Dreamscape – Toyah Willcox Fansite

There’s another chance to see one of the greatest pop images in modern music history – brought to life in Toyah’s iconic Brave New World 1982 promo video – very soon on BBC4′s re-airing of classic editions of Top Of The Pops.

Top Of The Pops: BBC Four: Friday 14th June: 8.30pm
17/06/1982. Simon Bates presents the weekly pop chart show, first broadcast on 17th June 1982. Includes appearances by Natasha, Roxy Music, Echo and the Bunnymen, Duran Duran, ABC, Bow Wow Wow, Queen, Toyah and Adam Ant.

• Below is the very first Brave New World feature I created for the fanzine back in 2014 (Issue 4).

A Musical History: BBC4: Friday 16th December: 11.45pm
Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood Mac are the great survivors of British and American rock music. For more than 50 years they’ve overcome break-ups and breakdowns to become one of the most successful bands of all time, selling over 100 million records worldwide, with their 1977 smash Rumours accounting for nearly half of those sales. Here, fan Edith Bowman provides a narrative overview, alongside fellow celebrity admirers who all pay tribute to the band. Contributors include KT Tunstall, Travis’ frontman Fran Healy, Toyah Willcox, Sian Pattenden and Emma Dabiri.

Originally aired in 2018 to celebrate The Old Grey Whistle Test‘s 30th anniversary. this mammoth 3hr+ programme is repeated in full this Friday on BBC Four. (Photo © BBC)

The Old Grey Whistle Test Live: BBC Four
Friday 17th September : 9.40pm
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.

“It’s going to be a huge reunion”: Bob Harris reveals live line-up for Old Grey Whistle Test

BBC Music is reviving The Old Grey Whistle Test for a one-off live special on BBC Four. The revival marks 30 years since the legendary music TV show ended – it ran from 1971 to 1988 – and former host Bob Harris will be back at the helm.

Harris presented the show with that famous “whispering” delivery from 1972-78 and his spell included UK TV firsts including the performance from Bob Marley & The Wailers. Forty-six years since he first hosted, Harris will be back for the live three-hour special, which has generated huge excitement among music fans of a certain age.

“I know, it feels very exciting at this end too – the interest has been absolutely incredible,” the Radio 2 presenter told Music Week.

A Musical History: BBC4: Friday 2nd April: 11.30pm
Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood Mac fan Edith Bowman provides a narrative overview alongside other celebrity fans who all pay tribute to the band in this hit-filled hour. Contributors include KT Tunstall, Travis’ frontman Fran Healy, Toyah Willcox, Sian Pattenden and Emma Dabiri.

A Musical History: BBC4: Friday 27th December: 11pm
Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood Mac fan Edith Bowman provides a narrative overview alongside other celebrity fans who all pay tribute to the band in this hit-filled hour. Contributors include KT Tunstall, Travis’ frontman Fran Healy, Toyah Willcox, Sian Pattenden and Emma Dabiri.

A Musical History: BBC4: Friday 20th September: 8pm
Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood Mac fan Edith Bowman provides a narrative overview alongside other celebrity fans who all pay tribute to the band in this hit-filled hour. Contributors include KT Tunstall, Travis’ frontman Fran Healy, Toyah Willcox, Sian Pattenden and Emma Dabiri.

A Musical History: BBC4: Friday 29th March: 8pm
A Musical History: BBC4: Saturday 30th March: 1.55am
Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood Mac fan Edith Bowman provides a narrative overview alongside other celebrity fans who all pay tribute to the band in this hit-filled hour. Contributors include KT Tunstall, Travis’ frontman Fran Healy, Toyah Willcox, Sian Pattenden and Emma Dabiri.

Confirmation of the day and time the documentary Fleetwood Mac: A Musical History airs on BBC4.

Toyah is one of a number of celebrity fans – along with Fran Healy, Alan McGee, KT Tunstall and Sian Pattenden – contributing to this 60-minute look at the career of one of music’s most enduring bands. Airing twice in the days just before Christmas.

A Musical History: BBC4: Friday 21st December: 8pm
A Musical History: BBC4: Saturday 22nd December: 1.25am
Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood Mac fan Edith Bowman provides a narrative overview alongside other celebrity fans who all pay tribute to the band in this hit-filled hour. Contributors include KT Tunstall, Travis’ frontman Fran Healy, Toyah Willcox, Sian Pattenden and Emma Dabiri.

BBC Media Centre released details of the BBC’s Christmas 2018 TV schedule today – A bumper box of festive treats to enthrall and enchant audiences across the BBC this Christmas season.

