There has been speculation and rumours a-plenty since Toyah first mentioned the possibility in her blog earlier this year. Breaking Through has now confirmed Crimson Queen/Greatest Hits… Live!
The news which many Toyah diehards have been waiting for. The 2014 gigs will focus on Toyah’s most recent solo album alongside the newly introduced Love Is The Law material plus a smattering of well-loved and known classics. CRIMSON QUEEN/GREATEST HITS…..LIVE! will run across the whole of 2014 as a long series of gigs rather than concentrated month tour. There will be more dates added throughout 2014 but there are already so many dates for your diary.
The Crimson Queen/Greatest Hits… Live! first gig is on 21st February in Holmfirth, and over the following five months will play Nuneaton, Bury St. Edmunds, Wimborne, London, Hastings, Wakefield, Blyth, Isle of Man, Kent and Norwich. More dates are expected to be added to this over the coming months.
• Full details on all of these dates at the Official Gigs page. Tickets are already on sale for some of the dates.
Toyah is included in the line-up for next Summer’s Let’s Rock Bristol festival, taking place 6th – 8th June. Others playing include: Bananarama, Kim Wilde, ABC, Level 42, Go West, T’Pau, Nik Kershaw, Captain Sensible, Heaven 17 and numerous others. Click below to visit the festival’s website.
It’s Tuesday, and that means Official Toyah are continuing the countdown to the Remastered and Expanded editions of Toyah’s Gold-selling album Anthem – released by Cherry Red Records on 9th September.
This vintage live performance of Masai Boy is from the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London, from Christmas Eve 1981. Premieres 6pm, Tuesday 23rd August 2022. Pre-order Gold coloured Vinyl, 2CD+DVD or Super Deluxe Box Set now at Cherry Red.
Toyah plays Chilfest 2022 on Saturday 2nd July in Tring. Tickets are available at www.chilfest.co.uk. Browse all of Toyah’s upcoming festival dates (and all other tours/dates too!) at toyahwillcox.com. Toyah previously played Chilfest back in 2014.
Toyah’s performance of It’s A Mystery from Lechlade Festival 2014 is included in their new classic moments playlist.
Inspired by this weekend’s Glasthomebury we’ve put together classic live moments from previous years at Lechlade.
Including Status Quo, That 80s Rock Show, Scouting For Girls, The Proclaimers, Toyah, Doctor and the Medics, Tasha Leaper as Madonna, Light Zeppelin, The Inflatables, Frankenstein’s Lobster, Sam Draisey, Genevieve Miles Music, Hellsinki v, Benji & Hibbz, Voodoo Vegas…
We can’t wait to create more momentous moments in 2021! Early Bird Tickets are on sale now for a limited time only.
• See the full playlist at You Tube. Browse our Lechlade Festival 2014 news.
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.
A previously unpublished photo of Toyah is included on the new official promo image for the Acoustic, Up Close & Personal concerts.
The Acoustic… gigs are now in their fifth year of playing venues around the country, having debuted in February 2014, and show no sign of ending anytime soon!
Many thousands of people have enjoyed hearing Toyah talk about her career, and perform songs from her vast discography acoustically via these gigs.
An update today from Official Toyah on Toyah’s Acoustic… date(s) at Trading Boundaries in October:
Toyah will now be doing two nights at Trading Boundaries, in East Sussex, LIVE this October.
Both evenings will feature a three-piece acoustic band and feature unplugged version of Toyah classics including the recently added Angel & Me, Race Through Space and We Are.
Dining tickets have sold out for 13 October but are now available for 14 October.
• Further info/Book tickets at Trading Boundaries Music. (Photo © Toyah Willcox)
Toyah will be an interview guest on the “For One Night Only” anniversary edition of The Old Grey Whistle Test on Friday. Toyah appeared on the series performing Danced & Indecision, March 1980 and live in concert from Drury Lane Theatre Royal as the Whistle Test special on Christmas Eve 1981. This special is airing to mark 30 years since the legendary series was last broadcast.
The Old Grey Whistle Test Live: BBC Four: Friday 23rd February: 9pm
For One Night Only. Hosted by Bob Harris, this live studio show features music, special guests and rare archive footage to mark the 30 years since the legendary series was last broadcast. Featuring performances from Peter Frampton, Richard Thompson, Albert Lee and more. Bob also chats to Whistle Test alumni, including Dave Stewart, Joan Armatrading, Ian Anderson, Chris Difford and Kiki Dee, as well as fans Danny Baker and Al Murray.
Toyah takes Acoustic, Up Close & Personal into a fourth year with more live dates, through 2017, confirmed recently by the Breaking Through newsletter.
