Dreamscape – Toyah Willcox Fansite

Toyah scores highest solo album placement with ‘Posh Pop’

The ’80s icon has teased plans to tour the album across the UK, Europe and the US.

‘Posh Pop’ is Toyah’s best charting album of her solo career. The singer’s 16th LP, featuring the singles Levitate, Zoom Zoom and Summer of Love, debuted at No. 22 on the UK chart, beating her solo debut ‘Minx’, which peaked at 24.

It’s beaten only by ‘Anthem’ and ‘The Changeling’, both of which were released by the singer’s eponymous new wave band, of which she was frontwoman. ‘Anthem’ was a UK No. 2 hit, while ‘The Changeling’ reached No. 6. The live album “Warrior Rock’ also hit No. 20.

• Continue reading at Retro Pop. Read Retro Pop’s recent interview with Toyah.

Robert Fripp is touring the USA with King Crimson and Toyah is home alone. Toyah is keen on setting the ‘night on fire’ across the Atlantic in a new Love Letter.

• Watch Sunday Lunch – Love Letters Part 5  by clicking below.  (Image © Toyah Willcox)

Toyah Willcox Covers “Light My Fire” for King Crimson’s Robert Fripp

King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp is still on tour in the U.S., but his wife, actress and singer Toyah Willcox, has continued with the duo’s popular “Sunday Lunch” videos in his absence as “love letters” to her husband, with Fripp’s hotel room reactions edited in alongside Toyah’s performances.

For this week’s video, Willcox delivers a solo cover of The Doors’ “Light My Fire,” changing the taunt of song’s refrain from “Come on baby, light my fire” to “Come on Bobby.” “I’m keeping the bed warm for you,” she teases as the song wraps up, adding “the sofa and the carpet too” as Fripp expresses his admiration and amusement, quipping, “I think it’s time to go home.”

• Continue reading at Metal Sucks. Watch the Latest Sunday Lunch/Love Letters at You Tube.

It’s episode 4 of Toyah at Home & On The Road, as Toyah checks-in with insights into and footage from her working week, and introduces the premiere of the official video for Rhythm In My House from the album Posh Pop. Watch at You Tube by clicking below. (Image © Toyah Willcox)

Britain’s Favourite 80s Songs: 5Select: Saturday 18th September: 11pm
Britain’s Favourite 80s Songs: 5Select: Friday 24th September: 1am
1983. Series 1, episode 4. Simon Bates narrates this look at the music of 1983, featuring interviews with Toyah Willcox, Paul Gambaccini, Cheryl Baker, Carol Decker, Jenny Powell and other famous faces. Among the featured tracks are Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), New Order’s Blue Monday, and Bad Boys by Wham! With Simon Bates, Toyah Willcox, Paul Gambaccini, Cheryl Baker, Jenny Powell, Carol Decker.

Toyah / Posh Pop is also #1 on the Retro Charts Album Top 10.

80s Stars – Then & Now!: NOW 80s: Sunday 5th September: 11am
Where are they now? Classic hits, followed by some recent songs – Including Pet Shop Boys, Kylie, Toyah, The Stones, Gary Numan, The Pretenders, New Order, Rick Astley & T’Pau!

Toyah’s reaction and thank you message on finding out her album Posh Pop has entered the UK album charts at #22.

Can I just say… I always try to remain professional with this website, but yesterday I just felt ridiculously proud and pleased for Toyah, and yes, slightly emotional. I’ve been a fan of this amazing and inspirational artist since I was knee high to a grasshopper and know that throughout her entire 43+ year career she has worked tirelessly and never asked for or expected anyone’s praise or thanks, and yet has always been dedicated to her craft and produced such high quality work – so that’s what makes the success and the achievement of Posh Pop all the more worthy and well deserved. What a great artist. Talent will always win in the end!

This is incredible news, and a huge congratulations to Toyah. As well as Simon Darlow, Bobby Willcox and the entire team who brought us Posh Pop.

The 2021 studio album charts today at #22 on the Official UK Album Chart. Posh Pop becomes Toyah’s highest charting studio album since 1982, when The Changeling peaked at #6. Warrior Rock: Toyah On Tour, a live double album – which will be reissued in the next year or so, as will the rest of Toyah’s post-The Blue Meaning Safari Records’ back catalogue – peaked at #20 that same year.

The only other Toyah albums to peak higher than this are Anthem (1981) #2, The Changeling (1982) #6 and the aforementioned Warrior Rock: Toyah On Tour (1982) #20. Posh Pop equals with, another live album, Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! (1980) which hit #22 in early 1981.

