Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

Yet another rare retro Toyah interview. This one is from ‘Rock Star News’ in 1980 and it’s vaguely bizarre. Definitely “of its time” but still an interesting read. Toyah talks ‘The Blue Meaning’, death dreams, her teenage years and more. Click below to read. View all of our recent retro Toyah press articles & interviews here. (Thanks again to Andi)

A rare three-page interview with Toyah, plus a review of The Tempest upon receiving its first video release, from a 1982 issue of ‘Video Times’ magazine: Multi-talented singer and actress Toyah talks video, pop, films, cosmetics and big business with John Kercher. Click below to read. (Thanks to Andi for this great article)

An interesting, very rare, interview with Toyah from 1981. This was originally published by Finnish music magazine ‘Suosikki’.

FIERCE REDHEAD TOYAH SAYS: “I’M CRAZY ABOUT RABBITS!”

Now I have seen her, today’s hottest rock singer in the world, Toyah (Willcox). Compared to this tiny redheaded whirlwind rest of the female singers- and some men- look like salt statues. Toyah is 145 centimetres of pure sex appeal and energy!

After the concert Suosikki Magazine got an exclusive interview with Toyah, an honour not bestowed on many publications in the world. Markku Fagerlund asked the questions and Toyah answered. At the same time Toyah read the latest issue of Suosikki and liked it so much she sent the readers a special message: “Keep going strong!”

Toyah Willcox is a 23 year old multi-talented artist who has this year finally reached the top. Her latest album “Anthem” has been well received in most European countries (it’s number 2 in the UK at the moment) and her gigs have been massively successful.

As well as being a famous singer Toyah is an actress. We’ve been able to admire her sexy persona in “Quadrophenia”, “Jubilee”, “The Corn Is Green” and various TV series including “Radioetsivä” (Shoestring) which aired also in Finland.

• Read the full interview at Dreamscape’s Press Archive. (Thanks again to Lärwi for this rare interview and for taking the time to translate it for Dreamscape News’ visitors)

A new interview with Toyah, from This is Derbyshire.

Frustrated biker Toyah here to judge dream machines

The only thing stopping Toyah from hitting the road astride a motorbike is her husband.

“He (musician Robert Fripp) said he would leave me if I ever bought a bike,” she says. “When I was in my 30s I wanted a chopper Harley and he wouldn’t let me have one.

“Then he said that if I bought one he would get one – and he’s as blind as a bat. So there’s no way I would let that happen. It got down to as strong as he would leave me if I bought one. So it’s an unfulfilled ambition.”

But at least the singer and actress gets the chance to get close to some genuine dream machines when the Rock and Bike Fest comes to Elvaston Castle in July.

• Continue reading at This is Derbyshire.

Jersey.com have republished their 2008 winter holiday feature with Toyah and Robert.

Toyah Willcox and husband Robert Fripp took a short break in Jersey. It’s the first time she’s been back since a childhood visit. The island seems to have grown up with her.

I was seven years old when I took my very first plane on my very first trip abroad – to Jersey. Okay, I know that Jersey is perceived as being a part of Britain. But where in the Albion isles do you find turquoise seas and the French hopping just 14 miles across the water on day trips?

Forty-three years later and one hour and 10 minutes from Birmingham Airport and I am back in Jersey, a lot older and wiser.

• Continue reading at Jersey.com.

A short preview of the forthcoming ‘Wayne’s Asylum’ Toyah interview will air on tomorrow night’s show on Switch Radio. Info from Wayne:

This Friday I will be giving you an interview teaser EXCLUSIVE of the Toyah interview I did last week with the lady herself. She’ll be letting you know about the gigs she has coming up in here in Brum including the Hare and Hounds gig and a massive Halloween special @ Birmingham Ballroom . Do not miss this prequel to the Friday 13th/ Toyah special being aired in July..

A new Toyah interview, by ‘Vision4Dreams’. It runs for just under six minutes and Toyah chats about her career, education, building a career via the internet and more.

Great news! Toyah will be interviewed by Wayne Evans in a future edition of his excellent Wayne’s Asylum show on Switch Radio.

Wayne is a huge Toyah fan so it’s sure to be an entertaining and interesting interview.

Wayne’s Asylum airs each Friday evening at 7pm. The Toyah interview will be included in Wayne’s 13th July show. ‘Switch Radio’ is available to listen to online.

Bringing you the BEST in Alternative, Synth, Electronic, Punk, Post Punk, New Wave , Goth plus a whole lot more With music specially hand picked each week by myself ( unless requested ) from:  The Human league, Soft Cell, Kraftwerk, Roxy Music, Gary Numan, Toyah, Siouxsie, Bowie, Blondie…

• Visit Wayne’s page at Switch Radio, and the Wayne’s Asylum Facebook.