11 Feb: Evesham Arts Centre
1 Apr: Acapela Studio, Cardiff
26 May: Fairytykes Arts Centre, Hornchurch
23 Jun: Redditch Palace Theatre, Worcestershire
28 Oct: St. Edwards Church, Stow on the Wold
Toyah’s acoustic show has entertained numerous audiences with a mixture of songs and conversation from her varied career since premiering in 2014. Receiving great reviews and taking Toyah to hundreds of venues over the past four years.
• View more details on Acoustic, Up Close & Personal including dates, venues and links to book tickets, and browse all of Toyah’s confirmed live dates for 2017, at The Official Gigs page.
Photos from Toyah’s first Proud, Loud & Electric gig of the year, at The Fisher Theatre in Bungay, Beccles on Saturday night. Please click below to view larger versions of these at the newest page at Dreamscape’s Gallery – Toyah Live 2016. (Photos © Angus Turner)
• Browse our Toyah Live 2014 and Live 2015 gallery pages. Or visit the Dreamscape Gallery contents page here.
Tonight Toyah plays a Proud, Loud & Electric gig at Homfirth Picturedome. The last time she played there was in February 2014, the first gig of the Crimson Queen/Greatest Hits… Live! tour. Click below for further info and ticket link for tonight’s concert.
Toyah discusses, the inspirational, Katharine Hepburn in an upcoming edition of BBC Radio 4’s Great Lives.
Great Lives: BBC Radio 4
Tue 29th Sep: 4.30pm/Friday 2nd Oct: 11pm
Biographical series in which guests choose someone who has inspired their lives, presented by Matthew Parris. Toyah Willcox champions the life of Katharine Hepburn, who she met and worked with.
Household name, pop icon, TV presenter and actress Toyah is coming to the Engine Shop at Enginuity on Friday evening, 2 October. ‘Acoustic, Up Close & Personal with Toyah’ is a wonderful chance to experience the 1980s pop superstar up close and personal at a lively song and storytelling style gig.
Toyah will be entertaining the audience with a selection of her much loved hit singles. Supported by musicians Chris Wong and Colin Hinds, her performance will include It’s a Mystery, Thunder in the Mountains, I Want to be Free and Good Morning Universe.
Tickets to ‘Acoustic, Up Close & Personal with Toyah’, which are priced at £20 per person, are available in advance only. They can be purchased online or from the Ironbridge Visitor Information Centre and any of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum shops. Tickets include admission into Enginuity from 5pm, the auditorium opens at 7pm and the performance starts at 8pm.
• Continue reading at Telford Live.
It’s April – Almost time for The Humans Live!
Six live UK dates, the Telling Strange Tales tour, for The Humans. Taking place between the 11th and 19th April.
11 APRIL: UCKFIELD | TRADING BOUNDARIES
14 APRIL: GLOUCESTER | GUILDHALL
16 APRIL: SOUTHAMPTON | THE TALKING HEADS
17 APRIL: SWANSEA | THE GARAGE (WHITEZ)
18 APRIL: LONDON | 100 CLUB
19 APRIL: CHATHAM | BRITANNIA THEATRE
In 2015, The Humans will not only begin work recording their fourth album but embark on a UK tour of five confirmed dates. Telling Strange Tales will kick off on 11 April 2015 at Trading Boundaries, Uckfield and close at The Britannia Theatre, Chatham on 19 April.
• View more details on the tour and links to book tickets here. View the news announcement on the tour here. (A CD of the Strange Tales album will be available exclusively at the gigs).
A previously unreleased acoustic version of Toyah’s exuberant 1982 hit single Be Proud Be Loud (Be Heard) is currently available to listen to at toyahwillcox.com.
You can also check out Toyah’s full live gigs schedule for 2015, which includes the Acoustic, Up Close & Personal Tour, Toyah and The Humans Telling Stange Tales UK Tour plus a variety of full band concerts and festival appearances.
Thanks to the Acoustic… gigs there is a renewed interest in The Acoustic Album, Toyah’s 1996 re-working of a selection of previous recordings, including Blue Meanings, Angels & Demons, The Vow and Moonlight Dancing. The album has been made available again recently with new artwork, and it is also available digitally. Visit the album’s dedicated page at Toyah’s Official website.
“The acoustic gigs have been so successful that I really need to consider doing another acoustic album.” said Toyah in an interview with The Argus last year. It would be interesting to hear which songs would make The Acoustic Album Two.
• Browse Toyah’s Official Gigs page. The Acoustic Album is available at iTunes.
