Toyah’s interview on the Doctors set is online at the BBC website. Now you’ve seen the episode, watch this behind-the-scenes exclusive with the legendary Toyah Willcox. Click below to watch.
• Ever wondered what it takes to be a zombie? This Doctors EXCLUSIVE shows you the fabulous work our make up artists do. Browse all of Dreamscape’s “Toyah on Doctors” news here.
Toyah was interviewed earlier this month, in Metro‘s “60 Seconds With”, discussing Aaaaaaaah! and more.
The actress and singer, 57, is starring in a dark British comedy where all the characters act like wild apes.
Your new film, Aaaaaaaah!, is brilliantly bonkers. Why did you say yes to a movie about humans behaving like apes?
It was a clever. well structured, brilliant script with absolutely no respect for anything. It was fabulously complex and incredibly rewarding to do. But I never thought, ‘What the hell have I got myself into?’ because it was a team of really great comedians (including Julian Rhind-Tutt and Julian Barrett) and so they had licence to do something as mad as this.
How do you describe it to your friends?
The first thing I say is, ‘Don’t go and see it!’ I’m 57, so my friends aren’t that much older than me. I said, ‘If you can’t handle vomit, poo, semen, gratuitous sex and gratuitous violence, this isn’t for you,’ and they say, ‘Oh God we’ve got to see this film!’
What was the maddest scene?
It was a kitchen scene. I cook for my husband (musician Robert Fripp) three times a day and so to do the cooking scene was very natural. But to do it where there are no social norms and no hygiene is a very different thing. To do a cookery scene while watching telly with one of the most brilliant interpretations of food porn I’ve ever seen and then to take a crap in the corner – I just thought it was utter genius… Read more…
Just uploaded to Dreamscape’s You Tube channel, a retro interview with Toyah from ITV’s Live Talk. This aired on 26th September 2000 on the short-lived show, which evolved into Loose Women. Toyah was guesting to talk about her, just published, autobiography “Living Out Loud”.
• Browse previous additions by Dreamscape to You Tube: Ask Aspel (1981); Formel Eins/Don’t Fall in Love (1985); This Morning (1992); Life & Times Of Toyah Willcox (2000); Nationwide (1982); Sky Trax (1985); Parkinson (1981); Saturday Action (1982); Get Set For Summer (1982); Breakfast Time (1985); Get Set (1983); The Saturday Show (1983); This Morning (1994); V Graham Norton (2002); TISWAS (1981); It’s Your Funeral (2001); Sixty Minutes (1983); Neno (1987); Saturday Superstore (1983); Harty (1983); Breakfast Time (1987).
Steve Oram on AAAAAAAAH!, monkey business and Battenberg
We talk to Steve Oram about his mad monkey movie Aaaaaaaah!
You’ve not seen anything quite like Steve Oram’s dark comedy Aaaaaaaah! Set in a dystopian world where everyone behaves like apes (complete with grunting, there’s no dialogue), it’s a viciously funny and totally odd piece of work that’s been building excellent word of mouth since its debut at FrightFest.
The film has been going round a few festivals, how have you found the reaction so far?
We’ve had various screenings all around the country, we had a little tour with Picturehouse Cinemas, so we’ve been going round with them and it’s been brilliant. We’ve been doing Q & As at most of these places and I’ve been blown away by the response, it seems people like no-dialogue films these days! FrightFest was a really good start for us, it was amazing. It really seems to be growing, which is great. We had a really good screening at Mayhem in Nottingham on Sunday, which went really well. Really great crowd there, very pleased.
Did you have actors in mind?
I did, I wrote most of the parts for the actors that ended up playing them. They’re gathered from the comedy world and most of them are good friends of mine, Tom Meeten who plays my beta male in it and Julian [Barratt] and Noel [Fielding] and Julian Rhind-Tutt, Holly Dempsey, they’re all really good friends, but Toyah [Willcox] was the one I didn’t know. I just sent her a script because I was a huge fan of her in Jubilee and Quadrophenia, her early work I think is just incredible. And she loved it and fit right in with all my mental friends! Which was really great, a really happy coincidence.
