Wickham Festival returns this Summer and Toyah returns to the festival, this time as part of The SAS Band. They will play the Wickham Festival Opening Night Party on Thursday 5th August.
• Click below to visit the Wickham Festival 2021 website for further info and/or to book tickets.
Directed by Sean Cronin. Written by Paul Hodgson and Sean Cronin. Produced by Paul Hodgson, Ian Carter, Sean Cronin and Ben Pickering. Director of photography Tero Saikkonen. Production and costume design by Kelly Toode. Musical score by Guy Dagul, Tony Waddington and Nicolette Street.
Give Them Wings is based on the true story of severely disabled Darlington football fan Paul Hodgson. Give Them Wings is Paul’s incredible journey to acceptance. Starring Daniel Watson, Jacob Anderton, Bill Fellows, Rachel Warren, Katie Sheridan and Toyah Willcox.
To Be Someone, starring Sam Gittins, Leslie Ash, Mark Wingett, Toyah Willcox, Trevor Laird, Gary Shail, Perry Benson and Laura McMonagle, and directed by Ray Burdis, hits select cinemas and movie theatres this Friday, 9th June. The film will be released on DVD and digitally a month later, on 9th August 2021.
• Watch the new trailer here, and browse Dreamscape’s To Be Someone news archive. Watch a promo, featuring Toyah and Leslie Ash, here. This isn’t a sequel to Quadrophenia but it does feature a number of the cast. Browse our huge Quadrophenia archive here.
The Iron Road Live in Evesham is staring at permanent closure due to the pandemic. Help them keep the music live and bring happiness to the fans with their Crowdfunding campaign.
• Click below for the crowdfunding page. See Toyah’s tweet about this here.
It’s back – Burning Guitars #3 – Click below to watch/listen (Image © Toyah Willcox)
Carol Decker’s 30 Rock Chicks!: NOW 80s: Tuesday 6th July: 1pm
T’Pau’s Carol Decker brings a bit of Heart and Soul to a countdown of ’80s ladies who like to rock! With Joan Jett, Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks and Pat Benatar. (as well as Toyah via the Thunder In The Mountains video)
NB. I’ve been watching NOW 80s sporadically recently and the music channel plays a fair amount of Toyah in a variety of their 80s music programming, including Seven Inch Heroes and The Best 1981 Party. Mostly the I Want To Be Free and Thunder In The Mountains promo videos, but I also spotted Brave New World and Don’t Fall In Love (I Said).
Press coverage for this week’s Sunday Lunch with Toyah and Robert (and Sidney Jake)!! (Images © Toyah Willcox)
• Brooklyn Vegan: Watch Toyah & Robert Fripp cover System Of A Down’s “Chop Suey” – Continue reading…
• NME: Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox share cover of System Of A Down’s ‘Chop Suey’ – Featuring face paint, a bunch of keys, and a potentially NSFW outfit – Continue reading…
• Kerrang: Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox cover System Of A Down classic Chop Suey! – “This really is a belter…” Watch Robert Fripp, Toyah Willcox and guitarist Sidney Jake tackle System Of A Down’s classic Toxicity single Chop Suey! – complete with props – Continue reading…
• Louder: Toyah and Robert Fripp cover System Of A Down’s Chop Suey! and nothing will ever be the same again – It’s Chop Suey! for Sunday Lockdown Lunch as Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp cover System Of A Down – Continue reading…
• Metal Addicts: King Crimson’s Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox Cover System Of A Down’s ‘Chop Suey!’ – Continue reading…
• Guitar.Com: Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox Share Their Cover Of Chop Suey By System Of A Down – The couple sported mohawks for one of their wildest cover videos yet – Continue reading…
• Metal Sucks: King Crimson’s Robert Fripp & Toyah Willcox Cover System of a Down’s “Chop Suey!” – Continue reading…
• Brave Words: Robert Fripp & Toyah Cover System Of A Down’s “Chop Suey!”; Sunday Lunch Video – Continue Reading…
• Tone Deaf: Robert Fripp and Toyah rip through SOAD’s ‘Chop Suey’ – Robert Fripp and Toyah have tackled System of a Down’s mighty ‘Chop Suey’ for the latest instalment of their Sunday Lunch series. – Continue reading…
• Metal Injection: King Crimson’s Robert Fripp & Toyah Willcox Cover “Chop Suey” by System Of A Down – Continue reading…
• DGM Live: Toyah & Robert’s Weekend!: Sunday Lunch (with Sidney Jake) – Chop Suey… – Continue reading…
• Sidney Jake: ICYMI – this weeks Sunday Lunch is awesome :-) – Click the link for an “alternative” view of this week’s episode – Continue watching…
Toyah and Robert Fripp Cover System of a Down’s “Chop Suey”: Watch
Wake up! The married couple are back at it again with an energetic take on the metal classic
Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp take on one of the great 21st century metal tunes in their latest “Sunday Lunch” performance. The married couple, along with the mysterious Sidney Jake, rock the System of a Down classic “Chop Suey” from their kitchen.
