Dreamscape – Toyah Willcox Fansite

Exclusive: Toyah Willcox reveals key to 38-year marriage and why she’s happy being child-free

Punk singer and actress Toyah Willcox has shared they key to her near four decade long marriage to rock musician Robert Fripp and their decision to not have children

Toyah Willcox has given a rare insight into her marriage of 38 years with rock guitarist Robert Fripp.

The punk singer, 65, married Robert, who has worked with the likes of David Bowie and Brian Eno, in 1986. They have gone on to work together as well as creating their viral Sunday Lunch series, which they now tour. Toyah and Robert, 77, film themselves every week performing covers of huge hits including Slipknot’s Psychosocial, Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell and Foo Fighters’ All My Life.

In an exclusive chat with The Mirror, Robert and Toyah have shared the secret to their successful marriage of almost four decades. Sharing what it is like touring together, Toyah said: “It’s exactly the same as being married for 38 years, it’s good. We both come from very different genres.” Robert added: “But we complement each other well, I have a wonderful time being out working with my wife, may I say, even having greater fun than when we were at home together.”

• Continue reading at The Mirror. See also Gold Radio.

Exclusive: Toyah Willcox’s baby shock as child conceived at her show and parents’ surprising gesture

Punk singer Toyah Willcox has shared her shock after finding out a couple conceived at one of her gigs as the parents made a surprising gesture nine months later

Toyah Willcox was shocked to find out a baby was conceived at her show

Toyah Willcox has revealed a baby was conceived at her gig – and she found out nine months later after the couple made a surprise gesture.

The legendary punk rocker is one of the biggest stars from the 1980s, with huge hits including It’s A Mystery and I Want to Be Free. She went on to have 30 albums, 25 feature films and countless theatre and TV presenting roles. In an exclusive chat with The Mirror alongisde husband Robert Fripp, Toyah shared her most memorable moment from her impressive singing career.

She said: “We both experienced very strange but legendary things. When I played Hammersmith Apollo in 1982, which we recorded live for an album called Warrior Rock, a child was conceived on the back row. Nine months later there was another Toyah in the world. She was actually named Toyah.”

• Continue reading at The Mirror.

Vive Le Rock Awards returns April 12th at the Islington Academy with Ruts DC, Sham 69, Toyah, Kirk Brandon and more!

After last year’s sensational Vive Le Rock Awards at London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, which we said would be our last, well… It would be rude not to come back and do it all again!

So, Friday, April 12th will see the whole rock extravaganza steamroll into London’s O2 Academy Islington for another packed show of unique collaborations, celebrations, and one-off performances. And 2024 is going to be a punky reggae party with a bill topped by original ’70s punks Jimmy Pursey and SHAM 69 and RUTS DC performing a special never-to-be-repeated set with special guests, we can also now announce an intimate performance from THEATRE OF HATE/SPEAR OF DESTINY man Kirk Brandon, special guest performances from the iconic TOYAH, rock n’ roll king JIM JONES and the one and only Saffron from REPUBLICA, as well as new UK punks GRADE 2 and Lily from fast rising punks THE MEFFS!

And that’s not forgetting the mighty VIVE LE ROCKERS all-star band, led by the inimitable Paul-Ronney Angel! A five-hour show with a full program of awards, winners, and celebrity presenters, there’s only one place to be in April and that’s the 2024 VLRs!

• Continue reading at All About The Rock.

There’s been an abundance of press for The Great British Sewing Bee – Celebrity Christmas Special, and I have endeavoured to collect and compile as much of it as possible for this post (Photos © BBC):

• The Independent: Great British Sewing Bee crowns 2023 celebrity winner: The winner of the Great British Sewing Bee Celebrity Christmas special has been crowned – Continue…

• Telly Mix: The Great British Sewing Bee Celebrity Christmas Special 2023: This year’s special promises to be a vibrant showcase of sewing prowess, featuring four celebrities under the watchful eyes of judges Esme Young and Patrick Grant – Continue…

• iNews: The Great British Sewing Bee review: Kiell Smith-Bynoe is its last hope: With more charm on display than sewing skill, this festive edition of the competition was more watchable than the usual series – Continue…

