Dreamscape – Toyah Willcox Fansite

Toyah Willcox ‘up close and personal’ for Gib Music Week

Toyah Willcox will be the first artist to perform as part of the extended MTV Gib Calling festival. The legendary Wilcox, whose career has spanned several decades will kick off Gibraltar Music Week in an ‘up close and personal show’ in St Michael’s Cave on Tuesday 29 August. She will be supported by very popular local band and winners of this year’s Gibraltar Song Festival, Jetstream.

Willcox has13 Top-10 singles under her belt and the organisers believe she is the perfect candidate to start the busy week in music in Gibraltar. Aside from her success in music, is also quite an accomplished actress and has worked with Derek Jarman twice in the movies ‘Jubilee’ and ‘The Tempest’. More recently Toyah starred in the hit British film ‘Ahhhhhhhh!’ directed by Steve Oram and co-starring Julian Rhind-Tutt, Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt.

• Continue reading at the Gibraltar Chronicle.

• Live 2016: More Toyah dates for this year, including at The Layton, Blackpool. Click below to browse Toyah’s official gig schedule. (Thanks to Tony Ames)

• Braintree & Witham Times: Summer Nights programme brings music to Chelmsford City Racecourse: Music is returning to Chelmsford City Racecourse this summer as part of a three day programme called Summer Nights. The events take place across the 21, 22 and 23 of July at Britain’s newest horse racing venue… Rick Astley, Paul Young and Toyah have teamed up to give people a blast from the past at the gig – Continue reading…

• Vintage TV: Toyah Live At The Water Rats: Available to watch online at the Vintage TV website…

• Twitter: Toyah with her watercolours & Nick Park’s Wallace Gromit all painted in aid of LINC – Visit Twitter…

• BFI: The Tempest: Is showing at the BFI this month. Derek Jarman brings his unique staging, symbolism and flair to Shakespeare’s tale – Continue reading…

• Southern Daily Echo: All Star Line-Up Confirmed For Wickham Festival: Spike’s All Stars Band with a line-up which will include Queen drummer Roger Taylor, Marillion lead singer Fish, Madeleine Bell and solo artist/actress Toyah Willcox with a chance of other top names also making a guest appearance – Continue reading…

• Virgin Media: Shakespeare in pop: It’s 400 years since Shakespeare died! Yes, a rum anniversary (23 April 1616), but one which allows us to celebrate his input towards music culture… The Tempest: You would think with something like The Tempest, that the goths would be all over that, but no: only the Deftones and not-that-spooky-just-a-bit-darkish Pendulum have co-opted it for a title. One of Toyah’s pre-pop jobs was a role as Miranda in Derek Jarman’s interesting film version from 1979 – Continue reading…

• Vodzilla: Shakespeare 400: BFI brings the Bard’s films to VOD: With Saturday 23rd April marking the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, the UK is going into overdrive celebrating the Bard, and the British Film Institute is no exception. This month, the BFI presents Shakespeare on Film, a UK-wide series of 300 special screenings and events celebrating the enormous impact the playwright’s life, work and legacy has had on cinema – Continue reading…

• Flickering Myth: Aaaaaaaah! Still: Toyah Willcox as Barbara – Continue reading…

• Lou Reviews: Shakespeare 400 in images: Heathcote Williams as Prospero and Toyah as Miranda in the 1979 film of ‘The Tempest’ – Continue reading…

A comprehensive article on yesterday’s Shakespeare 400 event has been published by The New Criterion.

Shakespeare 400 at the Victoria & Albert

The day ended on a warming note: a strong cup of tea, a ginger biscuit, and a genial chat between the poetry editor Paul Keegan and the singer/actress Toyah Willcox, who played Miranda in Derek Jarman’s film of The Tempest (1979). Willcox’s costume of rags is held by the V&A, and was too delicate to be released for this symposium. The film has aged similarly: part camp period piece, part inspired dismantling of the play. Jarman, Willcox recalled, started with “design.” He broke the final image of the play into its components, and then reconstructed them in his fashion. If he did not build a smoothly working machine, at least its coughs and rattles add to the chorus of interpretations and images.

While filming Jarman’s Tempest, the cast and crew chose to sit out a snow storm in their remote set, a derelict abbey. “It was fantastically wild,” Willcox recalled of working inside a real tempest. “We were living the dream.”

• Continue reading at The New Criterion.

