The great Radio Times cover – 2 of 4 editions – announcing the return of Strictly!
It’s Strictly mania – there’s news about it everywhere -probably the most anticipated series yet, for various reasons, but for Toyah fans there is just one reason to watch… All the best Toyah!
Toyah, alongside Sarah Hadland and Nick Knowles, is the cover star of today’s Weekend magazine, by the Daily Mail.
A short Toyah press clip from Yours magazine, issue dated 9th July 2024.
If asked who you’d consider to be the ‘original punk rocker’ it’s unlikely that Princess Margaret would spring to mind. But after meeting Her Royal Highness and the Queen Mother at St James’ Palace many years ago, singer Toyah Willcox believes she was just that.
“We talked about the philosophy of punk rock and how it was opening doors for women and she was fascinated,” says Toyah. “I met her many times after that and she was a wicked and very sharp woman. I realised later that Princess Margaret was probably the original punk rocker as she just rebelled and rebelled and rebelled.”
• Yours magazine is on sale now. (Photo taken from Yours magazine).
Doctor Who Magazine Yearbook 2024 is on sale from today, with the special issue looking back on the 60th anniversary of the show last year, and much more.
Children Of The Circus, the audio drama based on Doctor Who’s The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, gets a write-up in the ‘Sounds’ section of the magazine, with a few photos and a couple of quotes from an interview the writer did with Barnaby Eaton Jones, who produced and directed the production.
Also included in the special issue:
A year in the life of the stars of Doctor Who.
A look back at the 2023 Specials.
The producer of Tales of the TARDIS discusses this nostalgic series.
A summary of various instalments of the Doom’s Day multi-media event!
Wrarth Warrior actor Robert Strange speaks to the magazine about his role in The Star Beast.
A special feature on Goblin celebrity Janis!
A report from the Doctor Who at 60 musical celebration at Cardiff’s Millennium Centre.
• Further info and buy the magazine here. Browse our Children Of The Circus news archive.
Toyah is interviewed in the latest issue – #130 – of Love Sewing magazine.
Behind the seams with Toyah Willcox – read about her experience on The Great British Sewing Bee Celebrity Special
• The Great British Sewing Bee – See hugely popular Facebook posts related to the Christmas Special – here, here and here. (Photo © BBC)
Christmas 2012, BBC Radio 4 aired Neil Tennant’s Smash Hits Christmas on 20th December – a real festive pop treat for everyone who grew up in the 1980s. The programme was an interesting look back at the golden years of the UK’s biggest music magazine of the eighties. Neil recalls the golden days of, the iconic, Smash Hits magazine, when he worked as a writer in their Carnaby Street office.
There were also contributions and memories from founder and legendary magazine maker Nick Logan, editors David Hepworth and Mark Ellen, writers Miranda Sawyer and Sylvia Patterson, and from regular Smash Hits cover girl, Toyah., talking about Smash Hits in general and her Brave New World cover from the Summer of 1982.
Neil Tennant had a life as a journalist before he became famous as a Pet Shop Boy. In fact, it was on a Smash Hits trip to New York that he had his big breakthrough with the record producer Bobby O. Also included is a rare recording from the 1982 Christmas Flexidisc (a message from the stars) and probably Neil Tennant’s first recording – the music for a trailer advertising Smash Hits stickers. (Producer: Susan Marling. A Just Radio Ltd. production for BBC Radio 4). Click on any of the images in this post to listen to Neil Tennant’s Smash Hits Christmas at You Tube.
Toyah & Robert are referenced a couple of times in the latest issue of Classic Pop magazine, in articles on Trevor Horn and his recently released album, Echoes: Ancient & Modern. Toyah & Robert cover, the Frankie Goes To Hollywood 1983 super hit, Relax, on the album. It’s a radically different version of the song too.
Review: The overriding mood on Echoes is stately and graceful. If that means Horn appears to be trolling adherents of the filth and mayhem of the original Relax by getting Toyah to happily croon over a new just-so glide, think of it instead as a fresh remix. That’ll be Mr Toyah, Robert Fripp, doing its precise guitar. Him and Horn know what they’re doing.
Feature: Then Trevor happened to catch Toyah and Robert Fripp covering Slave To The Rhythm on one of their online lockdown shows, and the deck was duly shuffled.
