The Unofficial Toyah Calendar 2013 is now available to download. A brilliant 12-month Toyahfest! There are also links to view Tony’s other Toyah calendars some of which haven’t been available previously. Click below to get yours. (Thanks again to Tony Webb)
Minder: ITV4: Thursday 17th January: 6.00pm
Minder: ITV4: Fri 18th Jan: 1.55am/8.35am/12.35pm
All Mod Cons. Arthur decides to sell Terry’s flat without his permission. Meanwhile, Terry gets a job minding at a local club and ends up getting into more trouble than he had planned for when he realises the club’s manager is on the fiddle. Starring: George Cole, Dennis Waterman, Toyah Willcox, Simon Cadell, James Ottaway, and Tony Osaba. (Series 2, Episode 8, 1980). Also showing on ITV4 +1.
First Toyah on TV of 2013, and it’s another airing for the legendary Quadrophenia!
Quadrophenia: ITV4: Wed 23rd Jan: 10pm
Quadrophenia: ITV4: Tue 29th Jan: 11pm
The Who wrote and produced this energetic story of a young man disillusioned with his life in 1960s London. Phil Daniels excels as the alienated anti-hero Jimmy Cooper. Director: Franc Roddam. Starring: Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Toyah Willcox, Philip Davis, Mark Wingett, Sting, and Ray Winstone.
• View all of Dreamscape’s recent Quadrophenia news updates here. Difficult to believe this movie was shot almost 35 years ago now.
Keep an eye on Channel 4 News. Toyah tweeted yesterday that she was being interviewed this morning for the programme: “C4 news filming me in dressing room at 9am. How punk changed the role of women! ”
Channel 4 News airs in the UK at 7pm Monday to Saturday and 6.30pm on Sundays.
Another new review for Sleeping Beauty, now into its final 10 days at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. High praise for the production, and Toyah, by the British Theatre Guide.
As soon as ‘Bring Me Sunshine’ sweeps across the auditorium spreading its melodic happiness during the overture, the audience knows they’re in for a good time. Last year’s Cinderella at the Marlowe Theatre was a resounding success, but somehow Evolution Productions has managed to top it with this year’s festive treat Sleeping Beauty.
Not only does the production boast an excellent Comic and Dame, it has one of the finest Villains in Pantoland in the form of Toyah Willcox’s Carabosse. An experienced pantomime performer, Willcox knows how to work an audience and ensure she gets the boos her character so desires. Her involvement in the schoolroom scene works well as she tries to think up ways to prick the Princess and a mysterious birthday card efficiently lures Beauty to her fate.
• Continue reading at the British Theatre Guide. Read more Sleeping Beauty reviews here.
Falkirk Set To Rock As 80s Superstars Head To Football Stadium
Falkirk Football Club has announced the first in a series of concerts set to rock the town over a summer weekend.
‘Rock The Stadium’, which will take place the weekend of June 22 2013, will this week release tickets for the Here And Now 80s extravaganza featuring big name stars Five Star, Altered Images, The Real Thing, Toyah, T’Pau, Paul Young, Curiosity Killed the Cat and Midge Ure.
There are seating and standing tickets available as the football stadium will be transformed into a concert venue. The event will take place on Saturday June 22 with tickets prices starting from £35 available at www.ticketline.co.uk or by calling 0844 888 9991, tickets are also be available from the club shop.
• Continue reading at Rock The Stadium. View a larger version of the flyer here. (Pleae note that Toyah hasn’t been officially confirmed for this concert as yet!)
• Read a full transcript of the Musical Milestones Toyah special at The Toyah Willcox Interview Archive. This aired on ‘Marlow FM’ on Christmas Eve. (Thanks to Lärwi)
• Doctor Who: The Legacy Collection: More namechecks for Toyah in various reviews of this new DVD box set, including DVD Active, Horrorview, Telly Tech Blog, There are a few others but I won’t link to those. Needless to say that even in 2013 some DW fans are still po-faced and humourless. It must be the exhaustion of updating their news blogs!
• Twenty Four From Toyah: There are just a couple of weeks left to listen to the full 24 live Toyah songs: All of the tracks plus the Soundcloud page will expire on the 24th January!
• Crawley Happy Times: Laugh Out Loud at The Hawth: The Hormonal Housewives are back on Friday 22 March at 7.30pm. Following their hugely successful 2012 tour, the girls return, plus this time Toyah Willcox takes on a leading role
• Acupuncture Awareness: Toyah Willcox on coping with insomnia using acupuncture: A new five-minute video clip of Toyah discussing acupuncture has just been uploaded to ‘You Tube’. The first ever Acupuncture Awareness Week launches on Monday 27 February 2012 and will attempt to dispel the many myths still surrounding acupuncture.
• Nigel Kiely’s Blog: Rhythm Is A Chancer: But it’s Toyah’s album that stands out most in my mind. For there was a song on it called Elecution lessons that gave me and my brothers hours of endless entertainment…
Dreamscape’s annual ‘Top 10 Toyah’ is being compiled as I type (okay, it’s not as it would be impossible to be posting this update and doing that simultaneously but you get the idea ;)). Check back soon for what we thought were the ten biggest Toyah events of the last year…
The Marlowe Theatre have been posting amusing and interesting facts related to their panto, Sleeping Beauty, including: The dramatic costume worn by Carabosse (Toyah) is made from 16 metres (52ft) of fabric and took more than 50 hours to make. (Photo © The Marlowe Theatre)
A fantastic unofficial Toyah calendar for 2013 has been created by Tony Webb, featuring some of Toyah’s most recent imagery. Tony, who previously published a Toyah calendar back in 2008, will make the new 12-month Toyahfest available via a link at Dreamscape’s Facebook Group later this week. (Thanks again to Tony)
Toyah’s brief appearance, from early December, on ITV1’s Lorraine is still available to watch online at the ITV website.
