Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

Toyah guested on Philip Solomon’s Music and Memories show last night on WCR FM, chatting about her forthcoming Acoustic, Up Close & Personal gig at the Robin 2, Bilston in Wolverhampton. She also talked about her early life in Birmingham, husband Robert and more.

• The full show, and interview, is available at the WCR FM website on their Listen Again page. Toyah appears at approximately 17 minutes into the programme.

Toyah Willcox is one of the best-known and most versatile entertainers Birmingham has produced. Actor, TV presenter, businesswoman but most of all a singer, she is about to begin a tour which will feature her best-known work played acoustically. She told us about her upcoming Robin show.

“It’s acoustic, which is a lot of fun. I’ve been doing this show for a year now. It’s Colin Hinds from China Crisis and Chris Wong from my band, two acoustic guitars and myself. We do all the hits but I also do favourite tracks from my albums and I use film and visuals to tell behind the scenes stories, how certain images were created and how videos were made. It’s really irreverent, the whole point of the evening is fun, laughter and dance. The evening is very uplifting and what I find surprising is that the songs are more danceable in this format. It just works, the songs really shine and it’s been incredibly successful.”

You certainly seem very enthusiastic about it. Will this be something you do more of?

“It’s a regular thing because it’s very much in demand. A lot of people don’t want to go to rock clubs to hear an electric band so this show can go to other venues such as arts centres where the clientele are happy to sit and listen to someone talking about their life. But we’ve found that the show still maintains the energy and if anything it’s more intense because it goes from story to song and back again and it sounds very melodic, with a lot of light and shade. It takes me by surprise because when we started I honestly thought we’d do two shows and never do it again but I’m getting a standing ovation every ten minutes. People really get it.”

• Continue reading at The Birmingham Press.

A slightly revised version of Toyah’s recent interview has also been published online by The Sunday Post (see the print version a few posts below).

Rewind Scotland Festival star Toyah Willcox says it’s a mystery where all her money went

Toyah will be performing at this year’s Rewind Scotland line-up alongside various top 80s acts such as Hue & Cry, Bananarama, and Belinda Carlisle.

Pop star Toyah has revealed she was banned from eating to preserve her image in her ’80s heyday.

And the singer, who stars at this year’s Rewind Scotland Festival at Scone, says she was paid a weekly allowance of just a fraction of the money her records made. “There were no excesses back then,” Toyah said.

• Continue reading at The Sunday Post.

Toyah’s interview from last week’s Nicola Gilroy Show on BBC Radio Lincolnshire is available to listen to at BBC iPlayer.

There are short bursts of I Want To Be Free, It’s A Mystery and Thunder In The Mountains, before Toyah talks about her music career, her early acting career, the difference between the early 80s and now, her childhood, and punk. There’s then a full play of Free and more chat from Toyah, on Quadrophenia, working with Katharine Hepburn and more.

• The interview begins at approximately 2hr 6minutes into the show and runs for around 22 minutes. Listen here.

A new interview with Toyah, published in today’s Sunday Post.

Toyah says It’s A Mystery where all her money went

Pop star Toyah has revealed she was banned from eating to preserve her image in her 80s heyday.

And the singer, who stars at this year’s Rewind Scotland Festival at Scone says she was paid a weekly allowance of just a fraction of the money her records made.

“There were no excesses back then,” Toyah said. “We were on £30 a week. I was weighed once a week and if I went over, even by an ounce, seven stone three pounds, I wasn’t allowed to eat. You read about rock stars with their private jets but we just weren’t allowed that. Everything was done on a budget. Whoever was living that lifestyle wasn’t near us.”

• Continue reading here. (Thanks to Sharon Dickson for the scan)

The “Sunday Post” interview (see news post above) has also been published by the Daily Mail today. It’s more than likely being syndicated to various newspapers. The DM article includes this amazing photo of Toyah from 1990…

Toyah was interviewed in the Christmas 2008 issue of ‘Liverpool.com’ magazine. It’s an interesting read, though the interview isn’t particularly festive:

Fight or flight? That depends on who the opposition are. If I’m dealing with hypocrites, then they’re guaranteed a fight. If I’m dealing with maniacs then I take flight. 

Click here to read the full article, with Toyah and Martin Fry of ABC and the full December issue of ‘Liverpool.com’, or here for just Toyah’s interview.

Two retro radio interviews with Toyah from the early 1980s have just been transcribed by The Toyah Willcox Interview Archive: Radio Reading (1982) and Piccadilly Radio (1983). (Thanks to Lärwi for making these available)

A great new interview with Toyah, published yesterday, by The Argus.

Hannah Collisson talks to singer Toyah Willcox about her music and more

To say Toyah is busy is an understatement. She is touring the UK with her acoustic and electric shows, writing two new albums, and has just finished work on a feature film.

Somewhere in between she finds time for meet and greets, learning three musical instruments, and interacting with her fans online.

The singer and actress rose to fame in the 1970s and 1980s with an appearance in the film Quadrophenia, and hits including It’s A Mystery and I Want To Be Free, and she has not stopped since.