• AOL: Great British Sewing Bee crowns 2023 celebrity winner: The winner of the Great British Sewing Bee Celebrity Christmas special has been crowned: Toyah Willcox, Kerry Godliman, Jessica Knappett, and Hammed Animashaun, battled it out in Christmas-themed challenges during Thursday night’s show (21 December) – Continue…

• The Guardian: TV tonight: cheese, chips and cookies – it’s Nigella’s Amsterdam Christmas: The Great British Sewing Bee: Celebrity Christmas Special 9pm, BBC One – Continue…

• Digital Spy: Great British Sewing Bee reveals celebrity winner of 2023 Christmas special: “I’ve loved every minute, the stress included.” – Continue…

• The Sun: Famous Four: The Great British Sewing Bee Celebrity Christmas Special: Who is taking part, when is it on and how can I watch it?: A group of famous faces will show off their sewing skills – Continue…

• Radio Times: Who Is In The Great British Sewing Bee Christmas 2023 line-up: Four celebrities are ready to take on the challenge – Continue…

• TV Guide: Celebrity Christmas Special 2023: Former Christmas special sewer Kiell Smith-Bynoe takes over as host as musician Toyah Willcox, comedian Jessica Knappett and actors Kerry Godliman and Hammed Animashaun are put to the test – Continue…

• Yahoo! News: The best Christmas 2023 TV to watch on ITV, BBC, C4 and more: The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 have an array of festive specials airing this December – Continue…

• BBC iPlayer: In this year’s Christmas Sewing Bee, punk icon Toyah Willcox, actor Kerry Godliman, comedian Jessica Knappett and actor Hammed Animashaun put their sewing skills to the test – Watch for the next 12 months…

• Sharp Dressed Man: Toyah performs the ZZ Top hit – Watch…

TV loves to wheel in a celeb, but it was a shock to see Dion Dublin tour houses with a punk princess of the 80s

TV review: As Homes Under The Hammer celebrates its 20th anniversary with the help of Toyah Willcox, there are unruly throngs of celebs queuing up for festive specials

The joy of working shifts is that you have mornings to do things.

Butterfly collecting, going roller-blading with the dog or helping the elderly and infirm are just three things that I could do, but let’s face it, I don’t…

• Continue reading at the Belfast Telegraph. (Subscription required)

Homes Under The Hammer’s Dion Dublin says ‘I’m out of a job’ as ’80s music legend co-hosts show

Cue the music of the 1980s and the Toyah puns as the BBC show steps back in time

It’s no mystery that BBC’s Homes Under the Hammer is one of the most popular property programmes on TV – it’s been on for 20 years and has been celebrating this landmark anniversary by inviting celebrity fans onto the show to co-host a visit to an auction property.

Presenter and retired professional footballer Dion Dublin’s invited guest to a three-bed, semi-detached house on the outskirts of Birmingham was 1980s pop legend Toyah Wilcox, who was born less than 20 minutes away from the property in Rubery that went to auction with a guide price of £49,000.

Dion was over-excited, not because he managed to find a way to weave a football gag or reference into the show, but because he was joined by someone he really admires. He said: “You are not going to want to miss this! Sit tight, tea and toast on the lap, and you’re going to love it. You can call her a pop icon, you can call her a punk icon, but I’m just going to call her – I’m so excited – a music icon.”

• Continue reading at Wales Online. See also The Sun.

A great review, by Velvet Thunder, of The Changeling reissue

TOYAH – THE CHANGELING:
DELUXE REISSUE (CHERRY RED)

“Far from being the musical Yin to Fripp’s Yang in those 1980s days, comparison of their respective works reveals as many creative similarities as there are differences.”

The excellent Cherry Red reissue campaign of Toyah’s classic early 1980s catalogue continues here with 1982’s The Changeling, the fourth Toyah studio album in just over three incredibly prolific years. Nowadays it is common for people, particularly those from a prog rock background, to simply regard Toyah as her contemporary incarnation as ‘Mrs Robert Fripp’, and the person responsible for dragging the famously irascible and studiously earnest King Crimson keystone out of his shell and into an ongoing series of light-hearted and often hugely entertaining YouTube video clips of them performing together in a variety of guises. All of which is fine as far as it goes, but there was far more to her wonderfully creative musical side than that – and this reissue series really ought to bring that to the fore in the public consciousness. Far from being the musical Yin to Fripp’s Yang in those 1980s days, comparison of their respective works reveals as many creative similarities as there are differences.