Looking like characters in a Mad Max movie, Toyah and Robert go full throttle in covering “Chop Suey,” the lead single from System of a Down’s Toxicity (which celebrates its 20th anniversary in September).
King Crimson founder Fripp has completed a full transformation from the conservative suit vest and tie he would wear at the beginning of the “Sunday Lunch” series, now donning a mohawk and theatrical eye makeup, as well as body art similar to what SOAD guitarist Daron Malakian sported in the official “Chop Suey” music video.
• Continue reading at Consequence.Net.
Tomorrow’s Sunday Lunch with Toyah & Robert looks very exciting. (Image © Toyah Willcox)
Watch/Rewatch Toyah At Home, with guitar, which aired this morning at You Tube and Facebook. Includes a great live performance of Dance In The Hurricane. Music, chat and more of your questions which this week come from Toyah’s home with a look at the brand new trailer for the forthcoming movie Give Them Wings. (Image © Toyah Willcox)
80s’ icon Toyah to perform her classic hits at the arts centre
Get ready to re-live some of Toyah’s much-loved greatest hits when the iconic 80s pop star plays live at Pocklington Arts Centre (PAC) in March next year.
Toyah’s live show, on Thursday, March 3, will follow hot on the heels of the release of her brand new album ‘Posh Pop’ this Autumn.
The show will feature Toyah performing her hit singles and classic songs, alongside recalling stories from her career.
PAC director Janet Farmer said: “What better way to spend a night than by experiencing an 80s’ icon like Toyah live on stage. We’re expecting toe tapping, shoulder shuffling, singing and a lot of reminiscing when Toyah takes to our stage to take us on a journey through her 40-year career. What a fabulous and unique event this will be for everyone.”
• Continue reading at the Pocklington Post.
Toyah will appear at SMF 21, Stratford Music Festival, later this year.
She will be the Narrator of Orchestra Of The Swan – Peter And The Wolf at the festival on Sunday 21st November.
Prokofiev’s much-loved tale of a fearless boy and a ferocious wolf is narrated by the legendary English musician, actress, and TV presenter Toyah Willcox. Suitable for music lovers of any age this performance will also feature an entertaining introduction to the instruments of the orchestra.
• Visit the Stratford Music Festival website.
Celebrity Catchphrase: ITV2: Wednesday 14th July: 6pm
Celebrity Catchphrase: ITV2: Friday 23rd July: 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.
It looks like tickets are selling fast for Toyah’s forthcoming – and just very recently announced – Posh Pop Tour.
The Half Moon in Putney, London, where Toyah brings Posh Pop to on 25th September 2021 – the third date of the tour – tweeted this very exciting news earlier today: “Hurry! Less than 30 tickets left for our show with Toyah Sat 25 Sept 2021! Do not miss this intimate London gig from a true musical pioneer. Hits & classics plus new gems from Toyah’s Posh Pop album”.
In a career spanning over 40 years Toyah has amassed thirteen top 40 singles, recorded twenty-four albums, written two books, appeared in over forty stage plays, acted in twenty feature films and presented hundreds of television programmes.
