Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

• Posh Pop Reviews: As well as the album reviews which have been published online in the past two days; Retro Pop, At The Barrier, The Arts Desk, the latest print issues of Mojo and Uncut magazine also carry reviews of the album. No doubt more reviews will be published over the coming days…

• Magazines: There will be multiple-page Toyah/Posh Pop features in the next editions of Classic Pop and Record Collector magazines.

• Online Press: There will be a Toyah/Posh Pop feature in The Quietus (Bakers Dozen).

• Television: Toyah is guesting on BBC Breakfast next week.

• Toyah At Home: The Toyah At Home Posh Pop Special will premiere 11am BST, this Saturday, 28 August, at Toyah’s official You Tube channel and Facebook page. This will include fan questions, new in-session performances and unseen videos.

• #ToyahPoshPop: Share your images this coming weekend on social media with the hashtag #ToyahPoshPop

• All of the above info gleaned from the latest Breaking Through – The Official Toyah Willcox Newsletter. Sign up here. (Photo © Toyah Willcox)

Anthems, hope and escapism – it’s all there on the first Toyah album for 13 years!

Release Date: 27th August 2021
Label: Demon Music Group
Formats: CD / CD+DVD / Vinyl / Digital

“Thank you, Toyah, for a great album. And welcome back – we’ve missed you!”

The last time Toyah graced these pages was back in May, when we reviewed the reissue of her 1980 album The Blue Meaning. In that review, we gave a brief a resumé of what Toyah has been up to in recent years, including a mention of the hilarious You Tube postings, Toyah and Robert’s Sunday Lunch (and if you haven’t seen this yet, check it out – it’s unmissable!) and releasing her (until now) most recent album, 2008’s In The Court of the Crimson Queen.

Well… She’s back, and how!! Posh Pop is Toyah’s first album of new material for 13 years, and it’s a blast. Toyah herself is very proud of Posh Pop, considering the album “A career best,” and she could very well be right. It’s a joyful album that draws copiously on Toyah’s glam and punk roots and builds upwards from there; the 80’s synth sound is still around, tempered and enhanced by lots of stunning rock guitar from Toyah’s husband, “Bobby Willcox” and the lyrics are clear and excellent, covering topics as diverse as the lockdown “Zoom Boom,” space exploration, ageing, bereavement, the devastation of war, the fate of humanity and the Beirut explosion. And it all comes enclosed in a wrapper of addictive, anthemic rock and pop.

• Continue reading at At The Barrier. The album is released on Friday. Pre-order Posh Pop here.

The Posh Pop reviews are beginning…

Toyah – Posh Pop
Released: 27 August 2021

“A body of work that stands amongst the best of her career”.

Toyah embodies the essence of pop music on her latest LP ‘Posh Pop’

The collection was recorded with husband Robert Fripp and co-writer/producer Simon Darlow during lockdown – a theme that underpins each of the 10 tracks.

Opener and lead single Levitate deals with the forced confinement and sees the star rise beyond the realms of the pandemic and reacquaint herself with a world seemingly gone by.

It encompasses the overall theme of the album, which for listeners and as a creative pursuit for Toyah, is about escapism.

While songs like Space Dance and Rhythm In My House are through and through pop numbers, the genius of ‘Posh Pop’ is in the lyrics, which simultaneously reference the world today while remaining timeless.

• Continue reading at Retro Pop. The album is released on Friday. Pre-order Posh Pop here.

Robert Fripp Takes Toyah On A Backstage Tour Of King Crimson’s Show In Nashville

“King Crimson in the home of country music; never thought I’d hear that phrase,” Toyah said.

While Robert Fripp is away on tour with King Crimson in the US, he’s been exchanging video postcards with his wife Toyah Willcox online. In his latest video, the guitarist gave a backstage tour of a King Crimson concert before curtains went up.

The footage shot by Fripp was of Nashville’s legendary Ryman Auditorium – the “home of country music” as he described the venue which housed the Grand Ole Opry for three decades, and has seen the likes of Elvis, Johnny Cash and Hank Williams grace its stage.

• Continue reading at Guitar.com.