“I’ve always liked Toyah – I’ve bumped into her loads of times, she’s like a ball of energy. I like her vibe. So they did it. And I think it came out pretty well, even though I was afraid of messing around with it too much. I restrained myself. Robert’s solo is definitely one of my favourite guitar solos I’ve recorded.”
• The latest issue of Classic Pop is available to buy instore and online. (Thanks to Minna of The Toyah Willcox Interview Archive for the scans)
Toyah’s full “If I Ruled The World” Reader’s Digest Q&A is now available online…
If you want to eat meat you should have to raise and respectfully take the lives of your own animals
I am very passionate that animals have souls, and most religions say that they don’t. Animals experience empathy, joy and pain. We do not have a right to kill them en masse.
I have never met an animal that does not have empathy. As you get older I think it’s a lot better for you to have a very dominantly vegetarian diet.
There will be a National Concert Day
I used to live in Menton in France and they would have a national concert day, but I don’t think that’s what it was called. Every school would take the school orchestra out into the square. They would play music and the dance classes would do dance. It was a very beautiful spectacle. I’ve seen it in Israel as well. On one day per week in Israel, most communities will go and dance in the square, with live musicians playing.
• Continue reading at Reader’s Digest.
Toyah is interviewed in the October 2023 issue of Reader’s Digest magazine. Here is a preview.
If I Ruled The World – Toyah Willcox
Toyah Willcox is a singer, actor and TV presenter with a career spanning 40 years and eight top 40 singles. Toyah and Robert Fripp tour the UK together in October
Young people would have repercussion predictors
If you make a move in anger, revenge or envy, you need to know the consequences of your actions. I think AI would help young people so much—if they could just have a level of repercussion prediction, they might think twice rather than taint their entire life with a bad action. Within social media, a repercussion predictor would be really useful.
Work-life balance would be a law
The majority of us forget to put life balance first. We are very lucky in the UK that we have two days off a week. I often work in America and I’m so shocked at how hard Americans are expected to work. Life isn’t all about work, email, bureaucracy and accounting. In my working world, I would insist that were two days a week where there is no communication with work.
• Reader’s Digest is on sale now from newsagents, selected stores, and online.
Toyah, and Toyah & Robert, are included in the latest issue (#81, May/June 2023) of Classic Pop magazine.
There’s a great, four star, review of the forthcoming Live At Drury Lane CD/DVD and 2LP release, and a mini Sunday Lunch Live – 2023 Rock Party Tour feature. As well as numerous festival appearances this Summer, Sunday Lunch is touring in September and October.
• The latest issue of Classic Pop magazine is available to buy instore and online now. (Thanks to Minna of The Toyah Willcox Interview Archive – sending you a big hug Min, I know it’s been a tough couple of weeks for you!)
A snapshot of Toyah & Robert’s interview feature – Relative Values – as it appeared in print in The Sunday Times – available for one day only, Sunday 15th January 2023 – magazine.
Christmas 1982, Happy Christmas From The Stars, a “Free Christmas Record (12 Minutes of Festive Fun)”, was attached to the December 9-22, 1982 issue of Smash Hits magazine.
The Christmas flexi was originally an idea by Neil Tennant – who worked as a journalist at Smash Hits before global pop stardom as a Pet Shop Boy. It was produced in association with Levis, released by Lyntone Records, produced by Trevor Dann and recorded by Mark Ellen.
The festive flexi-disc featured numerous pop stars – Abba, ABC, Adam Ant, Bananarama, Bucks Fizz, Captain Sensible, Culture Club, Duran Duran, Funboy Three, Haircut 100, Imagination, The Jam, Madness, Mari Wilson, Musical Youth, The Piranahs, The Police, Steve Strange, Toyah, Ultravox – sending readers Christmas greetings, messages and Yuletide tunes.
Click below to listen – Toyah arrives at the Christmas 1982 Pop Star Party at 4.46, in-between Martin Fry of ABC and Steve Strange of Visage. Too-de-loo!!
NB. I’d like to dedicate this post to Terry Hall, not only of The Specials and Funboy Three, but two other great bands, The Colour Field, and Terry Blair & Anouchka. He truly was the voice of a generation! Rest in Peace.
Christmas 2012, BBC Radio 4 aired Neil Tennant’s Smash Hits Christmas on 20th December.
