• Metro: From Absolute Beginners to Quadrophenia: Mod culture on page and screen: Mod culture in books and on the silver screen include Absolute Beginners and Quadrophenia. Here’s our guide: Quadrophenia (1979) – Against the soundtrack of The Who’s 1973 concept album, this mod classic features Phil Daniels as Jimmy – a mod who hates his job and is misunderstood by his parents.
• You’re Standing In It: Australian comedy series that looks very similar to the UK’s Three Of A Kind and Not The Nine O’Clock News. Tim & Debbie pay tribute to Toyah Willcox. (This “Toyah” clip has just been added to You Tube. I’m not sure I’d call this a “tribute” or a “homage” but worth a look anyway). More info on the series here.
• One + One Filmmakers Journal: Out Of The (Blog) Archive: On Derek Jarman’s Jubilee.
• All Star Mr & Mrs: Toyah Instagrammed a photo of herself and Robert while they were being filmed at home for a forthcoming edition of the ITV show. View here.
• The 45 minute video of Toyah’s speech from the recent FSB Conference in Leicester has now been deleted from You Tube but there is an edited, eight minute, version available at the FSB website. View here.
A new edition of Quadrophenia is released on DVD and Blu-ray next month.
Universal Pictures have commissioned new cover art for a selection of their classic and iconic titles on Blu-ray & DVD in the form of two series: Reel Heroes: superhero films reminagined in a comic-book artwork style and Screen Outlaws: which pays homage to street art and hip hop graffiti from the UK and the USA.
Release Date: 08 April 2013
Special Features: Exclusive Artwork and Artcards
Jimmy is a teenager growing up in the first half of the 1960’s; he rides through London on his scooter, pops pills, is mad about rock and roll and wears a Parka and Levis, nothing to extraordinary about that. But Jimmy’s life comes to an aggressive climax during a violent Holiday weekend controntation between Mods and Rockers on Brighton beach.
Starring: Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Michael Elphick, Toyah Willcox. Director: Franc Roddam.
• A rare contact sheet of photos, taken at the Nordoff-Robins Musical Therapy lunch in 1983, is currently up for auction at ebay. Toyah is included in some of the photos.
• The Wrath Of Blog: Review #595: ‘Jubilee’ (1978): One particular group, consisting of, amongst others, Amyl Nitrate (Jordan), Mad (Toyah Willcox), Bod (Runacre in a dual role), Crabs (Nell Campbell) and Chaos (Hermine Demoriane), tend to spend their time smashing cars, having sex, participating in the odd murder, and generally giving the two-finger salute to anything resembling conformity.
• This Blackmore Vale: Have a girls’ night out with Toyah Willcox at Poole Lighthouse: Rock star and actress Toyah Willcox heads the cast of Hormonal Housewives at Poole Lighthouse next Thursday, 28th March.
• Noel’s House Party: A clip from the 1990’s of Toyah guesting, and being gunged, on Noel’s House Party, alongside John Stapleton and Nick Owen.
• Jelly: Troubador, Wizard, Queen and Machine – The band launch their debut album on 11th May at the “Punk ‘N’ Roll Rendez Vous” at The Unicorn in Camden.
The Most Fertile Man In Ireland: Sky Movies Indie: Sunday 17th March: 2.30pm/10pm
Satirical comedy with Kris Marshall, Kathy Keira Clarke, Bronagh Gallagher, James Nesbitt, Kenneth Cranham, Olivia Nash, Pauline McLynn, Tara Lynne O’Neill, Toyah Willcox, Harry Towb, Marc O’Shea and Paddy McCarney. Also airing on Sky Movies Indie HD.
• Woman’s Own: Toyah is interviewed in the first issue of the new Woman’s Own magazine “Get Healthy”: In our first Get Healthy magazine we aim to help you feel your best. We share with you the stars’ go-to remedies for staying well. Toyah Willcox tells us what made her sleep after 40 years of insomnia.
• Primitive Screwheads: Friday Night Movies 415: Jubilee is a 1978 film by Derek Jarman… With its uninhibited punk petulance and sloganeering, Jubilee, brings together many cultural and musical icons of the time, including Jordan, Toyah Willcox, Little Nell, Wayne County, Adam Ant, and Brian Eno (with his first original film score), to create a genuinely unique, unforgettable vision.
• Retro Brit: Quadrophenia: Great Retro Brit Flick: I can remember the first time I saw the advert at the Bank Underground station in 1979… There was Sting from the band: The Police and Toyah Willcox who were all rock stars of that time.