• Continue reading at SciFiNow.
Toyah Willcox on why she wasn’t terrified of the sex scenes in new film Aaaaaaaah!
Former teenage rebel stars in new film where the actors resort to grunting rather than words
Hell hath no fury like a woman with a frying pan in her hand when men are being stupid. But if you asked Toyah Willcox’s latest film character Barbara what she’s doing with it, you might not be able to understand her answer.
In the directorial debut of Sightseers’ actor and comedy star Steve Oram, the cast began with a script in English and then threw it away after breaking the words down into grunts. The result is Aaaaaaaah! – the year’s most original comedy horror, about a dysfunctional community who seem to be taking the human race backwards in south London. Although the actors look like humans and the film is a study of the human condition, the characters on screen behave and grunt like apes.
With Toyah playing a community leader called Barbara, the story is about men’s relationships with each other and the opposite sex while trying to reach for alpha-male status. While it’s a rare 18-certificate movie with no bad language, the 79-minute film is peppered with explicit and sometimes violent sexual scenes which include dismemberment.
• Continue reading at the Birmingham Mail.
Eighties pop icon Toyah Willcox will play Stonehaven Town Hall this Friday and Saturday night with the singer eager to look around the town.
The former punk princess – whose biggest hit was ‘It’s A Mystery’ spoke to the Mearns Leader this week about playing Stonehaven, looking forward to fish and chips and what fans can expect.
Toyah said: “I’m really looking forward to the show as we’ve never been to Stonehaven and it is great to have the chance to go there. As it is on the coast I’m looking forward to getting to know the town and I love history so I’d love to walk around the museum.”
The event is being organised by music shop owner Chris Stirk with tickets still available for both shows. Toyah’s two gigs follows her successful appearance recently at the Rewind festival in Perth with the singer adding that she’ll have all the hits and maybe a few surprises for those attending.
She said: “I think fans are going to really enjoy the show as it is fun and it is really about them. I’ll have all the hits, the singles from the 80s and singles that have charted on iTunes in the last couple of years. It will be a fun and able show, where we’ll look to put in a few other songs.”
• Continue reading at the Mearns Leader. See all of Toyah’s forthcoming Proud, Loud & Electric gigs at toyahwillcox.com.
Punk artist Toyah Willcox hails Derby rock hotspot as one of the best in the country
Punk pioneer Toyah Willcox is back in Derby tomorrow night – at a rock hotspot she hails as one of the best venues in the country! Toyah will be performing at The Flowerpot on her “‘Proud, Loud and Electric” tour.
“My American band, The Humans, played The Flowerpot at least six year ago, it was one of the best gigs we’ve done! I love it there!” Toyah exclaims, when asked about Derby.
Fans who decide to attend the show can expect a truly unique performance.
“I always make sure that the band and I gear the music to the venue. We always look around and judge the audience then tailor our set to what they want so it’s different every night. Some nights they want a heavy set and sometimes they want to hear laid-back music. The Flowerpot is a really intimate venue with a low ceiling so it’s going to be a real rock ‘n’ roll show.
“I wanted to call the tour a name that allowed us to cherry-pick from a retrospective of 36 years of music. Because it’s so small, it’s going to get pretty hot in there so we’ll be playing a lot of music from the punk days.”
• Continue reading at the Derby Telegraph.
Toyah is the cover star of the new issue of Boyz Magazine (10th September 2015). There is also an interview with her inside – Read it online by clicking below.
Onion Talking: Steve Oram Opens Wide & Says AAAAAAAAH!
With AAAAAAAAH!, are you trying to say something significant about modern society, or is the construct simply an idea that you liked?
It’s just something I found funny; I didn’t set out to make something that was a satire or a commentary. I just really enjoyed creating an intricate world, and creating the interactions and the characters – making them do silly, extreme things.
