Dreamscape – Toyah Willcox Fansite

Exclusive: Toyah Willcox’s awkward first meeting with Rod Stewart at ‘very unglamorous’ caravan park

Toyah Willcox on meeting Rod Stewart and afternoon tea with the late Princess Margaret

With 30 albums, 25 feature films and countless theatre and TV presenting roles under her belt, punk rocker Toyah Willcox is one of the biggest stars of the 1980s. But her first brush with fame came in less glamorous surroundings – when Rod Stewart visited the caravan park she used to go to every weekend with her family near Birmingham, the Wyre Mill Club.

“One day this group of people who used to come here turned up with Rod,” recalls Toyah. “I was only six at the time, so I didn’t really know who he was. I just remember everybody was going absolutely crazy and the girls were all screaming, ‘oh my god, it’s Rod Stewart!’.

“The club is just that kind of place, where stars come to hide. Paul Weller was here recently and we’ve snuck Kate Bush in here before. When I became famous, I’d go there myself to escape the paparazzi.”

Since she burst on to the music scene as the front woman of the new wave band Toyah in 1977 following appearances in plays, Toyah, 64 has rubbed shoulders with many famous faces. Also an actress, she starred alongside Phil Daniels in 1979 mod flick Quadrophenia and iconic actor Laurence Olivier in 1984 TV movie the Ebony Tower, and she also went into the I’m A Celebrity jungle in 2003.

• Continue reading at The Mirror.

Punk princess Toyah Willcox’s quiet life in Dorset

With a career spanning more than 40 years, Willcox is perhaps best known for fronting the band Toyah between 1977 to 1983 before going solo in the mid-1980s

There are plenty of celebrities connected to Dorset from award-winning Hollywood actors to popstars and renowned radio DJs. Whether they were past alumni of schools in the county or have settled here in their later life, it seems Dorset shows no bounds when it comes to its celebrity connections.

This is true of punk Princess Toyah Willcox who has opted for a quiet life in Dorset secluded away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Her connections to the county run deeper than you might think from being married in Dorset to owning a home here.

• Continue reading at Dorset Live.

LIVE REVIEW: BILLY IDOL/KILLING JOKE/TOYAH – AO ARENA, MANCHESTER 13/10/22

Marking the first stop of the UK leg of The Roadside Tour 2022, tonight sees Billy Idol take to the stage in Manchester ably supported by Toyah and Killing Joke. This run of arena dates is the first time Billy Idol will have performed in the UK since 2018, with tickets for the remaining shows available here.

Opening the evenings proceedings was the four times Brit award nominated Toyah whose career has spanned more than 4 decades with ventures not only in music performance, but also in acting, songwriting and producing amongst many other accolades. It’s a short 30 minute set for Toyah but she delivers an upbeat pop performance, dancing throughout the set. Killing Joke were a relatively late addition to the tour, stepping in when previous support Television withdrew due to illness. With their industrial post-punk rock, the band almost do a complete 180 from the bubbly Toyah, creating a much heavier darker sound accompanied by moody lighting and whilst some fans may have whiplash from the change in sound, nevertheless they were well received.

• Continue reading at Backseat Mafia. NB. A selection of great live shots of Toyah at Manchester Arena are included in this article.

Organ Festival 2022: Toyah Willcox announced as narrator

A famous face will be returning to this year’s Organ Festival at Salisbury Cathedral.

Actress and singer Toyah Willcox returns to Wiltshire on Saturday, November 5 for a Fireworks Day performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf.

Toyah and her husband Robert Fripp lived in Broad Chalke in the 1980/90s. She will tell the story of the heroic small boy Peter who takes on a fearsome Wolf, accompanied by a duck, a bird, and a cat.

Timed to work in with firework displays later in the day, the concert begins at 2pm with an hour-long programme.

• Continue reading at the Salisbury Journal. See also SalisburyCathedral.Org.

Cherry Red are releasing Toyah’s February 1981 concert recorded at London’s Rainbow Theatre as a CD/DVD and a coloured double vinyl LP on 25 November 2022.

Toyah – Live At The Rainbow is released for the first time on CD with seven additional songs, all previously unreleased and restored exclusively for this release.