• NI Scene: Calamity Jane: Ciara Mackey joins the ranks of Barbara Windsor, Toyah Willcox and the iconic Doris Day herself in playing the disaster-prone Calamity Jane.
Over a decade ago Dreamscape reported that Toyah was regularly appearing in Eastenders.
Eagle-eyed viewers of one of Britain’s favourite (and most depressing!) soaps spotted the classic Quadrophenia poster showing up regularly onscreen on Billy Mitchell’s wall.
In January 2012 Damon King sent us photos of the Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! (K-Tel) album he had spotted on one of the market stalls and now, the ultimate… one of the greatest live albums… Warrior Rock hits Elstree/Walford!!! Click on the photos to zoom. (Thanks again to Damon and also to Larwi)
• Victoria & Albert Museum: Jubilee @ The V&A: A fantastic photo of Jordan is included in the prestigious museum’s collection.
• Penny Black Music: Cheek of Her: Megaphonic EP: Toyah is mentioned in this new review… There are even spoken lyrics over what could be the harmonies of a choir of flouncy girls lead by the love child of Siouxsie Sioux and Toyah Willcox.
• Unofficial Toyah Top 20 2103: The results of the first part of James and Lärwi’s Toyah Song Poll are in, and the second part is now online. Toyah’s full back catalogue, excluding collaborations, was included and has been voted down to a final 28. 100 people participated in the fun poll so it’s hardly definitive but still interesting (and thanks to James for taking the time to organise it all). Vote here.
• First-Thoughts: A huge forum thread “discussing” Patsy Kensit, which over the last six weeks also includes Weight Watchers, Toyah and ‘Sensational’. To save you the bother of trawling through the, seemingly endless, posts I’ve cherrypicked the best one :) – “Giving serious thought to joining Weight Watchers. Mostly because I want to dance to Toyah’s Sensational with Patsy Kensit.”
• Toyah, photographed at RTÉ in Dublin, last night guesting on Katherine Lynch’s Wagon’s Den. I think this airs this Thursday at 10.30pm on RTÉ 2, and will no doubt eventually appear on You Tube. There’s a little more info on Wagon’s Den in our previous post here. (Photo © Contact Music – View the full version at their website)
• Quadrophenia Live: It was announced yesterday that The Who will play the full Quadrophenia album on their forthcoming UK and Ireland arena tour. This was reported all over the internet and many of the articles included a namecheck for Toyah: Metro, NME, Contact Music.
• Toyah on TV: While on the subject of Quadrophenia, just a reminder that the film airs again tonight. Full details here.
• I Am Still Ashley Elsdon: Still Buying Vinyl: There are a handful of tracks that are on a list, the kind of list you know somehow you’ll never get to the end of. For me it’s a list of tracks I had once and now I’ve no idea where they are, so I have to get them again. This EP from Toyah is one. It has a track on it called Urban Tribesman, which I really loved, but it just doesn’t seem to be available on download or on a CD anywhere.
• In The Court Of The Crimson Queen: Every Home Should Have One! Just a little something I threw together while playing “the album of 2008” the other day. Please click to zoom. (All photos used © Dean Stockings/Toyah)
• The Electricity Club: An Interview With Republica’s Saffron: A couple of mentions for Toyah in this new interview, including Saffron citing Toyah as an influence: Fronted by the vivacious Saffron, their rousing techno punk rock were like Toyah fronting New Order… Who were your own influences as a singer/performer? My main influences as a singer and performer range from Toyah Willcox, Siouxsie Sioux, Grace Jones to Stevie Nicks, Kate Bush and David Bowie. (Photo © Mark Evans)
• Grolsch Film Works: Top 10 | Punks on Film: 9. Jubilee (Derek Jarman, 1978): Perhaps the quintessential British punk film (Jarman must be one of its most credible “punk” directors), Jubilee features a host of punk stars of the period – from Toyah to Adam Ant, and an anarchic tone, which combined with the location shooting of urban decay and economic depression, captured the spirit of the times.
• Walker Art Centre (Minneapolis): Expanding The Frame: Tribute to Experimentation: The tribute to Derek Jarman kicks off with the area premiere of Isaac Julien’s touching documentary about the filmmaker, Derek, on Friday February 20, and includes several of the filmmaker’s most well-known films, including Jubilee (February 21), Caravaggio (February 21), Sebastiane (February 22), and a selection of the director’s music films (February 26).
• Bard Of Ely: Why dyeing your hair with crazy colour hair dyes is a fun thing to do: Singer, actress and TV personality Toyah Willcox, who came to fame with her hit songs back in the 1970s Punk and New Wave scene is another celebrity who has often dyed her hair in flamboyant colours.
