Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

Weekend Press: NME: Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox joined by horned guitarist for Iron Maiden cover; Louder: Toyah and Robert Fripp joined by ominous Satanic figure for Number Of The Beast; Kerrang!: Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox cover The Number Of The Beast: ​“An Easter twist on this Maiden classic”; Consequence Of Sound: Robert Fripp and Toyah Celebrate Easter Sunday with Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast””. (Image © Toyah Willcox)

Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp’s 10 best lockdown covers – ranked!

Look, we’ve all been doing what we can to get by in the past 12 months, haven’t we?

When quarantine hit, many artists responded by covering songs that tried to reflect the solemnity of the situation. Gal Gadot put together an all-star tone-deaf Band Aid take on John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’, which was about as welcome as a Winston Mumford’s Book Of The Month club.

So you have to admire pop star and actor Toyah Willcox, who channelled the Blitz (Kid) spirit, raided the dressing up box and persuaded her husband, King Crimson prog-rock totem Robert Fripp, into performing increasingly outlandish 90-second versions of classic hits such as Alice Cooper’s ‘Poison’ and Guns ‘N Roses‘ ‘Welcome to the Jungle’, accessorising with nurse outfits or dinosaur costumes for their weekly Sunday Lockdown Lunch series.

• Continue reading at the NME.

Toyah to headline village’s first-ever music festival

Punk princess Toyah Willcox is the Saturday night headliner at the first-ever music festival to be held in the village of Aston.

Astonbury will take place from Friday 20 to Sunday August 22.

There will be two stages, a full bar with real ale and cider, and food. Parking is free, and there will be free children’s activities with camping available near by.

Organisers, who are looking for volunteers, will be donating to Cancer Research, Aston and Cote Community Trust and MIND.

• Continue reading at the Oxford Mail.

Weekend Press: NME: Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox share cover of ZZ Top’s ‘Gimme All Your Lovin’; Louder: Toyah and Robert Fripp add beards, scissors and mystery guitarist on maniacal ZZ Top cover; Guitar.Com: Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox take on ZZ Top’s Gimme All Your Lovin’; Metal Sucks: King Crimson’s Robert Fripp & Toyah Willcox Cover ZZ Top’s “Gimme All Your Lovin’”; Consequence Of Sound: Robert Fripp and Toyah Slice Their Way Through ZZ Top’s “Gimme All Your Lovin’”. (Image © Toyah Willcox)

Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox on Their Viral Quarantine Videos: ‘We’re in This With You’

King Crimson’s guitarist and his pop-star wife on what inspired them to cover everything from “Enter Sandman” to “Girls, Girls, Girls,” and what everyone got wrong about their ‘Swan Lake’ tutu dance

“My wife is a force of nature and my wife leads the way,” Robert Fripp says of his partner and quarantine-video collaborator Toyah Willcox.

On April 5th, 2020, music fans stuck in their homes and cruising the web for diversions were greeted with one of the most unusual sights in a season filled with them: King Crimson auteur Robert Fripp and his wife, singer and actress Toyah Willcox, both elegantly dressed and dancing to Bill Haley and the Comets’ early rock anthem “Rock Around the Clock.”

Filmed on Willcox’s iPhone in the kitchen of the couple’s home near Birmingham, England, the head-scratching clip launched one of the year’s least likely and most talked-about viral series. Every Sunday since, “Toyah and Robert’s Sunday Lunch” (sometimes called a “Lockdown Lunch”) has presented a new clip of the couple having quick, good-natured fun at home. The ever-upbeat Willcox sings and vamps (while wearing a variety of costumes, from workout suit to cheerleader costume) while a deadpan Fripp accompanies her on electric guitar.

