Dreamscape – Toyah Willcox Fansite

Mindboggling – Toyah’s career began exactly 40 years ago.

There had been roles in amateur theatre productions and work as an “extra” but Toyah’s first actual professional job as an entertainer was filmed exactly 40 years ago – Glitter, a 30 minute drama, part of the BBC’s ‘Second City Firsts’ strand of programming. It also starred a young Phil Daniels in one of his first roles and appearances by Noel Edmonds, Doremy Vernon and the band Bilbo Baggins.

Toyah’s character in Glitter, Sue, also performs two songs with the band Bilbo Baggins, Floating Free and Heartbreaker (it’s unclear whether the songs were known by these titles in 1975 – Toyah wrote, at least some, of the lyrics to both). This was Toyah’s first major acting role, first lead vocal performances, first time as a singer with a band, first time on national TV. Many firsts!

Few watching when Glitter aired in late 1976 could imagine that the girl who played Sue would go on to be a music icon to millions of teenagers, release a discography of incredible albums, be known as one of the most visually creative “pop stars” of the modern music era, and work with the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Sir Laurence Olivier, Maximilian Schell, George Cukor, Diana Dors, Trevor Eve, Sir Christopher Lee, Derek Jarman, Christopher Eccleston and numerous others.

• Celebrate Toyah’s 40 years as a performer and artist: Musician, singer, songwriter, actress, writer… at her official website. View Dreamscape’s feature from 2005 on Glitter. (Top photo © The Official Toyah Willcox Website)

Toyah earlier today at the NDNA Awards. (Photo © NDNA)

Martin Phipps and Natalie Holt with presenter Toyah Willcox and publishers Christopher Gutch and Jonathan Channon at the 2015 Ivor Novello Awards.

• Browse more photos from the event at The IVORS. (Photo © Mark Allan/The IVORS)

The 60th Ivor Novello Awards – also known as The IVORS – took place yesterday afternoon at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

Toyah attended and presented the award for Best TV Soundtrack, which was won by BBC drama The Honourable Woman by Natalie Holt and Martin Phipps.

• Read a report on the event at NME.com. Visit The IVORS website. See Toyah’s tweet about attending here.

The original and best ‘Quadrophenia Night’ returns to the Artrix in Bromsgrove giving fans of this British film and the music of the 1960’s another opportunity to re-live the culturally significant period in post-war British history which gave rise to an awakening in the psyche of teenagers and was responsible for much of the music that came to be known as ‘The British Invasion”

This production will feature an opportunity to see the classic Franc Roddam film on the big screen in a seated theatre followed by a live performance from The Quikbeats with the evening closed by the sensational Who tribute “The Whoo”.

• Continue reading/further info at the Facebook Event page.

Jubilee, The Tempest and Glitterbug are all showing at BAM, (Brooklyn Academy of Music), New York, as part of BAMcinématek: Following a retrospective at the BFI this spring, BAMcinématek presents the work of iconoclastic British filmmaker and crusading gay rights activist Derek Jarman, who not only redefined queer cinema, but reimagined moviemaking as a means for limitless personal expression. Marrying sound and image in radical new ways, his poetic, passionate, and visually ravishing films are visionary works of art that, 20 years after his death, are still being unraveled – Click below for further info.

Another recording of Toyah with Rock Choir, at Birmingham Symphony Hall last weekend… A little less “Somewhere in the distance…” than the previous one. (Thanks to Janine)

Toyah performing at yesterday’s Rock Choir event in Birmingham Symphony Hall. ‘It’s A Mystery’, ‘Angel In You’ and ‘Sensational’. Sounding great with the choir.

• Toyah attended the Ivor Novello Awards today, where her seat was on the top table next to Simon Darlow, Chairman of BASCA, who was giving a speech! (Info Source: Official Toyah Facebook)

• The annual music event was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, central London

• Contact Music: Toyah Willcox – seen at the Ivor Novello Awards 2014 in London, United Kingdom – (Gallery includes three photos of Toyah) – View here…

• Holy Moly: Ivor Novello Awards Red Carpet Arrivals. Starring Barbara Windsor, Olly Murs and Toyah: It’s the music awards ceremony that no one quite understands but acknowledges its quite important. The 2014 Ivor Novello Awards have been and gone. Having them in the daytime seems strange. It means most of the nominees are pissed before it’s even got dark – Continue reading…

• Getty Images: Also have three photos of Toyah at the event (different to Contact Music) – View here…

• Image Collect: Ivor Novello Awards Arrivals. Toyah Willcox arrives to the Ivor Novello Awards at Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London, United Kingdom. Thursday, 22nd May 2014 (Another three photos) – View here…

• Toyah tweeted this afternoon: “At IVOR NEVELLO AWARDS. On top table with Simon Darlow…..he is giving a speech……he’s nervous…..bless!“

Tickets are now available for Toyah talking at the event Inspiration and the Blank Page, with Helen David, part of SohoCreate.