Previously only available on VHS, the 53-min concert film has been remastered from the original Rolling Stones multitrack reels for the DVD release with improvements to both picture and sound.

The newly remixed and remastered audio has been integrated to the concert for an enhanced viewing experience. All audio remastering was approved by Joel Bogen.

Three of the seven unheard songs appear exclusively on the CD as mono-only (originally mixed by Nick Tauber) bonus tracks, where no existing multi-tracks were available to present new stereo remixes. These three tracks do not appear on the 16-song double vinyl LP edition. Toyah provides a brand-new introduction in the 24-page booklet which contains iconic live photography by Barry Plummer and new notes by Craig Astley, Toyah’s official archivist.

• Continue reading at Mr Kinski’s Music Shack. Pre-order Toyah Live At The Rainbow, and other recent Toyah reissues, at Cherry Red.

Toyah live Brighton, Support Currls
7 October 2022, Concorde 2.

Toyah brings Anthem to Brighton. Gig Report!

Toyah: 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.

As a singer, actress and TV presenter, Toyah is in a world beating class of her own, she is, in the words of ABBA, a super trouper. If you dont belive me, sit down with a coffee and have a run through her history on her Wikipedia page! Extraordinary.

Toyah: The Band: The last time I was lucky to photograph Toyah was when she visited Worthing to warm up her album ‘Posh Pop’. This LP put Toyah back in the Top 30 for the first time since 1984. The time before that was Brighton in November 2019 when she played chalk to promote her 2019 charting album ‘In The Court Of The Crimson Queen‘. A new line up of new faces apart from Mike Nichols (bass). Two guitars, drums, bass and keys and Toyah, gave us a full on auditory explosion of sound. This is a classy five-piece band, working with Toyah they helped make the evening snappy and definitely uplifting.

• Continue reading at Scene Sussex.

TOYAH + CURRLS – CONCORDE 2, BRIGHTON 7.10.22

Toyah Entertains Brighton Crowd

It was a quick dash on Friday for me across the city from Resident Records (seeing Sorry’s instore album launch) to Concorde 2 and across four decades to see Toyah performing tracks from her album ‘Anthem’, courtesy of local promoters Black Rabbit Productions.

‘Anthem’ released in May 1981 was Toyah’s biggest selling album going gold shifting more than 100,000 copies in the UK and peaked in the charts at number 2. The iconic album cover showing Toyah as a fairy with wings was used as the backdrop to the stage set.

There was a good-sized crowd gathered for Toyah and her band to come on stage at 8.30pm. As is common with a lot of bands with such a key front person, the musicians came on stage first and the star of the show Toyah, then made her entrance.

For reference, Toyah’s trademark flaming red/orange hair of the album cover picture has been toned down to blond these days. But that was the only thing that she’s appeared to have toned down. There was a lively start to the 19-song set with two of her biggest hits ‘Thunder In The Mountains’ and ‘Good Morning Universe’. This set the tempo for the rest of the evening.

• Continue reading at Brighton and Hove News.

• Toyah At Home: Ghosts Live At The Rainbow Reaction – Watch… • Robert At Home: Episode 10 – Watch… • Objects Of Desire – The Toyah Edition 4 – Watch… • Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch – featuring Chesney Hawkes – Summer Of 69 – Watch…

Press for Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch – This week covering Bryan Adams, with Chesney Hawkes guesting. (Image © Toyah Willcox)

• NME: Watch Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox enlist Chesney Hawkes for cover of ‘Summer of 69’: It’s the third time in recent weeks that Chesney Hawkes has joined them for their ‘Sunday Lunch’ series – Continue…

• Guitar.Com: Toyah And Robert Fripp Cover Summer Of ’69 With Chesney Hawkes On New Sunday Lunch Episode – Continue…

• Brooklyn Vegan: Watch Toyah & Robert Fripp cover Bryan Adams’ “Summer Of ’69” with Chesney Hawkes – Continue…

• Melody Maker: Watch Robert Fripp and Toyah Wilcox enlist Chesney Hawkes for cover of ‘Summer of 69’ – Continue…

• Brave Words: Robert Fripp & Toyah “Perform” Bryan Adams Classic “Summer Of ’69” With Chesney Hawkes – Continue…

• DGM Live: Toyah & Robert’s Weekend – Continue…

Billy Idol’s Roadside Tour To Play Cardiff with Toyah & Killing Joke

Billy Idol’s Roadside Tour 2022, comes to Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena on Monday October 17.

