Trailblazers: Sky Arts: Wednesday 11th April: 4pm
Trailblazers: Sky Arts: Thursday 12th April: 11am
Punk. Narrated by Noddy Holder, this eye-opening series turns its attention to the origins of punk music. With Toyah Willcox and DJ Annie Nightingale. (Episode, Series 1, Episode 5)
On Monday 12 March we had the pleasure to interview one of our new patrons of The Old Rep Theatre, singer and actress Toyah Willcox. Toyah was born in Kings Heath, Birmingham back in 1958. She attended the Old Rep Drama School in the 1970’s which later helped shape her acting career. We wanted to find out a little more about her life at The Old Rep, late night chats with Sir Laurence Olivier and becoming a Brummie legend.
Your first experience of theatre was at The Old Rep. What was it like for you as a girl of just 17?
Actually I was 14. The head commissioner of BBC Pebble Mill said to my parents that he felt I would do better if I was at drama school. And he voted me in to The Old Rep theatre school at weekends. So I joined when I was 14, and it was a very, very exciting building to be in, and I think purely because it smelt like theatre. It was one of the very few buildings still remaining but actually had that very unique smell about it, and I think it’s something to do with dust and costumes, and old grease paint. But it had an incredible atmosphere.
Who also attended The Old Rep drama school at the same time?
Oh gosh… Dona Croll. Dona is a very well established Black actress, phenomenally successful, we went to the school at the same time. But that is the only actress I currently know who is still currently working. I had lots of friends obviously at that time, but they didn’t really stay in the business.
• Continue reading at The Old Rep Theatre.
Toyah, tributes and a legend this April at Artrix.
R&B legend Georgie Fame, pop icon Toyah Willcox and a great selection of tribute acts are amongst the highlights for music fans at Bromsgrove’s Artrix Arts Centre this April.
Saturday 28th April sees household name and pop icon Toyah Willcox come to Artrix with her Acoustic, Up Close & Personal Tour. This lively, entertaining and revealing show comes in the form of Toyah performing an unplugged set of her well-loved hits, alongside recalling stories from her colourful thirty-five year career.
• Continue reading at The Birmingham Press. Visit toyahwillcox.com for all confirmed 2018 dates and appearances in Toyah’s Official Gig Diary.
Over the May Bank Holiday weekend, QUAD launches the first edition of Paracinema, a festival dedicated to films and genres outside of the mainstream. Expect a steady diet of horror, sci-fi and fantasy but in addition to this Paracinema will be exploring other genres outside the mainstream with special guests, previews and talks on a whole range of unusual genres and subgenres.
Toyah Willcox In Conversation
Saturday 5th May at 5:00pm
It is hard to imagine a more perfect guest for the eclectic nature of Paracinema than Toyah Willcox. After gaining positive notices for her debut in the television play Glitter in 1976, Toyah then played the anarchic role of Mad in Derek Jarman’s seminal punk film Jubilee . From there she went on to appear alongside Katherine Hepburn in the TV movie The Corn Is Green, in the mod classic Quadrophenia as Monkey and reteamed with Jarman in his Shakespeare adaptation The Tempest. Genre fans should note her role in the John Mills starring Quatermass series, BBC TV Movie Dr Jeykll and Mr Hyde and Tales Of The Unexpected. Since that early-mid 80s boom, Toyah has gone to appear as Miss Scarlett in the Cluedo TV Series, as Billie Piper’s mum in The Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, and in children’s TV series The Ink Thief. Recently she appeared in the genre defying Aaaaaaaah! by director Steve Oram and alongside Gabriel Byrne and Harvey Keitel in Lies We Tell.
We are excited to welcome Toyah to Paracinema for an on-stage discussion of her screen career.
• Continue reading at Derby QUAD. Visit Toyah’s 2018 Gig Diary at toyahwillcox.com for all confirmed dates and appearances.
Celebrate as the Pride of Bury comes to town
The second Bury Pride takes place on Saturday 7 April and promises to be another fun-packed celebration of diversity.