Quadrophenia, which airs this week and next on ITV4, was filmed 35 years ago! It’s as popular now as it ever has been. Here’s a rare promo photo of Toyah. Click to view the original and a couple of “A Way Of Life!” inspired tributes. (Thanks to Andi for the photo)
Return to Dreamscape soon for more rare-ish photos of Toyah from 1979 and ’80, including publicity shots for Quadrophenia and The Tempest. (Thanks to Andi)
In the meantime do take a look at some of our recent Rare Toyah Photos updates.
Urgh! A Music War, which includes an incredible live performance of ‘Danced’, has been playing at Nitehawk Cinema, Brooklyn the past couple of nights.
Take a trip back to early 1980s with this compilation of twenty-six powerful live performances by the eras best Punk, New Wave, and Post-Punk bands.
Pre-party for Urgh! in Nitehawk’s street level bar at 10pm on both nights…Nitehawk teams up with Network Awesome for a very special screening of WOMEN IN PUNK at 10pm on Friday and Saturday. Free entry and Free Mike’s Hard Lemonade
Nitehawk Cinema is New York’s original cinema eatery; an Independent movie house bringing a selective approach to film, food, and drinks.
• How You Feel: Learning To Love British Film: Jubilee: Derek Jarman doesn’t usually pull too many miseryguts Brit flick clichés, and in his punk outing Jubilee – actually one of the only films about punk made in the brief time punk wasn’t dead – he should be even more innovative and outrageous than usual.
• Arran Art: An (Odd) Day in the Dark: The Tempest will be screened at Arran’s free mini-film festival next month (Saturday 2nd February). 3.15-4.45pm – The Tempest: Derek Jarman’s 1979 idiosyncratic adaptation of Shakespeare’s Tempest with Toyah Willcox as Miranda. Forget any notions of worthiness – this film challenges the idea of ‘faithful’ literary adaptation and celebrates the visual magic of cinema as thoroughly as the magical arts of Prospero.
• T-Shirts: Fancy a Toyah-related t-shirt? ‘WeAdmire.net’ have Jubilee and Quadrophenia apparel for sale.
• Steve Lamacq’s Roundtable: The edition of Roundtable from ‘BBC 6Music’ in which Toyah was a guest is available to listen to/download via ‘Castroller’. This originally aired in November 2012.
• Folkestone People: Hormonal Housewives come to Leas Cliff Hall: Eighties pop star Toyah Willcox is to appear in sketch show Hormonal Housewives, showing at Leas Cliff Hall later this year.
• Morning Star: Culture: Heathcote Williams – The Queen of Diamonds: Toyah’s co-star in The Tempest.
• A full transcript of Bev Meets… Toyah Willcox, which aired a couple of times over Christmas on ‘BBC WM’, is now available at the really great ‘Toyah Willcox Interview Archive’.
• Love Me: One of my favourite Toyah songs. From the magnificent ‘The Blue Meaning’. I never thought I’d hear someone covering it but littletroll has done just that. Listen at Soundcloud.
The official trailer for The Power Of Three, the film Toyah made a couple of years ago, is available to watch at You Tube. Toyah plays one of the lead characters in the film, which will be released on DVD at some point soon. View larger versions of the screen caps here.
First Toyah on TV of 2013, and it’s another airing for the legendary Quadrophenia!
Quadrophenia: ITV4: Wed 23rd Jan: 10pm
Quadrophenia: ITV4: Tue 29th Jan: 11pm
The Who wrote and produced this energetic story of a young man disillusioned with his life in 1960s London. Phil Daniels excels as the alienated anti-hero Jimmy Cooper. Director: Franc Roddam. Starring: Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Toyah Willcox, Philip Davis, Mark Wingett, Sting, and Ray Winstone.
• View all of Dreamscape’s recent Quadrophenia news updates here. Difficult to believe this movie was shot almost 35 years ago now.
• Toyah is currently featured on the front page of the Vintage TV website, advertising the forthcoming Toyah’s Christmas At The Zoo. There are now three showings of the new festive special in the schedules. See the air dates & times here.
• TCM Turner Classic Movies: Tempest, The (1979) — (Movie Ciip) The Goddess On Whom These Airs Attend.
• The Tempest is showing on TCM tonight at 11.15pm – The film reimagines The Tempest as a homoerotic romp with punk overtones (primarily courtesy Toyah Willcox, here cast as Miranda).