A great new radio interview with Toyah, recorded at Saturday’s ‘Blackpool Pride’ by Chorley FM, is available to listen to via toyah.net.

Toyah talks playing Pride, not wearing a headdress for fear of it being blown away in the gales, acting, The Changeling and The Changeling Resurrection tour, future plans and more.

The interview aired on Mark Jackson-Duxbury’s show last night on ‘Chorley FM’ and will be repeated again on his show on Wednesday (at Midnight).

• Listen to the full interview here. (Thanks to Mark Jackson-Duxbury and David Howard)

Welcome to June! It begins with a new Toyah interview, published yesterday, by the ‘Times & Star’.

Toyah Willcox backstage cuts quite a different figure from the rebellious punk musician of the 1980s.

Relaxing before her performance at Workington’s Decades Festival, she is down-to-earth and happy to chat.

“Everyone here is chilled out in a way I am not used to,” she says, “If you work in London everyone is wound up and tense. Earlier a man asked for my picture and held my bum. I thought ‘this is like a different world’.

“It’s a happy atmosphere. It’s nice to see people relaxing. I live in Worcester and people there don’t seem very relaxed. That says something about the quality of life here.”

• Continue reading at the Times & Star.

Original member of TOYAH, drummer on the iconic albums ‘Sheep Farming In Barnet’ and ‘The Blue Meaning’… Stevie Bray. Check out FTE’s interview with him…

An excellent new interview with Toyah, from the latest issue of Worcestershire Living magazine.

How did Toyah Willcox transform herself from the original Punk Princess to Proud Resident of Pershore? Deirdre Shields finds out.

There is something very endearing about Toyah Willcox. She is one in a long tradition of creative – sometimes downright cussed – free spirits, who mellow into a kind of national treasure with the passing years. Say what you like about Toyah, you could never pigeon-hole her. She is the original wild child Punk Princess, credited with starting the Goth movement, who voiced Teletubbies, champions the National Trust, and is a staunch supporter of her local community in Pershore.

Being Toyah, she challenges the word ‘mellow’. ‘I don’t think I’m mellowing,’ she says, ‘though I do find things that freaked me out in the past don’t bother me anymore. I’m working harder than ever.’ She certainly is. She is about to embark on a spring tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her albums The Changeling, and Warrior Rock. The tour is billed as a treat for ‘Toyah diehards, 1980’s fans, and Goth’rock lovers.’

• Continue reading at Worcestershire Living.

Toyah was interviewed on ‘The Bridge 102.5’ on Saturday morning on The Nick Alatti Show.

Nick asked Toyah about Lady Gaga and that some have said she was the forerunner to her. Toyah said: “If you look at something in a compartment, nothing is new. Lady Gaga is completely different to what I’m doing, but I was doing it 30 years ago. I suppose I’ve always used image to go hand in hand with my music. It’s important to me. The music compliments the imagery as well. It’s something I’ve always been interested in. I don’t go onstage in a little black dress or a demure little cocktail dress, I’ve always gone onstage and made a statement”.

Toyah also said that ‘The Changeling Resurrection’ tour was structured with “four day breaks” to enable her to be able to sing the songs with her voice in peak condition.

• Not sure if Lady Gaga has been influenced by Toyah’s visuals, I’d say the creative team working with Katy Perry have plundered Toyah’s visuals far more. Has to be said, though, that the intro vocals to Gaga’s Government Hooker do sound more Toyah than Toyah.

Toyah was interviewed in 1998 by Richard Evans. This included Toyah discussing the forthcoming CD reissues of ‘Anthem’ and ‘The Changeling’.

HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL TO KNOW THAT ‘ANTHEM’ AND ‘THE CHANGELING’ ARE COMING OUT AGAIN ON CD AFTER ALL THESE YEARS?

I’m relieved they’ve come out because for years people have been asking me to put them out and nothing’s been done about it, so I’m hugely relieved that they’ve been put out because there’s a demand. There’s a massive demand in the commercial world to use songs such as ‘It’s A Mystery’ and ‘Thunder In The Mountains’ on films and adverts which from a writers point of view I would really like to see happen as it gives the music a new audience.

What’s even better for me is that it’s ‘The Changeling’, which has been the most positively received… when we first released ‘The Changeling’ it was such a huge departure from ‘Anthem’ that it actually got slated in the press, it sold well, but not as well as ‘Anthem’ and it’s actually a better album. I mean it’s now getting better star-ratings in the reviews and that’s bloody brilliant, I’m really chuffed about that!

• Continue reading this great interview at ‘This Is Not Retro’ here.

