Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

Creativity, longevity and relationship advice with Toyah Willcox

There aren’t many things that make me nervous these days, I’ve come to the conclusion that I can pretty much hold my own in most situations. I’m rarely intimidated and I refuse to treat anyone any differently because of their status. It would seem strange then, that as I’m sitting at my desk watching the clock ticking ever closer to 11am, my palms are sweating and my heart is beating so fast I have to take deep breaths to stop it from leaping out of my chest.

I have a fairly solid reason for the nerves mind you, at the aforementioned time I’m scheduled to do a telephone interview with Toyah Willcox. The prospect of dialing her number and asking to speak to her is doubly scary because I have loved her work since I first saw her perform on Top Of The Pops, and if the truth be told, I’ve never done anything like this before – I didn’t tell her that though and I hope she didn’t realise!

The purpose of the call was to talk to her about her sharing the stage with the fabulous Marc Almond for the Last Night Party at the Grassington Festival of Music and Arts that’s taking place June 17th to July 2nd. It sounds like it’s going to be a fantastic festival (and why wouldn’t it be, it is in Yorkshire after all). Toyah is supporting Marc Almond for the final night of the event July 2nd at the Festival in the Field Marquee.

• Continue reading at Northern Life Magazine. (Photos © Toyah Willcox/Dean Stockings)

Toyah showed her support for Chorley & South Ribble A&E on Friday during a visit to Preston to play an acoustic gig… (Photo © 2BR Lancashire)

Meanwhile, actress and singer Toyah Willcox has also put her voice to the campaign.

Whilst on her ‘Up Close and Personal’ tour at Preston’s Guild Hall, Toyah showed her support with a picture online calling to save Chorley and South Ribble A&E.

It comes as campaigners have gone another weekend protesting outside of the department’s entrance – their 11th week in total.

• Continue reading at the 2BR Lancashire.

Pop icon, actress and household name Toyah is bringing her acoustic show to Dorchester Arts at the town’s Corn Exchange.

The show features acoustic versions of songs such as Thunder in the Mountains and Good Morning Universe to Sensational – a track that was used recently on a national TV advertising campaign starring Patsy Kensit.

Tickets for Toyah: Up Close and Personal are available from the www.dorchesterarts.org.uk website or call the box office on 01305 266926.

• Continue reading at Blackmore Vale Magazine.

Tickets go on sale for two big acts at Derby Cathedral

Tickets have gone on sale for performances in Derby by musicians Toyah and Ian Anderson.

Former punk star Toyah, who shot to fame in the late 1970s, will be performing an intimate acoustic set on Saturday August 27. And on Thursday, December 15, progressive rock and folk musician Ian Anderson, lead singer of Jethro Tull, will be performing the group’s classics and traditional festive songs.

The concerts are among the first major events announced as part of Derby Cathedral’s new events programme, which aims to bring evening footfall into the city while raising important funds for the upkeep of the cathedral.

• Continue reading at the Derby Telegraph.

Final countdown is on to Grassington Festival, which will offer music, mayhem, colour and creativity

Grassington Festival 2016 kicks off tomorrow with an opening night party featuring chart-topping 80s band Hue and Cry. For the next 15 days, the festival will offer music, mayhem, colour and creativity as artists, musicians and festival goers converge on the village in search of fun and inspiration.

Now in its 36th year, it boasts a wide range of events and activities from family friendly entertainment to walks, talks, workshops and creative challenges – many of which are free. The second week also boasts the now renowned Festival in the Field which will once again feature some of the biggest names from the worlds of comedy and music.

Seth Lakeman will be first to perform in the marquee on Tuesday, June 28, followed by the first-ever Live at the Marquee comedy night featuring Rich Hall, Rob Beckett, Shappi Khorsandi and Justin Moorhouse.

Next up are the critically acclaimed Bootleg Beatles, followed by 70s and 80s icon The Stranglers. The legendary Marc Almond supported by Toyah Willcox will bring the festival to a close on Saturday, July 2 with what is sure to be a Last Night Party to remember.

• Continue reading at the Craven Herald & Pioneer. Visit the Grassington Festival website for further details and to purchase tickets. View more info on Toyah’s appearance at toyahwillcox.com. Browse all of Dreamscape’s Grassington Festival 2016 news.