You’ve worked with many of the cast members multiple times before, but how did you decide on which new faces to bring on board, like Toyah and Julian Rhind-Tutt?
With Toyah, I loved her work in Jubilee and Quadrophenia – I’ve been a massive fan of hers for years. I was trying to cast a lady in her 50s who wouldn’t mind having to do embarrassing sex scenes and have blancmange thrown at her face. There’s not that many of them! I didn’t know her before, but I sent her the script and she loved it.
• Read the full interview at The Velvet Onion. Browse all of our Steve Oram news.
It’s a busy Friday night in London’s West End, I escape the hustle and bustle in the new Picturehouse cinema bar; it’s vast and empty… the calm before the storm. The venue anticipates a celeb-studded screening of the new Steve Oram film “Aaaaaaaah!” and I am anticipating meeting Steve to talk about his new (crazy-amazing) film.
I attended the press screening of Aaaaaaaah! a couple of weeks ago & the film completely haunted me. Images and thoughts from the movie were triggered by day-to-day life. In that sense it is extremely powerful and well crafted, well acted. I’m not exactly sure what it was trying to say, but I think like a lot of good art, it says what you want it to say.
… Then who should appear in the cinema bar, but Toyah Willcox (one of the leading ladies in the film) she’s dressed in a beautiful orange dress, her hair coiffed but not overdone. She’s sprightly and bubbly and bounds up to our table chatting about how she still gigs 3 times a week. But who knew Toyah could act? Toyah’s acting is incredible in Aaaaaaaah! & she would like to do more acting, her range is pretty broad, she had just filmed an episode of Doctors (that daytime show on BBC), which couldn’t be further from her character in Aaaaaaaah! I asked Steve about how he came to cast Toyah in his movie, “I’ve always been a long time fan of Toyah’s acting, she’s brilliant in Quadrophenia. People forget Toyah can act, but they shouldn’t forget.”
Robert Fripp is Toyah’s other half, and the music in the film is by King Crimson Projekts, and it’s a perfect otherworldly, primal backdrop.
• Continue reading at The Huffington Post.
Screen talks to the British actor about his feature directorial debut, which receives its world premiere today [Aug 28] at Film4 FrightFest.
Set to be one of the most original films of this year’s Film4 FrightFest, Aaaaaaaah! is a twisted family drama with a difference: there is no dialogue, with all actors speaking in animalistic grunts and moans.
It marks the feature directorial debut of British actor Steve Oram who, along with Alice Lowe, wrote and starred in Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers.
Aaaaaaaah!, produced by Lincoln Studios, receives its world premiere today [Aug 28] and Oram believes FrightFest is the ideal place for the film to make its bow.
“FrightFest accepts and celebrates the weirdos, and we think we fit in quite well there,” enthuses Oram. “It’s the perfect showcase for us. It’s totally un-snooty and just about people who love strange films and horror films. It’s a big opportunity to show it to the people, which is all I care about really.”
• Continue reading at Screen Daily.
Sightseers co-writer and star Steve Oram delivers his demented directorial debut AAAAAAAAH! at FrightFest this Friday 28th August. The mad as a plate of badgers, monkey horror/ sci-fi hybrid previews in Discover Screen 1 with Steve, Toyah Willcox and other cast members due to attend.
With stateside screening dates booked, AAAAAAAAH! looks to destined for cult status and is sure to set Steve on a path to greater film-making opportunities. We chatted to Steve about AAAAAAAAH!’s inception and production along with the state of modern indie cinema and the secrets to mining comedy genius.
How do you pronounce the title is it AAAAAAAAH!?
However you want, I will leave that to the viewer. You can say it like AAAAAAAAH! or AAAAAAAAH! or AAAAAAAAH! Many variations. Multi.
How did you come up with such a warped idea? Did it evolve from something else or was it more of a light-bulb moment?
It’s something that has always fascinated me: how ape-like we all are and yet we rarely reference it in our every-day lives. I’ve always been a big fan of Planet of the Apes and did a short film with the same concept a couple of years ago. So I guess it grew from there.