Over the course of 30 years, she has released 20 albums, had 13 top 40 hits, and appeared widely in film, theatre and television. Recent musical appearances for Toyah include a sell-out acoustic date at Shoreham’s Ropetackle Arts Centre earlier this month, and she will be in Brighton for a full-on electric show, Songs From The Intergalactic Ranch House, at The Haunt on November 7.

“At the moment, this year is blowing 35 years away,” reflects Toyah. “It has been incredible; we are getting standing ovations every night…”

• Continue reading at The Argus.

As previously mentioned, Toyah is interviewed in the latest issue of Classic Pop magazine, in their “Godmothers Of Pop” feature.

From punk rock to Top Of The Pops, cinema and theatre to All Star Mr & Mrs – it’s been a frantically varied 33 years since Toyah’s first hit single It’s A Mystery and the Four From Toyah EP in 1981. We caught up with her at the start of an autumn packed full of live dates…

One of my personal highlights from your back catalogue is the acoustic album from 1994. The piano version of It’s A Mystery was very striking…
I liked the orchestral version as well. Every so often I’m given the chance to do something outside the norm. I’m touring an acoustic show at the moment and it’s going down a storm. It’s lovely that you can see the songwiriting, you can see the song. The song isn’t veiled with noise.

• Issue 13 (September 2014) is available now. Visit classicpop.com. (Thanks to Lärwi)

A new interview with Toyah, published yesterday, by the Western Morning News.

Toyah aims to make a big impression at festival

Toyah Willcox thrives under the spotlight… and there have been all manner of such illuminations during her three-decade music-making and acting career. From Top of the Pops, films like Quadrophenia, via West End musicals, pantomime, countless TV and radio drama roles, reality shows like I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, to intimate West Coast USA club shows with side project The Humans, there are few performance opportunities the 55-year-old has not embraced.

She is the veritable queen of diversity and reinvention, with almost 20 albums, eight top 40 hits and a myriad acting parts behind her, as well as many honest revelations about her family, her marriage and her facelift.

Tomorrow she and her band will rock the stage at the Great British Alternative Music Festival in Minehead as part of a weekend feast of punk, new wave, mod and ska excellence from original late 1970s and early 80s artists. We’re talking names like the Damned, Buzzcocks, Bad Manners, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Cockney Rejects and The Blockheads.

Tapping into the contemporary thirst for nostalgia with quality credentials, it’s a Westcountry gathering that’s now in its third year. Not only does it attract stalwart original fans, there’s a whole new generation joining the party, fuelled by their parents’ record collections and the vast cultural library offered by Internet trawling.

• Continue reading at the Western Morning News. It’s also been published under the title: No mystery about Toyah’s multi-talented career.

Toyah’s interview from Saturday’s Sounds Of The 80s on BBC Radio 2 is now available in full as a standalone clip. Click below to listen. Browse all previous Sounds Of The 80s interviews here.

Toyah was interviewed on the Andy Potter Show on BBC Radio Derby yesterday, ahead of her Acoustic, Up Close & Personal gig in Buxton next month.

The interview, which runs for seven minutes, is available to listen to online at the BBC Derby website here. View Toyah’s full confirmed Acoustic, Up Close & Personal tour dates here.

A new video interview with Toyah, by Red Carpet News TV, from Monday’s MediaSKIN event in London, has just been uploaded to ‘You Tube’. Click below to watch. (Thanks to Paul Lomas)

• There’s also a short article, including a namecheck for Toyah, about the MediaSKIN event at Just Celebrity Magazine: MediaSKIN bringing a little of LA to London.

A new Toyah interview and photo/fashion feature published today by the Daily Mail.

How Toyah can make a style Splash! Proof you CAN find a swimsuit to flatter every figure

As a 55-year-old woman with short legs, scars across my stomach from childhood surgery and a bosom so generous it can make me look dumpy, I never dreamed that one day I’d be parading around in a swimming costume on national television.

Yet as a contestant on ITV’s reality diving show Splash!, I’m doing just that – and couldn’t be more terrified. Ever since I agreed to be in the show, I’ve been petrified at the thought of exposing my physique in a swimming costume.

Yes, I try to keep fit and I’m a size ten, but I’m only 5ft 1in, and my body confidence is so low that I never go on beach holidays. The thought of walking down the sands showing off so much skin makes me feel ill with nerves. I haven’t worn a bikini since I was a teen – and even the swimming costume I wear to the local pool has a skirt attached to cover my legs up…

• Continue reading at the Daily Mail.

Interviews With Heat 2 Celebrities: Toyah Willcox

Q: What inspired you to participate in this year’s Splash!?

A: Since I was a teenager, I have fantasised about high diving. It’s always been a dream of mine. I was very lucky that at school I learned how to dive, but I haven’t done it since. The only problem is that I have probably left it about 40 years too late! Diving at the age of 55 is a radically different experience. But I will be hurling myself off a three metre board on live television because I want to prove that just because you hit 50, it doesn’t mean you should slow down. All in all, working on this show has been exhilarating.