After Toyah’s sell-out performance last year, the household name, pop icon, TV presenter and stage/screen actress is returning to the Engine Shop at Enginuity in Coalbrookdale on Friday evening, 7th October. ‘Toyah: Acoustic, Up Close & Personal’ is a wonderful chance to experience the 1980s pop superstar in an intimate setting where music and stories take centre stage.

The show will see Toyah performing an unplugged set of her much-loved hits and classic songs. Toyah will also be recalling stories from her colourful, 35 year career, which has included roles in Calamity Jane, Cabaret, Peter Pan, Jubilee and Quadrophenia.

• Continue reading at Shropshire What’s On.

Perth’s bid to be the UK’s City of Culture is being backed by pop star Toyah Willcox

The ‘80’s hit-maker believes the Fair City is in rude health to challenge for the prestigious honour, and that the annual staging of the Rewind Scotland festival at Scone Palace can only boost the locality’s case.

The Birmingham-born singer and actresss regularly visits the area and was a popular draw at Perth Concert Hall when the musical Vampires Rock enjoyed sold-out stints at the venue in 2009 and 2010.

“It doesn’t surprise me that Perth is bidding to become the UK City of Culture,” Ms Willcox said. “I think Perth deserves that recognition as much as any other city.”

“I think cities that preserve their own culture and look after it, and are in touch with their own history, as well as supporting the local population, deserve to be City of Culture. I think it’s a very good thing to have happen and I wish Perth the best of luck.”

• Continue reading at The Courier.

A new interview with Toyah – one of the best for quite a while – has been published by the Write Wyatt blog.

Getting up close and personal with Toyah

Regular readers of this blog won’t be surprised that this scribe is an avid viewer of BBC 4’s Top of the Pops re-runs, a point I soon confess to my latest interviewee, Toyah Willcox.

“Oh, God bless those!”

The more recently re-aired shows take me back to my early teens, at a time when this highly-recognisable West Midlands raised actress and singer was enjoying a string of hits, not least the distinctive It’s a Mystery, Thunder in the Mountains and I Want To Be Free.

Admittedly, you’ve always had to wade through a lot of rubbish on Top of the Pops, recent examples ranging from Captain Beaky and Joe Dolce to The Snowmen and Starsound. But it also makes me realise how many great characters there were in music at the time. ‘Old bloke with rose-tinted nostalgic specs’ alert, but the charts today just don’t seem to have that same level of OTT theatricality. This was after all an era when the disparate likes of Adam Ant, Buster Bloodvessel, Clare Grogan, Hazel O’Connor, John Lydon, Lee John, Siouxsie Sioux and Ms Willcox herself were beamed into our front rooms on Thursday nights. Just where are the characters now?

“It was phenomenal back then. There were big characters out there. We all had to perform live and came up performing live. There were very few contrived acts. A very different time. We also all wrote, and I think it’s really important to write your own material. It was almost a dirty word to do somebody else’s song.

“I had to be coerced into doing Echo Beach (1987). That was a hit for me, but I felt a sense of shame at the time. Now I absolutely love performing it. Back then it was really important that the songs were your voice.”

• Continue reading at Write Wyatt.

Local musicians have been auditioning to play at the Dartford Festival and the response has been so good two further heats have been added

Four bands are set to appear on the main stage at Central Park over Saturday, July 16 and Sunday, July 17. Now more chances to audition have been opened, at the Bull & Vic on Thursday, June 23 and Thursday, June 30. The Community Stage will also return, with local dance and drama groups showcasing their work over both days.

Heavyweight Ska legends and 1980s pop band Bad Manners will headline this year’s festival. They will join Punk princess Toyah Willcox for the free extravaganza.

• Continue reading at Kent Online.