The inspiration is the easy bit, turning it into something worth spending a chunk of our life working on is the challenge. How do we fan the creative flames to bring the tiny spark into a real idea that can build into a project of worth? How do we know which ideas will sustain and which do not have the legs to survive.

The risk of committing to a single idea above all others is huge, where does the bravery to make the choice come from? I can’t wait to hear Helen and Toyah talk about what they do when inspiration strikes.

Location: The House of St Barnabas | Time: Thursday 5 June 16:15 to 17:30

• Book now for Inspiration and the Blank Page with singer Toyah Willcox and designer Helen David at the SohoCreate website.

A new website for the forthcoming SohoCreate festival is now online. Toyah will be participating and is included in the website’s “All Speakers” section. Click below to visit.

According to the official MCM Comic Con website Toyah will be a guest, as part of a Quadrophenia Reunion, at the Birmingham NEC memorabilia event on Sunday 24th November.

MCM Birmingham Comic Con and Memorabilia, Britain’s biggest collectors’ event, both come to the NEC on 23-24 November, and we’ve got a great line-up of film and TV guests waiting to meet fans, host panels and sign autographs. Special Guests attending the show this year include:

QUADROPHENIA REUNION: Stars Phil Daniels (Jimmy); Toyah Willcox (Monkey) and Daniel Peacock (Danny) celebrate the ultimate mod movie, based on The Who’s 1973 rock opera.

TOYAH WILLCOX: Singer, Quadrophenia, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Teletubbies, Kavanagh QC, Brum, Maigret, Cluedo, Minder, Quatermass (Autograph; Photoshoot; *Appearing: Sunday only)

UPDATE: 18.11.2013: Toyah tweeted yesterday to confirm she will be appearing at this event on Sunday.

Photos, by Damon King and Jeff Agar, from Friday evening’s Club to Catwalk “In Conversation” V&A event have now been added to Dreamscape’s Gallery. Click below to take a look. (Thanks again to Damon & Jeff for sharing their great photos)

Great photos from last night’s Club to Catwalk V&A “In Conversation” event, with Toyah, Caryn Franklin and Karen Binns (replacing Brix Start-Smith) discussing women who developed, fused and influenced fashion and music in 1980s London. As you can see some of Toyah’s iconic outfits were also on display. I’ll add larger versions of the photos to Dreamscape’s Gallery soon. (Thanks to Damon King & Jeff Agar for the photos)

Wishing all our visitors a Happy Halloween. Andrew York’s In The Fairground has been updated with a new gallery page, for special OCCASIONS like Halloween, with 10 new spooky Toyah images. Click below to visit.

HiBROW: The Arts Online are currently airing a mini Quadrophenia documentary at their website, with footage from last month’s Time Out Live Quadrophenia Reunion and excerpts from interviews. They will be making the full Toyah interview available soon.

It’s 35 years since director Franc Roddam shot ‘Quadrophenia’ on the streets of London and Brighton – and along the way created a classic of British cinema adored by music and film fans alike. Inspired by the 1973 The Who album of the same name, the film tells of Jimmy (Phil Daniels), a troubled west London mod in 1965 who’s struggling in life and love and joins his mates for a dust-up with rockers one Bank Holiday weekend down in Brighton. Last month, HiBROW with Time Out and the London Film School brought Roddam and some of his key collaborators together …

• Watch at HiBROW. View larger versions of the screen caps here.

A trio of Toyah news posts from The Official Toyah Willcox Website:

• TOYAH CONTRIBUTES WRITING TO NEW DEREK JARMAN BOOK: Toyah contributes to a brand new publication Derek Jarman’s Sketchbooks, published by Thames & Hudson this September. Toyah acted in two of Jarman’s features films in the roles of Mad in Jubilee and an Evening Standard Best Newcomer Award-nominated performance of Miranda in the director’s re-imagining of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Toyah wrote the piece for Chapter 3 ‘Jubilee to The Angelic Conversation 1978-1985’ – Continue reading at www.toyahwillcox.com – View further details of the book at Thames & Hudson.

