A new interview with Toyah, ahead of Friday’s first Love Is The Law & More gig, from Chronicle Live, published today.
Love is still the Law for 80s singer Toyah: We chat to Toyah ahead of her gig at Legends
Entertainment Editor Gordon Barr chats to Toyah, who is at Legends in Newcastle on Friday
Three decades on, 80s pop princess Toyah still recalls 1983 as one of her favourite years. Little wonder then she is bringing her album release of that year back out on the road.
Love Is The Law was critically acclaimed at the time and Toyah will be performing about six tracks from it, as well as a host of her numerous other hits, when she takes to the stage of Legends in Newcastle on Friday.
“This is my favourite album, it has very happy memories for me,” she tells me. “It was released in 1983 and I made it at a time when I was also appearing as Trafford Tanzi in the West End and it had to be written and recorded at the same time.
“But it was just glorious. I don’t have one bad memory of that year at all…”
• Continue reading at Chronicle Live.
Just rediscovered in my collection, and uploaded to Dreamscape, an interview with Toyah from ‘BBC Radio London’ 10 years ago. This aired just before Toyah appeared on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! She discusses that, religion, ‘Velvet Lined Shell’ and much more. Click below to listen.
1. TAROT CARDS Every morning I pull just one card from my deck of tarot cards to help shape my day. I am rather impetuous so I use my daily card to curb my natural impulses.
Some people believe tarot cards are a form of black magic or senseless new age mysticism but for me they are a practical way of talking directly to the universe.
I am currently using a beautiful deck of cards called Kat Black’s Golden Tarot which Robert bought me. It depicts female saints using Renaissance art work. The cards don’t just guide me they are beautiful too.
2. BEST FRIENDS For 10 years I was completely absorbed with looking after my ailing parents and losing them both left a huge void in my life.
My dad Beric died in 2009 and my mum Barbara passed away two years later. Since then I have been busily reconnecting with my best friends. Robert and I don’t have children so our closest friends are very important to us.
• Continue reading at The Express.
A fantastic retro, and quite lengthy, Toyah interview from Finnish magazine SOUNDI.
A huge thanks to Lärwi. of The Toyah Willcox Interview Archive, for the scans and translation.
Interview by Dougie Gordon, published in June 1981.
The door opens. A short, 145 cm tall figure stands in front of me. She’s wearing a blue and grey tunic which has gold embroidery on it. The fiery red hair looks a like a burning bush against the backdrop of the outfit. The figure moves forwards like a Samurai warrior poised for an attack but you can see a smile on her face which you can not resist. She’s Toyah Willcox, England’s Jeanne d’Arc of latter times.
Her moves are a part of her carefully calculated image. She’s has consciously made herself into a mystery which invites the audience to explore her world further. But you can’t fit all of the pieces together – it’s not easy to find the real person behind this made-up facade. Her aggression can turn into warmth in a second – and the other way round. Her mindset changes from a hearty laugh into the deepest despair. Her sentences are deep and meaningful half of the time, the other half you’re left wondering what on earth is she on about? Toyah is like dynamite made out of flesh, the slightest emotional spark will set her off.
She also has a soft sweeter side which the audience rarely gets to see. The aggression she hides behind when dealing with the mass media is of course there on purpose. The media in turn treats her with contempt and suspicion. For this reason she feels misunderstood and defends herself in a way even Lou Reed would be proud of.
• Continue reading at Dreamscape’s Press Archive. Read another rare Finnish interview with Toyah here.
A new interview with Toyah, by the Buckinghamshire Examiner, published on Friday.
If you were asked to name a housewife, Toyah Willcox would probably not be the first person on your list.
More of a pop princess or actress than a woman plagued by chores she may seem a strange choice to star in Julie Coombe’s hit show, Hormonal Housewives, but it’s a role she is cherishing nevertheless.
Now coming to the end of the tour Toyah says it’s been ‘emotional,’ the Wycombe Swan is the last stop on May 26. “I’ll be sad to say goodbye to it,” she said. “Wycombe is our last show so it’ll be emotional for me. I’ve really enjoyed it. Comedy isn’t something I tend to do, though I’ve done Shakespearean comedy and American comedy. It’s addictive though. I’m used to applause in stadiums, but it’s something quite different when you tell a joke and people applaud and laugh. I think I’ll have terrible withdrawal.”
• Continue reading at the Buckinghamshire Examiner. The three month Hormonal Housewives tour comes to an end tonight. View all of Dreamscape’s related news on the show here.
A celebration of women is how singing and stage star Toyah Willcox describes Hormonal Housewives, which is proving a smash-hit in UK theatres.
The show is written by husband and wife team Julie Coombe and John McIsaac and the Spring tour sees them cover 67 theatres with the Wycombe Swan as the last stop.
The pop icon stars in the comedy alongside writer Julie, and former Hollyoaks actress Sarah Jane Buckley. Toyah said: “We play ourselves and it is a celebration of women and we talk to the audience. It is naughty comedy and Chaucerian.”