Further great news is that Posh Pop achieves Toyah her highest ever chart position as a solo artist, and the album is also #1 on the official Independent chart, #6 on the official Physical chart, #6 on the official Sales chart, #9 on the official Vinyl chart, #20 on the official Download chart and #8 on the official Scottish chart. Phew! Amazing stats! If the Album Chart was, as it used to be, simply a sales chart Toyah would certainly have a Top 10 album!!

• A Message From Toyah: Watch Toyah announce the news – Continue watching…

• Official Charts: See this week’s full Top 100 Album Chart – Continue reading…

• Official Charts: Further down, Beach Boys boxset Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf’s Up Sessions 1969-1971 enters at 19, Toyah earns her eighth Top 40 album with Posh Pop at 22, and a remastered edition of Supergrass’ In It For The Money lands at 28 – Continue reading…

• Official Charts: See Toyah’s full charts stats on the Official Chart – Continue reading…

• Official Charts @ Twitter: 10 new releases land in this week’s Official Albums Chart Top 40, including a massive boxset by The Beach Boys, Toyah’s Posh Pop, and a reissue of Supergrass’ In It For The Money – Continue reading…

• Chart Stats: Also great to consider that Toyah has had four charting albums on the Official Charts in the past two years: In The Court Of The Crimson Queen (2019) #74, Sheep Farming In Barnet (2020) #99, The Blue Meaning (2021) #59, Posh Pop (2021) #22.

• Posh Pop: Click below to buy the album on CD+DVD, CD, Colour Vinyl and Digital Download. Or stream the album at Spotify and watch a selection of album videos at Toyah’s Official You Tube channel. (All Photos/Images © Toyah Willcox)

The second great review of the day for Posh Pop, this from Liam Rudden in the Edinburgh Evening News.

Fabulous​,​ flawless, five star pop from Toyah

It’s a mystery how time has flown. I remember clearly the first time I heard the name Toyah Willcox.

I was 15, hanging around the square behind the family home in Leith when a purple-mohicaned punk called Pete appeared. He was visiting pals in the scheme and we got talking about music. He was a fan of a singer who, he claimed, could unite mods, rockers and punks. Some feat in those days.

“Everyone charges to the front when she comes on,” he said, adding, “They don’t even fight when Toyah’s singing.” The next day I headed to Ards Record Shop on Great Junction Street and found a copy of Sheep Farming In Barnet. One listen and I was hooked.

That was 42 years ago, it’s still a brilliant album as is Toyah’s latest, Posh Pop, released last weekend. Reunited with long term collaborator Simon Darlow and with husband Robert Fripp on guitar, Posh Pop is at once reflective and optimistically forward thinking.

…Barefoot On Mars, my highlight of the album, is an arrestingly emotional, uplifting​ and joyous tribute. A tear-inducing salute to Toyah’s mother, it ​will ​touch the soul of ​anyone who has ​​lost a ​truly ​loved one.​ ​A degree of lightness returns with Rhyth​​m ​I​n ​M​y ​H​ouse​, ​an easy listening ​number brought to life with ​unicorn​s​ and bubbles​, which is followed by ​Summer ​O​f ​Love and an unapologetic Sixties’ ‘love and peace’ vibe​.

• Continue reading at the Edinburgh Evening News. This review is also published in The Falkirk Herald and The Southern Reporter. See more Posh Pop reviews.

It looks like there will be a track from Posh Pop, as well as a Toyah classic, on Grant Stott’s Vinyl Collective this evening, in the show’s “Then & Now” feature.

Airing on BBC Radio Scotland from 6pm.

Grant Stott’s Vinyl Collective: BBC Radio Scotland: Friday 3rd September: 6pm
Paging Dr Beat. Celebrating the vinyl revival with new and classic cuts all played from 7″, 12″ or LP. This week, Then & Now tracks from Toyah, Into The Groove with Freeez and music from Chvrches, Miami Sound Machine, The Jam and Horse.

• Listen online at the BBC Scotland website, or post-airing at BBC Sounds.

Great photos from last night’s Posh Pop Tour opening gig at The Mill Arts Centre, Banbury. Return this weekend for more photos from the gig, which will be included in a new Posh Pop Tour page in the Gallery of this website. A huge Thank You to Ian Davis for the photos.

Read on for a breakdown of the gig. Please DO NOT READ ON if you are going to a gig on the tour and don’t like spoilers.

Simon Darlow played at last night’s gig, but he most probably will not be at all, or maybe any, of the future tour gigs so this breakdown essentially applies to last night’s opener only! But the set-list may be similar as to what to expect, though that too may also evolve over the months/gigs!