A fascinating look back at the golden years of the UK’s biggest pop magazine of the Eighties. A publication Toyah featured in a lot between 1980 and 1985, and also graced a trio of covers in 1980, ’81 and ’82.
The programme included contributions from Tennant, various Smash Hits editors and writers, and Toyah, talking about Smash Hits in general and her Brave New World cover from the Summer of 1982.
Neil Tennant had a life as a journalist before he became famous as a Pet Shop Boy, interviewing many of the pop stars and bands of the era, including a very early interview with Madonna. In fact, it was on a Smash Hits trip to New York that he had his big breakthrough with the record producer Bobby O.
Neil Tennant’s Smash Hits Christmas, a 30-minute radio docu, hasn’t been available at BBC iPlayer/BBC Sounds since Christmas 2012, but you can click below to listen to a recording of the programme at You Tube, or download direct from Dreamscape, here.
Who Won Wot? 1980 – 1989: NOW 80s: Friday 16th September: 12pm
From Smash Hits “Most Unwanted Person of 1980” to the Brits “Best Group” of 1989 – Mark Goodier’s 10 hour marathon of 80s award winners lasts nearly as long as the Oscars. (The first artist played from 1981 is Toyah, with the Thunder In The Mountains video. Mark said: “We begin 1981 with a 4ft 11 pop star who had the biggest hair of the entire decade, here’s the Most Fanciable (as voted by Smash Hits magazine readers) Toyah Willcox with Thunder In The Mountains“).
Toyah is interviewed in the new issue of Retropop magazine (August 2022) in a special eight-page feature. Retropop is on sale now. View the full feature here. NB: This interview was originally published on Retropop‘s website in 2021 around the time of the release of Posh Pop. (Thanks to Minna of The Toyah Willcox Interview Archive)
Toyah is interviewed in the latest issue of Best magazine (15th February 2022, Issue 07).
Toyah’s Potty-Mouthed Ghost!
Singer Toyah Willcox talks sweary spirits, sage and loving being scared, as she appears on Celebrity Help! My House Is Haunted…
Fans of creepy TV shows will be loving the return of Help! My House Is Haunted – its spin-off show hunts down unwanted spirits haunting the stunning homes of UK celebrities. Ordained exorcist Ian Lawman, ghost-hunter/investigator Barri Ghai and paranormal researcher and historian Jayne Harris return to tackle their most notable cases to date and exorcise the haunted properties of some famous faces – as they enter the homes of among others, Alex Best, reality star Charlotte Crosby and musician Toyah Willcox. Here, the 63-year-old singer from King’s Heath, Birmingham – famed for hits like It’s A Mystery and Thunder In The Mountains – tells us about life in her haunted Midlands home with her musician hubby, Robert Fripp.
“Our last house was so haunted we had to leave”
Toyah, what made you want to do this? It’s as far from making music as you could imagine…
My house is very old and one of the most extraordinary things about it is that my husband and I only went to view it to be nosy – but as we walked through the door, I burst into tears, We both knew immediately it was meant to be our home. It was as if the house had invited us to live there. I’ve always experienced haunted properties because I’ve constantly lived in old places – but this house, for me, has just been glorious.
What surprised you the most about this experience?
I’m very proud that my house has friendly feeling. My guests see something all the time! I always say, ‘It’s friendly, don’t worry, it’s just proof of life after death.’ But when the team told me there was something here meaning harm, that threw me. It was as if it only wanted me in this house, not outsiders. I’ve never felt compromised in any way in this house, but the team started getting attacked!
What happened?
Barry, one of the crew, got strangled by one of the spirits – and they think it’s because I wasn’t there! That made the hair on my arms stand up. But I’m afraid I loved every minute. I kind of enjoyed the team being scared too, because it was really reaffirming for experiences we’ve had elsewhere. Our last house was so haunted that we had to move – it shows you’re not alone in this.
Has all this made you want to explore paranormal activity more?
It’s made me very aware of history. I live in an abbey town, where parts of the Battle Of Worcester were fought during the English Civil War. So over the river where I live, people died in battle. Out of respect, I would want to know more about it. A deserter spirit came forward in my home, who was running away from that battle. If you tuned in and know the history of a place, you have a sympathetic leaning towards whatever spirit may still be there.
Have you always believed in the supernatural?