Was it an easy casting process?
I always had a few names in mind: the two Julians (Rhind-Tutt and Barratt), Tom Meeten but Toyah Willcox I wasn’t expecting, I just sent her the script which she loved and was very enthusiastic about. I think if you tell an actor they have to do run around being a monkey, they’ll probably do it. They love that sort of shit.
The soundtrack to AAAAAAAAH! was pretty amazing. As a musician, did you have much involvement?
The main person who provided the soundtrack was Robert Fripp who donated a largely improvised album to us to use however we wanted. So that’s all just the genius of Robert really. I did most of the shit stuff that sounded like an ape made it.
• Continue reading at HeyUGuys.
An interesting new interview with, Toyah’s former PR person, Judy Totton.
Getting the right publicity for concert tours and festival appearances is a skill, and, despite the open internet field provided by Facebook and Twitter, some directed guidance and good old common sense remain valuable assets
Who are you?
Judy Totton of Judy Totton Publicity. I’m based in London and work in the UK, though I do have media contacts overseas. I promote big events, charity shows, companies and theatre, as well as artists releasing albums or touring. Some of my current clients are Bill Wyman, who has just released his first UK solo album in 33 years, Joan Armatrading on her last big world tour, Andy Fairweather Low and his band The Low Riders, Joe Brown and Paul Brady. I’ve represented many artists from all genres over the years and been involved with big festivals including Blenheim Palace and 11 years of Castle Donington Monsters of Rock.
How did you end up where you are now?
I started out in music publicity at Magnet Records. After two years there I joined CBS where I worked with a wide variety of artists from The Jacksons to ABBA, with John Cooper Clarke, The Only Ones, The Vibrators and many more in between. By the late 1970s Epic records was being split away from CBS and a lot of internal changes were happening. I wasn’t sure what to do, and it was artist agent Ian Flukes who suggested I set up my own company.
That was 1979. John Cooper Clarke and The Only Ones came with me and within a month I was approached by Status Quo. Toyah soon followed and then Haircut 100 and Orange Juice. From there I never looked back.
• Continue reading at PSN Europe.
A new interview with Toyah, published today, by UK Music Reviews.
Toyah Willcox, singer–songwriter chats with Kevin Cooper about her first appearance on Top Of The Pops, touring with The Humans, the release of her new film AHHHHH!, and performing at The Flashback Festival in Clumber Park.
Toyah Willcox is an English singer-songwriter and actress. In a career spanning more than thirty years, she has had fifteen Top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over forty stage plays and ten feature films, and voiced and presented numerous television shows.
More recently she has formed a band called The Humans, which she fronts. She also tours with her own acoustic set and is heavily involved with The Flashback and Rewind Festivals. An incredibly busy lady, it was a privilege for Kevin Cooper to have the opportunity to catch up with her for a chat and this is what she had to say.
Hi Toyah how are you?
Hello Kevin I’m good thanks for asking.
So tell me, just how is life treating Toyah at this moment in time?
It’s very good Kevin, I am so busy that I am either spending twenty hours per day in my office or I am travelling to a show. Honestly, I have never been busier but don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining, I am incredibly grateful. It is fabulous and everything is so interesting. I don’t like doing just one thing, I like to have a lot of variety and at the moment I have got that. I am currently filming a drama for the BBC; I am promoting a new movie, and I have another movie being released over in Berlin in November, and so it is just very, very busy. And thankfully the shows are going wonderfully well too.
• Continue reading at UK Music Reviews.
Toyah guested on Andy Potter’s BBC Radio Derby show this afternoon.
Toyah and hedgehog mapping: We hear from People’s Trust for Endangered Species which wants to map sightings of hedgehogs across the country.
Toyah’s interview ran for approximately six minutes and she chatted about playing at the forthcoming Flashback Festival in Worksop, Notts, as well as the difference in set list choices for such a concert and the diversity of her live audience in 2015. There was also some Teletubbies talk.