• Shakespeare 400: Celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death with the stuff that dreams are made on. Hosted by the V&A and led by Shakespeare scholar John Pitcher (St John’s College, Oxford), we invite you to a festival of art, poetry, music and on-stage discussions devoted to his final, and most magical play, The Tempest – Continue reading…

• Penguin: A Guide To Shakespeare: The Tempest, directed by Derek Jarman (1979) – A wonderfully high camp, punk take on Shakespeare’s last play, Jarman’s adaptation stars the poet Heathcote Williams as Prospero and a young Toyah Willcox as Miranda. The music is extraordinary, perfectly encapsulating Caliban’s famous, ‘Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises / Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not’ and the film is a visual feast. Watch this if you like… epics, beautiful cinematography – Continue reading…

• My Favourite Things: British punk singer, Toyah Willcox as Miranda in Derek Jarman’s 1979 film version of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest – Continue reading…

• Toyah At The V&A: Toyah is a panel guest at the forthcoming Shakespeare 400 at The V&A: A One Day Festival, taking place on 22nd April 2016. Further information/Book tickets at the V&A website. More details also at toyahwillcox.com.

Toyah has been confirmed as a panel guest at the forthcoming Shakespeare 400 at The V&A: A One Day Festival, taking place on 22nd April 2016.

‘O brave new world!’ – The Tempest

Celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death with the stuff that dreams are made on. Hosted by the V&A and led by Shakespeare scholar John Pitcher (St John’s College, Oxford), we invite you to a festival of art, poetry, music and on-stage discussions devoted to his final, and most magical play, The Tempest. It will be a day, in the words of Caliban, of ‘sounds,’ ‘sweet airs’ and ‘a thousand twangling instruments’, as represented in the V&A’s collections.

Prospero’s art – the imaginative world of wizards, spells and demigods banned by the Elizabethan church but alive in people’s fears and fantasies – will be looked at alongside the physical realm of windmills, water power, and sailing ships. The poetry of the play, and the way it lives on stage and in film, will be discussed by poets Alice Oswald and Alicia Stallings, the novelist John Lanchester and the actress Harriet Walter. The many mental states The Tempest evokes and occupies – revery, stupor, frenzy, vengefulness, and wonder – will be explored and experienced by you, the participants.

• Further information/Book tickets at the V&A website. More details also at toyahwillcox.com.

• Toyah @ Twitter: Toyah is working with Simon Darlow. She tweeted a photo, saying: “In the studio with Darlow. So incredibly excited” – Continue to Twitter…

• Catmachine: Five Years On: I can’t believe that it’s already five years since I wrote the first blog in the I Was A Teenage Toyah Fan series, a series which turned into a book self-published on kindle and paperback – Continue reading…

• Scottish Daily Mail: Radio Choice: Toyah Willcox, who’s been touring the UK with the three-piece band The Humans, joins Ken Bruce (Radio 2, 9.30am) this week to pick her Tracks Of My Years. Toyah begins with songs from T. Rex and Kate Bush.

• England Events: Aylesbury: Live in the Park – part of Parklife Weekend: August 29, 2015 at Vale Park. in Aylesbury – Vale Park will be filled with continuous live music performed on a large outdoor stage by 80’s pop star TOYAH and a number of fantastic local bands playing an array of musical styles and genres from rockabilly, punk and new wave to well-known pop and rock covers – Continue reading…

• The Oxonian Review: An Insubstantial Pageant: A Question of Perspective in The Tempest – The effectiveness of putting Shakespeare on film is a vexed question. There are certainly those who find that all those words hang heavy in such a visual medium as cinema. More plentiful, though, are those who think that adding pictures to the supple and ambiguous wordscapes of the plays is a violent reductiveness – Continue reading…

• BBC Who’s in Today?: Check out Toyah Willcox in for Sounds of the 80s on BBC Radio 2 with Sara Cox – we’re celebrating ‪#‎TBT‬ in her honour! – Visit the Who’s in Today? Facebook…

• BBC Who’s in Today?: Visit the Who’s in Today? project website…

• Tony Banks: A Chord Too Far: More info on the forthcoming boxset which includes Toyah’s Lion Of Symmetry – Continue reading…

• Brave New World: Some of us never tire of Toyah’s iconic/unforgettable/still relevant 1982 image – Check out what Mark Wallis Design has done with the single sleeve…

• Celluloid Wickerman: Alchemical Magic in Derek Jarman’s The Tempest (1979): Forever a cinematic alchemist – a sage that conjured and devoured celluloid before the eventual ritualistic sacrifice- Derek Jarman is the perfect suitor to Shakespeare’s The Tempest (1979); a play whose heart is bathed in the tragedy and power of magic – Continue reading…

If you’re an avid Twitter user, you can’t help but have noticed the buzz mid-week when the poster for Aaaaaaah! was revealed.

