Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

A review of last night’s Birmingham Ballroom gig, by David Lumb at the Express & Star.

Review: Toyah Willcox, The Ballroom, Birmingham

It’s more than 30 years since Toyah Willcox launched her solo career – but anyone who thought the Birmingham singer was done and dusted has reason to think again after a headbanging performance in her home city last night.

Dozens left the warmth of their homes on a cold and wet Wednesday evening to see an intimate gig at The Ballroom. Taking to the stage in a black Chinese-style dress with an ornate headdress and boots, she kicked off the show with Good Morning Universe, before moving on to Castaways, Blue Meaning, a song she said was inspired by Tolkien and the Black Country.

• Continue reading at the Express & Star.

Metalville webzine reviewed Toyah’s Changeling Resurrection II gig at Sheffield Corporation earlier this month. Read by clicking below (Photos © Metalville webzine)

Three more new reviews of The Tempest on Blu-ray.

• Ioncinema: The Tempest | Blu-ray Review: Difficult as ever, Jarman’s take on Shakespeare’s final lone play is definitely a product of his own imagining. Laced with homoeroticisms, cabaret iconography, extravagant but dirty set design, and overall unsettling imagery… Like the original story, the film centers around the magician and ex-Duke of Milan, Prospero (Heathecote Williams), along with his beautiful daughter Miranda (Toyah Willcox) and their downright scary servant, Caliban (Jack Birkett), all of which now live alone in a decrepit mansion on an island.

• Blu-ray.com: The Tempest Blu-ray Review: Stormy weather ends in sunshine: Where Jarman’s The Tempest really differentiates itself is in its unsettling oddities, its ghostly atmosphere and decayed visual style… Karl Johnson makes for a hypnotic Ariel—weird and effete, dressed all in white—and Toyah Willcox is far from the usual, virginal Miranda. Here she’s sensual and erratic, a life-sized wind-up toy doll.

• Cultural Mente Incorrecto: “The Tempest” by Derek Jarman: A different and almost subversive Shakespeare classic: “The Tempest” by Derek Jarman is a different and almost subversive Shakespeare classic. Visually stunning, with that touch of indie with hints of neorealism but a literary question fabulesca, this is a historically important film in the film, required viewing for film fans Jarman, protesters and intellectuals.

• View links to numerous other reviews of The Tempest on Blu-ray here.

A few more reviews of The Tempest, released for the first time on Blu-ray (Region A/1) earlier this week.

• TCM: Movie News: The Tempest – Derek Jarman’s Acclaimed 1979 Adaptation of the William Shakespeare Play: The jump to Blu-Ray for The Tempest is a substantial improvement here, given that transfer technology has improved considerably in the several years since its last telecine pass and the obvious benefits of 1080p.

• DVD Direct: The Tempest: Like most of Derek Jarman’s work, The Tempest is strange and difficult to access, but remains one of my favorite Shakespeare adaptations in all of film.

• DVD Beaver: The Tempest (Blu-ray): Jarman’s The Tempest is certainly interesting as a unique take on The Bard’s work and still recognizable to the play on many fronts but there are notable omissions. I suspect that this Blu-ray can only find an audience for those who appreciate Jarman.

The Tempest was released on Region A/1 Blu-ray yesterday. View a comprehensive article on the film and Blu-ray remastered edition at DVD Talk.

How do you follow up an apocalyptic punk-rock satire that seemed to offend even more people than A Clockwork Orange, up to and including the purist punks whose energy it was inspired by and meant as a tribute to? If you were celebrated British underground auteur Derek Jarman in 1979, having just shocked and rocked the world with your prior year’s film, the scorched-earth, anti-royalist comic nightmare Jubilee, why, of course, your next step would (un)naturally be to take on Shakespeare!

…Prospero’s daughter, Miranda (Jubilee’s sinisterly lisping girl-woman Toyah Willcox, here sporting a no less punkish ‘do of straggly dreadlocks, along with a stripped skeleton of a period dress that looks like something out of vintage Vivienne Westwood).

• Continue reading at DVD Talk.

After a day of all things Toyah Willcox (star receiving Toyah, interview giving Toyah, buffet lunch eating Toyah), I was finally going to see her in, arguably, her most natural habitat – on stage.

The Hare and Hounds provided the venue for Toyah Wilcox’s one off homecoming gig.