Pop icon Toyah Willcox is the headline attraction on this colourful occasion which features music, food, entertainment and a walking rainbow through the town centre. Tickets for Bury Pride are free and are available at www.bury.gov.uk/BuryPride, where you can also download the Pride Programme with all the information about the sponsors and the activities during the day.
The main stage, outside Bury Town Hall: Headlining will be Toyah Willcox who will be performing with a full band. The outdoor stage will also host the Manchester Gay and Lesbian Chorus, Divas in Denial, Laura Jane Butler as Amy Winehouse and fire eaters Utopia UK, all compered by our host Miss Sal Ford.
• Continue reading at Bury Council – My News Desk. Visit Toyah’s 2018 Gig Diary at toyahwillcox.com for all confirmed dates and appearances.
Who’s Doing The Dishes?: ITV2: Wednesday 4th April: 7.10am
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?
This week seven years ago Toyah premiered her From Sheep Farming To Anthem UK Tour, playing the opening gig at The Cavern, Liverpool on 20th March 2011. The gigs received rave reviews and much praise, with Toyah playing songs not performed for decades and wearing her iconic outfits onstage for the first time in many years – Relive Toyah’s fantastic tour by visiting the News Archive, Gallery and read a great Review of the London concert.
Four rare radio interviews with Toyah; 1979 – 1982. Click below for the Downloads section.
1. Capital Radio: Mummy’s Weekly (1979): Fighting talk from Toyah! She also chats about being discovered, ‘Victims Of The Riddle’ and more. 2. Radio One: Rock On (1980): Toyah talks Shoestring, Glitter, the band’s influences, mayhem, ’Sheep Farming In Barnet’, ‘Neon Womb’, and future plans. 3. Radio Trent: (January 1981): Toyah, interviewed just before the release of the ‘Four From Toyah’ EP. Great interview with lots of interesting pre-mainstream fame chat. 4. Radio One: Rock On (May 1982): Toyah talks to, former ‘Smash Hits’ writer and eternal cynic, Mark Ellen about ‘The Changeling’, aliens, fairies, her ‘Brave New World’ image and much more.
• Thanks to Giddy Gavin (aka Logan 5) and Sean.
Taking a trip through the Dreamscape Archives… a rare interview uploaded to You Tube in 2011 (by sph476) with Toyah, looking utterly Minxtastic, from 1985.
Toyah is busy, busy, busy in her big birthday year, with numerous gigs, festivals and personal appearances. She played a 30-minute set at the 80’s Weekender – 48 Hour Party last week in Camber Sands alongside Chesney Hawkes, Tight Fit, Hazell Dean and a variety of tribute bands. Thanks to Brian for this great shot from the gig. Click below for the full/larger version. (Photo © Brian Marsh Photography)
“Soul deep!” – Next week there’s a repeat airing on BBC4 for the retro episode of Top Of The Pops with Toyah performing the euphoric Be Proud Be Loud (Be Heard)… Most of Toyah’s early Eighties TOTP appearances – both in the studio and on promo video – have been repeated over the last few months, see the rundown here.
Top Of The Pops: BBC4: Wednesday 21st March: 1am
21.10.1982. Peter Powell presents the weekly pop chart show, first broadcast in October 1982. Includes appearances from The Piranhas, Toyah, The Kids from Fame, Imagination, Kool and the Gang, Bauhaus, Spandau Ballet, Culture Club, Sharon Redd and Shakin’ Stevens.
2018 is a big deal – This year Toyah celebrates the landmark event of turning 60, on 18th May. Not only that, this year is also the 40th anniversary of Toyah first making music.
Ten years ago I had a blast counting down to and celebrating Toyah’s fantastic 50th and hope to share some celebratory posts in the build up to Toyah’s 60th in just over two month’s time. Toyah’s official website and social media spaces are also celebrating #Toyah60 with special content and Toyah memories, career achievements and highlights.
