I’m sending Carl my very best wishes as the last few months have been tough. Please take a look at his Just Giving crowdfunding page – all for an amazing cause – by clicking below. All the best to you Carl x
Welcome to a catch up of Toyah news and happenings for the past five weeks. My beautiful cat, George, died on 25th July at the age of 24 and I took a short break away from online work. George was a huge part of my life for more than two decades, such a gentle soul, and I’ll miss him more than I could ever articulate here x
Over the years – almost 25 years now!! – I’ve occasionally posted here about cover versions of Toyah songs, and here’s the latest… Now some may think this is a little outlandish but there’s no denying this is someone who knows their Toyah songs and the importance of an eye-catching image! A riot of colour for Four From 1981!
“Thank You Steve Wright for being the kindest, brilliant, incredibly entertaining legend in radio. You always welcomed me in and I love you for that. Heaven has gained an Angel xxx”
Toyah shared the above message and a photo taken at The British Rock & Pop Awards on 8th February 1982 at the London Lyceum, in memory of Steve Wright, who died this week.
This was sad news, I grew up in the eighties and remember listening to Steve Wright In The Afternoon on Radio 1. (Photo © Barry Plummer)
Incredibly sad that hedgehogs are on the Endangered Red List :(
Toyah has a hedgehog doodle up for auction in aid of Hope for Hedgehogs. Take a look at Hope for hedgehogs. See Toyah’s video on this at Facebook.
#hogdoodle is a collection of hedgehog doodles drawn by well known authors, illustrators, comedians, musicians and celebrities.
Each #hogdoodle is in itself a bespoke one off piece of art created by someone amazing.
#Hogdoodle aims to raise vital funds to support Hope for hedgehogs in their work looking after sick and injured hedgehogs and rehabilitating them back into the wild.
Hedgehogs are on the ‘red list’ as an animal vulnerable to extinction and the reason why so much devotion is given to helping these beautiful creatures. Hope for hedgehogs also aim to promote educational information about our impact upon the hedgehogs natural habitat and how we can support them in the wild.
• Visit Hope for hedgehogs, here, to see Toyah’s and all the other hedgehog drawings & doodles.
So sad and shocked to hear yesterday about Phil Spalding’s death. A gifted musician and a hero when I was growing up. When I was in touch with him a few times over the years he was always so accomodating, incredibly kind and enthusiastic. Phil played with so many great bands and artists over the past five decades and wrote many songs. He will live on through his music. Rest in Peace legend.
In memory of a woman who did it her way, a woman who really cared about animals (especially cats), a woman who was a punk icon… Rest in Peace Jordan.
Press for Toyah & Robert’s “Ukraine We Hear You” (Images © Toyah Willcox)
• Classic Rock/Louder: Toyah and Robert Fripp film bonus cover version in reaction to Russian invasion: A rare serious moment in the Willcox-Fripp kitchen as the couple stand with Ukraine and perform Living Colour’s Cult Of Personality – Last than 48 hours after posting their lively cover of The Black Keys’ Lonely Boy, Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp have filmed another cover version, and this time they’ve got their serious faces on. Giving the video the title Ukraine We Hear You, Fripp and Willcox perform Living Colour’s Cult Of Personality, presumably in “tribute” to Russian president Vladimir Putin, who ordered the invasion of Ukraine by Russian Armed Forces on February 24 – Continue reading…
• Tone Deaf: Robert Fripp and Toyah release bonus cover for the Ukrainian people: Just after dropping a cover of ‘Lonely Boy’ by The Black Keys, Robert Fripp and Toyah returned with an ode to the Ukrainian people – Robert Fripp and Toyah, it’s fair to say, have been having a really fun time making their Sunday Lunch services since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair have covered everyone from The Undertones to Patti Smith to The Velvet Underground – throughout each cover, Fripp happily strums his guitar while smiling pleasantly, as his partner Toyah dances loosely and wildly around him in their kitchen. It’s an endearing ritual and it clearly works for them – Continue reading…
• Brooklyn Vegan: Toyah and Robert Fripp Say “Ukraine We Hear You”, Cover Living Colour’s “Cult Of Personality”: Toyah Wilcox and King Crimson’s Robert Fripp have been covering songs in their kitchen since lockdown on their saucy and very popular “Sunday Lunch” YouTube series, but they just dropped a new one in support of Ukraine. They’ve covered Living Colour’s politically minded 1988 hit “Cult of Personality,” and have done so in a more serious manner than usual, without the razzle dazzle, though Toyah does work a little clever mirror magic when she sings “Neon lights, a Nobel Prize / Then a mirror speaks, the reflection lies.” They also made a version of the flag of the President of the Ukraine that’s affixed to their kitchen cupboards, and at the end the title “Ukraine We Hear You” comes across the screen – Continue reading…
• Metal Sucks: King Crimson’s Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox Perform Solemn, Boobless Cover of Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality” In Solidarity With Ukraine: At this point, we are used to the “Sunday Lunch” videos made by King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp and his wife, the actress and singer Toyah Willcox, being funny viral snippets that mostly involve Toyah shaking her gals on camera. But now, Fripp and Toyah have recorded a chaste and grim-faced version of Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality” as a display of solidarity with Ukraine – Continue reading…
• DGM Live: Toyah & Robert: Ukraine We Hear You – Continue reading…
Ukraine We Hear You….. #ukraine #stoptheinvasion #stopthewarrussia
The dedication and commitment of the super fan is something we never take for granted at Cherry Red. Their passion and energy for artists is the lifeblood of any musician’s career, and in our latest blog piece we celebrate that with a wonderful piece by writer and designer Chris Limb.