• Continue reading at the Maidenhead Advertiser.
A new interview with Toyah, published on Wednesday, by the St Albans & Harpenden Review.
Toyah Willcox can’t remember a time when she wasn’t going through some emotional crisis, which makes her the perfect star for Hormonal Housewives, coming to the Alban Arena
Few could ever describe Toyah Willcox as a shrinking violet. The former princess of pop punk has always been a rebel – as a teen she hung out with the local Hells Angels chapter, dyed her hair “every colour of the rainbow“ and often skipped her classes at her private school.
Could it have been the hormones? “As far as I can remember I have always been hormonal, and I can remember being hormonal in my pram,“ says Toyah, 54, who is coming to St Albans as the star of Hormonal Housewives.
• Continue reading at the St Albans & Harpenden Review.
A new interview with Toyah, published by the Hereford Times on Friday.
A great night out in prospect at The Courtyard as Toyah Willcox stars in Hormonal Housewives
Think of Toyah Willcox and “housewife” isn’t a word that immediately springs to mind – punk princess, yes, award-winning actress, certainly – but she’s currently relishing the role as she plays one of the eponymous Hormonal Housewives of Julie Coombe and John McIsaac’s hugely successful show, which arrives at The Courtyard in Hereford on Wednesday, May 15.
“I took the part because it’s a very funny script and I adore doing comedy,” she says. “Before this the only comedy I’d done was Shakespeare and Arthur Smith, which is very different.
It’s a genre I really love, and this show delivers a laugh at least every five lines. It’s one of the most outrageous pieces of theatre, very very naughty, but with a big smile on its face.”
• Continue reading at the Hereford Times.
A rather prickly new Toyah interview, published yesterday by the Oxford Mail.
Katherine MaCalister talks to punk priestess Toyah Willcox about her latest incarnation as an hormonal housewife
Toyah Willcox has made a career out of being prickly, so I was prepared for the punk priestess and her lashing tongue, ready even, willing. But on the morning in question, she was particularly abrasive.
So where to start? “Let’s just talk about the play,” she says. Right, the play, I think rifling through my legions of notes on her legendary career…
• Continue reading at the Oxford Mail.
… when she comes to Swindon
Punk princess of the 1980s Toyah Willcox is now trying her hand at stand-up comedy. This spring she is on the road with Hormonal Housewives, a sketch show covering all things woman.
Toyah and her stage cohorts, Julie Coombes and Sarah-Jane Buckley, stop off in Swindon as part of the UK tour next Tuesday.
The singer says she is having a good giggle every night, not just with her mates on stage, but with a whole room full of women on a girls’ night out. “It is like nothing I have done before,” she said. “It is an observational piece, little scenes where women recognise themselves when they are moaning about their men or boasting about their kids. We cover book groups, erotic literature and a gym scene, which is all girlie bad, and the audience love it.”
• Continue reading at the Swindon Advertiser.
Another new interview, this one from the Derby Telegraph.
Learning how to be a housewife proves ‘big eye-opener’ for Toyah Willcox
After years of living the touring life as a musician, actress or TV presenter, all-round performer Toyah Willcox has now been forced to learn about the type of life she didn’t choose – that of picking the children up from school and doing the housework.
“It has been quite an eye-opener to take on this role,” says Toyah, who stars in the sketch show Hormonal Housewives alongside Julie Coombe, who also wrote the script. “It was interesting to find out more about the things which are just commonplace to most women and mums such as chatting at the school gates, competitive parents and going to book groups.”
• Continue reading at the Derby Telegraph.
IN2 talks to rock legend TOYAH WILLCOX about her starring role in Hormonal Housewives, which comes to Chelmsford in May…
“In rehearsals I thought it was going to be really scary, because this is something I’ve never done before,” says Toyah of working on a comedy. “But the laughter really lifts you and as soon as I stepped out on stage for the first time I knew I was going to enjoy it. When you’re touring with a band and you’re the lead singer, there’s a lot of weight on your shoulders, but being a three hander, it’s like an equal ride.”
Indeed, joined on stage by writer Julie Coombe and former Hollyoaks actress Sarah Jane Buckley, the show features sketches covering everything that makes today’s women tick.
• Continue reading at The Enquirer.
A new Toyah interview from South London Press, published yesterday.
When Toyah Willcox burst on to the pop scene in the 1980s with her multicoloured punky hair and her songs I Want to To Be Free and It’s A Mystery, she embodied fun, excitement and energy.
In the 30 plus years since then, the pop icon has notched up 13 Top 40 hit singles, released more than 20 albums, written two books, appeared in more than 40 stage plays and 10 films, been on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity and presented TV programmes as diverse as The Good Sex Guide Late, Watchdog and Songs Of Praise.
Charismatic and often outspoken, she has become a household name with an energy which is still like a force of nature and that shows no signs of diminishing.
• Continue reading at South London Press.
