Holly Johnson, Rick Astley, Marc Almond, Toyah, Jimmy Somerville – the line-up at the Rewind North music festival was like a big bag of pic n’ mix from the 80s sweetie shop, with everything from sugary sweet pop to edgy rock. Staged successfully in Scotland and the south of England for several years, it was the time the nostalgic franchise had been brought to the region.
• Continue reading at The Sentinel. (Photo © The Sentinel/Simon J. Newbury)
Singer Toyah Willcox: “I’m no sociopath” as she chats ahead of a gig in Stroud
Conducting an interview can often feel like an odd form of psychotherapy in which you sit your subject down and probe at their personal life, hoping all the while that they’ll bare their soul and somehow thank you for the privilege.
Invariably in an increasingly media savvy, PR-managed and image conscious world, it doesn’t quite work out like that.
Now and again, however, there comes a breath of fresh air who doesn’t want to engage in a banal cat-and-mouse duel. Instead, in the case of singer and actress Toyah Willcox, they’ll be happy to speak their mind.
• Continue reading at the Gloucestershire Echo and/or the Gloucester Citizen.
• STV Shows: Who’s Doing The Dishes: “I also really liked Toyah Willcox’s house. She really liked an old tearoom, which she used to visit as a four-year-old. When she got older, she bought it and turned it into a house. But it’s got all the old seating from the tearoom still. It is amazing.” – (Thanks to Richard Smith for the screenshot) Continue reading…
• Hardly Baked: Female Shriekers: The ongoing Kate Bush mass hysteria got me thinking about other female singers with shrill, soaring voices — operatic or histrionic or she-warrior whooping… And then the warrior-chieftainess of suburban postpunk – Toyah Willcox, whose band – Toyah – were originally a sort of distaff Adam and the Antz – Continue reading…
• ToyahTV Webisode #4: Robert’s Skype: Toyah Willcox interviews Robert Fripp about King Crimson rehearsals & Kate Bush! – Watch at Vimeo…
• Gloucestershire Echo/Weekend: Clean living Toyah Willcox set for Stroud gig: By her own admission, Toyah Willcox is a free spirit – always has been, always will be. She also leads a very strict lifestyle which even extends to protecting her ears and voice whenever she isn’t on stage. “It’s all part of how I function as a singer,” she says – Continue reading…
• London Evening Standard: Toyah Willcox: The veteran Birmingham-born singer and actress performs her punk, new wave and rock with her backing band.
To celebrate the special offers happening in hmv stores across the country over the next few weeks, each week we’ll be picking our top 10 films from each decade. Today we’re picking our faves from the 1970s…
7. Quadrophenia (1979)
Anybody taking a day trip to Brighton in recent years may have encountered the strange sight of tourists taking photographs of an empty alleyway in the city’s Lanes area, but for anyone familiar with that scene from Franc Roddam’s 1979 film that should come as no surprise. One of the most iconic British films of the whole decade, Quadrophenia’s legacy can still be seen around the streets of Brighton today. Featuring a cast that includes Phil ‘Parklife’ Daniels, Leslie Ash, Philip Davis and Ray Winstone, not to mention some brilliant cameos from Sting and Toyah Willcox, the film’s tale of counter culture and the frustrations of modern life are epitomised in its climactic final scene at Beachy Head. The scene may have changed, but the film’s message is as relevant as ever.
• Continue reading at hmv.com.
6 Music Live Hour: BBC 6 Music Thursday 11th September: 2.30am Chris Hawkins presents recordings from the BBC’s archive of live music, including Toyah at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London in 1981 plus The Moondogs in session. (Available at BBC iPlayer after airing)
Now is your chance to interview Toyah! Sort of!!
Got a question you’d like to ask Toyah? Post your question in the comments section at The Official Toyah Facebook page.
Toyah will answer a selection on video for a new webisode of ToyahTV which will accompany her September blog at www.toyahwillcox.com.
Thinking caps on!
Toyah gets ‘Up Close & Personal’ with an acoustic gig at Stroud Subscription Rooms
There is a unique chance to experience musical legend Toyah up close and personal at Subscription Rooms, Stroud, next week.
Fresh from her diving on the latest series of ITV1’s Splash, pop icon, TV presenter and stage/screen actress Toyah presents this lively unplugged/storytellers-style gig with her full band.
• Continue reading at the Gazette.
Who’s Doing The Dishes: ITV: Wednesday 10th September: 4pm
On today’s programme, will it remain a mystery that Toyah Willcox is their celebrity host when she throws a dinner party for four strangers? Join Brian McFadden to find out!
Toyah discusses Kate Bush on today’s World at One. Click below to listen.
Tune into World at One today at 1:40pm, on BBC Radio 4, to hear Toyah on a feature which looks forward to Kate Bush’s opening night of ‘Before The Dawn’ tonight at Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith.