Following an intensely creative 1981, it would have been a very tempting – and indeed understandable – development for The Changeling to follow a relatively commercial and public-pleasing course. Just a year previously, the album Anthem – and particularly its two hugely successful singles It’s A Mystery and I Want To Be Free – had sent her into the world of mainstream TV and media in an easily marketable guise as a sort of ready-made ‘pop-punk with glam’ persona, with subsequent hits such as Thunder In The Mountains continuing that impression. As that whirlwind year came to an end, however, Toyah and her band (led by her chief songwriting partner and musical soulmate Joel Bogen) had other ideas. Indeed, not only did Toyah want to go back to the darker, more challenging template of previous works such as 1980’s The Blue Meaning, but she also planned to base the new album conceptually around how the events of 1981 had affected her on a personal level. The resulting album was certainly not the one which the record company executives wanted or expected her to produce, yet despite, or indeed because of that fact, it has remained one of her key creative statements.

• Continue reading at Velvet Thunder.

Toyah guests on a Celebrity Christmas Special episode of The Great British Sewing Bee this coming Thursday (BBC1, 9pm) – see previous posts from the past couple of weeks on this below – and the programme is featured in a variety of this week’s television magazines. (Thanks to Paul and Ray)

Another great review for Children Of The Circus.

Doctor Who
Children Of The Circus
Review

“Children of the Circus,” an audio musical drama from AUK Studios, marks a triumphant reunion for the cast of the Seventh Doctor story, “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.” This limited edition CD set, released on December 14th, 2023 and available to purchase here, commemorates 35 years since the original episode aired on BBC One. Written by Kenton Hall with songs by Christopher Guard and based on an idea by Barnaby Eaton-Jones, the story resurrects the magic of Stephen Wyatt’s “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy,” while venturing into new, imaginative territories.

The story revolves around the Psychic Circus, once a refuge for universal misfits, which later succumbed to the control of malevolent Gods. Years after these Gods have departed, the scars of the survivors linger. However, the Children of the Circus, equipped with the power of song, are ready to confront their past.

Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred headline the cast, but not in their familiar roles. McCoy, as the High Poet, brings a mix of charm and underlying duplicity, while Aldred delivers two distinct performances as Captain Gren and AJ. Aldred’s dual roles as the captain of a Time Ship and sentient rust showcase her range and versatility. Joining them is 1980s icon Toyah Willcox, who plays The Band of Infinite Harmony, a multi-voiced role that she relishes, culminating in a solo song featured as a bonus track.

• Continue reading at Warped Factor. See more on Children Of The Circus, here.

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)

A great review for Children Of The Circus, from Sci Fi Bulletin.

Review: Doctor Who: AUK: Children Of The Circus

Years after the events of The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, the survivors of the Circus are gathered. Bellboy has a plan. A plan that won’t just save them but stop them needing to be saved at all. All it takes is putting the band back together, a mostly functional time ship and the power of rock and roll.

But who’s Ella?

Kenton Hall, Barnaby Eaton-Jones and Christopher Guard, faced with the impossible task of following up on one of the Seventh Doctor’s oddest stories, have achieved the impossible: they’ve not only done it, but done it as an audio drama and rock opera. Linear time is the characters’ foe but the script’s friend.

The cast are uniformly excellent, but Guard’s exhausted, desperate Bellboy is a standout, a rock star pushing flat out past the redline, burning out and fading away in the hopes that sacrifice will erase itself and give him what all good performers pray for: a comeback. Ideas fly as thick and fast as great performances and there are multiple moments where you have to just sit back and applaud.

• Continue reading at Sci Fi Bulletin. See more on Children Of The Circus, here.

Esme Young reveals her touching childhood connection to this year’s Sewing Bee Christmas special

The perfect festive viewing

The Great British Sewing Bee Celebrity Christmas Special is going to be back this year with a new celebrity line-up ready to follow those tricky patterns and transform festive materials into something fabulous – and the release date for the episode has also been revealed.