• Live 2016: Tours, festivals, gigs, PAs – All the details and ticket links for Toyah’s upcoming confirmed dates at toyahwillcox.com…

• Let’s Rock Leeds 2016: Watch Toyah at yesterday’s pop festival at You Tube…

• The Wright Stuff: Toyah recalls meeting Muhammad Ali – Watch at Twitter…

• Newark Advertiser: Invites sent out for a royal celebration: The RAFA event is sponsored by Wellowfest, which takes place in Wellow on July 15-17 and features Sir Bob Geldof, Jim Davidson and Toyah Willcox – Continue reading…

• Spin: The Forthcoming ‘Quadrophenia’ Sequel Sounds Like a Wild Ride: A sequel to the 1979 film Quadrophenia, inspired by the Who’s 1973 album of the same name, will reportedly start filming in London this summer. The news comes a cool 37 years after the original movie, but it’s been brewing so long that a potential sequel was already being referred to as “long-awaited” back in 2013 – Continue reading…

• Dangerous Minds: Cute Couple Alert: King Crimson’s Robert Fripp & Toyah Willcox on ‘All Star Mr & Mrs’ – Continue reading…

• Daily Echo: Win tickets to Let’s Rock Southampton – Continue Reading…

Cockney Rebel and Toyah Willcox headlining Secret World wildlife charity’s first ever music festival

Secret World, Somerset’s favourite wildlife rescue charity, will be singing and dancing with the best later this year.

Legendary rocker Steve Harley is heading to Somerset to headline a festival with a difference.

On September 10, Steve and his band Cockney Rebel will be getting the crowds a-jumping at Music in the Meadow, the first- ever music festival to be held at Secret World Wildlife Rescue.

Visitors have been flocking to events at Secret World for many years, but it’s usually for a chance to get close to wildlife. Now the much-loved charity in East Huntspill, near Highbridge, is holding a one-day music festival, which will also feature Inspirational punk rocker Toyah Willcox. Other acts have yet to be announced.

• Continue reading at Somerset Live.

Toyah Willcox and Steve Harley to play at Music in The Meadow festival

Legendary rocker Steve Harley and punk rocker Toyah Willcox are set to headline a new music festival near Burnham-On-Sea this September.

Tickets go on sale on Wednesday 8th June, priced at £20 each.

Keith Weston, event organiser, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We’ve been bursting to announce this event and we are so excited to now tell everyone that we have these brilliant musicians confirmed for our first ever music festival!”

“Music in the Meadow will be in aid of Secret World and will support our work to rescue, rehabilitate and release injured and orphaned wildlife”.

• Continue reading at Burnham-On-Sea.com.

This lively, entertaining and revealing show comes in the form of Toyah performing an unplugged set of her well-loved hits and classic songs, alongside recalling stories from her colourful, 35 year career.

Guitarists Chris Wong and Colin Hinds accompany Toyah on melodic acoustic versions of the hits It’s A Mystery and I Want To Be Free through to Sensational.

Toyah adds: “It’s a lovely show with colourful and amusing stories – you’ll definitely hear some truthful anecdotes from the late 70s and 80s. More importantly the music has real space to breathe.”

• Continue reading at The Blackpool Gazette.

Toyah Willcox gives us the lowdown on Rewind Festival

We caught up with the punk princess to talk all things 80s music and Rewind

In 2014 she topped the iTunes Rock chart with her American band The Humans, and this year will see more music releases and touring – including a stop off at Rewind Festival South in Henley.

This year will see her fifth performance at the mega music weekender. But what is it that keeps bringing her back to Rewind?

Toyah said: “This is what I do, it simply is what I do. I do all sorts of festivals including Glastonbury and all of that, but the one thing about Rewind is that it’s just designed brilliantly.

“The audience love it and it’s just such good fun. There are a ridiculous amount of artists and the production standards are out of this world.

“I do still get nervous in the festival environment, but I have a job to do. I remember performing and turning around to give the band a wink and seeing us on this huge massive video wall – it’s such high quality.”

• Continue reading at Get Reading.

Toyah Willcox on Botox, plastic surgery and why she has one of the happiest marriages in showbiz

The punk icon has just celebrated her 30th wedding anniversary and is happier than ever

Punk icon Toyah Willcox has just as much attitude now as she did when she burst on to the music scene in the 1980s.

She may be just 5ft tall, but the singer and actress makes up for her lack of inches in decibels.

Toyah, 58, and husband, King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp, 70, have just celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary, and she roars laughing as she reveals why this showbiz marriage is one that works .

• Continue reading at the Mirror.

The treasured venue formerly known as The Tute by locals – The Layton – presents the princess of punk and rock Toyah Willcox in October.

Toyah Willcox remains one of Britain’s best known names, an award winning rock legend as well as actress and composer.