• Listen to Toyah’s interview via iPlayer at BBC Radio Derby. The full show is also available here.
The interview with Toyah and Bill Rieflin, which aired on Monday night on Severn FM’s The Encyclopaedia of Rock, is now available to listen to online.
Beginning at approximately 43 minutes into the programme. Toyah talks the history of The Humans, and the album Strange Tales – with a play of the wonderful Amnesia – The second part of the interview, which includes Bill Rieflin explaining how he initially became a member of The Humans, begins at approximately 59 minutes in and runs for around 12 minutes.
• Listen here. (Click on 13/04/15 Aerosmith Von Hertzen Toyah and The Humans)
Toyah Willcox has enjoyed a successful career as a singer and an actress for nearly 40 years. Now she is going back to her roots to embark on a UK tour with rock band The Humans.
Toyah joins Lorraine on the sofa to talk about her forthcoming tour, why 80s music is still in demand and why she is still relevant after almost four decades in the business!
Toyah and The Humans telling strange tales tour
14/04/2015: GLOUCESTER GUILDHALL; 16/04/2015: SOUTHAMPTON THE TALKING HEADS; 17/04/2015: SWANSEA THE GARAGE [WHITEZ]; 18/04/2015: LONDON 100 CLUB; 19/04/2015: CHATHAM, KENT THE BRITANNIA
• Continue reading/Watch the interview at ITV/Lorraine.
Toyah and Bill Rieflin were interviewed on The Encyclopaedia on Severn FM tonight.
The radio station has a “Listen Again” function at their website so the interview/show may possibly become available sometime this week.
She has been a household name since the eighties, and Toyah Willcox is heading to Gloucester Guildhall tonight (Dreamscape: It’s tomorrow night!) for an intimate gig with her band The Humans.
Toyah isn’t straying far from home when she plays at the Guildhall tonight. The Brummie-born singer lives just over the county border in Worcestershire.
“Looking back on my career I think I’m someone with a good voice who can express themselves,” says Toyah who lives in Pershore with her musician husband Robert Fripp.
“I don’t think you can define it by one subject. I’m a singer and an actress but I’ve also done very well as a businesswoman. But I like to create, I like to sing, I’m very good at that, I’m a good actress but I’m stylised. I can’t lose myself in a role so there’s limitations.”
Outspoken, free-spirited and strong-willed, on the surface Toyah appears to be your typical punk rock star. But she is now known for her smoky, jazz hall vocals.
• Continue reading at the Gloucestershire Echo. Browse Toyah & The Humans’ tour dates.
Toyah Willcox has been pushing the boundaries of creativity for over 3 decades. Whether it’s through music or performance, she has never shied away from following her instincts. Her current creative project with The Humans is about experimenting with storytelling through sound. Toyah tells me “sonically it’s like nothing you’ve ever heard before because we’re very bass driven. I absolutely love the bass as an instrument of tonal beauty. With this band I wanted to make sure there
was nothing competing with the frequency but the voice work. So the voice sits upon this very masculine bass.” The juxtaposition of a feminine vocal and dominant percussive instruments gives The Human their unique sound and breaks down musical boundaries.
• Continue reading at Photo Groupie.
Eighties star Toyah talks Fifty Shades of Grey, Seattle fairtytales and her upcoming concert in Carlisle.
Toyah Willcox in Fifty Shades of Grey shocker! When the singer saw the trailer for this blockbusting film at the cinema, something seemed familiar. “It was partly shot in an apartment I have been trying to buy in Seattle for the past two years!” she says.
“I just laughed when I saw it. My husband and I commute between Seattle and England. It’s always fun when you see Seattle on films and programmes.”
Seeing the apartment in a film about a sado-masochistic relationship has not put her off buying it. “I’m even keener on it,” she says. “It’s got good provenance!”
Toyah is coming to Cumbria this summer as part of Ultimate Ladies Night at Carlisle Racecourse.
• Continue reading at Cumbria Live.