• Continue reading at Rolling Stone. (Photo © Toyah Willcox)

Toyah – Sheep Farming In Barnet
Expanded Edition (Cherry Red)

Any time is a good time to have Toyah’s often-overlooked early ’80s albums revisited, but in this case there seems to be no more expedient occasion to have this album back in the public eye, in its most impressive form yet. Toyah has come to prominence very much on social media during the Covid pandemic and associated lockdowns, appearing in a series of light-hearted and very amusing videos with her husband, Robert Fripp. Now, many of those in the ‘prog rock’ fraternity – who may have passed over Toyah’s output with little more than a cursory glance at the hit singles – have been fond of expressing their surprise at the union of the ultra-serious King Crimson frontman, with his almost ‘Prog Godfather’ reputation, and the woman often looked back on as a kind of ‘post-punk pixie’ with wild hair and a handful of hits. This album comes out just at the right time to remind people that, in truth, the relative musical outputs of both parties at the dawn of the 1980s really weren’t as far apart as you may think. This isn’t punk, and it certainly isn’t pop-punk. If you want to give it a name at all, art-punk is closer, as what is found among the 41 tracks here is a brilliantly adventurous mix of the post-punk approach of bands like Magazine or Wire, combined with an art-rock influence in the music itself, which is astonishingly mature considering these were 20 year olds at the time.

• Continue reading at Velvet Thunder.

Toyah has announced that she will be putting on a lively and energetic concert with her full live electric band at The Factory Live, located at Unit 9A, Ivy Arch Road, Worthing, BN14 8BX on Thursday 29th July 2021.

Toyah and her chums will be performing her hit singles including ‘Good Morning Universe‘, ‘Thunder In The Mountains‘, ‘Brave New World‘, ‘I Want To Be Free‘ and ‘It’s A Mystery‘ alongside modern days classics ‘Sensational’ and ‘Dance In The Hurricane‘ from her 2019 charting album ‘In The Court Of The Crimson Queen‘.

The band will be: Toyah Willcox (vocals), Chris Wong (guitar), Andy Doble (keyboards), Mike Nichols (bass) and John Humphrey (drums). Purchase your Toyah tickets here. Further information on Toyah here.

• Continue reading at Brighton and Hove News.

Watch Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox cover Motörhead classic

The latest episode of Sunday Lockdown Lunch is here

King Crimson’s Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox have shared another cover in their weekly lockdown series, this time tackling a Motörhead classic. The pair began the Sunday Lockdown Lunch covers series last year and have shared their own takes on tracks by the likes of Nirvana, Guns N’ Roses, Alice Cooper, Foo Fighters and more.

For this week’s video, Willcox dressed in a maid’s outfit and dealt cards into the gust of a fan. Fripp, meanwhile, sat to her side playing the guitar as she sang.

• Continue reading at the NME. See also Classic Rock/Louder, Kerrang and Metal Sucks.

This week, X Factor’s Sean Smith, Two brothers who are too sexy for their shirts, An 80s Special and I’m A Celeb is back

That Was Then… This Is Now!

Super excited for this, and the countdown is ON!
The first episode will be on Thursday 5th November at 7pm and features Chesney Hawkes, The Fizz and Toyah – check out the website for tickets: www.thisisnow.tv
It was a pleasure to be part of this, and can’t wait for you to see and enjoy it with us.

• Continue reading at The Revive Mag. Buy tickets for Episode One of That Was Then… This Is Now!, featuring Toyah, at This Is Now.

Is this Black Sabbath cover by King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp and his wife Toyah the oddest tribute of 2020?

The duo perform Paranoid… in a prison

Robert Fripp… visionary, eccentric, King Crimson mastermind and now performer of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid on his Fernandes Custom Gold guitar in a prison while wearing fake tattoos.

And his wife of 34 years, musician / actress / author Toyah Willcox, is singing it while behind bars. It’s the latest instalment of the couple’s wonderfully imaginative lockdown videos that have also included Fripp playing Deep Purple’s ubiquitous Smoke On The Water next to a lake while Wilcox dances dressed as a cheerleader (see below).

We say bring it on, it’s not like 2020 isn’t bizarre enough already.

• Continue reading at Music Radar. See also Guitar World.

King Crimson’s Robert Fripp Performs Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” as Wife Toyah Sings and Dances Behind Bars:

The King Crimson founder and his wife cover Sabbath’s classic song in bizarre fashion

This year has seen its fair share of unexpected and bizarre phenomena, and King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah Willcox have come to embrace it. The musical duo have spent quarantine making performance art videos, but their latest idea for Halloween might be their most absurd yet.