The Christmas episode of the Sewing Bee will air on Thursday 21 December at 9pm on BBC One.

The BBC has also revealed which celebrities have been confirmed to taking on the sewing challenges for the Christmas special. This year we can look forward to seeing actor, musician and punk icon Toyah Willcox, actor and comedian Kerry Godliman, comedian and writer Jessica Knappett and actor Hammed Animashaun.

Judge Esme appeared on BBC’s Morning Live to discuss the upcoming Christmas special. In a clip of the show, contestant Toyah showed Esme a necklace she bought from Esme’s brand Swanky Modes. Toyah said she wore the piece of jewellery when she went out for lunch with Princess Diana.

• Continue reading at Prima. Follow The Great British Sewing Bee at Instagram. (Photo © BBC/Love Productions)

The Changeling was placed fifth best reissue of the year from RetroPop

If there’s one thing we love more than new material from our favourite artists, it’s diving into the vaults and unearthing forgotten gems from their classic eras – the hallmark of a strong reissue.

This year, there have been plenty and in addition to revisiting iconic releases and sharing unreleased cuts, an increasing number of acts have taken to reworking and remixing their best-loved recordings for a new avenue of bonus material that bridges the gap between ‘then’ and ‘now’.

Looking back on highlights from the year, here are Retropop’s Top 10 Reissues Of 2023.

5. Toyah – The Changeling (Cherry Red)
The seminal 1982 album from Toyah was expanded across two audio discs – including 20 previously unreleased tracks – and a further three previously unavailable on any CD, for its latest reissue, which contains outtakes, B-sides, an alternate album sequence of ‘work in progress’ variations, and home demo recordings. Meanwhile, the accompanying DVD features a wealth of classic content, plus up-to-date commentary from the lady herself!

• See the full Top 10, plus more year end Best Of 2023 charts, at Retropop. The Changeling is available to buy from Cherry Red Records – a great Christmas gift for the music fan in your life.

Toyah Guests on Homes Under The Hammer Monday 18 December on BBC One

Pop superstar Toyah Willcox joins Dion Dublin on a special 20th anniversary episode of Homes Under the Hammer. Explore a house in Birmingham and revisit Dion’s early appearances.

Celebrity Special 3: Homes Under the Hammer Series 26, Episode 74 of 80

Homes Under the Hammer is celebrating its 20th anniversary with some special celebrity editions. Pop superstar Toyah Willcox joins host Dion Dublin to explore a three-bedroom semi-detached house in her native Birmingham. Additionally, the episode will include a throwback to one of Dion’s early appearances on the show, as well as a segment featuring Jacqui Joseph visiting a ground floor flat in Lincolnshire.

This hour long anniversary special is set to air on BBC One on 18th December 2023 at 11.15am.

• Continue reading at Memorable TV.

Toyah Willcox kicks off Christmas at Millennium Point with lights switch on

Millennium Point’s Christmas lights were officially switched on by Birmingham-born music icon, Toyah Willcox, at the award-winning conference and events venue last week (08 November).

On 08 November, over 200 people filled Millennium Point’s atrium for the official light switch on and an evening of entertainment and networking. The 39ft Christmas tree was officially illuminated by musical icon Toyah Wilcox, famed for hits such as It’s a Mystery and I Want to Be Free, and her husband Robert Fripp, legendary musician of rock band King Crimson, alongside Millennium Point’s CEO, Abbie Vlahakis.

Alongside the festive lights switch on, which marked the beginning of Christmas in the city, the evening also included a special performance from Gospel Choir of the Year Award winners, the Birmingham Community Gospel Choir, who have recently appeared on The One Show and BBC Sports Personality Of The Year.

• Continue reading at Grapevine Birmingham.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Christmas Lights Switch On yesterday! It was wonderful to welcome icon Toyah Willcox to switch on our Christmas lights, alongside her husband – fellow music legend, Robert Fripp. Plus, the Birmingham Community Gospel Choir’s performance was incredible. Our fabulous 39ft Christmas tree will be lighting up Millennium Point throughout the festive season for you to enjoy.

