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The RSPCA has issued an urgent appeal to help the dogs desperate for forever homes in West Sussex. The charity rehomed 95 dogs in the county last year, but many pets are still in need of an owner. They include the German Shepherd brought in because her owner was unable to care for her.

Meet the dogs desperate for forever homes in West Sussex:

Toyah: “Toyah is an energetic, intelligent German Shepherd. She was brought into the branch after her previous owner was unable to care for her.

“Toyah is affectionate, comical, playful and intelligent. She would make a fantastic dog for German Shepherd enthusiasts. Toyah has struggled a little with being in kennels, and can be unsure of meeting new people. But she loves toys and these can be used to build a bond with her. Once she knows you Toyah has so much love to give and really enjoys cuddles and a groom. Adopters will need to be prepared to spend time working with the centre when getting to know her before taking her home.

“An ideal home would be a calm and quiet adult-only household in a semi-rural location, with German Shepherd enthusiasts that have a keen interest in dog training.”

• Continue reading at Spirit Radio.

There’s another opportunity to catch Toyah’s winning appearance on BBC1’s Celebrity Mastermind later this month. This originally aired at Christmas 2018.

Celebrity Mastermind: BBC1: Sat 12th October: 5pm
Series 13, Episode 2. John Humphrys ushers comedian Joe Pasquale, Newsround presenter Ricky Boleto, singer Toyah Willcox and Olympic sprinter Jeanette Kwakye to the black chair to be put to the test on their chosen specialist subjects, which are werewolf films, number one singles of the 1990s, Boudica, and Disney animation respectively. The second round sees them tackling general knowledge questions in a bid to carry off the commemorative trophy. NB: Airing at 4.30pm on BBC Wales.

Micro-Budget UK Sci-Fi 20 Years In The Making Lands Distribution Deal Against The Odds

As UK studios and cinemas fill up with mega-budget U.S. superhero movies, here’s a rare David and Goliath story from the other end of the spectrum. Micro-budget UK sci-fi film Invasion Planet Earth, a passion project 20 years in the making, has secured UK distribution.

… Cast is largely made up of unknown actors but the pic includes an end title song by UK singer and actress Toyah Willcox (Quadrophenia) who also stars in the film. Matt Allsopp, whose credits include Godzilla: King Of The Monsters and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, provided original concept art.

• Continue reading at Deadline. Browse all of our previous Kaleidoscope Man news.

Line up for Let’s Rock Exeter 2020 is announced

Could this be the best Let’s Rock Exeter line-up yet?

The headliners and performers for next year’s summer nostalgia festival Let’s Rock Exeter have been revealed and it could be the best ’80s icon line-up yet.

Adam Ant is topping the bill with other big names including Wet Wet Wet, ABC, Howard Jones, Tony Hadley, Kim Wilde, Midge Ure’s Electronica, Peter Hook and the Light, T’Pau, English Beat and Toyah.

• Continue reading at Devon Live.

OMD, Billy Ocean, ABC, Sister Sledge, and Midge Ure’s Electronica among acts heading to Sunderland for Let’s Rock the North East

OMD, Billy Ocean, ABC and a host of other household names have been announced for this year’s Let’s Rock the North East in Sunderland.

The popular retro festival is returning to Herrington Country Park next summer on June 6 and festival-goers can look forward to a trip down memory lane headlined by OMD.

Other acts announced for the Sunderland date are Billy Ocean, ABC, Sister Sledge, Go West, Midge Ure’s Electronica, Nik Kershaw, Toyah, English Beat and Pete Wylie.

• Continue reading at the Sunderland Echo.

Local musician Peter Barron is celebrating this week as news comes that the title track from his album “One More Crow” has been optioned to be part of a soundtrack for a new movie. Peter, who lives with wife Jan, in Coast Road, Pevensey Bay, told Bay Life, “the movie placement finally came up trumps and contracts have been signed”. He added, “there may be plans for a soundtrack”.

The film Swiperight is described as “a compelling and frightening horror/ thriller based around the dangers of a dating app”.

A trailer from the film should be available shortly. Filming has finished and the company is about to enter into post production. This story they say “will have you on the edge of your seat. Starring Toyah Willcox, Sophie Ward, Jenny Wu”.

• Continue reading at Bay Life. Browse our other Swiperight news.

Toyah recently guested on Chris Hawkins’ BBC Radio 6 Music show, enthusing about her home town of Birmingham.

Is it Toyah? Sounds just like her… More from The Cure’s Seventeen Seconds, which is our Classic Album Of The Weekend, and there’s Toyah’s Hometown Glory guide to Birmingham.

