lula’, the photo exhibition in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer Charity, opened at the Strand Gallery, London on the 7th March.

The exhibition features over 60 pictures of some of the most successful and creative women singers from the last six decades. The pictures, all taken by women photographers, are a mix of candid and intimate backstage scenes, sensitive and stylised portraits, through to the excitement and raw power of live performance.

It’s highly likely that the photograph of Toyah and Jenny Runacre, from 1977, by Caroline Coon is included in the exhibition. View further info on ‘She-Bop-A-Lula’ here. There are also recent online press articles on the exhibition by The Guardian, The Independent and NME.

Toyah played ‘The Magical Faerie Festival’ last April in Canterbury. An interview from then has just been uploaded to ‘You Tube’. Toyah talks punk, steampunk, acting, Canterbury and fairy wings. Click below to view.

This black-tie event promises a fabulous night out including reception drinks, a delicious three course dinner and superb entertainment including the fantastic Toyah Willcox to get you dancing the night away.

Join us on Saturday 19 May 2012 for The Stroke Association’s 20th Anniversary Ball at Radisson Blu Hotel in the beautiful City of Durham.

Tickets are £45 per person or £450 for a table of 10. Don’t miss out, tables are selling fast! Book your tickets online today! For more information please contact Janet Price on 0191 492 6191 or at janet.price@stroke.org.uk

30 Women Photographers and the Women Photographers Who Inspired Them: A Blog Series in Honor of Women’s History Month, March 1 – 31

Caroline Coon is a multi-talented artist born and based in Britain. She is a painter, designer and photographer whose work has been exhibited at major London galleries, including the Saatchi Gallery and the Tate. Her photographs are in the National Portrait Gallery, and currently on display at the Strand Gallery in She-Bop-a-Lula, an exhibit celebrating female singers captured by women photographers.

In the 1970’s and 80’s, Coon wrote about, designed for, and photographed a number of Punk Rock bands, including The Slits and The Clash. Her New Wave Punk Rock Explosion is an inside, “as it happened” story of punk, with iconic images, and commentary by musicians and fans. (Photo: Jenny Runacre and Toyah Willcox 1977 © Caroline Coon/Camera Press)