And, although this lady’s musical, stage and acting career has spanned some thirty plus years, I was still surprised to see Venue 2 packed out with die-hard Toyah fans; many having donned their Toyah memorabilia t-shirts and raided wardrobes for their best Goth-like attire.

• Continue reading at Birmingham Review.

After her rainy day ramble down nostalgia lane to receive her Kings Heath Walk Of Fame badge of honour earlier today at The Hare, Toyah Willcox got down to the serious business of reminding us just how and why her Princess of Post-Punk/Goth-lite song-writing and stage theatrics undoubtedly caught the 80s zeitgeist.

• Continue reading at Gig Junkies. (Photo © Ian Dunn/Principle Photography)

A review, by ‘Music Mafia UK’, of Toyah’s ‘Decades Festival’ PA last Saturday.

Saturday night in Workington saw 80’s punk princess Toyah perform her first ever gig here and a very packed out Club Ice were the lucky devils to welcome her as part of the first ever Decades Weekend.

Toyah took to the stage clad in a metal dress and a vibrant feathered head-dress and went straight into “Echo Beach”. With Toyah’s distinctive vocals reverberating around the club, the crowd lapped up every note from this 80’s icon.

• Continue reading at Music Mafia UK.

More human than Human

Comprised of singer Toyah Willcox and bass players Bill Rieflin and Chris Wong, The Humans are a surprising group who combine waves of acid jazz, Massive Attack-like grooves and the occasional burst of ’80s pop and early ’90s industrial. It adds up to a mixed bag of tricks on their second album Sugar Rush, but still one worth a listen.

The album opens with “Titanium Girl” via a disjointed vocal “wah wah” effect before the ethereal voice of Willcox dances above it. Then it is slammed with a driving bassline and deep, guttural guitar pulses. After that, “Love in a Different Way” is a quiet, strummed track with a slightly ’80s feel thanks to the breathy vocals and synth. The same retro feeling is found in “Small Town Psychopath,” which mixes pure jazz club with a overdrawn beginning, as well as in “Sweet Agitation.” It seems with The Humans, the more subdued the song, the more it sounds like it would have been played in a late ’80s film.

• Read the full review at ‘mxdwm.com’ here.

The Humans: The Public, West Bromwich
Concert review by Lisa O’Brien

There is no doubt that Brummie singer Toyah Willcox enjoyed herself on stage during a very intimate gig in the Black Country.

About 50 people turned up to see the Kings Heath-born singer, actress and writer perform with her other bandmates from The Humans at The Public, in New Street, West Bromwich, last night as part of their Sugar Rush tour.

Promoting their new album with the same name, there was no shortage of hair swinging as the 53-year-old used the stage to her full advantage. Waving her hands around freely and wearing a black dress, overcoat and black boots, she opened the gig strongly with Sugar Rush, followed by Titanium Girl when the bass definitely kicked in.

• Read the full review at the ‘Express & Star’ website, here.

Another excellent review of The Humans NY concert.

One of my “bucket list” artists I’ve been hoping to see in my lifetime was Toyah Willcox. This show was my opportunity, as she made her first ever live show in NYC with the band the Humans. She and they did not disappoint. Bill Rieflin and Chris Wong round out the Humans, and they were joined by live guest Human Igor for this show. Before I go further, great to see Tony Geballe nearby enjoying the show! Sugar Rush, the title track of their 2nd album, opened the set. Wong and Rieflin played dense layers of interlocking figures on their basses as Igor triggered buzzes, clicks, and beeps while adding patterns on guitar. Willcox added the technicolor to these dark textures – her voice soaring, flying, swooping passionately…

• Read the full review, and see some great photos of the gig, at the ‘Progsheet’ website, here.

The Humans Deliver Music As Their Own Art Form at Highline Ballroom

… Around the second to last song of the set, Toyah exclaimed, “It’s getting close to the end of my set and I don’t want it to end!” I’m sure they could have played for longer, but all good things come to an end, and when the band walked off the stage the applause didn’t stop. “More!” a crowd member yelled. The Humans hopped back up on the stage and played their rendition of “These Boots are Made for Walkin’” to unquestionable approval, before humbly bowing and grinning, then ducking back into the green room for good.

• Read the full review at the ‘Best New Bands’ website, here | Photo © Kelly Knapp.