A Feast of Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch – Classic Moments & Unseen Bits… Postcards Home #7 – A Love Letter from Robert… (Plus, Postcards Home #8, premiering tomorrow)… Toyah At Home & On The Road – Episode 3… Space Dance – from Toyah’s 2021 studio album “Posh Pop” out on August 27th. (with Simon Darlow and Bobby Willcox…)

• Continue reading at DGM Live.

Kidderminster’s Mr Tee in the Park hailed a success

Around 2000 revellers enjoyed a day filled with fun and live music at the Mr Tee in the Park festival in Kidderminster.

The free event featured punk princess Toyah Willcox as the headliner – who impressed punters in the afternoon. The pop singer, known for her eighties hits It’s a Mystery, I Want to Be Free and Thunder in the Mountains, posed for photographs with star-struck fans.

• Continue reading at the Kidderminster Shuttle.

Toyah Willcox: the day I found out there was a killer in my family

At 63, the punk icon learned that her grandfather was a murderer. She opens up on how it answered so many questions about her childhood

For all of us, the first lockdown last year was difficult. But for Toyah Willcox, it was unfathomably challenging….

• Continue reading at The Telegraph. A subscription is required to read this interview past the preview. (Photo © The Telegraph)

Toyah Willcox is an English musician, actress and TV presenter. From fronting a band to releasing solo music, there is little that she hasn’t done across a four-decade career

My childhood was definitely privileged. We had hot water, heating, food, we had our own home, and I went to a private school.

Having a limp, dyslexia and a lisp. I wasn’t even aware of it. I was having a perfectly happy childhood until people pointed out that I had a physical difference to everyone else in the room. Then, when I was sitting my 11-plus people realised that I was not on the same page as everyone else because of dyslexia. Alan Sugar, Richard Branson—you could name a thousand people who have exactly the same experience as me and we’re doing perfectly well. I have such a wonderful life. I have overcome so much.

I wouldn’t say that that specifically made me tougher. What made me tougher was being the only woman in the music industry. My way of learning, my way of working, means that I have to just be a little bit ahead of everyone else. And I think any woman in acting or music would say, “I feel the same too.” You never arrive.

• Continue reading at the Reader’s Digest.

Toyah Willcox to headline Kidderminster’s Mr Tee in the Park

Punk princess Toyah Willcox will be headlining this year’s much-anticipated Mr Tee in the Park event in Kidderminster.

The St George’s Park festival in honour of late Horsefair record shop owner Francis Terry Thomas, also known by many as Mr Tee, returns for its third instalment on Sunday (August 22).

There will be free events taking place all over the weekend in the Horsefair, Broadwaters and Greenhill area of Kidderminster.

On Saturday (August 21) there will be activities, stalls and entertainment at Springfield Park from 11am until 4pm, including a performance from the Black Country Beatles.

• Continue reading at the Kidderminster Shuttle.

Southampton festival goers ‘back together as a community’ as Let’s Rock returns

One of Southampton’s major music festivals has returned to the city for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic. Let’s Rock was back on Southampton Common with 80s legend Toyah opening the proceedings (14 August).

Toyah, like other musicians and singers had to give up live performance during the pandemic, but she’s said that return of live music was “a whole cultural social event.”

“It’s not just about people like me who sing,” she said. “It’s about people who put that stage up, do the sound, do the lighting, sell the tickets, It’s about all the caterers and we are back together as a community and I am so happy.”

• Continue reading/Watch a short interview with Toyah at ITV News.

A King Crimson Tour Can’t Stop Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox’s YouTube Cover Series

Willcox performs the Divinyls’ “I Touch Myself” for her husband in latest clip

King Crimson may be currently on tour, but that hasn’t stopped Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox from continuing their YouTube series Sunday Lunch.

The latest episode features a cover of the Divinyls’ “I Touch Myself.” Willcox greets Fripp remotely — “Hello baby, I’m keeping the bed warm for you” — before diving into the 1990 hit. She seductively rides an exercise bike while Fripp gives comments of approval, from “hubba hubba!” to “wild!”

Since kicking off Sunday Lunch amid the pandemic, the couple has covered everything from the Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” to Britney Spears’ “Toxic” to Hawkwind’s “Silver Machine.”

• Continue reading at Rolling Stone.