Donned in henna-like tattoos that cover his face and arms, Fripp starts playing Black Sabbath’s iconic song “Paranoid” on his Les Paul. Behind him, Willcox is locked behind bars — in what’s either an old prison cell or an underground bank vault — and starts dancing when the songs begins. When it comes time for the verses, she starts singing the metal classic.

The effect of the video is pretty uncomfortable but morbidly entertaining. Perhaps the use of “Paranoid” and dancing in a cage is a metaphor for quarantine? Or maybe it’s just Fripp and Willcox’s idea of a Halloween joke.

• Continue reading at Consequence Of Sound.

Watch a tattooed Robert Fripp play Black Sabbath in a prison cell while Toyah dances

You heard us right: Watch a tattooed Robert Fripp play Black Sabbath’s Paranoid in a prison cell while Toyah dances

Imagine: you wake up from a coma in November 2020. You’ve been asleep since Christmas, so you’re entirely unaware of the year’s contents. You don’t know about the virus, or the lockdowns, or that Liverpool are champions and that everything’s been cancelled.

You grab your smartphone, and you log into Facebook to check out what’s been happening in your absence. And the first thing you see is a video of a heavily tattooed Robert Fripp. The King Crimson mastermind is alone sitting in a prison cell, playing Black Sabbath’s Paranoid on a Les Paul. In the background stands his wife of 34 years, the adventurous pop star Toyah Willcox. She dances, and at the point where Ozzy Osbourne would normally start singing, she sings.

• Continue reading at Louder.

Some of the biggest pop stars of the ’80s will take part in a brand new online weekly series with an innovative business model that helps touring artists affected by the current lack of live shows to generate income.

That Was Then… This Is Now! will arrive next month in a pay per view format hosted online, allowing for artists to share equally in the revenue. For full details on the broadcast visit www.thisisnow.tv.

The series, consisting of five editions, will be broadcast live at 7pm on Thursday evenings, a nod to the classic Top Of The Pops timeslot.

It aims to provide a modern twist on the quintessential living room comfort watch of popular music television that has been missing from screens for generations.

Each episode of the series will feature multi-artist line-ups… The first series of the show will feature artists such as Paul Young, Kim & Marty Wilde, Toyah, Steve Harley, Chesney Hawkes, The Fizz and many more.

That Was Then… This Is Now! will be broadcast online via pay-per-view live streaming service TicketCo.TV. Its full HD quality and crystal-clear sound can be enjoyed by viewers on any device.

• Further info/book a ticket at This Is Now. View a print article, featuring Toyah, by the Knaresborough Post. Browse our That Was Then… This Is Now! news archive.

Fangs for the memory! Are you in Ipswich Regent Vampires Rock photos in Days Gone By?

Do you love putting on a ghostly or ghoulish costume to watch Vampires Rock at the Ipswich Regent?

The cult show has visited Ipswich many times over the years – and today we’re looking back at some of the amazing costumes worn by members of the audience.

The concert series is masterminded by Steve Steinman, alias Baron von Rockula. Laced with pyrotechnics, it pays a spectacular tribute to Meat Loaf, AC/DC, Guns ‘n Roses, and more.

It’s all very light hearted, and the perfect way to celebrate Halloween. There have been various different twists to the show over the years, and Toyah Willcox took part in 2009.

Steve Steinman is due to bring his Meat Loaf tribute show, Anything For Love, to the Regent in November next year.

• Continue reading at the Ipswich Star. (NB. Toyah also starred in Vampires Rock, as the Devil Queen, through most of 2008 – Browse lots of news on those tours at our news archive)

Film London Jarman Award announces new Patrons in run up to 2020 Award

Film London has announced eight Patrons of the Film London Jarman Award, honouring and showcasing artist moving image practice, with one month to go until the 2020 virtual Award Winner announcement. Spanning actors, artists, screenwriters and musicians, the Patrons’ work and support will be vital in the development and success of the Award.