Yes, I think I have. And I firmly believe that we lead such busy lives we only see the obvious, you know? I think there’s a lot that goes on around us that we would never notice, because it’s so subtle.
• Continue reading in the latest issue of Best magazine, on sale now!
Who Won Wot? 1980 – 1989: NOW 80s: Saturday 2nd October: 9am
From Smash Hits “Most Unwanted Person of 1980” to the Brits “Best Group” of 1989 – Mark Goodier’s 10 hour marathon of 80s award winners lasts nearly as long as the Oscars. (The first artist played from 1981 is Toyah, with the Thunder In The Mountains video. Mark said: “We begin 1981 with a 4ft 11 pop star who had the biggest hair of the entire decade, here’s the Most Fanciable (as voted by Smash Hits magazine readers) Toyah Willcox with Thunder In The Mountains“).
A preview of the amazing six-page Toyah interview feature from the new issue of Record Collector magazine. This is a must have as it’s such a substantial feature. In this great interview, Toyah talks Posh Pop, her discography, punk, childhood, early career years, meeting Robert, lockdown, Sunday Lunch and much more. RC523/October 2021 is on sale now! (Thanks to Minna of The Toyah Willcox Interview Archive)
Toyah is interviewed in the latest issue (523, October 2021) of Record Collector magazine.
“I thought I was part of the movement, but the movement never accepted me.”
Re-energised by a long overdue reissue campaign of her early music and the release of Posh Pop, her first album for 13 years, Toyah talks to RC523 issue
ISSUE NO: 523
Exclusive features include:
THE TOP 200 RARITIES IN THE WORLD TODAY – You read about the 200 rarest and most valuable collectable records in the UK in these pages last year. Now we’re looking further afield for hard-to-find vinyl,
this time scattered across the globe. Warning: may require second mortgages
TOYAH – As her early albums are finally reissued, Ms Willcox talks punk, punching Adam Ant and lockdown celebrity
THE WHO – A pictorial potted history of the mod pioneers, from beat pop riot boys to still-windmilling Britrock royalty
WANDA JACKSON – The queen of 50s rockabilly and contemporary of Elvis and Johnny Cash is still going strong – but is her new album to be her swansong?
STEPHEN DUFFY – The mercurial folk-pop songwriter retraces his early days in neglected Brum post-punks The Hawks
FAUST – The “Dada Beatles” early output still sounds thrillingly unhinged 50 years on. We hear about its suitably anarchic evolution from four of those who lived to tell the tale
• Record Collector magazine, Issue 523 is on sale now!
As well as the Toyah interview feature in the latest issue of Classic Pop magazine, there is also a review of the Posh Pop album. This is an amazing review of Posh Pop, with the reviewer declaring the album…
“Magnificent. The most full-on and imperious pop album of her entire career.”
Now 40 years on from her commercial breakthrough, Toyah releases her most full-on and imperious pop album of her entire career
After years of copyright wrangling, the belated reissues of her early albums has finally allowed Toyah to be reassessed. So far, Sheep Farming In Barnet and The Blue Meaning have shown just how adventurous she was among punk peers. Next up will be 1981’s Anthem, the album which sent Toyah mainstream via its hits It’s A Mystery and I Want To Be Free.
It’s Anthem which Toyah’s 13th full album most closely resembles. It appears having her early work back out has enabled Toyah to be as at peace with her music as such an untenable spirit will ever be.
She’s made excellent questing albums since Anthem, but none have so completely reconciled her fearlessness with a simultaneous love of bloody great big pop songs.
• Read the interview and full review in Issue 71 of Classic Pop. On sale now. Click on the album cover above to buy Posh Pop, on CD, CD+DVD, colour vinyl or Digital Download.
“This issue, we also talk to Toyah who is back with a career-best LP, the brilliant Posh Pop.”
The latest issue of Classic Pop magazine (Sep/Oct 2021 – Issue 71) is out now, and features Toyah on the cover and a new Posh Pop interview… “I was just exploding with ideas”.
The issue also includes Soft Cell, Toyah, Shaun Ryder, Blondie, Goldfrapp, Tony Hadley, Saint Etienne, Tony Arnold, The Blue Nile (from Glasgow and one of my favourite bands!) and much more!
• See the promo tweet here, and full details on how to buy Classic Pop are here.