Q: How have you found it working with Tom Daley?

A: He is a consummate gentleman. He is a wonderful teacher. He’s amazingly patient – he sees nobody’s age or gender or ability. He’s very easy on the eye, and he has none of that usual teenage angst. He’s very calm, and I think that may come from the inherent danger of what he does. You can’t do it if you’ve just had a night on the tiles. If you are feeling distracted when you dive, you’ll simply hurt yourself. Tom is a fantastic role model and a superb asset for the show.

Q: Which board have you dived off already?

A: I’ve gone off the three metre board twice. It was an incredible experience. Beforehand, you don’t realise just how fast you travel into the water. Afterwards I was elated. It felt like a massive step forward and a huge achievement.

Q: Did Tom help you prepare for it?

A: Yes, he was brilliant. He told us to take it slowly. You have to prepare yourself mentally and physically – you don’t just climb the ladder and dive in. You need to take a moment beforehand to get your mind and body exactly right. Diving is the art of falling forward and entering the water correctly. So preparation is vital. It’s very easy to be off the mark. That’s why we’re doing so much training, so we won’t be distracted by the cameras and the huge audience when it comes to the live shows.

Q: What do you think about doing the live shows?

A: I’m feeling, “Oh my God!” I’ve got a large hurdle because I’ve never been seen in public in a bikini before, and I feel rather disturbed about the prospect. I don’t do beach holidays , and I’m not confident in a bikini. It’s cruel that Linda Barker set the bar so high last year in the way she looked! Even as a teenager, I never looked as good as Linda! But I just have to get on with it. After all, this isn’t a bikini competition.

Q: Does your background as a performer help?

A: Yes. With my band I’m on stage three times a week – I do more than 100 shows a year. When you’re on stage, you learn to get on with it; you just work through any distractions or worries. If you have a costume malfunction, you don’t stop the show. So in a strange way, I’m looking forward to the live shows in Splash!

View the full ITV Press Pack for Splash! Heat 2 here.

Splash! star Toyah Willcox has revealed she’s more terrified of parading in a swimsuit than plunging off a high board.

In fact, the 55-year-old pop star initially turned down ITV bosses for just that reason before changing her mind, “When they asked me, my first thought was that I never wanted to be seen in public by millions of people in a swimming costume, ” Toyah told The Sunday Post. “I’ve never had a career where I’m judged on my body.

“I’m far happier diving off a high board than I am doing that run in front of the audience in my swimming costume. That’s what I’m having nightmares about…”

• Continue reading and view the full scan here. (Thanks to Sharon Dickson)

Toyah Willcox, 55, shows off her stunning figure in hot pink swimsuit for Splash!

Curvaceous and toned, she looks confident in her hot pink swimsuit.

But Toyah Willcox has confessed she feels anything but and the thought of flashing her flesh in a bathing costume or bikini terrifies her more than completing her dive from the three metre board this Saturday.

For unlike many of the celebrity contestants who appear on reality ITV programme Splash! Miss Willcox, 55, has diving experience – what she appears never to have done before is wear a swimsuit in public – and it is giving her nightmares.

Describing her thoughts on her figure, the actress and singer, who underwent a facelift around ten years ago, and said she does not ‘do beach holidays’ said: ‘I’m very short, naturally muscular and I’m 55. The only thing that’s going to make me look like Cher is the amount of surgery she’s had and I’m not going to do that’

• Continue reading at the Daily Mail.

Toyah’s full interview, from September’s Time Out Live Quadrophenia Reunion is now available to watch at HiBROW: The Arts Online website.

Toyah discusses how she got the part of Monkey in Quadrophenia, the audition process, working with Director Franc Roddam, screen testing with John Lydon, kissing Phil Daniels, filming the huge riot scenes in Brighton, and her memories of the period the film was set in. She also talks about the other films she made during the late 1970s, in particular The Corn Is Green.

• Watch the full interview at HiBROW.

A new interview with Toyah, published today, by The Telegraph.

Toyah Willcox, the singer and actress, has fond memories of Estonia and the remotest regions of Belize, but hates to travel with Ryanair

Your earliest memory of travelling?

As a young child, my family holidays were always in Rock, Cornwall, with my parents, older brother Kim and sister Nicola. We hired a bungalow on the grounds of a hotel, but there were only two bedrooms. Mum and Dad stayed in one while Kim and Nicola shared the other. They used to put me to sleep in the living room by pushing two armchairs together. We lived in Birmingham at the time, so it took what seemed like 10 hours to get there, pootling along the single-track roads and country lanes.

• Continue reading at The Telegraph – Travel.

Issue 22 (October 2013) of Respect Magazine has just been published and included is a great four-page interview with Toyah. The magazine is available online in digital format and Toyah’s interview is on pages 48-51. She talks Love Is The Law, who she would like to collaborate with, her dream party guest list and much more. Click below to read at Issuu.