The Film London Jarman Award Patrons are: John Akomfrah, Terence Davies, Rupert Everett, Dexter Fletcher, Hetain Patel, Tony Peake, Tilda Swinton, Toyah Willcox.

The Patrons’ expertise, industry knowledge and connection to Derek Jarman in either a professional or a personal capacity will help to introduce artist filmmaking to a wider audience. They will promote and sustain the legacy of Jarman, whose inventiveness and bold ambition is seen in the work of artists practising today and those shortlisted for the Award.

• Continue reading at Film London. (Photo Collage by Film London)

RF: Bobby Willcox was invited to rock out with Toyah and Simon Darlow for their new album. So, sprayed some burning guitar over a remorseless stomper that got the guitarist bouncing…

RF: There have been some online simperings of approval for the slippers worn by Bobby Willcox at yesterday’s session for Toyah & Simon Darlow’s new album. Regrettably, for one keen to suck up all appreciative comments even and especially where underserved, these colourful accessories for any session player’s calceamental turnout were provided by Studio Darlow, in a manner simply understood by anyone who has entered a Japanese home.

• Continue reading at DGM Live. (Photo © Toyah Willcox/Robert Fripp/DGM Live)

A great new interview with Toyah, just published by Punktuation. Also includes a shorter interview with Steve James discussing the recording of Sheep Farming in Barnet.

Punktuation chats to the high priestess of punk, Toyah Willcox, about the reissue of her debut album, Sheep Farming In Barnet and her extraordinary career

Toyah is quite simply a force of nature. She is a musician and songwriter, she’s a very successful actress, and she’s a producer and storyteller. She’s had eight top 40 hit singles, released 23 albums, written two books and appeared in over 40 stage plays and ten feature films including Derek Jarman’s Jubilee and Franc Roddam’s Quadrophenia.

Now 62 years old there’s also no sign that Toyah plans to slow down anytime soon. However, the events of 2020 have forced her, like the rest of us, to readjust to the ‘new reality’.

“Yes, it’s been an extraordinary time, hasn’t it? I don’t think I’ve spent so much time at home as I have this year, ” Toyah says over the phone from her English countryside home that she shares with her husband of over 30 years, guitarist Robert Fripp.

“It’s taken a bit of time to get used to. Here we are at the end of October and Robert and I are just finding our stride. We both believe if we can get through this we can get through anything. The reality for us is that we will have to be in quarantine for a while longer as Robert is now 74 – we have to be careful,” Toyah confides.

• Continue reading at Punktuation.

Nerdly: Frightfest 2020: ‘Heckle’ Review: Shot in neon-lit hues, reminiscent of Italian giallo (in particular the work of Dario Argento); with a killer in a clown mask and red rain mac that looks and feel like a total homage to 1976’s proto-slasher Alice, Sweet Alice; Heckle is a superb diatribe on perils of fame, personality and neurosis, and a warning to never, ever, meet your heroes! – Continue reading…

• Starburst: Heckle [FrightFest October 2020]: While Heckle won’t win any awards, it’s a fun distraction if you can overlook the shortcomings – Continue reading…

• Movie Ramblings: Arrow Video FrightFest October 2020: ‘Heckle’ Review: Heckle is something of a strange brew – in essence it is a straight-up slasher movie (heck, we even get a mask-wearing killer), but it also has plenty to say about the cult of celebrity, even mental health. But Heckle is certainly worth a watch and is likely to keep most genre fans reasonably happy – Continue reading…

• Eye For Film: Heckle Review: Screening as pat of Frightfest’s October 2020 selection, this is a spirited little film which, despite its dark subject matter, has obviously been made with love. Though not exactly polished, it has an innate exuberance that will encourage viewers to tick with it. That said, for all its roughness, this is an enjoyable little romp which will no doubt win itself some fans – Continue reading…