This is a unique chance to experience Toyah in an intimate venue performing a set of her loved hit singles and classics alongside modern days classics Sensational and Dance In The Hurricane and songs from her eagerly awaited new studio album “Posh Pop”.
• Buy tickets here. For the full Posh Pop Tour schedule, plus ticket links for the dates currently on sale, visit toyahwillcox.com.
Another slice of Toyah and Robert…. it’s Burning Guitars! Click below to watch/listen at You Tube.
Following the acclaim of the recent reissues of her early, groundbreaking albums, on Friday 27 August 2021 Demon Music Group will release the new album Posh Pop by British female music icon, Toyah.
Available on CD, 180g ‘Space Grey’-coloured vinyl, digital download and deluxe CD+DVD featuring a video album. LP and CD Editions including an exclusive signed print by Toyah are also available.
In recent times Toyah has seen something of a cultural renaissance with younger female artists acknowledging the huge Influence of her groundbreaking and uniquely singular career. Last year Shirley Manson of Garbage went as far as to write a moving, open letter, apologising for mocking Toyah to friends as a teenager when, in fact, she was a fan who “sucked at Toyah’s teat [but did] not have the strength of character to admit it.” Now recognized as a pioneer who’s remained defiant since acting in Derek Jarman’s punk classic Jubilee and her trailblazing uncategorisable debut album Sheep Farming In Barnet in 1980, Toyah sees this as a turning point and validation; she’d always been able to sell out venues, always had an audience, but never the back-up, feeling that in the past women were played against each other, in an industry where men made women enemies of each other.
That the world is ready for Toyah means that Posh Pop will be justly celebrated. The most complete, uplifting pop record of Toyah’s inspirational 41-year career, Posh Pop is a triumphant album, its 10 songs encompassing euphoric partying, redemption, glam rock, interplanetary exploration, industrial grooves, revolution, the fate of humanity as viewed by monkeys and, above all, anthems. Every song here is a masterclass in pop, condensing a world of wonder into barely 40 minutes. It’s maximum pop and it’s also classier than virtually any other music you’ll hear all year. It’s posh pop.
The album was made with Simon Darlow, who also co-wrote and produced Toyah’s previous solo album, 2008’s dramatic In The Court Of The Crimson Queen. They first worked together in 1977, brought together to write songs then again five years later when Simon played keyboards on Toyah’s album The Changeling in 1982, remaining friends ever since.
Posh Pop’s additional musician is Toyah’s husband, guitarist Bobby Willcox. Provided with just a chord sheet, he was in the studio for no more than half-an-hour a week. Told to do whatever he felt like, feeling free and completely spontaneous, within a few takes Bobby produced stunning guitar lines.
Whether channelling her glam roots on the addictive Zoom Zoom, celebrating the unity of mankind on the communal Take Me Home or offering solace in the achingly tender Barefoot On Mars, the only predictable aspect of Posh Pop is that a giant hook will be along shortly.
Building from simple acoustic guitar chords, Summer Of Love builds to an instantly catchy chorus, on a deeply ironic anti-war song, exploring the concept of women on the battlefield. Continuing the exploration of serious themes, over a refrain Toyah initially started on the piano, The Bride Will Return is about the tragic bride of Beirut’s wedding day, when the warehouse blew up, catching both the moment of explosion and Israa Sablani’s beauty. Space Dance explores our burgeoning efforts to begin colonising other worlds, wrapped around an infernally catchy chorus that wouldn’t be out of place in The Rocky Horror Show.
Every song on Posh Pop is accompanied by a video that feature on the Deluxe CD+DVD Edition. All 10 videos were created and directed by Toyah during the lockdown of spring 2021 and edited by Darren Shortt, inspired by the phenomenal success of Toyah’s weekly YouTube video performances with her husband. These creatively inventive videos were lovingly made at home, in the garden and in a nearby abbey. Viewed together they present an escape into Posh Pop, journeying to surprising places, virtual worlds, and Toyah’s kitchen.