OMD, Toyah and all the Let’s Rock Southampton stage times

Toyah will open Let’s Rock Southampton 2021 just before midday on Saturday.

The stage times for the retro festival are now out and the 80s pop princess will perform hits including It’s a Mystery, Thunder in the Mountains and I Want to Be Free during a 20 minute opening set.

Let’s Rock, which is making a triumphant return this weekend after its Covid induced hiatus, is a gloriously unpretentious celebration of all things pop and 80s. Thousands of revellers embrace the throwback vibe in fancy dress from the era.

• Continue reading at the Daily Echo.

Toyah unveils ‘Summer of Love’ from forthcoming ‘Posh Pop’ LP

The star’s first solo album in 13 years features the recent singles ‘Levitate’ and ‘Zoom Zoom’ and is accompanied by a series of music videos for each track.

Toyah has released Summer of Love as the latest cut from her new ‘Posh Pop’ album.

The ‘80s icon will drop her forthcoming record on August 27, featuring previously-released tracks Levitate and Zoom Zoom, and this week reveals a third single from the LP.

“For me, this is an anti-war song,” says Toyah. “In the original summer of love there were many wars that shouldn’t have been going on, where young people lost their lives or their minds”

• Continue reading at Retro Pop.

Toyah Willcox recalls trying to scrap with Adam Ant

Toyah Willcox has weighed in on the time-honored rumours about her once trying to beat up New Romantic figurehead Adam Ant.

Toyah recently sat down with NME to discuss her debut appearance on Top Of The Pops way back in 1981. The episode saw Toyah tear through her track ‘It’s A Mystery’, alongside performances from Adam Ant and Australia’s sweetheart Joe Dolce… ahhhhh…. shaddap you face!

“Even though I knew Adam Ant and had done Jubilee with him, I was still star-struck by the whole event,” Toyah recalled of the performance.

When asked whether or not the rumours about her trying to beat Adam Ant up were true, she revealed: “Yes! He formed a band for Jubilee that was needed in a scene called the Maneaters – I was the singer for it, and Adam’s wife, Eve, was the bassist. The problem was, I was too individualistic and I already had the Toyah Band.

• Continue reading at Tone Deaf.

Toyah Willcox remembers trying to beat up Adam Ant: “I was a terrible scrapper”

Toyah Willcox has recalled an altercation with Adam Ant on the set of Derek Jarman’s iconic punk film Jubilee.

Discussing her debut appearance on Top Of The Pops in 1981 for NME‘s ‘Does Rock ‘n’ Roll Kill Braincells?!’ feature, Willcox recalled being on the same bill as Ant. “Even though I knew Adam Ant and had done Jubilee with him, I was still star-struck by the whole event,” she said.

Asked about whether rumours about her once trying to beat Ant up were true, she added: “Yes! He formed a band for Jubilee that was needed in a scene called the Maneaters – I was the singer for it, and Adam’s wife, Eve, was the bassist. The problem was, I was too individualistic and I already had the Toyah Band.

• Continue reading at the NME.

Toyah begins the Posh Pop Tour on 2 September 2021 at Banbury Mill Arts Centre.

Performing songs from the new album Posh Pop plus Toyah hits and classics with her electro/acoustic band.

29 UK dates have been announced in total, straddling the later months of 2021 and early months of 2022.

See the tour poster for the dates, almost all are on sale now with some to follow.

Visit www.toyahwillcox.com/gigs to book tickets for those on sale now.

New from the NME! One of the most interesting Toyah interviews/features for a long time…

In Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?!, we quiz an artist on their own career to see how much they can remember – and find out if the booze, loud music and/or tour sweeties has knocked the knowledge out of them

1 You starred in Derek Jarman’s 1978 punk film Jubilee. Upon its release, who created a protest T-shirt deeming it “the most boring and therefore disgusting film”?
“Vivienne Westwood!”

CORRECT.

“I got one right! I’m so happy! Derek Jarman, the director, was thrilled by that (Laughs). When we started pre-production, people were behind the film, but then the punk world felt it was going to be exploitative. Derek Jarman was special and had no compromise. He saw talent in everyone and everything. Working with him on Jubilee, I quickly became aware that I was being catapulted from nowhere into the glitterati of this new movement and I immediately knew it was special.”