This is an interesting interview from around the time of ‘The Changeling’ album and the UK tour. Toyah and Joel talk the music, the imagery, the fans, the songwriting, sex appeal and much more. Toyah also explains the origins of the “breast bared” photo(s) and why it was taken.

“I’d like to have Bo Derek’s body and someone else’s brain…”

It wasn’t until my third interview in nine weeks with Toyah that I felt confident enough to broach the subject of sex. As casually as I possibly could, I suggested to her that compared to other female artists ranging from Kim Wilde to Kate Bush to Souxsie, her image contains virtually no sex appeal, despite being a young, vivacious, attractive girl.

“I think, supposedly onstage, there’s much more sex appeal than in the photos” she counters. ” But I couldn’t do an Annabella (Lwin of Bow Wow Wow), I couldn’t show parts of my body…”

WHAAAT!! There’s that infamous pic of you with one breast bared and daubed with painted circles which has appeared almost everywhere from Sounds and Punk’s Not Dead to The Sun!

“Oh the ‘boob photo’ that’s the only one that exists, and no one knows why that was done” she offers matter of factly.

• Continue reading at the ‘Dreamscape Press Archive’ here.

Toyah guested on Parkinson on BBC1 in October 1981. This was at a time when Michael Parkinson’s chat show was still considered the best of the “talk shows”. Toyah appeared alongside legendary comedian Dave Allen. She talks about her childhood and upbringing, time at The National Theatre, her imagery and hairstyles, music career and more.

The full Sky Trax Toyah Special. This aired in 1985 around the time of the release of ‘Don’t Fall In Love (I Said)’. It’s a great programme, hosted by one of Toyah’s biggest supporters in the 80s, Peter Powell. This was a one-hour show with Toyah talking about her career, including Glitter, Jubilee, Katharine Hepburn, Quadrophenia, the early live gigs, 1981 and a lot more. Sky Trax was a music show, with a variety of hosts including Radio 1 DJs, covering music from all over Europe. It aired on ‘Sky Channel’, Europe’s very first satellite channel (which began as a cable channel in 1982) and was renamed ‘Sky One’ in 1989. View larger caps here.

A great new interview with Toyah, published today by the ‘Herts & Essex Observer’. An interviewer who actually asks some interesting and intelligent questions!!

Toyah promises Stortford audience new twists on her classic tracks

For original 80s wild child Toyah Willcox, growing old gracefully was never on the cards. At the age of 53, the gloriously extravagant and punk-inspired New Wave singer remains every bit as keen to strap on an outrageous outfit and strut into the spotlight.

Best known for 1981 hit single It’s A Mystery, Toyah – who is the star attraction at Bishop’s Stortford’s week-long Stortfest Crawl – has also enjoyed a career as an actress and voiceover artist.

But it’s her musical ventures that give her the most satisfaction – and when she comes to Rhodes on May 5, fans can expect plenty of surprises and fresh twists on classic tracks.

Asked if she still felt comfortable hitting the stage in her trademark costumes, she told the Observer: “It’s what I do and what I’ve always done, so it’s absolutely second nature to me.  “I started out in an age of video, so everything in those early days was about being visual – it had to be. You couldn’t release a single without a video to go with it.

• Continue reading, at ‘Herts & Essex Observer’, here.

Life & Times of Toyah Willcox aired in either late 2000 or early 2001 (can’t remember!) on BBC1. Vanessa Feltz interviews Toyah about her life and career. Unfortunately this is incomplete. I rescued just over 20 minutes (of approx 26 minutes) from a damaged DVD and thought I’d upload it anyway as it’s worth watching, there’s not too much missing and it includes numerous clips and photos from Toyah’s career. Click on the caps to view larger versions.

A full transcript of Toyah’s interview with Keith Middleton on BBC Radio’s Late Show is now available to read at The Toyah Willcox Interview Archive. The show aired last Saturday night and is still live for the next few days at BBC iPlayer. Click below to read the transcript.

The Keith Middleton Late Show, broadcast on various ‘BBC Radio’ stations last night – a “Punk!” special – is available to listen to for the next seven days at BBC iPlayer.

Toyah guested, along with Hazel O’Connor and Annabella Lwin, via pre-recorded telephone interviews. Toyah and Keith’s conversation was recorded on Friday.

Annabella’s interview begins at approximately 1h 09m, Hazel’s at 1h 37m, and Toyah at 2h 13m

Toyah talks The Changeling, The Changeling Resurrection and its set list, her haunted home in Worcestershire and its history, ghosts and the paranormal, punk (obviously) and how unique and exciting it was, her career, living in the present and not stopping working, how she relaxes and more.

There are plays of ‘Thunder In The Mountains’, ‘Brilliant Day’, ‘I Want To Be Free’ and ‘It’s A Mystery’, and Toyah’s interview, including the music, lasts for around 30 minutes.