• See more photos by clicking below. (Photo © Millennium Point)

Toyah guested on yesterday’s Loose Women Halloween Special, on ITV, with the interview being covered today by the Daily Mail.

Pop 80s icon Toyah Willcox, 65, claims violent ghosts called George and Mary are haunting her house as she recalls the ‘terrifying’ time she was ‘exorcised’ as a teenager

Toyah Willcox has claimed violent ghosts are haunting her house – as she recalled the time she was ‘exorcised’ as a teenager.

The 80s icon, now 65, appeared on the Halloween special of Loose Women on Tuesday alongside Olivia Atwood, Kaye Adams, Nadia Sawalha and Jane Moore.

Toyah spoke up about her experiences of ‘paranormal activity’ in her Worcestershire home, where she has lived for over 20 years.

She told the eerie story as she sat in front of a smoking cauldron for the spooky episode dressed as a black witches’ cat, complete with a belted jumpsuit and furry ears.

The I Want To Be Free singer said she and her husband, rock musician Robert Fripp, had been ‘invited’ to live in the house by ghosts.

She revealed that one of her resident ghouls named George has become so violent that she has begun to ‘attack’ her friends on numerous occasions.

Toyah explained: ‘George has never bothered me but he’s attacked my hairdresser, he’s attacked friends at dinner parties. I’ve never been afraid.

‘It all started to kick off when we would have dinner parties. Our ghosts do not like me when men come into the house something will happen.’

• Continue reading at the Daily Mail.

Rock stars rave over ‘nectar of paradise’ in Harrogate

Bettys has long been popular with visitors to Harrogate, but the business gained two more high-profile fans this month when Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp dropped in.

The couple were in town to play a gig at the Royal Hall and later took to social media to pay effusive tribute to the tearooms.

In their latest YouTube post, Robert, who is widely regarded as one of the world’s best guitarists, called Bettys “a quality establishment which resonates”, and said:

“I’d been to Bettys in York before, which was superb, but this was something of a pilgrimage.”

Toyah added: “You may think we’re complete idiots for being so in love with this experience, but it was the heart and soul of humanity. We could talk to everyone, everyone really cared, it was kind, it was utterly amazing.”

They described a cake they’d saved from their visit as “the nectar of paradise” and “a relic from the shrine of St Betty”.

• Continue reading at The Stray Ferret.

Love really hurts without…Music in the Park!

The legendary Billy Ocean, the Aussie heartthrob, Jason Donovan and voice of a generation, Heather Small are confirmed to headline the brilliant Music in the Park 2024 alongside a stellar line up of amazing 80s and 90s acts.

Joining the incredible headliners are:

Katrina (formerly of Katrina and the Waves), Toyah, Sonia, Pat Sharp (DJ Set) – back by popular demand!!, Nathan Moore from Brother Beyond, Angie Brown, Bez (DJ Set) and Rowetta (Live), Boomin.

The amazing event will once again take place at Worden Park in Leyland on Sunday 26 May 2024.

Nearly 4,000 people came along South Ribble for the biggest party of the year in 2023 and tickets for the 2024 event are on sale now.

• Continue reading at South Ribble. See more details and book tickets at the Music In The Park website.

Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
16th October 2023

Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp bring their Bonkers Web show Sunday Lunch to the stage and Del Pike is there to watch the madness unfold.

What started as a fun diversion from the horrors of Covid – Toyah and Robert’s Sunday Lunch has bloomed into an ongoing project with an army of cult followers – who’d have thought it?

Their appearance at Glasto cemented the idea that their online videos were more than a passing fad, and this was a piss-take that had actual legs.

The premise; Robert Fripp, he of King Crimson fame, stares intently at a static camera, seated in his kitchen, strumming along to a classic pop/rock hit, whilst his wife, Toyah Willcox frantically sings along, manically striking shapes and dancing feverishly around the domestic studio. And all this happens at midday every Sunday.

The results are hilarious mainly, unnerving often, but always entertaining. Toyah’s outfits, which are always comically revealing, are as much a feature as the songs and performances, and often there may be a masked collaborator to add a bit of meat to the musical bones.

• Continue reading at Louder Than War. Browse a gallery of photos from this concert at Record Collector.

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.