Ever run into Vivienne Westwood?

“I actually did some modelling for Vivienne. She probably wouldn’t have known it was me, but I did some modelling for TV at her shop [Sex] which was great fun. I got John Lydon through the screen test for Quadrophenia. Franc Roddam, its director, asked me to go over to Johnny Rotten’s apartment, learn two scenes with him, and accompany him to the studio to do the screen test for the role of Jimmy. He was an absolute gentleman and a brilliant actor, but nobody would touch Johnny because they felt he was unpredictable.”

You’ve acted with some big names including Katharine Hepburn and Laurence Oliver…

“Laurence Olivier was quite old when I worked with him [on the 1984 TV movie The Ebony Tower] and not terribly well so we could only shoot with him three hours a day, but he burnt brighter than anyone I’d ever met. He was a rebel and wonderfully naughty. I used to have supper with him in the evenings and was told not to let him drink – and we’d get through six bottles of champagne and he could still keep going! My first professional job was at the National Theatre so to be acting with him in a movie was thrilling.”

• Continue reading at the NME.

Toyah live 29 July 2021 – The Factory Live

Toyah Is a four times Brit Award nominated English musician, singer, songwriter, actress, producer and author. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Willcox has had 8 Top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 stage plays and 10 feature films, and voiced and presented numerous television shows.

Toyah: The Band.
Toyah Willcox (vocals), Chris Wong (guitar), Andy Doble (keyboards), Mike Nichols (bass) and John Humphrey (drums).

Toyah had only recently announced that she was to put on a concert back on the South Coast with her full live electric band. The venue was announced as The Factory Live, located at Unit 9A, Ivy Arch Road in Worthing. The date was set for Thursday 29th July 2021. Toyah last made a visit to Brighton in November 2019 when she played chalk to promote her 2019 charting album ‘In The Court Of The Crimson Queen‘.

• Continue reading at Scene Sussex.

Watchet Music Festival will take place as planned this August Bank Holiday – and virtually the entire 2020 line-up has been rolled over to this year.

Major acts including Gabrielle, Shed Seven, Toyah and Sister Sledge all plan to be there as do The Bar-Stewards Sons of Val Doonican, Leylines, The Hawkmen, Future Dub Orchestra and Hands Off Gretel.

On top of that, The Feeling, Hue & Cry, and Desmond Decker’s band The Aces have been added to the bill.

They will also be joining Exeter-based acoustic singing-songwriting duo Sound of the Sirens, Tex Mex band Los Pacaminos featuring Paul Young, surf garage band Palooka 5 and the party-starting Oh My God! It’s the Church.

And, of course, the festival’s house band The Wurzels will be on stage, too.

• Continue reading at the West Somerset Free Press.

TOYAH + PHUN CITY – THE FACTORY LIVE, WORTHING 29.7.21

Toyah had only recently announced that she was to put on a concert back on the South Coast with her full live electric band. The venue was announced as The Factory Live, located at Unit 9A, Ivy Arch Road in Worthing. The date was set for Thursday 29th July 2021. Toyah last made a visit to Brighton in November 2019 when she played CHALK to promote her 2019 charting album ‘In The Court Of The Crimson Queen‘.

Toyah Is a four times Brit Award nominated English musician, singer, songwriter, actress, producer and author. In a career spanning more than 40 years, she has had 8 Top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 stage plays and 10 feature films, and voiced and presented numerous television shows.

• Continue reading at Brighton & Hove News.

Toyah on being a woman in punk in the 1980s, her new album, and the Sunday Lunch sensation

This is Unscripted – a podcast brought to you by ITV News Arts Editor Nina Nannar. In each episode, Nina speaks to a leading name from the world of arts and entertainment.

Her guests talk about their life and work, plus Nina asks them where they see themselves in five years.

On Unscripted this week, Nina is joined by eighties icon Toyah.

Toyah talks life in the music industry as a woman in punk in the 1980s – and challenging the business now 40 years later.

She chats to Nina about her new album Posh Pop.

And, of course, the pair chat about Toyah and Robert’s Sunday Lockdown Lunch – the internet sensation that sprung up in lockdown imagined by the singer and her husband, guitarist Robert Fripp.

• Continue reading/Listen to the interview at ITV News.