SET 1:
Band Only
Good Morning Universe
Dance In The Hurricane
Thunder In The Mountains

Band With Simon Darlow
Brave New World
Rebel Run

Toyah, Simon Darlow, Chris Wong and Andy Nicholls (Semi-Acoustic)
Summer Of Love
Space Dance
Zoom Zoom

Band With Simon Darlow
It’s A Mystery

SET 2:
Toyah, Simon Darlow, Chris Wong and Andy Nicholls (Semi-Acoustic)
Rhythm In My House
Take Me Home
Levitate

Band Only
Echo Beach
Sensational
Neon Womb
These Boots Are Made For Walkin’
Danced
I Want To Be Free

Encore
Rebel Yell

• Toyah/Posh Pop Tour 2021/22 at The Mill Arts Centre, Banbury on 02.09.2021 (All photos © Ian Davis)

Celebrity Catchphrase: ITV2: Thursday 16th September: 6pm
Stephen Mulhern hosts a celebrity special of the classic game show, with Nicola Coughlan, Stephen Mangan and Toyah Willcox all trying to say what they see as they guess well-known phrases for the chance to win a £50,000 jackpot for their chosen charity.

Another positive review of Posh Pop, this one from God Is In The TV.

Toyah – Posh Pop (Demon Records)

Even in her sixties and not far off her free bus pass, Toyah is still able to turn heads, as evidenced by the striking imagery on the artwork of Posh Pop, and also by the many highly entertaining videos she and her husband, King Crimson‘s Robert Fripp, have been unleashing on us throughout the lockdown period, providing some much-needed light relief along the way.

What I hadn’t expected though, was the diverse range of reference points you can hear on this, her first long-player since 2008. For example, recent single ‘Levitate‘ seems to take its lead from Roisin Murphy‘s recent splendid resurgence, all fidgety dance beats and breathy vocals, whereas the fantastic ‘Barefoot On Mars‘ recalls Bowie in its composition and is a heartfelt paean to her late mother (“Turned my back on all you valued, I held you when you died“) – it’s deep and poignant, and stopped me in my tracks – I hadn’t anticipated that Toyah was going to release one of the strongest songs in her canon this late in her career!

Elsewhere, ‘Zoom Zoom‘ is seventies rock, pop and glam all rolled up and smoked in one pipe, while ‘Monkeys‘ is pleasingly off-kilter in its delightful chorus.

• Continue reading at God Is In The TV. See more Posh Pop reviews.

It’s time! The Posh Pop Tour opens tonight, at The Mill Arts Centre, Banbury. Browse all of the tour dates by clicking below.

Toyah on dyslexia breakthrough: ‘Learning an instrument broadened and deepened my communicative skills’

According to the singer, music lessons helped “rewire” her brain and have helped improve “broaden and deepen” her communicative skills.

Learning to play guitar and keyboards led to a huge breakthrough in Toyah’s lifelong struggle with dyslexia.

The Summer of Love hitmaker was diagnosed with the learning difficulty at a young age, which can cause problems with reading, writing and spelling.

Speaking exclusively with Retro Pop ahead of the release of her latest album ‘Posh Pop’, Toyah reflects on the profound impact lockdown had on her, both personally and professionally, and reveals lessons in piano and guitar have enhanced her life in numerous ways.

“I can now play guitar, I can now play keyboards, and it means that my communicative skills are much broader and much deeper,” she explains.

• Continue reading at Retro Pop. Read Retro Pop’s review of Posh Pop.

Stream Toyah’s acclaimed new album Posh Pop at Spotify and enjoy the singles Summer Of Love, Levitate and Zoom Zoom.

Discover Monkeys, Rhythm In My House, Take Me Home the sequel to Danced (from Sheep Farming In Barnet).

Toyah shares her joy at the reaction to Posh Pop.

Toyah guested on Mike Sweeney’s BBC Radio Manchester show earlier today, talking about Posh Pop, Sunday Lunch and more.

There were plays of I Want To Be Free and Levitate during the interview, which aired in two parts.

Toyah Willcox (01/09/2021)
Mike chats to singer, Toyah Willcox, about her Posh Pop Tour 2021.

• Listen on Catch Up at BBC Sounds for the next few weeks.

• Official Toyah: Posh Pop is No.9 in the Official Charts Album Chart Update today – See tweet…

• Official Charts: Will Toyah land her third Top 10 album with Posh Pop? See where the album stands midweek – see tweet…

• Official Charts: Elsewhere in the Top 10, Posh Pop by Toyah starts at Number 9, set to become her eighth Top 40 album – Click below to visit page…