The Humans have made that record we might have gotten if Tori Amos and Trent Reznor had ever come together for a full album in the late-nineties. Maybe a bit dated, slightly disjointed for sure, but nonetheless a fun listen. Sugar Rush is the group’s second release, and it is a big one. This record sound like it could have escaped from the John Cale archives.

With the attitude of Tori Amos’ best work (but not the raw emotion), Toyah’s voice lays over these compositions that sound almost like Trent Reznor on The Fragile. The result is a record that feels slightly out of time, and comes with the necessary incongruities that come from such a melding.

• Read the full review at the ‘Earbuddy’ website, here.

A great review, from ‘Everything But Urban’, of ‘Sugar Rush’, the forthcoming second album by The Humans.

Review: The Humans – Sugar Rush

The Humans’ new 13-track album, Sugar Rush, is experimental, edgy in the simplest of ways, and nothing you can ready yourself for. It’s the musical equivalent of a drive through a part of town you’ve never seen, and just when you think you’ve got the area figured out, you pass a sign welcoming you to the nearby town with restaurants of a different vibe, and even the sky looks a bit different. But don’t consider driving back now, because you’re on a one-way and the scenery stays intriguing.

• Read the full review at the ‘Everything But Urban’ website, here.

A huge thank you to Stephen for his review of The Humans at The Scala, and for the photos also:

On arrival at the Scala the signs of Mr Fripp’s well known intolerance for illegal recording, were noticeable in the form of a large number of hand printed poster notices from ‘The Humans’ stating that “no unauthorised photography or recording of any kind would be permitted or you will be asked to leave”. Harsh perhaps? But frankly refreshing to be at a gig again without being confronted by a sea of mobile phone screens shining back at you and distracting from the act in hand. The act in this case being Toyah, Bill Reiflin, Chris Wong and ‘Mr Willcox’ as the guest man at the back.

After a no doubt talented, but rather middle-of-road support artist, Robert commenced the proceedings solo with one of his trademark soundscapes. I have personally always found watching RF perform to feel slightly voyeuristic and at times the hushed reverence can be uncomfortable (maybe a “good evening” would help ease the audience in). However he is always impressive whether you are a fan or not, and at times I was wondering how such sounds could be coming from a mere guitar. During the piece, as reported, a shout of ‘Cmon Toyah’ could be heard, presumably from someone imagining the opening bars of Good Morning Universe would perhaps be next – erm, nope.

Please click here, or above, for the full review and larger versions of the pictures.

The ‘Financial Times’ have reviewed Wednesday’s gig at The Scala;

The Humans, Scala, London
By Ludovic Hunter-Tilney

The Humans are an art-rock band featuring two bassists – one, confusingly, is REM’s drummer Bill Rieflin – and Fripp on guitar. Willcox, in a black PVC top, a memento of her 1970s punk roots, led the line with expressive vocals, twirling dances and stylised stage movements: Stevie Nicks meets Brechtian cabaret.

The twin bass players, occasionally complemented by programmed beats, played sinewy, rumbling rhythms, a kind of twisted funk, with Fripp contributing a range of guitar effects, from gnarly riffs and a pounding cover of Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” to delightfully subtle chimes.

On this basis the work of Mrs Robert Fripp and Mr Toyah Willcox, as Willcox introduced herself and her husband, deserves a far wider audience.

Read the full review at ‘FT.com/Arts’ here.

‘SwimathonPete’s Blog’ offers an interesting perspective of the Bishops Cleeve warm-up show in his Toyah Toyah Toyah post. Read that here. (Thanks to Paul Lomas)

‘The-Rocker/Zeitgeist’, “an idiosyncratic collection of music news and reviews”, recently gave the thumbs-up to both ‘We Are The Humans’ and ‘In The Court Of The Crimson Queen’;

The Humans – We Are The Humans
The Humans are an odd little cove. A project that was first put together to perform new songs at a series of concerts in Estonia, they comprise Chris Wong, Bill Rieflin and one Toyah Willcox.

After the shows were completed, they went into the studio to record the material, before heading back to Estonia to perform them again. Which is a curious, yet perversely intriguing way of doing things.

Most of the music comprises dense, electronic landscapes, with the clipped, robotic voice of Toyah acting as an additional instrument. It’s certainly interesting, and bears more than a passing resemblance to solo David Sylvain. Which is a good thing. ‘Twisted Soul’ is probably the closest thing to anything conventional, and acts as a good entry point. Me? I liked it.