• TOYAH REUNITES WITH QUADROPENIA DIRECTOR FOR SCREENING & Q&A: How has Quadrophenia influenced British cinema and pop culture? Why don’t collaborations between musicians and filmmakers always work this well? And why do we insist on referring to one of the most popular films of its era as a ‘cult classic’? Find out on 23 September at this special screening and discussion, the second in the ‘Classic Cinema: The Reunion’ series presented by the London Film School and Ciné Lumière in association with Time Out Live! – Continue reading at www.toyahwillcox.com – Buy tickets online here.

• TOYAH JOINS V&A CLUB TO CATWALK IN CONVERSATION EVENT: The recently opened V&A exhibition Club To Catwalk features an in-depth look through the fashions, looks and iconic styles of the 1980 and includes a 1981 outfit designed by Melissa Kaplan for Toyah. Toyah will join a panel including Caryn Franklin and Brix Start-Smith at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London on Friday 8 November in an exclusive in-conversation event, designed by women for women. Join Caryn, Toyah and Brix as they bring their thoughts, ideas, experiences and memories to a discussion on women who developed, fused and influenced fashion and music in 1980s London – Continue reading at www.toyahwillcox.com – View further details on the ‘In Conversation’ event here.

Details of, and booking for, the V&A Caryn Franklin, Toyah Willcox and Brix Smith-Start: In Conversation event is now available at the V&A website.

What: Evening events
When: Fri 8 November 2013 18:30 – 19.30
Where: The Lydia & Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre

Evening Talk: Join Caryn Franklin, Toyah Willcox and Brix Smith-Start as they bring their thoughts, ideas and experiences to a discussion on women who developed, fused and influenced fashion and music in 1980s London. Plus enjoy an exclusive look at some of Toyah’s original 80s performance costumes.

A few more recent online reports about the V&A ‘Club to Catwalk’ exhibition, including more great shots of Toyah’s Melissa Caplan outfit:

• Hardzine: Club to Catwalk: London Fashion in the 80s – Review: Playing homage to the eccentricity of 80s fashion and the eclectic inspirations behind it, the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Club to Catwalk exhibition captured in essence the radical theatrics of 80s design – Continue reading…

• Chinti & Parker: ‘Club to Catwalk’ at the V&A Museum: Chinti and Parker’s perpetual love of outlandish prints and zingy colour combinations has meant that we’ve been dying to get down to the V&A’s ‘Club to Catwalk’ exhibition since it opened in July.  A retrospective on how London’s vibrant Eighties club scene sparked a new wave of design inspiration – Continue reading…

• House of Helen: V&A Club to Catwalk: 1980s Fashion Exhibition: Last month, the iconic V&A museum opened their Club to Catwalk: London Fashion in the 1980s exhibition. The 1980s was a poignant era in fashion history. It saw the birth of London Fashion Week and institutes such as the British Fashion Council – Continue reading…

• Club to Catwalk: In Conversation: Toyah is participating in a special event with Caryn Franklin and Brix Start-Smith on Friday 8th November. The details have yet to be added to the V&A event schedule but not doubt soon will be.

• Dreamscaping @ Club to Catwalk: View all of our Club to Catwalk news updates here.

Toyah will revisit the very beginning of her career next month at the Kaleidoscope event: Made at the Mill: A Celebration of Pebble Mill taking place in Stourbridge. Look! Hear!, which Toyah co-presented between 1979 and 1981 and Glitter will both feature at the two day 25th anniversary event. Glitter, which Dreamscape has posted about numerous times over the last decade, aired in 1976 and was Toyah’s first professional acting role, first television appearance, first music performances – all included in a 30 minute drama from the BBC’s ‘Second City Firsts’. Also appearing was a young Phil Daniels in one of his first roles. Further info on Glitter here. (Thanks to Andi, who originally provided much of the info and imagery from Glitter)

Toyah reunites with her co-presenters from Look! Hear! on Saturday 14 September in a special event organized by Kaleidoscope.

Made at the Mill: A Celebration of Pebble Mill and BBC Birmingham focuses on the golden years of BBC Birmingham, operating from the custom-built Pebble Mill studios. This event celebrates the place, its people and programmes in an affectionate tribute which sees screenings of specially selected programmes.

Toyah joins the event at 2pm when she reunites with Chris Phipps and John Holmes in a panel discussion which looks back at the Midlands music and arts show Look! Hear! which celebrated contemporary pop and rock culture plus a screening of an episode from 1978.

• View further info at the Toyah’s Official News page. The event is free admission and full details can be found here.