If you want to steal a march on the more intimate resort gig (October 8, tickets £18) Toyah recently announced plans to play Preston’s Charter on Friday June 24. She’s also playing The Muni, Colne, in October. And that’s not forgetting a preview of new material at Glastonbury to come.

• Continue reading at The Blackpool Gazette.

As well as what’s already posted below there has been a lot of online press reports about the “Quadrophenia Sequel”. Here are links to a few: (Photo © TSIPhotography.co.uk)

SPIN: The Forthcoming ‘Quadrophenia’ Sequel Sounds Like a Wild Ride – Read …
What Culture: Attention Mods: Quadrophenia Is Getting A Belated Sequel – Read …
Vulture: Dust Off Your Finest Scooter, Because a Quadrophenia Sequel Is Coming – Read …
Hot Press: The Who’s Quadrophenia To Get Sequel – Read …
Access All Areas: Toyah Willcox and Phil Daniels on board for Quadrophenia sequel – Read …
Film Junk: Quadrophenia Sequel in the Works – Read …

Steve Oram’s deeply British feature debut is the kind of mesmerizing cult oddity whose fan base will be limited but passionate.

It may be filmed in the Academy ratio, but Steve Oram’s low-budget feature debut “Aaaaaaaah!” could hardly be considered a nod to classic Hollywood. Rather, the 4:3 frame indicates something more primal, evoking the so-called “video nasties” (a wave of mostly cheap horror films banned on VHS in the U.K. in the 1980s, following a wave of moral panic over the perceived degeneration in values these films would cause when made available for home viewing). “Aaaaaaaah!” is set in exactly the kind of world Mary Whitehouse feared, and functions as a kind of loving Swiftian satire on the more brutish aspects of modern life. Though it’s at once too subtle and too extreme to attract a broad audience, those who get something out of gross-out humor, silent film and British comedy will treasure “Aaaaaaaah!” as a rare cult gem.

• Continue reading at Variety.

Fans of 1980s music are in for a real treat this summer when the Rewind Scotland festival returns for its sixth consecutive year.

The event is taking place once again at Scone Palace in Perthshire from Friday, July 22, to Sunday, July 24. And this year’s musical feast features a fantastic line-up of the best 1980s acts.

They include former punk princess Toyah Willcox.

She’ll be taking to the stage on Sunday, July 24, and is excited about performing for fans of all ages.

“I’m really looking forward to this year’s Rewind Festival – I was there last year and have performed many times over the years. It is one of the highlights of my summer. I love performing all my songs and love to hear the audience singing along. I’ll be trying to fit in as many as I can!”

• Continue reading at the Motherwell Times. Tickets are available now at www.rewindfestival.com.

Quadrophenia sequel to shoot this summer – 37 years after the original was released

Phil Daniels and Toyah Willcox will return for the sequel

A sequel to iconic British movie Quadrophenia is being made, 37 years after the original was released.

The sequel to the cult film, which was released in 1979, is expected to see the return of original cast members Phil Daniels and singer Toyah Willcox – and will shoot this summer.

The iconic 1979 adaptation of The Who’s eponymous album focused on the infamous violent clashes between Mods and Rockers on Brighton Beach in the 1960’s, and it’s expected that the sequel will catch up with the characters at a later stage in their lives.

• Continue reading at the NME.

The modern mods: Cast of Quadrophenia reunite for a NEW film 37 years on that will pick up where the classic original left off, with Jimmy riding his scooter off a cliff

• Quadrophenia, made in 1979, was based on real events in Brighton in 1964
• Phil Daniels played Jimmy, a mod, caught up in tribal violence with rockers
• The film ends with Jimmy apparently riding a Vespa off a clifftop
• But Peter Meadows’ book To Be Someone picks up the action later
• Jimmy has survived and the novel follows him through to the 1990s
• Toyah Willcox says her character, Monkey, has become a swinging cougar

Phil Daniels, Toyah Willcox and several other actors who appeared in the cult film Quadrophenia are due to reprise their roles in a sequel 37 years later, based on the book To Be Someone. Daniels, now 57, Willcox, 58, and two of the other members of the original cast, Mark Wingett, 55, and Trevor Laird, 58, are said to be keen to take part in the film, which will be directed by Ray Burdis, who directed gangster film The Wee Man.

• Continue reading at the Daily Mail.