More than half a million people have been checking out our Little Black Dress Diet – and there are just two days to go until our finale on Thursday! Today it’s all about last-minute tips, and to get us in the Christmas mood, Jane Wake has enlisted the help of panto stars Gareth Gates and Toyah Willcox to show us some great simple arm exercises.
Toyah’s first blog of the year is now available to read at toyahwillcox.com. Toyah talks Sleeping Beauty, ‘Sensational’ (there could be a full video made), touring plans for 2013 (Hormonal Housewives and the Toyah band) and pays tribute to Alfie Fripp.
• Indie London: Hormonal Housewives: A second national tour of Hormonal Housewives will visit New Wimbledon Theatre on April 19, 2013. With previous Hormonal Housewives including Margi Clark and Carol Smillie, 2013’s ladies will be led by British pop icon Toyah Willcox and writer Julie Coombe, with further casting to be announced.
• Official Blog: Toyah talks Hormonal Housewives in her latest missive: “I am getting ready to tour Hormonal Housewives, dealing with the press for 67 dates, all in different towns.”
• Asda: Win! One of 25 pairs of tickets to watch Hormonal Housewives at a venue near you. (you may have to enable cookies first before entering the competition). There’s another link to this at Competition Hunter.
• Facebook: Visit the Hormonal Housewives Facebook page.
Toyah tours the UK from the beginning of March to the end of May in Hormonal Housewives. The full dates, over 70 in total, are available at the show’s website and the Official Gigs page at toyahwillcox.com. There has already been online press reports on the tour, including the Lancaster Guardian, This is Total Essex and the Brighouse Echo.
The All-Star Request issue (January 6 – 19 1983) of Smash Hits magazine was published 30 years ago today. This included ‘Ieya’ by Toyah and many other songword favourites. The complete issue has just been uploaded to the Smash Hits Archive.
‘Sensational’ is currently playing on numerous UK television and radio channels…
Toyah is mentioned in ‘SFX’ magazine’s review of Doctor Who: The Legacy Collection box set, referring to one of her appearances in More Than 30 years In The TARDIS when she says she found the Cybermen “sexy”.
More Than 30 Years In The TARDIS is an extended version of a documentary that celebrated Who‘s 30th anniversary. An impressive array of talking heads includes celebrity curveballs like Toyah Willcox perving over Cybermen. Dramatic sequences riff on classic Who moments, with, for example, First Doctor companion Carole Ann Ford purused by flying Daleks…
(Thanks to James Armstrong for the scan)
The Express have paid tribute to the remarkable Alfie Fripp, Uncle of Robert, who passed away this week.
Obituary: Alfie Fripp, Britain’s Oldest Surviving POW, June 13 1913 – January 3 2013
It was October 13, 1939, and nearly six weeks after Britain declared war on Nazi Germany Alfie Fripp and his fellow Blenheim crewmen found themselves at the mercy of the Luftwaffe who had shot down their aircraft.
• Continue reading at Express.co.uk.
• Great Toyah art for 2013 by Colin Dewhurst. Click on the photo to view a larger version. (Thanks again to Colin)
• Toyah @ Twitter: “I’m lovin 2013 already! Phone ringing off the hook…..busy busy bee! Very interesting projects in the offering“, “Crazy day: dealing with 4 national publications, put chapter in Jarman book 2 bed“.
• The Guardian: Why we should all mourn the loss of Gaydar Radio: Toyah is mentioned in this article on the demise of ‘Gaydar Radio’: …or hearing Phil, the evening presenter, confess that he’s been to his 7,000th Toyah Willcox concert.
• Doctor Who Online : A comprehensive review of The Legacy Collection, (which includes Toyah in More Than Than 30 Years In The TARDIS), the DVD box set just about to be released worldwide.
• Daily Mail: Toyah was the subject of one of the questions in the Mail’s Christmas quiz, Mike Read’s Poptastic Puzzlers.
• Sensational: As well as airing all over the tellybox, the Weight Watchers’ ad featuring Patsy Kensit and Toyah’s ‘Sensational’ is also on the radio. (Thanks to Michael & Sharon)
• This is Kent: A Feast of Pantomimes: Christmas may seem a lifetime away now, but the festive spirit continues into the new year with a feast of pantomimes. The Marlowe Theatre’s spectacular pantomime Sleeping Beauty, starring pop idol Gareth Gates, punk singer Toyah Willcox and Margate born comedian Lloyd Hollett runs until January 20.
• This is Kent: Pupils Pepper Panto Stars with Questions: Theatre group the Marlowe Spotlighters cast a critical eye over this year’s pantomime, Sleeping Beauty, after interviewing the stars of the show.
Neil Tennant’s Smash Hits Christmas aired on ‘BBC Radio 2’ on the 20th December. An interesting look back at the golden years of the magazine, including contributions from Toyah, talking about ‘Smash Hits’ in general as well as her iconic “Brave New World” cover from 1982. The programme has now been deleted from iPlayer and isn’t being repeated any time soon. Click below to listen to a recording of the programme that’s recently been added to You Tube.