• Dreamscape is now in its 19th year of sharing Toyah news so we have a comprehensive archive to look back on and simultaneously celebrate Toyah hitting 60! Have a browse at our many features looking at Toyah’s flabbergasting career and stay tuned for more memories…
“Dive in, be rescued” – As previously posted, Toyah’s second solo album, Desire, is being released on limited edition translucent red vinyl as a Record Store Day exclusive on 21 April 2018. See lots more info on the forthcoming release at toyahwillcox.com…
“Jubilee is a wrap. Thanks to the entire team & all our audiences x“, Toyah tweeted. She also Instagrammed: “Goodnight LIZZIE. What an astonishing last show. Thank u all. It has been a privilege“. (Photo © Official Toyah)
• Browse a summary of many of the reviews for Jubilee at the Lyric at toyahwillcox.com. See all of Dreamscape’s London news on Jubilee here and the Manchester production here.
Toyah’s blog for March 2018 is available to read at toyahwillcox.com.
24 influential women who make you proud to be from the Midlands
A century after women first won the right to vote in the UK here’s a look at some of those who inspire us from Birmingham and the West Midlands
What have you done today to make you feel proud? Well reading this list could be a start. It’s International Women’s Day 2018 today and we wanted to acknowledge some of the influential Midlands women who inspire us the most.
Leading columnists, athletes, hugely successful songwriters, doctors, innovators, scientists and more. Our list intentionally misses out serving MPs and politicians – although many are deserving of praise.
Toyah Willcox: from Kings Heath, is a singer with a career spanning more than thirty years. Known for her shocking hair and individual style.
Willcox has enjoyed eight Top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in 40 stage plays and 10 films. She has also presented numerous television shows. Between 1977 and 1983 she fronted the band Toyah, before going solo. She has a star on the Kings Heath Walk of Fame.
• Continue reading at the Birmingham Mail. (Photo © Birmingham Mail)
Pointless Celebrities: Challenge: Sunday 18th March: 1pm
Series 6, Episode 14. Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman present a special celebrity music edition of the quiz that rewards the answers that no-one else could think of. Featuring Mark King and Toyah Willcox, Carol Decker and Limahl, Dave Hill and Dave Bartram and Antony Costa and Scott Robinson. (Photo © BBC)
Only Artists: BBC Radio 4: Wednesday 7th March: 9am/9.30pm
Alice Lowe and Toyah Willcox. Series in which two artists discuss creative questions. Director and actor Alice Lowe, acclaimed for slasher film Prevenge, meets Toyah Willcox who by the age of 20 had played the National Theatre as well as starring in Derek Jarman’s film Jubilee. (Series 4)
• Listen live at bbc.co.uk or catch up later on BBC iPlayer.
Neil McCormick’s Needle Time: Vintage TV: Thursday 15th March: 4am
Toyah Willcox. Prolific artist and actor, who enjoyed hits with ‘It’s a Mystery’, ‘Thunder in the Mountains’ and ‘I Want to be Free’, shares the story behind her remarkable career – Running Time: 60 minutes. Vintage TV is available on Sky 369, Freeview 242, Virgin 343 and Freesat 505.
NO FUTURE: Brendan Macdonald reviews Chris Goode’s stage version of Derek Jarman’s Jubilee
“It’s funny isn’t it? In 1977, someone shouting NO FUTURE sounded like the most extreme nihilistic punk. Forty years on, it’s a fact. It’s mainstream climate science.”
As Amyl Nitrate (played by Travis Alabanza) perceives, ‘NO FUTURE’ was once a rallying cry of the punk movement, not just a closing refrain to a Sex Pistols anthem. It spoke of a stark fatalism imbued with fury, frustration, and a deep distrust in the current status quo. Chris Goode’s adaptation of Derek Jarman’s 1978 film Jubilee toys with this articulation, hurtling the punk movement into a future that seemingly shouldn’t exist, to see how it survives.
Goode’s adaptation spars with Jarman’s film, keeping faithful to the central tenets of the piece while modernizing it to reflect the current age. It’s messy, chaotic, sex-fueled, and driven more by affect than narrative. Queen Elizabeth I, brilliantly played by one of the film’s original stars Toyah Willcox, travels to the present day with the help of Lucy Ellinson’s Ariel, and passively witnesses the countercultural energy that’s brewing beneath 21st century neoliberal consumerism.
• Continue reading at Exeunt Magazine. Read Exeunt Magazine’s review of Jubilee at Royal Exchange, Manchester, here.