• Toyah appears at approximately 1hr 44m into the show… Listen at BBC Sounds for the next few weeks. Includes a play of It’s A Mystery and a very short burst of Lesser God.

Toyah & The Humans back catalogue is available to stream and download now by clicking on the iconic album artwork imagery below. #Toyah #discography #albums #1980s #1990s #2000s #2010s #pop #rock #thehumans #billrieflin #desire #ophelia #velvetlinedshell #taketheleap

Quadrophenia – Our Generation: Sky Arts: Friday 27th September: 11pm
Celebrity fans and cast members come together to shed light on the making of Quadrophenia and explore the legacy that the cult film has left behind, 40 years after its release.

Quadrophenia Reunited – 40 Years On: Sky Arts: Saturday 28th September: 0.00am
Lauren Laverne hosts a one-off special bringing the stars of Quadrophenia together. Featuring reminiscing, interviews, a table-read of the script and plenty of other surprises.

Celebrity Fantasy Homes: Home: Tuesday 8th October: 1.50am
Toyah (Series 2, Episode 2). Celebrities hunt for a new home. Gaby Roslin helps the original punk-pop princess Toyah Willcox search for a second home, in Richmond upon Thames, with a budget of £650,000.

A chance to dance as Party In The Park returns to Himley Hall – in pictures

It was a double Party in the Park at Himley Hall over the weekend with the clock turned back to the 1970s and 80s.

Saturday’s event saw the likes of Toyah Willcox and Neville Staple take to the stage as hundreds of people donned their best retro gear and danced the day and night away.

Then yesterday it was the turn of the mods with a Quadrophenia-themed party, attended by Toyah and other stars of the 1979 cult classic including Phil Daniels and Leslie Ash, who are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the movie.

There were hundreds of tents and camper-vans set-up at the historic South Staffordshire estate, that sits on the border of Dudley and Wolverhampton, as people gathered for a jam-packed weekend of fun organised by the Dubs Collective.

• Continue reading at the Express & Star. (Photo © Express & Star)

Great shot of Toyah, Neville Staples, Gary Shail and a loadsa band members at Saturday’s Party In The Park at Himley Hall in Staffordshire. Thanks to Paul. (Photo © Gary Shail)

Tonight sees Sky Arts celebrate the 40th Anniversary of, the mighty and forever enduring, Quadrophenia, with documentaries and an airing of the movie itself. There’s already been a ton of news and comment in the last few weeks and, indeed, over the past year about this significant anniversary. Here’s some more…

• What’s On TV: Happy 40th Quadrophenia! Phil Daniels on scooters, suits and the Sex Pistols…: Forty years ago this month, first-time director Franc Roddam – who would go on to create TV shows Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and MasterChef – presented his eagerly anticipated 1960s-set film Quadrophenia, about an angry young mod, to the world – Continue reading…

• BBC Radio Cornwall: David White Show: Francis Rossi, Mark King, Toyah Willcox, Leslie Ash (20/09/2019) Francis talks Quo, Mark chats Level 42 while Leslie and Toyah talk about Quadrophenia – Listen at BBC Sounds for the next four weeks…

• Radio Times: Quadrophenia Reunited: 40 Years On – Released in 1979 but set in 1964, Quadrophenia is a fascinating period piece within a period piece. And, thanks largely to the incredibly authentic performances of its young actors, it’s aged really well over the past 40 years. Members of that cast – including Leslie Ash, Toyah Willcox and, of course, Phil Daniels – reassemble at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire tonight for a good-natured chinwag about the making of the film, including some readings from the script – Continue reading…

• Belfast Telegraph: Stars reunite to celebrate 40 years of Quadrophenia: To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of cult British film Quadrophenia, there’s a brand new documentary – Continue reading…

• Financial Times: Quadrophenia: Our Generation — Phil Daniels and Sting reflect – Continue reading (registration required)…

• ATV Today: One to Watch: Quadrophenia: Our Generation and Quadrophenia Reunited: 40 Years On, Sky Arts: At 9pm the celebration kicks off with Quadrophenia: Our Generation. Sky Arts celebrates the 40th anniversary of the 1979 cult classic Quadrophenia with a series of special films – Continue reading…

• Pirate FM: Quadrophenia at 40: Stars reminisce about the film for ‘every generation’: Released in 1979 and loosely based on The Who’s album of the same name, Quadrophenia’s coming-of-age tale of a young mod is very much a cult classic – Continue reading…