World at One: BBC Radio 4: Tuesday 26th Aug: 1pm
National and international news with Edward Stourton. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.UK or on twitter: #wato.
It has now been confirmed that songs from Minx will be included in the Songs From The Intergalactic Ranch House Autumn tour, the first time anything from the 1985 album has ever been performed live by Toyah (though for some reason I thought that ‘Don’t Fall In Love’ had been played live at some point at a PA, I’m obviously mistaken or mis-remembering). Click below for the full tour dates schedule and links to buy tickets.
Saturday’s Pointless Celebrities is available to watch at BBC iPlayer for the next few days.
• Toyah is mentioned in a couple of Pointless-related news articles, published today: Express & Star: Slade star Dave wins Pointless: The musical pair competed against 80s star Toyah Willcox and Level 42 musician Mark King – Continue reading… Shropshire Star: Shropshire singing star Carol Decker put to the test on celebrity Pointless: The other star pairs playing were punk singer Toyah Willcox and Mark King, singer and bass player in Level 42 – Continue reading…
Toyah has uploaded a couple of “webisodes” over the last few days as part of the new Toyah TV.
• Both are available to watch at the Official Toyah Vimeo page.
• ITV Press Centre: Confirmed: Through The Keyhole returns Saturday 30th August at 9.25pm on ITV.
• The Big Issue: Biographer Graeme Thomson: “Kate Bush changed perceptions”: We can trace that line down through everyone from Toyah to people like Florence and the Machine and other modern women. But it goes much deeper than that – Continue reading…
• BBC Radio 4 Extra: A Good Read: Tom Sutcliffe, Mavis Nicholson and Toyah Willcox discuss books by Anne Tyler, Ben Okri and F Scott Fitzgerald. From March 1998. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Famished Road by Ben Okri, Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler. Listen to the programme, which originally aired in March 1998, at BBC iPlayer…
• The Shuttle: Rock Choir concert is ‘literally electrifying’: Members of Kifferminster Rock Choir joined singer and actress Toyah Willcox for two special performances in Birmingham – Continue reading…
• This Is The West Country: ‘Best and biggest’ Falmouth Week draws in 100,000 people: The party nights at Events Square also drew thousands of people across the week with many adopting fancy dress to add to the atmosphere. Performances by East 17, Toyah Willcox, Fleetwood Bac, Bon Giovi, Joey and the Lips, Company B and Cornwall’s own Rudi’s Message and Kernow King went down a storm – Continue reading…
The Corn is Green: True Movies 1: Wednesday 27th August: 3am
Academy Award winner Katharine Hepburn stars as a schoolteacher determined to help the people of a turn-of-the-century Welsh mining town. With Ian Saynor, Bill Fraser, Patricia Hayes, Anna Massey, Artro Morris, Dorothea Phillips, Toyah Willcox, Huw Richards, Bryn Fon, Dyfan Roberts and Robin John. Directed by: George Cukor (1979).
Punk princess Toyah has announced a performance in September at Birdwell Venue.
She has had 13 top 40 singles, recorded 20 albums, and written two books. She has also appeared in more than 40 stage plays, made ten feature films and presented such diverse television programmes as The Good Sex Guide Late, Watchdog and Songs Of Praise.
She will be coming to Barnsley on September 26.
• Continue reading at the Barnsley Chronicle.
Toyah played Falmouth Week on Friday night and also tweeted a couple of photos from the sold out concert. View larger/full versions of these by clicking below (Photos © Toyah Willcox Ltd)
A Good Read: BBC Radio 4 Extra: Monday 25th August: 6.30pm
A Good Read: BBC Radio 4 Extra: Tuesday 26th August: 1.30am
4 Extra Debut. Tom Sutcliffe, Mavis Nicholson and Toyah Willcox discuss books by Anne Tyler, Ben Okri and F Scott Fitzgerald. From March 1998.
Toyah’s second appearance on the BBC quiz show Pointless Celebrities airs next Saturday (the same evening that the new series of Doctor Who premieres). The programme will be available to watch at BBC iPlayer after airing.
Pointless Celebrities: BBC1: Saturday 23rd August: 5.40pm
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.
Thousands of music lovers turned out for this year’s OsFest.
From current acts The Hoosiers and Union J to 80s star Toyah and the 1970s group The Bay City Rollers, all the acts drew praise from the crowds. Thousands of music lovers enjoyed the two-day event, the fifth OsFest to be held at Oswestry Showground, and the audience showed the Dunkirk spirit by partying on despite the remnants of Hurricane Bertha bringing rain and high winds to the showground yesterday.
Toyah was one of the favourites of the Saturday crowd, as was Les McKeown and his new line-up Bay City Rollers.
• Continue reading at Native Monster.