This year Toyah has so far played two Acoustic, Up Close & Personal dates, in Beccles and Wolverhampton. This evening she performs at Sub 89, Reading. There are plenty more dates over the forthcoming months, although two, Selby and Cumbria, have already sold out:
ACOUSTIC SET WITH CHRIS WONG & COLIN HINDS
12 FEB: SUB 89 | READING
13 FEB: CHEESE & GRAIN | FROME, SOMERSET
14 FEB: GLOBE | CARDIFF
26 MAR: THE MUSICIAN | LEICESTER
1 MAY: HAVERHILL ARTS CENTRE | SUFFOLK
2 MAY: SOUNDSTOCK FESTIVAL | CHELMSFORD
9 MAY: TOWN HALL | SELBY **SOLD OUT**
15 MAY: WATERSIDE ARTS CENTRE | SALE
30 MAY: CORN EXCHANGE | HERTFORD
5 JUN: BABBACOMBE THEATRE | TORQUAY
6 JUN: CARNGLAZE CAVERNS | CORNWALL
12 JUN: OAKENGATES THEATRE | TELFORD
19 JUN: LOWDHAM VILLAGE HALL | NOTTINGHAM
27 JUN: LOWER HOLKER VILLAGE HALL | CUMBRIA **SOLD OUT**
10 JUL: NANTWICH CIVIC HALL | EAST CHESHIRE
16 OCT: BEWDLEY FESTIVAL | BEWDLEY
22 OCT: THE BRINDLEY | RUNCORN
6 NOV: PETERBOROUGH | THE CRESSET
21 NOV: HAILSHAM PAVILLION | EAST SUSSEX
Toyah also plays at the London Palladium on 28th June, performing acoustically with Chris Wong, as part of John Shuttleworth & Friends charity concert. The Acoustic, Up Close & Personal dates run throughout 2015 as an extended series of gigs rather than in a single-month tour.
• View more details on the Acoustic… dates and links to book tickets here. View all of Toyah’s confirmed live dates for 2015 at The Official Gigs page.
A new page Toyah Live 2015 has just been added to Dreamscape’s Gallery. Following on from a busy live 12 months for Toyah last year – see Toyah Live 2014 – it looks like this will be another. Hopefully the new page will be added to over the coming months. There are already photos from the first two Acoustic, Up Close & Personal gigs (thanks Angus & Paul), including this great shot from Bilston on Thursday. (Thanks to Paul | Photo © P A C Photography)
• View more of Dreamscape’s Gallery pages – Almost 40 years of Toyah’s career in photos – Browse the full Acoustic… UK Tour schedule. The next dates are at Sub 89, Reading on Thursday, Cheese & Grain, Somerset on Friday and Cardiff Globe on Saturday.
Toyah’s successful Acoustic, Up Close & Personal UK Tour, which played numerous dates and received great feedback and reviews in 2014, continues through 2015. The first date of the year, which is also Toyah’s first gig of 2015, takes place at Beccles Public Hall this Saturday. Click below to view the full tour schedule.
View photos from a selection of last year’s Acoustic dates, as well as other Toyah gigs, at Dreamscape’s Gallery. Browse all of our Acoustic, Up Close & Personal tour news. View Toyah’s complete 2015 gig diary.
It’s been confirmed that Toyah will join John Shuttleworth & Friends for a charity concert at the London Palladium this Summer. Toyah will perform with John and Chris Wong.
28th June 2015 at London Palladium:
John Shuttleworth and Friends in aid of MS charities with Chas and Dave, Toyah, Martyn Ware, Gordon Giltrap and others to be announced.
• Further info and ticket links at toyahwillcox.com.
Fairport’s Cropredy Convention: first acts for 2015 announced
The organisers of Fairport’s Cropredy Convention announced yesterday (Friday 12 December) the first acts booked to appear at the 2015 festival.
The three-day event, staged by folk-rock band Fairport Convention, takes place annually near Banbury and is Oxfordshire’s most popular music festival. As host band, Fairport Convention will open the festival on Thursday 13 August with a short semi-acoustic set.
On Saturday 15 August, Toyah Willcox will be another welcome newcomer to Cropredy when she performs with her band.
• Continue reading at Folking.com. View more info on the festival at Fairport Convention Official Website.
Toyah was interviewed in the Christmas 2008 issue of ‘Liverpool.com’ magazine. It’s an interesting read, though the interview isn’t particularly festive:
Fight or flight? That depends on who the opposition are. If I’m dealing with hypocrites, then they’re guaranteed a fight. If I’m dealing with maniacs then I take flight.
Click here to read the full article, with Toyah and Martin Fry of ABC and the full December issue of ‘Liverpool.com’, or here for just Toyah’s interview.