Now that the details are out in the open, we can confirm that Steve Oram‘s directorial debut will star a cavalcade of comedic talent and a post-punk icon for good measure. In alphabeticalorder then, Aaaaaaah! will star: Julian Barratt, Holli Dempsey, Noel Fielding, Lucy Honigman, Shelley Longworth, Alice Lowe, Tom Meeten, Steve Oram, Sean Reynard, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Waen Shepherd, Tony Way and Toyah Willcox.

… Toyah Willcox, of course, has been crossing over between a successive music career and acclaimed roles on stage and screen for over 35 years now, with roles in Jubilee, Quadrophenia, The Tempest, Barmy Aunt Boomerang and Secret Diary of a Call Girl showcasing her range, and a string of classic albums including Anthem, The Changeling, Prostitute, Velvet Lined Shell and In The Court of the Crimson Queen behind her, she still tours the UK regularly with her live band, and records with her side-project The Humans. Like many of the stars of Aaaaaaah!, TVO is a bit of a fan…

• Continue reading at The Velvet Onion.

The first Christmas of the 1990’s saw Toyah play Miss Scarlet in a special festive edition, “Christmas Past, Christmas Present”, of ITV’s Cluedo.

You are invited to a murder: Arlington Grange – home of wealthy widow Elizabeth Peacock; society hostess and patron of the arts. A woman with a reputation she would rather forget.

Colonel Mustard: Secret lover of Mrs. Peacock. A dashing military hero who’s glitering career hides a tarnished past. The Reverand Green: Pastor of the parish who’s means of raising money are not heaven sent. Though a man of the cloth, he has feet of clay. Professor Plum: Nuclear physiscist and government advisor. But would his research methods stand the scrutiny of a microscope. Miss Scarlett: vivacious step-daughter of Mrs. Peacock; who’s lust for the high life will let nothing or no-one stand in her way. And Mrs White: for the past 15 years, friend and housekeeper to Mrs. Peacock. But what what dark secret did she bring to Arlington Grange?

Six people, all with murder on their minds.

Here are the thoughts of a Cluedo fan: “The show producers must have realised that they needed strong characters by now, as the casting of vivacious Toyah Willcox showed.

Toyah was great in the part, with all of the men drooling over her; yet still being a complete b*tch to everyone – especially her step-mother. Like others in the Christmas Special, she was made to look very similar to her card equivalent – especially her hair style.

Toyah is best known for being an 80’s rock singer (“It’s A Mystery” and more); but she also has a very strong acting career behind her. Major parts for her have been as Miranda in “The Tempest”, but she has narrated a couple of children’s television series (e.g. “The Teletubbies”) and has made many guest appearances in shows as herself.”

Jubilee, The Tempest and Glitterbug are all showing at BAM, (Brooklyn Academy of Music), New York, as part of BAMcinématek: Following a retrospective at the BFI this spring, BAMcinématek presents the work of iconoclastic British filmmaker and crusading gay rights activist Derek Jarman, who not only redefined queer cinema, but reimagined moviemaking as a means for limitless personal expression. Marrying sound and image in radical new ways, his poetic, passionate, and visually ravishing films are visionary works of art that, 20 years after his death, are still being unraveled – Click below for further info.

• Mark Satchwill: Snow Covers The Kiss: So I’m a big Toyah fan and have been for nearly 35 years. I’ve painted her several times over the last few years. Back in 1985 she released a song called “Snow Covers The Kiss”. It was relegated to a B-side of the single “Don’t Fall In Love (I Said)” but for me it was equally as good. So this image came about from imagining if “Snow” had been the single and needed a cover image – View/Continue reading… (Photo © Mark Satchwill)

• Let’s Rock Bristol: Toyah hangs out with Darth Vader in Bristol – View the photo @ Instagram…

• Bristol 24-7: Thousands get the taste of a Bristol summer: Some 14,000 people turned up for Grillstock at the amphitheatre and a host of 1980s stars performed at the Let’s Rock Bristol festival at Ashton Court… Over at Ashton Court, a host of 80s pop stars took to the stage to the delight of nostalgia-seeking crowds, including Rick Astley, Tony Hadley, Toyah, Midge Ure and Sunday night headliners Level 42 – Continue reading…

• JM Barrie – Peter Pan: Episode One, Away To Neverland, is available to listen to at BBC iPlayer for the next week.

