Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

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

Singer and actress Toyah Willcox says a course of acupuncture ended 40 years of insomnia.

After struggling with insomnia since she was 14, Toyah Willcox is an expert at surviving on little sleep. The singer, 54, who found fame as an orange-haired punk in the Eighties, says: “I had just started revising for my GCEs and the anxiety I felt made me stop sleeping.

“I would go to bed around 11 or 12 at night and be awake two hours later. It didn’t help me with my exams as my brain would feel foggy the next day but there was nothing anyone could do for me. No one would give a child a sleeping pill and from that point on I had chronic sleep problems.”

She comes from a family of insomniacs. “My mother never slept,” says Toyah, who was born in Birmingham, the youngest of three. “I remember her doing housework until four in the morning and then she would take me to school a few hours later.

• Continue reading at The Express.

Another quite rare, retro, Toyah article… this one from early 1981. I’m not sure which magazine but it was most likely to be one of the Sunday supplements, possibly ‘The Telegraph’ or similar: Toyah! Toyah! burning bright in the forests of the benighted acting and rock music industries. Illuminated by her twin talents for performing words and music, and fired by a scorching ambition, her dyed red hair dancing around her impish face like flames, Toyah Willcox is blazing parallel meteoric trails to exalted positions in both spheres (phew!). Click below to read. View all of our recent retro Toyah press articles & interviews here. (Thanks again to Andi)

Two retrotastic Toyah articles from early Eighties ‘Suzy’ magazine:  Toyah: The Troublesome Kid!, from November 1982 (this includes some great live photos from ‘The Changeling Tour’), and A Hit Show For Toyah!, from July 1983 (with some shots of Toyah performing in Trafford Tanzi). Please click on each to view larger versions. (A big thank you to Paul Lomas)

The Tempest has just been released for the first time on Blu-ray. Here is the Time Out cover feature/interview from 1980 published the week that the film was originally released. View the magazine cover here.

Toyah reflects… stage actress, rock singer, icon of the New Wave, star of ‘Quadrophenia’ and now Derek Jarman’s ‘The Tempest’, Toyah Willcox on creating her own image. Next Thursday Derek Jarman’s film of ‘The Tempest’ opens. Toyah Willcox, late of ‘Jubilee’ and ‘Quadrophenia’ plays Miranda. Chris Auty went in search of Ms Willcox… 

Click here to read at Dreamscape’s Press Archive. View all of our recent retro Classic Toyah press articles & interviews here. (Thanks to Andi)

Another retro Toyah magazine interview. This one is from ‘Cosmopolitan’ magazine, published in 1983 (Main photo by Brian Aris): Amazing and unclassifiable, Toyah – rebel and bizarre pop star – is also an accomplished actress, starring opposite Lord Olivier in a TV film of The Ebony Tower. Click below to read, and here for part two. View all of our recent retro Classic Toyah press articles & interviews here. There are yet more here. (Thanks to Andi)

‘Flexipop!’ was brilliant! If it wasn’t for the early ’80s magazine we might never have heard Sphinx or For You… Here’s an interview with Toyah (including a photo with the infamous bunny ears!) from one of the magazine’s final issues in late 1982: Seven days with pop star, bunny lover and trainee accountant TOYAH. Click below to read. View all of our recent retro Toyah press articles & interviews here. (Thanks again to Andi)

• View a 2010 Guardian article on ‘Flexipop!’. Visit Dark Neon for more from the FP! archives.

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)

Another retro Toyah interview, this one from ‘Zig Zag’ magazine in mid-1980. Alan Anger follows Toyah on the first few dates of the, now legendary, ‘Ieya Tour’. It’s a really interesting read: Last time I did a feature on Toyah was in March. It was based on an interview with Miss Willcox just as she and her band began to take off outside London. Since then, Toyah have been regular chart toppers of the alternative charts, her appearance in Derek Jarman’s film of ‘The Tempest’ has received much acclaim and the band have, by now, completed a UK tour to coincide with the release of the new album, “The Blue Meaning”. Click below to read. (Thanks again to Andi)

Another Toyah article from the 80s. This one is from ‘New Chartbusters’ magazine, published in late 1980: Toyah Willcox is a very talented young lady who has achieved a much deserved reputation in both the theatre, and in such movies as Derek Jarman’s ‘Jubilee’ and ‘The Tempest’ as well as having just finished appearing in ‘Sugar and Spice’ at The Royal Court Theatre, London. Click below to read. (Thanks 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)

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.

30 years ago this month the episode of Tales Of The Unexpected starring Toyah, ‘Blue Marigold’, aired on ITV. Here is a rare Channel Islands issue of ‘TV Times’ magazine, published the week the drama was broadcast, featuring Toyah on the cover and an interview inside.

• View a larger version of the cover by clicking above. Scans of the other pages and interview are here, here and here. (Many thanks to Paul Lomas for the scans)

A great new interview with Bill Rieflin from NPR Music’s ‘The Record’.

Talking Shop With Bill Rieflin, Journeyman Musician

This is a songs-oriented record, but the instrumentation is unusual. Explain why you decided to be a singer and two basses (augmented by other things, including Robert Fripp’s guitar).

The fact is, I didn’t decide anything. It was all Toyah’s doing. For some reason, out of the blue, she asked if I wanted to play bass with a new project. After recovering from the sheer confoundment and confusion, I said, “OK.” I had no idea why she would want a drummer to play bass. The concept of voice and two bassists as the musical core of the group is solely hers. Being that it’s her vision, I can’t exactly tell you the “why” except to say that, as a singer, I’m told, it’s much nicer to sing without having to fight over guitars and drums eating up all the frequencies they eat up. From this basic trio grows further augmentation and adornment. As the producer, I will usually fill in where I see fit, adding musical highlights and emphases. Plus, it gives me an opportunity to show off. Robert joined us on this record as a continuation of touring we did together last year, so this was a natural step.