Another new interview with Toyah, this one from the North East’s Chronicle Live, published on Friday.
Interview: Toyah Willcox who is in Hormonal Housewives at the Tyne Theatre
Singer-actress Toyah Willcox is gearing up for two performances in Newcastle. On Sunday it will be in her acting capacity as she stars in Hormonal Housewives at the Mill Volvo Tyne Theatre. Then, on July 20, she is back in Newcastle to headline Northern Pride at Leazes Park.
• Continue reading at Chronicle Live.
A new print interview with Toyah, from Thursday’s Wimbledon Guardian.
Prepare yourself for an evening of insightful observational comedy – looking into what makes women tick – and the opportunity to witness a star in action.
The irrepressible Hormonal Housewives is back and at the New Wimbledon Theatre on April 19, featuring the fantastic Toyah Willcox, who describes the show as ‘like Al Murray in drag’.
Toyah, 55, famous for 80s singles ‘It’s A Mystery’ and ‘I Want To Be Free’, describes the stage show as: “Very light-hearted, and incredibly funny. “It seems to have just caught the audience’s imagination in the right way.
• Read the full interview here. The article has also been made available online at the ‘Wimbledon Guardian’ website today. (Thanks to Larwi for the scan)
An interview with Toyah, from The York Press, published on Thursday.
Theatre: Hormonal Housewives, Grand Opera House, York, April 18
For Toyah, appearing in a three-hander is a new concept. “It’s pure comedy with the three of us playing ourselves and various characters, so we’re the glue that holds together this celebration of women,” says the 54-year-old performer from King’s Heath.
“I don’t think the show is patronising, but nor is it feminist or political at all. I think shows like this exist because feminism has paved the way for them. It’s your everywoman show, looking at aspects of being a woman, such as the competition at the school gates; dress sizes; book groups; going to the gym; and staying thin.”
• Continue reading at The York Press.
Toyah Willcox, pictured below, reveals to Steve Pratt how she found her hormonal side in spite of living the kind of life that doesn’t lend itself to motherhood and being a housewife
Hormonal Housewives is the title of the show, but Toyah Willcox isn’t one of them. Only on stage every night in the show of that name. She doesn’t have children or teenagers, and has lived a life out of the ordinary, mainly in a man’s world.
She’s gone from Derek Jarman’s punk movie Jubilee to playing Billie Piper’s mother in Diary Of A Call Girl on TV, she’s flown high as Peter Pan on stage and continued to rock with her band in concert.
• Continue reading at The Northern Echo.
An interview from the North Wales Chronicle, published on 5th April.
Interview: Toyah comes to Rhyl for Hormonal Housewives
Singer and actress Toyah Willcox takes to the stage in Rhyl for the first time as a popular production returns to north Wales.
Hormonal Housewives comes to the Pavilion Theatre on Thursday, April 11 for what is sure to be an entertaining exploration of modern women’s lives.
Toyah explained what attracted her to the show, which also stars its co-creator Julie Coombe and former Hollyoaks actress Sarah-Jane Buckley.
• Continue reading at the North Wales Chronicle.
The Toyah Story Continues
It’s clear, as soon as she starts talking, that Toyah Willcox means business. When we say that, we don’t mean she’s forceful or forthright; it’s just, right now, Toyah’s touring the country with a show called Hormonal Housewives and she’s committed to the cause. She has to be.
“It’s 67 shows in two-and-a-half months, only one night in a place (as opposed to a week), four hours’ travel a day and two hours’ press. I’ve got a string of calls lined up after you. It’s intense,” she says. Oh, okay. Bang goes the plan for a long chat about those pink haired punk-pop days then. “I think every decade brings new challenges and new life experiences,” she says.
• Continue reading at the Leicester Mercury.
Toyah talks health, touring, Bournemouth, Hormonal Housewives and more to the Bournemouth Daily Echo in an interview published Saturday.
If Toyah Willcox is describing it as ‘outrageous’, there’s a fair chance her new show, Hormonal Housewives, doesn’t fall into the realm of vanilla-coloured.
The former punk princess has never been one to happily slink under the radar. From being a rebellious teenager she morphed with astonishing fluidity into roles including huge rock icon (she’s had 13 Top 40 singles and released more than 20 albums), successful actress, writer and even Songs of Praise presenter.
On Thursday she’s coming to Lighthouse with the comedy sketch show she describes as ‘celebrating modern womanhood’.
• Continue reading at the Bournemouth Daily Echo.
Toyah is the subject of the latest “My Family Values” series in The Guardian today. A poignant interview.
The actor and singer talks about not getting on with her mother, but idolising her father
My father was having a dirty weekend in Weston-super-Mare with a woman he was engaged to when he saw my mother and fell in love with her. He pursued her for about 14 months, followed her around the country and proposed to her. He was nine years older than her when they got married, and she was pregnant immediately, aged 19, and I think she regretted it.
My early family life was incredibly happy but I was very, very protected and very much living in a bubble.
• Continue reading at The Guardian.