• Fandor: Derek Jarman: The World Is All: Spells are cast and love is spun throughout Jarman’s films: …Toyah Willcox (as Miranda) and David Meyer (as Ferdinand) beholding a brave new world in ‘The Tempest’ – Continue reading…

• Rock N Roll In My Blood: 34 Years Ago Toyah Released The Blue Meaning: The Blue Meaning is the second album by Toyah, released in 1980 by Safari Records. Although not the first full-length release, this is often considered to be the band’s first “proper” album. It saw its first release on CD in 1990 on the Great Expectations label (As PIPCD 015), and was reissued in a double-CD package with Sheep Farming in Barnet in 2002. The latter release was remastered and included two bonus tracks – Continue reading…

Three films in which Toyah has prominent roles/appearances are showing in Canada in June and July, as part of the Queer Pagan Punk: The Films of Derek Jarman Season (June 12-July 5) at The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Glitterbug is screened on Friday 13th June, Jubilee on Saturday 14th June and The Tempest on Saturday 5th July. Further info by clicking below.

• The Advertiser: Crimson queen ready to reign with set of her greatest hits: A news article on Toyah’s recent Crimson Queen gig in Blyth, and forthcoming Acoustic, Up Close & Personal date at The Duchess, York – Continue reading…

• Cat On The Wall Music & Culture Webzine: Whitby Goth Weekend – Day One – Friday 25th April 2014: Toyah Willcox: Her vocals were perfectly placed, her communication with the audience was excellent, the music itself was replicated to a tee (complete with plenty of synth, of course) and, ultimately, she’s about as practised live as a musician can get. She knows how to perform and uses the experience well without becoming the slightest bit robotic. I’ve never seen an audience so adoring before. It’s actually quite an incredible sight – Continue reading…

• Flatpack Film Festival: Jubilee: The 1978 film is showing at the Library of Birmingham Studio Theatre, Saturday 14th June at 7.30pm – Further info here…

• Crimson Queen/Greatest Hits…Live!: Tickets are now on sale for Toyah’s gig at West Cliff Theatre, Clacton-On-Sea – Buy/View info here…

• Toyah Live 2014: Browse Toyah’s full diary of upcoming Crimson Queen/Greatest Hits, Acoustic, Up Close & Personal, festival and PA dates. There are numerous gigs listed at The Official Gigs Page…

• Toyah on Twitter: “Breakfast in Seattle overlooking Puget Sound… Planning 2015! xxx” – Follow Toyah at Twitter…

• The Watchers Film Show Blog: Shakespeare On Film: The Tempest: This is my favourite of Shakespeare’s plays. There are two particularly interesting film version of this lyrical, beautiful and poignant play. Derek Jarman’s 1979 version, starring Heathcote Williams as Prospero and Toyah Willcox as Miranda (above), is full of the usual striking and out-there imagery you would expect for a Jarman film – Continue reading…

A new article on Toyah, By Chronicle Live, published today.

Eighties pop star Toyah to play Phoenix Theatre in Blyth

Former punk princess Toyah will be performing all her greatest hits at the Phoenix Theatre in Blyth this Saturday

Eighties pop star Toyah will play the Phoenix Theatre in Blyth this Saturday.

It all began in her hometown Birmingham in 1977 when film director Derek Jarman offered her the role of ‘Mad’ in seminal punk epic Jubilee. She continued to gain strong roles, appearing alongside Katherine Hepburn in the film, The Corn is Green, as well as playing Monkey in the legendary Quadrophenia. She teamed up with Jarman again to play Miranda in his innovative version of The Tempest, which won her a nomination as Best Newcomer at the 1980 Evening Standard Awards.

Saturday’s show will see her play all her greatest hits plus her tracks from her album Crimson Queen.

• Continue reading at Chronicle Live.

The collaboration celebrates the life and work of Jarman in a year that marks the 20th anniversary of his death.

Jarman died in 1994, aged just 52, but his legacy lives on. In the 20 years since, his films have lost none of their relevance and remain influential, with public interest increasing substantially in recent years.

Edinburgh also plays a key role in Jarman’s fascinating story, as he brought several films – starting with The Tempest – to the Edinburgh’s International Film Festival.

With the help of the British Film Institute, the film season will include features such as Caravaggio, The Tempest, The Angelic Conversation, War Requiem, Jubilee, Wittgenstein, The Garden, Blue, The Last of England, Edward II and Glitterbug, alongside more experimental films and rarely seen shorts.

• Continue reading at the Edinburgh Evening News.

• Queer Pagan Punk: BFI Derek Jarman retrospective: As mentioned yesterday, Toyah guested at this event last night. She tweeted: “fabulous night at @BFI Southbank Jarman retrospective. Loved it. The audience really liked The Tempest“.

• My Vintage: It’s a great upcoming weekend for Toyah fans, not only is she guesting on Sounds Of The 80s (see below) but Sunday sees the premiere of the My Vintage, Toyah and Robert special, which I know a lot of people are looking forward to seeing.