• Read the full interview with Bill at the ‘NPR Music’ website, here.

An interesting feature on The Humans, and interview with sound engineer Paul Nicholson, from the April 2010 issue of ‘Total Production’ magazine.

On the recent debut tour by Toyah Willcox’s new outfit, The Humans, The foh and monitor mixes – and the live recording – were all engineered by Paul Nicholson who explained all to Mark Cunningham at London’s Scala…

In February, The Humans – the new outfit featuring singer Toyah Willcox, Bill Riefl in of R.E.M. and Chris Wong, with honorary member Robert Fripp (of King Crimson fame) on spaced-out guitar – played their first UK live shows in the wake of their début album, We Are The Humans.

After intimate warm-up shows in West Country churches, the four-piece astonished audiences at The Assembly in Leamington Spa, Cambridge’s The Junction and The Scala in London’s Kings Cross, where TPi saw them in all their experimental glory.

Inspired covers of Nancy Sinatra’s ‘These Boots Are Made For Walking’ and Hendrix’s psych-rock classic ‘Purple Haze’ were the only vague nods to Toyah’s 1980s pop past. With Mr. Fripp onboard – her husband of 24 years and a globally-worshipped God of Prog – there was never going to be anything mainstream about these gigs.

Their intriguing sound has been variously described as ‘art rock’, ‘twisted funk’ and ‘complex’. Arguably, all three labels stand up and though not comfortable listening, the audience – with exception of one individual who clearly bought his ticket to hear the singer reprise her 1981 hit ‘It’s A Mystery’.

• Read the full feature at the ‘Red Square Audio’ website, here.

The ‘Coventry Telegraph’ also has a new interview with Toyah:

Pop Icon, Toyah Willcox Takes New Band On The Road

The lady in the thigh-high boots and flaming basque-cum-breastplate is unmistakably Toyah Willcox – the stack-heeled wench with her back to camera requires a tad more explanation.

“Ah yes,” says Toyah, “that’s John Wayne! He’s actually a transvestite who owns a nightclub in Stoke-on-Trent – I met him because he’s a Toyah impersonator and now he’s my PA.

“He was there when we were making our video and the director said ‘right John, get your gear on, we’re filming you’.”

Toyah (the surname has been superfluous since It’s A Mystery provided her breakthrough hit in 1981) supplies the information in a matter-of-fact tone which confirms that the bizarre is perfectly normal in her world…

… Artists can sometimes get decidedly sniffy if interviewers attempt to pin down their sound, but Toyah, fortunately, warms to the suggestion that there is a Brechtian feel to The Humans’ music.

“That’s a nice comparison,” she says. “It’s not 100 per cent because there’s a lot of energy and we’ll be playing some new stuff which is very Seattle grunge, but it is a listening experience rather than the ‘come on everybody sing along’ when I’m out there as Toyah. And, yes, it is a bit dark and bleak – the Humans’ world is permanently in winter!”

That being the case, long-term fans expecting a quick chorus of Thunder In The Mountains or Brave New World will be disappointed.

“We will be doing some hits, but they’re not Toyah hits,” she says. “That’s not a possibility because we are so peculiar – it’s not a band set-up – it’s two bass players and a guitar and vocals.”

Read the full interview online at ‘Coventry Telegraph’ here.

A new Toyah interview, by the ‘Gloucestershire Echo’:

Toyah Willcox And The Humans Come To Cheltenham

Former pop punk star Toyah Willcox has chosen a Bishop’s Cleeve church to kick off her new tour.

St Michael’s and All Angels Church will be filled with fans of the singer, who shot to fame 30 years ago with hits such as It’s a Mystery.

Her new band The Humans will play a free, intimate gig at the church, which has a capacity of 200 people, on Saturday.

Joining the one-time princess of punk on stage will be REM drummer Bill Rieflin.

Toyah, who has had 13 top 40 singles, recorded 20 albums and toured the world, said: “We have a strong association with Bishop’s Cleeve artist PJ Crook.

“And a long-standing relationship with Cheltenham.”

Toyah and her husband, guitarist Robert Fripp, are patrons of Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum and she said her mother, who was a touring dancer, worked in a theatre in Cheltenham before she was born.

This will be her first gig in Cleeve, but Robert has already played at the church twice.

“I am so excited about it,” said Toyah.

Read the full interview online at ‘This is Gloucestershire’ here.

Toyah is interviewed in the latest issue (Feb/March 2010) of ‘Classic Rock Society’ magazine.

Steve Tomlin talks to Toyah Willcox about her latest musical project: The Humans

Toyah Willcox first came into the public conciousness 30 years ago as a flame haired pop-punk songstress bouncing around the Top Of The Pops stage to songs such as ‘It’s A Mystery’, a single I own to this day. You may think her flirtation with fame was brief, but that is not the case. This is a woman of many talents. Apart from continuing to record solo albums, the most recent of which came out in 2008, she has pursued a successful acting career on both stage and screen, remember ‘Quadrophenia’? She’s also been a regular on our TV screens as a presenter and contestant on ‘reality’ shows. As well as all of this, she has undertaken possibly her most difficult challenge, being the wife of Prog Godfather, the reputedly difficult Robert Fripp.

Now she has formed a new band, The Humans, who have an album and single out and are touring the UK in February. I managed to find 10 minutes in the lady’s busy schedule to find out more about this and everything else in her ridiculously busy schedule.

Read the full interview at Toyah’s Official Facebook, here. You may have to register.