• Toyah’s short interview on Radio Verulam which aired at the end of October is now available as a transcript at The Toyah Willcox Interview Archive. Click below to view/read. There’s also a great Changeling Resurrection 2012 Tour Archive. View that here.
TCM are airing a new documentary on Derek Jarman later this month, and have a new article on The Tempest in their “Weird World Of Late Night Cinema” strand.
“O brave new world, to have such people in it.” — Miranda, The Tempest
Pioneering director Derek Jarman introduced a brave new world to filmgoers with this unconventional adaptation of William Shakespeare’s last solo dramatic effort. Prior to this 1979 release, no film director had attempted to put on screen the kind of experimental, deconstructed vision of the Bard that was starting to turn up in more experimental theatres around the globe.
• Continue reading at TCM Underground.
The Corn is Green: True Movies 2: Sunday 11th November: 3.00am
Academy Award winner Katharine Hepburn stars as a schoolteacher determined to help the people of a turn-of-the-century Welsh mining town. With Ian Saynor, Bill Fraser, Patricia Hayes, Anna Massey, Artro Morris, Dorothea Phillips, Toyah Willcox, Huw Richards, Bryn Fon, Dyfan Roberts and Robin John. Directed by: George Cukor (1979).
• Burst Radio: Win Toyah Tickets!: We have 2 free tickets to give away for Toyah at the Concorde2 in Brighton on Saturday night (worth £40). To enter, simply answer this question: Was Toyah’s first album called…?
• One Week // One Band: Adam And The Ants/Jubilee: Do people talk about Jordan much these days? Once—for a year or three—she mattered quite a lot.
• The Lee Mack Show: Toyah guests on Lee’s radio sketch show in 2005, and performs ‘Sweet Child O Mine’. Available at BBC iPlayer until Sat 3rd November.
• The Wave: The Rebel Diva 80s Show: Taking place at The Arts Wing, Swansea Grand Theatre, our very own Helen Enser Morgan – star of Cappuccino Girls and Brenda’s Big Night Out presents her unique vocal and comic tribute to the pop Divas of the 1980’s. Expect glittering performances as Toyah, Annie Lennox, Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Harry, Hazel O’Connor and Chrissie Hynde.
• Countdown to Toyah’s Creepy Room @ Birmingham Ballroom: Three days to go!
• The third series of Pointless Celebrities began airing last night on BBC1. There will be nine episodes in the series and Toyah will guest on one of them, having recorded her appearance in early February with Cheryl Baker.
• Kent News: The Marlowe’s Sleeping Beauty panto to be dedicated to late comic Dave Lee: He may no longer be with us, but much-loved comic Dave Lee will be playing as big a part as ever in this year’s Marlowe Theatre pantomime. In fact, the whole production of Sleeping Beauty, which stars Pop Idol singer Gareth Gates and eighties legend Toyah Willcox, will be dedicated to Dave, who died of pancreatic cancer in January aged 64.
• Friends Reunited: Toyah Willcox, 1985: A portrait of actress and singer Toyah Willcox.
• Nigel James Digital: Toyah Willcox plays Sheffield Corporation club: 80′s diva performs to a packed room!
• Turner Classic Movies: The Tempest – Derek Jarman’s Acclaimed 1979 Adaptation of the William Shakespeare Play.
Yet more articles and reviews for the recent Blu-ray (Region A/1) release of Quadrophenia.
• The Criterion Collection: A Whole New Quadrophenia: In this clip from a new interview on our release, Bob Pridden discusses the restoration, for which many tracks were painstakingly reconstructed from scratch, and the excitement of working in multichannel sound.
• Scene Stealers: Criterion ‘Quadrophenia’ Blu-ray Something To Scream About: What a difference a hi-definition reissue makes.
• WhatDVD.net: Quadrophenia: Criterion Collection: Quadrophenia has never looked better on this top notch Blu-Ray transfer. The print is pristine yet still retains the texture of film.
• HollywoodChicago.com: Blu-ray Review: Perfect Criterion Package for Essential ‘Quadrophenia’: “Quanrophenia” is a film that needs to be re-discovered, discovered and savored by all generations, and The Criterion Collection provides the Blu-ray and DVD package that is an honor and tribute to both The Who and the cinematic interpretation of their time-honored rock opera.
• DVD Snapshot: Quadrophenia: The Criterion Collection: Quadrophenia has been on DVD for years, but now it gets The Criterion Collection treatment, fully restored and jam packed with bonus features. The film looks incredibly good restored. For a film this old, the restoration is almost flawless.
• View all of our previous Quadrophenia on Blu-ray 2012 news here.