Chris has been a steadfast Toyah fan since the early 80s and wrote I Was A Teenage Toyah Fan; a fascinating example of loyalty and affection that serves as a window into the soul of any ardent music lover.
It is 1981. I am seeing Toyah play live. For the first time I am actually in the same room as her, albeit a very large room. There she is, over there. I can see her with my eyes.
It is 1991. I am putting together the latest issue of the Toyah Fan Club magazine Tellurian, a cut and paste concoction of photocopied articles as well as a handwritten letter to the fans from Toyah herself. I am typing up the lyrics for her new album Ophelia’s Shadow to include in it; once finished I’ll then take it to a print shop in Store Street WC1 to get a few hundred copies run off.
It is 2001. I am in a recording studio in Nuneaton where Toyah is recording guest vocals on a track by the band Chester with whom I currently play bass. The track will eventually be put out under the band name Family of Noise.
It is 2011. I am putting the finishing touches to the manuscript for my memoir I Was A Teenage Toyah Fan which grew out of a series of blog posts I’d written about my experiences some thirty years previously. I am about to self-publish this as both a paperback and an ebook.
It is 2021. I am writing this blog entry about Toyah and the impression she’s made on my life over the past 40 plus years.
• Continue reading at Cherry Red. Browse Dreamscape’s I Was A Teenage Toyah Fan news archive. There’s much more IWATTF content in our vast News Archive (scroll to around 2010 – 2012).
Hazel O’Connor’s team are helping fundraise to support her recovery and recuperation. If you’re able to support this iconic artist, you can do so at this page.
‘We love you’: Toyah Willcox prays for eighties punk star Hazel O’Connor, 66, after she was hospitalised due to bleed on the brain
• The Coventry songstress, 66, was discovered at her home in south-west France on January 9 – following a ‘serious medical event’
• Hazel was then admitted to hospital and placed in an induced coma for 24 hours after the brain bleed was diagnosed
• The singer has shown a lot of progress and is ‘responding to stimuli and to treatment’, but her recovery will ‘take a while’
• The Eighth Day and Will You singer had been scheduled to play an anniversary tour in March, as well as tour with Toyah in June
Toyah Willcox said Hazel O’Connor is in her prayers after the singer was taken to hospital following a bleed on her brain.
The singer, 63, took to Twitter on Monday, after Hazel’s family announced the Coventry songstress, 66, had been placed in an induced coma for 24 hours. Hazel was found at her home in south-west France on January 9th, having experienced a ‘serious medical event’.
• Continue reading at the Daily Mail.
Toyah Willcox says Hazel O’Connor is ‘in her prayers’ ahead of their June tour
Toyah Willcox, 63, says her friend Hazel O’Connor is ‘in good hands’ after she suffered a bleed on the brain earlier this month. Hazel, 66, was found at her home in France after suffering a ‘serious medical event’ and was placed in a coma for 24 hours.
Toyah Willcox says 80’s star Hazel O’Connor is “in her prayers” after she suffered a bleed on the brain.
Taking to Twitter, the singer shared a trio of photos from their glory days and recent snaps where the pair were rehearsing for a joint tour.