Killing Joke are delighted to be announced as special guests for the tour, after Television were forced to make a late withdrawal, alongside Billy’s other tour guest Toyah.

The ever-popular Toyah will bring an extra sense of fun to the tour. Alongside a flourishing acting career, Toyah carved out a successful musical career with three top ten UK hit singles in the 1980s and the Gold-selling album Anthem.

“We’re looking forward to having Killing Joke and Toyah join us in the UK,” said Billy. “This is going to be an epic show!”

• Continue reading at Entertainment South Wales.

LIVE REVIEW: TOYAH + VANITY FAIRY AT THE FLEECE, BRISTOL

Here’s a review I’ve long dreamed of writing; namely my favourite live artist, in my favourite live music venue, in my favourite city. If that isn’t enough to make it an interesting night out, my wife is also joining me – her first live gig for forty years. Here, it has to be categorically stated that my wife has no musical passions for Toyah but, as I discovered the Birmingham singer/actress back in 1980 and my wife as recently as 1988, she’s always been (mostly) very patient and contented herself with eye-rolling while I relive my teenage years of enthusiastic pogo dancing. An added element here is that both my wife and I are disabled – this being a key issue for her not attending gigs for so long – so it would naturally be interesting to see how the venue catered for us less-mobile types. Here, knowing The Fleece well was a distinct advantage. To me, it’s the perfect music location, consisting of a single, long room with not a trace of evil staircases. However, we contacted The Fleece well in advance to ask about specific details concerning disabled patrons. The venue did not disappoint us, being courteous and helpful through every stage of the booking process. So, before we get to Toyah, a shout out to Holly Angus and the team in Bristol for their support.

• Continue reading at Joyzine.

Toyah Willcox to star “in way you’ve never seen her before” in short film written by Lewes resident

Actress Toyah Willcox has just finished filming a new short film written by a Lewes resident.

The punk icon stars in Louise Monaghan’s ‘Weightless’, telling the story of Maureen, a woman alone on a beach, facing her inner demons and battle with her body. The film is Louise’s debut and was shot on the Isle of Wight by director Lois Norman, known for her award-winning art-house work and stories from female perspectives.

• Continue reading at Sussex World. See more on Weightless at toyahwillcox.com.

Pop star Toyah Willcox to join star-studded Stratford Music Festival line-up

Veteran pop star Toyah Willcox is joining an eclectic line-up for Stratford Music Festival next month.

The musician, actress and TV presenter is joining the star-studded bill alongside internationally renowned classical pianist Peter Donohoe, celebrated Australian guitarist Craig Ogden and the Orchestra of the Swan – featuring Britain’s leading oboist Nicholas Daniel.

Stratford Music Festical, now in its 26th year, takes place over nine days in November at a range of town venues from Stratford Play House and the Levi Fox Theatre to Holy Trinity Church and the Guild Chapel. And this year kicks off with a very special curtain-raiser on October 22, as Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra has been persuaded for the first time in many years to join the festival.

• Continue reading at the Stratford Observer.

Toyah – Anthem
Deluxe Reissue (Cherry Red)

This is, of all the Toyah reissues this far, also recommended to the casual fan. It contains just as much challenging ‘meat’ as the previous albums, but with the familiar hooks which will help less seasoned travellers navigate the truly fascinating outposts. Unreservedly recommended.

With this 2CD/DVD set, the deluxe Toyah reissue campaign from Cherry Red reaches 1981 – with an amazing four releases having spanned the previous two years from 1979. Anthem, the third studio album, was both the mainstream breakthrough and simultaneously an album which almost didn’t get made. Following the previous year’s live album Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!, the band (which we must remind ourselves, was itself named ‘Toyah’, in much the same way as ‘Alice Cooper’ was originally the band name as well as the frontman) fell apart, leaving just Toyah herself and creative lynchpin guitarist Joel Bogen. A short-lived band was assembled but quickly fell apart again after not really working out, and it seemed as if Toyah, the band, might be done. Toyah herself almost became the full-time vocalist with the band Blood Donor, who had the original version of It’s A Mystery in their repertoire, but after a few demo recordings that didn’t come to fruition. Nick Tauber, recruited as producer again after his work on the live album, pulled together a new crew along with Bogen, comprising bassist Phil Spalding, keyboardist Adrian Lee and future Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler. The new line-up recorded and released the four-track EP Four From Toyah early in 1981, with It’s A Mystery as its lead track, and the record’s unexpected massive success ensured they would not look back from that point on.

