It is official – Toyah Willcox loved the Corn Hall in Diss. Pop star Toyah sent her personal thanks to the St Nicholas Street venue for what she described as a “fantastic experience” following her concert, with particular thanks to Yoshi Shinagawa.
Yoshi, 49, who trained as an architect in Japan before moving to Diss in 2006, was a technical volunteer at the St Nicholas Street venue since 2013, and was offered the job as venue technician in April. He said: “I love my job and to receive personal thanks from such an incredible and down to earth performer made my day.”
Tickets for the Toyah show on September 1 sold out months beforehand, with a huge waiting list. Toyah had a string of hits in the 80s, including It’s a Mystery, and I Want To Be Free.
• Continue reading at the Diss Express. Read a review of Toyah’s Acoustic, Up Close & Personal gig at the Diss Corn Hall here.
Photos from last Saturday night’s Electric Toyah gig at Esquires in Bedford. A full capacity crowd of over 200 rocked the night away to a great Toyah set-list. Click below to view larger versions of the photos at Dreamscape’s Toyah Gallery. (Thanks to Angus | Photos © Angus Turner)
From punk princess, to cult stage actress, to high priestess of TV, Toyah Willcox has enjoyed a varied and exciting career.
And now she has a date at the Evesham Arts Centre, which is great news for her local fans.
A spokesman said: Toyah is a uniquely gifted performer. Charismatic, outspoken and impossible to categorise, she is one of Britain’s iconic household names – an award-winning rock legend as well as a much-loved stage and screen actress and music composer.
Toyah will perform an unplugged set of her well-loved hits and classic songs – and recalls stories from her colourful career.
• Continue reading at Worcester News.
The Best and Worst Musician Hairstyles From The ’80s
It’s hard to pinpoint a decade that was gaudier than the ‘80s. What we do know is that hairspray manufacturers were probably thrilled. As for the rest of us? Not so much.
What Was Going On With Toyah Willcox’s Hair?
Toyah Willcox’s hair is that strange part of ‘80s fashion where no one knew exactly what was going and just went with it anyway. It’s like looking at your high school yearbook and wondering what the heck you were thinking.
Willcox kept a bold, Cyndi Lauper shade of orange, but made it 100 times bigger than Lauper could have dreamed. Beyond her intense, teased-out look, she loved to play around with blunt, choppy layers (you know, the kind your mom gives you when she cuts your hair with the kitchen singers, but Willcox’s were an intentional statement). Today, the star is still playing gigs, but she’s chilled out with the Manic Panic and hairspray. She looks even better at 60 than she did in her youth, but such is the power of abandoning a wild ‘80s cut.
• Continue reading at Idolator.
The 35th Anniversary of the release of Love Is The Law is fast approaching. Here is a review of the album from No. 1 magazine, with a deceptive title as it’s essentially a very positive review of the album and opinion piece on Toyah circa 1983. Click below to zoom.
The Lee Mack Show: BBC Radio 4 Extra
Saturday 22nd September: 10pm
Episode 6 of 6. Toyah Willcox joins the sharp comedian for stand-up, sketches and music. With Angela McHale and Steve Brown. From April 2005. Includes a great performance of Guns N’ Roses ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ by Toyah.
• Listen online at the BBC website. The programme will also be available, post-broadcast, at BBC iPlayer.
Quadrophenia 40th in 2019… lots of great things happening. (Photos @ Toyah Willcox)
Who’s Doing The Dishes?: Virgin Media Three: Monday 17th September: 10am
Toyah Willcox. Brian McFadden presents the dining challenge. Will it remain a mystery that Toyah Willcox is the celebrity host when she throws a dinner party for four complete strangers?
October marks the 35th Anniversary of the release of Toyah’s final studio album on Safari Records and final album release as a band, Love Is The Law. A wonderful album released in October 1983 and packed full of Toyah’s most melodic music, great lyrics and soaring vocals – Time Is Ours is such an underrated classic – Broken Diamonds and Dreamscape similarly. Stay tuned to toyah.net over the next few weeks for LITL related content and posts…
• America For Beginners 2018: Toyah tweeted: “Just heard 1st mix for AMERICA FOR BEGINNERS for the soundtrack album of @1985thefilm ….WOW! It’s totally different and very 1985!” – Continue reading…
• BBC Scotland: Barmy Aunt Boomerang: Richard Madden is currently earning fulsome praise for his portrayal of Sergeant David Budd in BBC Oneʼs Bodyguard, but itʼs far from the first time heʼs been on our screens. Back in 1999, 13-year-old Richard starred in Barmy Aunt Boomerang as Sebastian, a boy whose life is thrown into chaos by the arrival of his ghostly aunt, played by Toyah Willcox – Continue reading at BBC Scotland…
• Live 2018: Toyah still has Acoustic, Up Close & Personal gigs in Huddersfield, Evesham and two nights at Trading Boundaries in Sheffield Green, an Electric gig in Bedford PLUS those four #Toyah60/40 Years of Music concerts – More info/Ticket links here…
• Outside Org: Thousands of party goers join Rewind Festival’s sold out 10th Birthday celebrations in Henley-On-Thames: The blissful weekend was compered by Toyah Willcox and The Doctor of Doctor & The Medics with DJ Massaoke keeping the tunes and sing-alongs going strong between the main stage performances, getting everyone hyped with some of the biggest 80s hits – Continue reading…
• God’s Jukebox: Brave New World: Can’t have #HairWeek without Toyah. This was the lead single from her 4th album, The Changeling. The video was directed by David Mallet, who directed the Ashes to Ashes video for Bowie – Continue reading/watching…
Perhaps the first British singer to be known only by her first name, Toyah entertained the Corn Hall with a string of post punk hits from the early 80s, and while for those of us of a certain age it was a treat to revisit them, it was also a revelation to hear them reinvented for acoustic guitar and vocals.