• Sunday Post: Quadrophenia, 40 years on: Roy’s generation and his priceless scooter brought a bit extra to film: The year 1964 was a noisy one, especially if you were in the seaside towns of Brighton or Hastings caught up in fights that famously broke out between Mods and Rockers – Continue reading…

• Gigwise: Quadrophenia 40 Years On: The cast on Blur, Oasis and representation in music: In celebration of the Sky Arts documentary being released to mark its 40th anniversary, we speak to the cast to investigate the legacy and impact Quadrophenia holds – Continue reading…

• BT: Johnny Rotten ‘nearly brawled’ with Phil Daniels after Quadrophenia snub: Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten came close to brawling with Quadrophenia star Phil Daniels after the actor beat him to the role of Jimmy in the cult film. However, the role went to Daniels, who earned plaudits for his depiction of a scooter-riding mod in the 1960s escaping his humdrum life through a heady mix of parties, amphetamines and fights – Continue reading…

• Official Toyah: Qquadrophenia 40th Anniversary Evening: On 21 September, a special evening on Sky Arts celebrates the 40th anniversary of iconic Brit flick Quadrophenia. Several new programmes will be broadcast including the premiere of Quadrophenia Reunited – 40 Years On and Quadrophenia – Our Generation – Continue reading…

The opening date of The Crimson Queen Tour, at The Exchange in Sturminster Newton, Dorset, is just a few hours away. Tickets are close to being sold out. Grab yours, and prepare to Dance In The Hurricane, by clicking below. See Toyah’s tweet about tonight’s tour opener gig here. Check out our In The Court Of The Crimson Queen archive here.

Mods, rockers and teenage dreams – The making of Quadrophenia

Forty years after Quadrophenia, the cast have reunited for a documentary

“I don’t think any of us have changed, we are still very much the same people, but obviously time has affected us, and to watch the documentaries and the work we have done in the last 12 months, I find it profoundly moving,” confides Toyah Willcox, 61, who plays Monkey.

Did they have a sense at the time that the relationships they formed on set would last four decades?

“We were all very passionate, and protective,” recalls the Birmingham born actress, who’s also a Brit Award-nominated musician, famous for songs such as I Want To Be Free.

She then explains her co-stars Wingett and Shail were like her “bodyguards” when they’d go and watch her gigs. “I was a punk rocker. I was the subject of quite a lot of physical aggression… Punks always got beaten up by teddy boys or whatever. Even as a woman on my own… a gang tried to throw me through a chemist window on King’s Road, when I was 20.

“It was quite interesting back then because fights did break out, but no-one pulled a knife on you, no-one pulled a gun on you. I think there was a pride back then in using your physical strength, using your fists or being able to run quick enough to get away.”

• Browse our Quadrophenia 40th Anniversary archive.

Update today from Official Toyah: Due to logistical reasons, the Birmingham and London dates of the Crimson Queen Tour have been re-scheduled to Jan 2020. All tickets remain valid for change of date. The Birmingham date has been re-located to Slade Rooms Wolverhampton. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Phil Daniels, Toyah Willcox, Trevor Laird and Mark Wingett talk Quadrophenia 40 years on!

Watch the Sky Arts Quadrophenia Night launch trailer…

Quadrophenia at 40: Stars reminisce about the film for ‘every generation’

Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Toyah Willcox and other stars of Quadrophenia speak to Sky News about the film’s 40th anniversary.

Released in 1979 and loosely based on The Who’s album of the same name, Quadrophenia’s coming-of-age tale of a young mod is very much a cult classic. Forty years on, a new documentary for Sky Arts, Quadrophenia – Our Generation, explores the style of filmmaking and the movie’s themes.

But for the cast, who reunited at a screening for the documentary, the film’s wider impact could never have been predicted.

… Toyah Willcox, who played Monkey in the film, says it was emotional to look back at when it was being made. “You’re just thinking, ‘my God, it was so special’,” she says. “It was such an opportunity and a privilege because we were treated as serious actors at a time when we could have been treated very differently. “So watching the documentary, I just thought, ‘wow, I’m just so pleased that was in my life’.”

• Continue reading at Sky News. (Photo © Sky Arts)

Quadrophenia‘s big anniversary weekend on Sky Arts is fast approaching. Here are a couple of very recent Quad related photos – At London Film Fair on Sunday, and a great shot of four of the legendary cast! Thanks to Paul. (Photos © Toyah Willcox and Gary Shail)

Toyah’s Sack The Stylist?! Top 30: NOW 80s: Thursday 19th September: 1pm
Pop legend Toyah brings 30 memorable videos featuring a cavalcade of clothing calamities from superstars including Bowie, Madonna, Adam Ant and many more in this crazy countdown!