The refrain “You’re never too old to shine” from the song Rhythm In My House applies to Toyah’s life and career. “That’s absolutely the message of this album,” Toyah emphasises. “It’s never too late. Life is about the journey, from birth to your last day. It’s not about doors closing.”
Written by Toyah Willcox & Simon Darlow
Produced by Simon Darlow
TRACK LISTING
Levitate | Zoom Zoom | The Bride Will Return | Space Dance | Barefoot On Mars | Rhythm In My House | Summer Of Love | Monkeys | Kill The Rage | Take Me Home
This weekend’s Toyah At Home included Toyah revealing the inside track on how the single Levitate came about and more insights into the making of the album, Posh Pop.
Music, chat and more of your questions which this week come from Toyah’s flower-filled garden! There’s a classic song, some chat about shooting on location for The Tempest…. AND It’s a special episode celebrating the newly released Levitate, the first single from the forthcoming album Posh Pop. See the video in full, get some insights into the creation of the song and its video and the inside track on some of the songwriting on the album.
• Season 2, episode 25 of Toyah At Home aired on Saturday. Watch/Rewatch by clicking below.
Press coverage for this week’s Sunday Lunch with Toyah and Robert (and Sidney Jake)!! (Images © Toyah Willcox)
• Brooklyn Vegan: Watch Toyah & Robert Fripp cover Aerosmith’s “Love In An Elevator” – Continue reading…
• NME: Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox share cover of Aerosmith’s ‘Love In An Elevator’ – King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his wife, singer Toyah Willcox, have shared a cover of Aerosmith‘s ‘Love In An Elevator’ – Continue reading…
• Metal Sucks: King Crimson’s Robert Fripp & Toyah Willcox Cover Aerosmith’s “Love In An Elevator” – Continue reading…
• Guitar.com: Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox Cover Aerosmith’s Love In An Elevator – Toyah also shared a new single, Levitate, off her forthcoming album – Continue reading…
• Metal Addicts: King Crimson’s Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox Cover Aerosmith’s ‘Love In An Elevator’ – Continue reading…
• Louder: Robert Fripp and Toyah serve up Love In A Elevator for Sunday lunch – Aerosmith’s classic Love In An Elevator receives the Sunday Lunch treatment, and it’s revealed that Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox own an actual elevator – Continue reading…
• Metal Injection: Toyah Willcox & King Crimson’s Robert Fripp Cover Aerosmith’s “Love In An Elevator” – Continue reading…
• Guitar World: Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox take it up a level with a high-octane cover of Aerosmith’s Love in An Elevator – The couple continued their Sunday Lunch series of covers with a rip-roaring rendition of the Aerosmith classic – Continue reading…
• DGM Live: Toyah & Robert’s Weekend!: Sunday Lunch (with Sidney Jake) – Love In An Elevator.
Plus, “Levitate” featuring Toyah, Simon Darlow & Bobby Willcox! – Continue reading…
• Sidney Jake: Another behind the scenes view for you. We loved making this one! – Click the link for an “alternative” view of this week’s episode – Continue watching…
Congrats to Toyah and, her new studio album, Posh Pop. As of right now at Amazon UK the album’s release formats hold the top four positions in their Pop Rock Best Sellers and the top three on the Dance Pop Best Sellers. It is also at positions 3, 4 and 31 in the Rock Best Sellers, and number 7, 8 and 11 in CDs & Vinyl Best Sellers. Astounding stats!
Toy
ah rises up with ‘Levitate’ from first album in 13 years
Toyah is back with Levitate, the lead single from her first studio album in 13 years.
The ‘80s icon will release her 16th LP ‘Posh Pop’ on August 27, featuring 10 brand new tunes produced by the star, alongside Simon Darlow and her husband, King Crimson’s Robert Fripp.
Of the track, available now on digital platform, she tells NME: “It was the second song Simon and I wrote for the album. I went into the studio with a few chords and started singing a song which was very thrashy and punky and that slowly evolved over two weeks. Levitate was something I wanted to connect to people who are educating their children at home in a two-bedroom flat.”
• Continue reading at Retro Pop.