Flanked by two superb guitarists, and backed by video and still images, Toyah Ann Willcox proved to be a slick and accomplished performer. Opening on Good Morning Universe, she mixed lesser known gems with some cosy chit chat as well as big hitters like Thunder in the Mountains. These stripped down versions of her extensive back catalogue revealed not only how good these songs are, but what a fine voice she has.
• Continue reading at The Corn Hall.
From punk princess to cult stage and screen actress, Toyah Willcox is a vibrant performer and an inextinguishable flame. Charismatic, outspoken and impossible to categorise, she is one of Britain’s iconic household names – an award-winning rock legend as well as a much-loved stage/screen actress and music composer. In a career spanning over 40 years Toyah has amassed thirteen top 40 singles, recorded twenty-four albums, written two books, appeared in over forty stage plays, acted in twenty feature films and presented hundreds of television programmes.
The year 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of her music career as Toyah released her first ever single and album studio in 1979. This concert –with her full electric band– will be a celebratory retrospective including hit singles, album classics and fan favourites.
• Continue reading at Stockton Arts Centre.
Read Toyah’s September 2018 blog at toyahwillcox.com.
As previously reported, Toyah guested on Celebrity Eggheads on BBC2 yesterday evening. Watch the 45-minute episode for the next four weeks at BBC iPlayer. See larger versions of the screen caps from the programme by clicking on them.
Jeremy Vine hosts a special celebrity edition of the show where every day, a new team of challengers take on arguably the greatest quiz team in Britain – the Eggheads. Can a team from the world of arts and entertainment, featuring actor Simon Greenall, singer Toyah Willcox, arts correspondent Nick Higham, award-winning saxophonist YolanDa Brown and Proms presenter Katie Derham, triumph over the general knowledge goliaths and win the cash prize for their charity?
Unfortunately the Women Power concert, featuring Toyah, has been postponed by the promoters. See the official Facebook post regarding this by clicking below.
Issue 44 of Classic Pop magazine, which includes a six-page Toyah feature, is on sale now. See below for a (non readable) preview of this.
Get your copy in-store for just £5.99. Alternatively, you can buy a digital issue at the Classic Pop website. Available in-store from WH Smith, Tesco, Tesco Ireland, independent newsagents, Eason and selected McColls.
In the latest issue we speak to Soft Cell‘s Marc Almond and Dave Ball as they prepare for their farewell gig at the O2 in London and release a career-spanning boxset, Keychains & Snowstorms. We also take a look at their Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret LP in our Classic Album feature.
Elsewhere, we have an exclusive interview with the world’s biggest record producer, Mark Ronson, catch up with The Proclaimers who return with their politicised new album Angry Cyclist and talk to Level 42‘s Mark King about his life in pop’s funkiest band.
This month, we look back on the glory days of house music and Toyah tells us how she brought the punk aesthetic to the pop world.
• Visit the Classic Pop website or Twitter. (Thanks to Minna for the magazine scans)
Toyah has taken part in a new film – Afterlife – being produced for inclusion in the Birmingham Film Festival. A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to help with finances for the film.
This is an independent, factual and investigative documentary, being made on a non-profit basis.
The Producer and crew are not making any money from this production; this is about getting this project made and getting it seen by the backers and public. Your donations will pay for the time of our contributors and will ensure we can travel to them for their interviews, plus donations to hospitals, research centres and other venues as a thank you for the hospitality and assistance.
We are also speaking to people who will relive unexplainable experiences including singer and actress Toyah Willcox who not only has a deep interest in the subject, but lives in what could be one of the most haunted homes in the UK which she describes as a “house of shadows”.
• See further info on Afterlife and how you can help via the crowdfunding campaign here or by clicking below.
Another chance to hear highlights from Toyah’s 1981 Christmas Eve Drury Lane concert, originally broadcast on The Old Grey Whistle Test on BBC2 on Christmas Eve 1981, at the end of the month on BBC 6 Music’s Live Hour.
6 Music Live Hour: BBC 6 Music
Wednesday 29th August: 2.30am
Toyah in concert at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London in 1981, plus a session recorded by the Quads on this date (29th August) in 1979 and one from Stereophonics (22/1/1997). Presented by Chris Hawkins. Duration: 1 hour. (Available at BBC iPlayer after airing)
Toyah and The Moondogs: Chris Hawkins presents recordings from the BBC’s archive of live music. Tonight including Toyah recorded at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London in 1981, plus The Moondogs in session.
Toyah is guesting on Celebrity Eggheads at the end of the month on BBC2, alongside Simon Greenall, Nick Higham, YolanDa Brown and Katie Derham.
Celebrity Eggheads: BBC2: Friday 31st August: 6pm
Series 9, Episode 15. Jeremy Vine hosts a special celebrity edition of the show where every day, a new team of challengers take on arguably the greatest quiz team in Britain – the Eggheads. Can a team from the world of arts and entertainment, featuring actor Simon Greenall, singer Toyah Willcox, arts correspondent Nick Higham, award-winning saxophonist YolanDa Brown and Proms presenter Katie Derham, triumph over the general knowledge goliaths and win the cash prize for their charity?
Check out all the latest news and happenings direct from Toyah at Twitter. Recent posts include: Backstage at Rewind South (Toyah was a Guest Presenter this weekend), Gary and Gemma Numan having tea with Toyah and Robert, playing Weyfest 2018 last night with The SAS Band, and re-recording America For Beginners for a forthcoming film. (All photos @ Toyah Willcox)