• Continue reading at Velvet Thunder. See more reviews of Anthem and other releases here.

• Toyah At Home: We Play Machines at Epcot Centre – Watch… • Robert At Home: Episode 9 – Watch… • Objects Of Desire: The Toyah Edition 3 – Watch… • Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch – feat. Chesney Hawkes – Mr Brightside – Watch…

Press for Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch – This week covering The Killers, with Chesney Hawkes guesting. (Image © Toyah Willcox)

• NME: Watch Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp cover The Killers with Chesney Hawkes: Their latest edition of ‘Sunday Lunch’ sees them take on ‘Mr Brightside’ with a special guest – Continue…

• Brooklyn Vegan: Watch Toyah and Robert Fripp cover The Killers’ “Mr Brightside” with Chesney Hawkes – Continue…

• Guitar World: Robert Fripp and Toyah recruit Chesney Hawkes for his second Sunday Lunch guest spot – for a hilarious performance of The Killers’ Mr. Brightside: Watch the unlikely trio take on a stratospheric pop-rock classic – Continue…

• Turn Up The Volume: Toyah & Fripp With Some Help From Mr. Brightside Chesney Hawkes: Just when you think that Toyah & Fripp can’t top their most hilarious moments anymore, the fabulous YouTube stars come up with this new Sunday Lunch performance that made me burst out laughing – Continue…

• DGM Live: Toyah & Robert’s Weekend – Continue…

Punk princess and cult actress Toyah on the Isle of Wight filming new short film

Filming took place in Freshwater and Ventnor with women in the top four roles; writer, director, producer and actor

As reported by News OnTheWight back in August, punk princess and cult actress Toyah has been on the Isle of Wight this week, filming in Freshwater Bay and on Ventnor beach.

She stars in a new short film called ‘Weightless’ produced by Ventnor resident Rowena Amos and her film company, 9 of Cups Productions.

It is written by Lewes based playwright Louise Monaghan, previous winner of the coveted Papatango Theatre prize and directed by Lois Norman who is known for her award-winning art-house work and stories from female perspectives.

• Continue reading at On The Wight.

Toyah in Ventnor and Freshwater for new short film Weightless

Punk princess and cult actress Toyah has been visiting the Isle of Wight this week, filming in Freshwater Bay and on Ventnor beach.

She stars in a new short film, Weightless, produced by Ventnor resident Rowena Amos and her film company 9 of Cups Productions.

It is written by Lewes based playwright Louise Monaghan, previous winner of the coveted Papatango Theatre prize, and directed by Lois Norman who is known for her award-winning art-house work and stories from female perspectives.

The film has a host of well-known Isle of Wight names attached to it, stills photographer Gianpaolo Mario Giancovich, musician JC Grimshaw, and Angelina Grimshaw working with the crew on costumes.

• Continue reading at Isle Of Wight County Press.

Toyah / Live at the Rainbow
First time on DVD and CD/LP

Toyah Live at the Rainbow was issued on VHS back in 1981 (and later on laserdisc) but now gets the full reissue treatment with remixed and remastered audio on vinyl and CD as well as a DVD with restored visuals.

The concert was in February 1981 at London’s iconic Rainbow Theatre and includes a performance of ‘It’s A Mystery’. Such was that single’s success (it reached number four as part of the ‘Four From Toyah’ EP) it prompted a gig upgrade from the Lyceum Theatre to The Rainbow.

Live at the Rainbow was originally a 12-song video, but on CD it has been expanded with with seven additional tracks, all previously unheard and unreleased; restored exclusively for this release. These include ‘Bird In Flight’, ‘Mummies’, ‘Computer’ and ‘Love Me’. Three of these seven songs are in mono because the original multi-track masters could not be found. The coloured blue vinyl edition doesn’t include the mono tracks and is therefore a 16-song offering.