The 63-year-old wrote: “Dearest Hazel you are in our prayers, you are in good hands and we love you, Toyah xxx”
Toyah is still planning to take the stage with Hazel for their Electric Ladies of the 80s gig in June this year. Hazel, who invited Duran Duran to join her tour as a support act before they hit the big time, suffered a bleed on the brain on January 9.
• Continue reading at The Mirror.
Best wishes to Hazel for a speedy and full recovery. See Toyah’s message by clicking below.
I was sad to hear of the death of Janice Long at Christmas. I grew up through the 80s listening to her BBC Radio 1 show and loving many of the bands she championed, most notably The Smiths, Echo & The Bunnymen and Manic Street Preachers.
Janice was the first woman to have her own daily show on Radio 1. A true pioneer!
I also often listened to Janice’s BBC Radio 2 show much later on. She was a true music fan and a great broadcaster who was so good at her job it felt like you were listening to a friend. She will be greatly missed.
Janice interviewed Toyah many times, most memorably in 1983 (Love Is The Law era), 1985 (Minx era), and 2021 (Posh Pop era). Toyah also guested twice on The Janice Long Review Show on Vintage TV in 2012, and was one of the artists Janice chose on her NOW 80’s show Janice Long’s Ladies With Attitude.
Toyah paid tribute to Janice on Boxing Day, saying: “Dear wonderful Janice Long championed women in music. Janice has been in my life my whole career, my deepest sympathy to all her family, friends, listeners and fans. Too young to lose you. Toyah xxx”
There have been many tributes to Janice over the past few days, from her friends, work colleagues and many of the bands she supported via her radio shows over the years.
The Guardian said: “The DJ Janice Long, who has died aged 66 following a short illness, became a pioneer in broadcasting as the first woman to have her own weekday show on BBC Radio 1 and the first to become a regular presenter of Top of the Pops. Unlike some of the prominent DJs with whom she shared the airwaves during the first part of her career in the 1980s, Long was a genuine music fan, credited with giving a helping hand to a number of artists whom she had championed, including Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Primal Scream, Manic Street Preachers, the Teardrop Explodes, Amy Winehouse and the Coral.”
• Read The Guardian‘s full Janice Long obituary here.
• See Toyah’s tribute to Janice here.
• Browse Dreamscape’s Janice Long news archive here.
• Click on the screenshots – from Toyah’s appearance on Vintage TV’s The Janice Long Review Show in 2012 – to view larger versions. (Thanks to Paul for the 1985 Radio Times clipping)
Singer Toyah Willcox has had to postpone tour dates including Worcester because she is unwell.
The 63-year-old It’s a Mystery singer revealed to fans that she had tested positive for covid so would have to reschedule four dates to 2022.
Pershore’s Toyah was due to perform at Huntingdon Hall on Saturday (November 20) but has not rescheduled for Saturday, January 15 next year.
In a video, she said: “Firstly, I want to let you know I’m okay I’ve tested positive for covid.
“Last night during soundcheck at the Robin in Wolverhampton. I realised I’d lost my sense of taste and my sense of smell. I took three tests on the spot and two were positive and one was negative which led to a lot of discussions about whether the show could go on.”
• Continue reading at Worcester News. See Toyah’s full tour schedule, including the few rescheduled dates, at toyahwillcox.com.
Toyah axes live shows after testing positive for Covid
The punk icon has moved four shows to 2022 so she can isolate for 10 days following the positive test result.
Toyah has been forced to delay a bunch of live shows after testing positive for coronavirus. The singer has moved a handful of dates to 2022 after being struck with Covid during a soundcheck this week.
“I’ve tested positive for Covid. Last night during soundcheck at The Robin in Wolverhampton,” she explained in a video shared to social media.
• Continue reading at Retro Pop. See Toyah’s full tour schedule, including the few rescheduled dates, at toyahwillcox.com.
The Iron Road Live in Evesham is staring at permanent closure due to the pandemic. Help them keep the music live and bring happiness to the fans with their Crowdfunding campaign.
• Click below for the crowdfunding page. See Toyah’s tweet about this here.
Some of your favourite performers from the 80’s through today talk about the issues still facing survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire, and how supporting Challenge 72 can help them. With heartfelt thanks to Toyah, Tom Bailey, Keith Mullin, Paul Young, Andy McCluskey, Janice Long, Garry Christian, Midge Ure and Eddie Lundon for lending their voices to this cause.
www.challenge72.co.uk | www.justgiving.com/team/challenge-72