Toyah – In The Court Of The Crimson Queen
Listening to The Humans album reminded me that I had quite forgotten how good the last Toyah album was, the wittily titled “In The Court Of The Crimson Queen”.

Toyah is one of those people who only really became interesting to me after the hits dried up, and this album is a bit of a secret joy. There’s half a dozen songs here that deserved to be huge with the likes of ‘Sensational’, the bluesy (!) ‘Latex Messiah’ and ‘Legacy’, utter delights. However, it would be a brave man who listened to ‘Come’ and ‘Bad Man’ more than once.

You really ought to buy this, just so Toyah doesn’t have to slum it on the Vampires Rock tour again.

There’s now a good online selection of reviews, fan opinions and comments on, and about, the mini-tour by The Humans. Go here for interesting overviews and reviews of Bishops Cleeve, and here for a great review by Merx of Wyre Piddle. ‘DGM Live’ visitor Colin Coates reviews the Cambridge concert here, and for numerous fan opinions on each of the gigs visit Toyah’s Official Facebook here.

There are further fan opinions at The Official Toyah MySpace and The Humans MySpace, and, as previously mentioned, The Assembly website, here, has a great selection of photos from the Leamington Spa gig.

Yet another glowing review for ‘We Are The Humans’. This one from ‘Tasty Fanzine’;

The Humans – ‘We Are The Humans’
If anyone ever asks me what my favourite King Crimson album is, I can answer without blinking that 1971’s ‘Islands’ is probably the group at the actual peak of their abilities. Robert Fripp is involved in ‘We Are The Humans’ at varying points. Toyah, for those of you born in the 80s, was a bit of a star around the beginning of that decade. If anyone asks me what my favourite Toyah song is, I might scratch and frown while comparing ‘I Want To Be Free’ and ‘Ieya’. ‘We Are The Humans’ is very much Toyah’s own album, and Bill Reeflin from REM plays bass and all sorts of other things. Toyah and Robert Fripp are married, and The Humans are inexplicably big in Estonia, where they can include the Estonian President and Justice Minister (these aren’t the same person) as committed fans (says the press blurb). Getting all of this?

Toyah, I am pleased to inform the Tasty readership has, after 25 years, still got it. In buckets. ‘We Are The Humans’ could’ve been released in 1983 to acclaim from her then legions of adoring fans, although it certainly sounds an altogether harder edged proposition than the girly synth punk Toyah was then known for. The combination of vocal aptitude and tunes that had me imagining a bluesier Scritti Politti make for an as ever challenging performance from the original diminutive ginger topped pop pixie, and I only want to ask, do the Humans perform ‘Good Morning Universe’ as an encore? I’m sure they could. [Review by JG]

• DSD, who reviewed ‘We Are The Humans’ at the end of last year, have also given a grudgingly positive-ish review to ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin’. Read the review here.

The Humans; Warm-up gig, Bishops Cleeve, somewhere in the deep dark depths of Gloucestershire

Having been introduced to Toyah in 1980/81 by fashion designer Richard Sorger (www.richardsorger.com), who at the time I was at school with, I jumped at the chance to see her play live. I had owned vinyl copies of Anthem and The Changeling…. I still have a cassette tape of Warrior Rock in my attic.

Robert Fripp on the other hand, was a name that I had heard but I have to admit, his music, I had not. I own many CDs by Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Michael Brook etc but for some reason he had missed my radar. But not any longer! He has a new fan today.

The church at Bishop’s Cleeve was full. I believe there were about 300 seats.
Robert Fripp started proceedings with The Humans (Chris Wong, Bill Rieflin & Toyah Willcox) joining him after the opening track.

Ms Willcox started off unnecessarily nervous, or at least came across that way, but that seemed to lessen further in to the show. The audience was very receptive and appreciative.

The Humans are a three piece, four when Robert Fripp joins them as a special guest. The band has two bass players and no drummer.

The Humans played all of the tracks from their “we are the humans” along with a reprise of “We are the humans” at the end. This was followed by an encore comprising of excellent versions of “These Boots Were Made For Walking” and “Purple Haze”.

Chris Wong’s bass playing on “Is It Wrong” stood out for me. You can hear this track on Toyah’s MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/toyahofficial). It reminded me of Mick Karn (Japan / Dali’s Car / Rain Tree Crow) although Chris may not appreciate me saying that!

I personally liked it so much that I am hoping to be able to make it to the Cambridge gig on Tuesday.

Review by Symon Payne