• Sounds Of The 80s: BBC Radio 2: Toyah guests on this show on Saturday night. Toyah tweeted on Tuesday: “I’m Sara cox’s special guest on this sat’s sounds of the 80s @BBCRadio2 10pm“. Listen live at the Radio 2 website or catch up at BBC iPlayer post-broadcast.

• Live 2014: Toyah played her first live date of the year on Sunday. A PA at the Ultimate 80s show in Skegness, with a host of other 80s bands. She tweeted: “In skeggy. Just met Annabelle from Bow Wow Wow 4 1st time! Musical Youth think im a Toyah Impersonator. BOYS! Lol“.

• Busy Toyah!: This “newsy bits” update wouldn’t have been possible without Twitter. Our penultimate post is this tweet from Toyah on how busy she is: “Crazy 2 weeks. Feel like I’m on a bob sleigh run with no shoes on! Acoustic rehearsal\press\tv\scripts\talks….Aaaahhhhhhhhhh“.

• Photos: View larger versions of each of the photos above at Twitter, Instagram and The Official Toyah Website, respectively. (Photos 1&3 © Toyah Willcox Ltd, 2 © Vintage TV)

Toyah’s February blog is now available to read at The Official Toyah Willcox Website. There’s news on The Humans, Derek Jarman and The Tempest, Splash!, Steve Oram’s new film, the upcoming live dates and more. Click below to read.

• BFI: The Spell of The Tempest: Derek Jarman designs: Beautiful designs and annotations from Derek Jarman’s notebooks, held in the BFI National Archive’s Special Collections, reveal the magical thinking behind his version of The Tempest – Next Wednesday, 12th February 6.15pm at the BFI Southbank – Toyah interviewed onstage about her role in The Tempest. Still a few tickets left! – Further info here…

• Indie Reign: Project of the Week 37, will it be Love Stalk, Kaleidoscope Man, Island Time, or Alice in the Attic?: Show your support for, Kaleidoscope Man, the film Toyah is involved with by voting for it here…

• BFI: Derek Jarman: Five Essential Films: As BFI Southbank mounts a major retrospective of queer pagan punk director Derek Jarman, we choose five of his very best films – Continue reading…

• Edinburgh Filmhouse: Derek Jarman Season: A Jarman celebration February through to April, including screenings for Jubilee and The Tempest – Further info here… (Thanks to Brian Green)

• Jon Kutner: Five Essential Singles: A great article all about Martha & The Muffins’ classic ‘Echo Beach’ single, with a mention for Toyah too – View here…

The latest Breaking Through, Toyah’s Official Newsletter, was mailed out to subscribers at the weekend. As always it was packed with Toyah news.

This included updates on Toyah’s live dates for 2014, Vintage TV, BBC Radio 2’s Sound Of The Eighties, The Tempest @ BFI, 3 Sides Of The Coin, Dun Punkin, One Voice at Rotherham, Rock Choir at Birmingham, The Humans and Dreamchild.

• Subscribe: For full info on all of the above, and to receive future issues of the newsletter, sign up to ‘Breaking Through: The Official Toyah Mailing List’ here.

• The Tempest @ BFI: Tickets now on sale for this event, which includes a live Q&A by Toyah at the BFI Southbank Cinema on Wednesday 12th February 2014 : Derek Jarman’s terrific third feature is brooding and darkly laden with heavily symbolic imagery – More info here…

• Digital Spy: Splash!: Toyah Willcox makes her way to the board – View here…

• The Fashionatress: My first ladies of Punk!: One of alternative fashions true style chameleons, You just didn’t know what Toyah would be wearing next! Bold and brash she did her own thing with her wardrobe. ‘Outlandish’ was the word Toyah Willcox and her style statement making costumes – View here…

• Classic Rock: Blockheads ask fans for chart help: Last year the band ran a successful crowd-funding campaign to cover the cost of making three videos for Same Horse Different Jockey. They used the money to create a series of spoof soap opera episodes called Dun Punkin, featuring old friends Toyah Willcox and Topper Headon – Continue reading…

• Liverpool Sound & Vision: Hue And Cry, Big Country And Toyah Willcox Amongst The Highlights Of New Season Of Music At Eric’s – Continue reading…

• The Garstang Courier: Some Grand Nights Out: Toyah brings her band to the Grand for the first time on Easter Saturday, April 19 – Continue reading…

• Chilfest 2014: Tickets for this Hertfordshire festival are now on sale. Toyah plays a full-band gig on July 5th – More info here… (Thanks to Kev Tucker)