Indie Mac User: Review: Heckle ‘A Slow Burn Turns Slasher’ (FrightFest 2020): Written by Airell Anthony Hayles and directed by Martyn Pick, this slow-burn thriller turned slasher is well penned and conducted. The atmosphere is well captured in each of the scenes throughout the movie. Where it really shines is the dreary, dark, and dreadful outside of the desolate house and how many of the characters in the film meet their fate within it. The kills are very well orchestrated, and the aftermath of the kills are quite unique – Continue reading…

• The Kim Newman Website: FrightFest review – Heckle: For a horror film with a comedy theme and a comic attack, Heckle goes into some dark places – The cast is gossip-column friendly – with bits for Dani Dyer, Toyah Willcox (who does a song) and Nicholas Burman-Vince – Continue reading…

• SciFi Now: Heckle – Interview With Airell Anthony Hayles: Heckle writer Airell Anthony Hayles tells us about his love for Eighties cinema and getting Steve Guttenberg over to the dark side – Directed by Martyn Pick and written by Airell Anthony Hayles, Heckle stars Guy Combes as Joe and Steve Guttenberg as foul-mouthed Nineties comedian Ray Kelly, alongside Dani Dyer and Toyah Willcox. We spoke to Airell about the Eighties, horror and stand-up shows – Continue reading…

• The People’s Movies: Frightfest 2020 Interview – Martyn Pick & Airell Anthony Hayles (Heckle) Ever wanted to see Steve Guttenburg like never before? Then Heckle is the film for you – and we chatted with the film’s director and writer to find out its inception and how they got such an icon to star in the film. Playing as part of this year’s FrightFest, Heckle is the horror-comedy that sees our favourite charmer from Short Circuit, Police Academy, and Three Men and a Baby go a little rogue, shall we say, but there’s more to discover with this indie stand-out – Continue reading…

• The People’s Movies: Heckle Interview – Martyn Pick & Airell Anthony Hayles (Frightfest 2020 October) – Continue watching…

• Horror Channel: Interview with Steve Guttenberg, star of Heckle: Steve Guttenberg is one of Hollywood’s best loved actors and is known for playing characters you want to be with. But in Heckle, showing at FrightFest, Steve is showing his darker side – Continue reading…

• Clout Communications: FrightFest October Digital 2020 Film Stills – Continue reading…

Frightfest goes virtual: Our pick of the UK film festival, which runs this week

Heckle – A 1980s-themed Halloween weekender attracts an unwelcome guest in a horror featuring Toyah Willcox and Steve Guttenberg.

• Continue reading at the Metro. (Photo of Toyah in Heckle © Voodoo Productions)

A Brand New, Innovative Online Music Streaming Show

80s Artists Unite For Series Featuring Brand New Live Studio Performances and Exclusive Interviews

Show Will Provide Income for Heritage Artists Affected By Lockdown

Some of the biggest British popstars of the 80s will take part in a brand new online weekly series, featuring performances and interviews, with an innovative business model that helps touring artists affected by the current lack of live shows generate income.

That Was Then… This Is Now! will arrive next month in a pay per view format hosted online, allowing for artists to share equally in the revenue. For full details on the broadcast visit www.thisisnow.tv.

The series, consisting of 5 editions, will be broadcast live at 7pm on Thursday evenings (a nod to the classic Top Of The Pops timeslot), and deliver a modern twist on the quintessential living room comfort watch of popular music television that has been missing from screens for generations.

Each episode of the series will feature multi-artist line-ups consisting of brand new and exclusive live studio performances shot in the highest 5k resolution, with presenters Mike Read and Sky TV’s Hayley Palmer, as well as interviews.

That Was Then… This Is Now! was produced independently by Mike Stock, who is best known for his work in the incredible hit-making team Stock, Aitken and Waterman in the 80’s and 90’s. Alongside hosting the series, Mike Read joins Mike Stock in an executive role in the show’s creation. Having been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for being a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for music chart series Top of the Pops, children’s show Saturday Superstore, and music panel game Pop Quiz.

The first series of the show will feature artists such as Paul Young, Kim & Marty Wilde, Toyah, Steve Harley, Chesney Hawkes, The Fizz and many more.

• Continue reading at Cardiff Times. Visit the official That Was Then… This Is Now! website.