• Continue reading at Super Deluxe Edition.

This new article, published by The Reprobate Press, is more of an opinion piece on Toyah rather than just a review of Anthem, but an interesting read.

WITH CHARM AND CHANCE: TOYAH’S ANTHEM REVISITED

Looking back at Toyah’s magnificent 1981 breakthrough album and its dystopian, rebellious sci-fi concepts.

Back in the 1980s, when teenage musical tribalism was at its height, stepping out of your lane was simply not the done thing. Yet for many of us, the strict divisions that split punk from metal from pop and all points in between seemed increasingly ludicrous and arbitrary, as much based on what a band or performer looked like as on their musical output. I rather threw all that aside very early into my teenage musical fixation. After all, bands themselves – especially what we now call classic rock but what at the time was often dismissed as old farts* – were sneered at for chasing trends, sometimes with good reason but often unfairly in retrospect. There was nothing wrong with developing and experimenting with your sound, and those artists who managed to escape the sneering by remaining defiantly art rock – Peter Gabriel, say – were just as likely to be making albums that were nothing like their past work and, in retrospect, very much of their time.

This preamble leads us to your author’s curious fascination with Toyah, who was – depending on which period of her career in the 1980s you were talking about – seen as a punk or a pop star. I’ve already made the case that she was neither, at least musically at the start of her career – the ‘pop star’ dismissal by former punk admirers has a bit more credibility as her career shifted towards kid’s TV appearances, increasingly less arty record covers and more radio-friendly singles, but we could make that particular accusation against many performers. Once Toyah had a couple of hits – which we’ll come to shortly – then she was unavoidable, and as a teenager with a fascination for the terminally uncool worlds of prog, art rock and industrial music, there was something that drew me to her.

• Continue reading at The Reprobate Press.

A new interview with Robert Fripp, including mention of Toyah and You Tube/Sunday Lunch…

Robert Fripp Lightens Up
No one expected to see the leader of King Crimson dancing in a tutu on YouTube. In a rare interview, the guitarist explains “an entirely different trajectory.”

• Continue reading at The New York Times.

Toyah and, Anthem – and many other Toyah releases during the Safari Records years – producer, Nick Tauber are interviewed in The Guardian today, discussing It’s A Mystery, from the Four From Toyah EP and the, just reissued in deluxe formats, iconic/legendary/magnificent 1981 album, Anthem.

Toyah on It’s a Mystery: ‘I told Princess Margaret I was a punk rocker. She said “How ridiculous”’

‘There was a vinyl shortage when it was released. Old records had to be sent to the factory to be melted down and pressed. But soon it was selling 75,000 copies a day’

I was a cult punk singer playing sweaty little clubs and getting covered in so much gob that dry cleaners would go: “Yeuch! We’re not touching that!” Then a brilliant PR woman called Judy Totton turned everything around. She put me in every parish magazine in the country that would talk to me. I soon had all these fans who said they discovered me because their parents or grandparents had told them about this punk rocker.

I was making singles that were eight minutes long with reams of lyrics and had never had a hit. When Safari Records played my 1980 single Ieya on rotation in their office, a man apparently appeared at their door with a knife and said: “If you play that song again, I’ll kill you!” I started working with a new producer, Nick Tauber, who said I needed to simplify the message. He was completely right.

• Continue reading at The Guardian.

More press for Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch – This week paying respects to Queen Elizabeth II with David Bowie’s Heroes. (Image © Toyah Willcox)

• David Bowie News: Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp dedicate cover of David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ to Queen Elizabeth II – Continue…

• Guitar.Com: Robert Fripp and Toyah Cover David Bowie’s Heroes In Honour Of Queen Elizabeth II: The musical duo hit pause on their weekly Sunday Lunch series to pay tribute to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch – Continue…

• NME: Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp dedicate cover of David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ to Queen Elizabeth II: The couple paused their usual style of program to pay their respects with the song – Continue…

• Classic Rock/Louder: Toyah and Robert Fripp salute Queen Elizabeth II by re-sharing their cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes”: Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp pause their regular Sunday Lunch series in acknowledgement of the passing of Her Majesty the Queen – Continue…

• Far Out: Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp cover David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ in dedication to Queen Elizabeth II – Continue…