Fleetwood Mac: A Musical History
Fellow musicians, journalists and fans celebrate Fleetwood Mac with a selection of their best loved songs.

Fleetwood Mac are the great survivors of British and American rock music. For more than fifty years they’ve overcome break-ups and breakdowns to become one of the most successful bands of all time. They have sold over 100 million records worldwide, with their 1977 smash Rumours accounting for nearly half of those sales.

They have endured, like all great bands, because of the complimentary talents of their members. From Peter Green to Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, the band has contained some extraordinary songwriters. With brilliant musicians on all instruments, they have been able to turn the songs into commercial gold. Above all, the tough determination of the two men who gave the band their name has seen Fleetwood Mac through thick and thin.

Celebrity fans paying tribute to the band in this hit-filled hour include KT Tunstall, Travis frontman Fran Healy, Edith Bowman, Toyah Willcox, Alan McGee, Sian Pattenden and Emma Dabiri.

• Continue reading at BBC Media Centre.

Top Of The Pops: BBC4: Wednesday 2nd May: 1am
22.09.1983. Simon Bates and Mike Read present the pop chart programme, first broadcast in September 1983. Featuring Toyah Willcox, David Bowie, Nick Heyward, The Alarm, Howard Jones and Hot Chocolate.

• Visit the BBC Top Of The Pops website. Click below for Dreamscape’s Rebel Run (and other Love Is The Law) lyrics.

“Soul deep!” – Next week there’s a repeat airing on BBC4 for the retro episode of Top Of The Pops with Toyah performing the euphoric Be Proud Be Loud (Be Heard)… Most of Toyah’s early Eighties TOTP appearances – both in the studio and on promo video – have been repeated over the last few months, see the rundown here.

Top Of The Pops: BBC4: Wednesday 21st March: 1am
21.10.1982. Peter Powell presents the weekly pop chart show, first broadcast in October 1982. Includes appearances from The Piranhas, Toyah, The Kids from Fame, Imagination, Kool and the Gang, Bauhaus, Spandau Ballet, Culture Club, Sharon Redd and Shakin’ Stevens.

Watch Friday night’s mammoth three-hour 30th Anniversary edition of The Old Grey Whistle Test at BBC iPlayer. A fantastic retrospective programme packed with great music, interviews and memories – Catch Toyah’s appearance, alongside Chris Difford, at approximately 2hrs 22m in.

There’s another chance to see one of the greatest pop images in modern music history – brought to life in Toyah’s iconic Brave New World 1982 promo video – very soon on BBC4′s re-airing of classic editions of Top Of The Pops.

Top Of The Pops: BBC4: Tuesday 6h March: 1.30am
17/06/1982. Simon Bates presents the weekly pop chart show, first broadcast on 17th June 1982. Includes appearances by Natasha, Roxy Music, Echo and the Bunnymen, Duran Duran, ABC, Bow Wow Wow, Queen, Toyah and Adam Ant.

‘It’s going to be a huge reunion’: Bob Harris reveals live line-up for Old Grey Whistle Test

BBC Music is reviving The Old Grey Whistle Test for a one-off live special at 9pm tonight (February 23) on BBC Four. The revival marks 30 years since the legendary music TV show ended – it ran from 1971 to 1988 – and former host Bob Harris will be back at the helm.

Harris presented the show with that famous “whispering” delivery from 1972-78 and his spell included UK TV firsts including the performance from Bob Marley & The Wailers. Forty-six years since he first hosted, Harris will be back for the live three-hour special, which has generated huge excitement among music fans of a certain age.

“I know, it feels very exciting at this end too – the interest has been absolutely incredible,” the Radio 2 presenter told Music Week.

• Continue reading at Music Week. NB: Toyah will feature in a live interview having just come off stage from a performance of Jubilee at Lyric Hammersmith – Further info at toyahwillcox.com.

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.

Top Of The Pops: 1981: BBC Four: Thursday 8th February: 0.50am
26.11.1981: Mike Read presents the pop chart show, first broadcast on 26 November 1981. Includes appearances by Kim Wilde, Jets, Toyah, Kool and the Gang, Earth Wind and Fire, Cliff Richard, Ultravox, and Queen and David Bowie.

Top Of The Pops: 1981: BBC Four: Tuesday 6th February: 1am
15/10/1981. David ‘Kid’ Jensen presents the TOTP hits of the week, first broadcast on 15 October 1981. Includes appearances from BA Robertson & Maggie Bell, Squeeze, Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin, This Year’s Blonde, Toyah, the Creatures and Bad Manners. Also includes a dance sequence by Legs & Co. (NB: Toyah’s appearance is via the TITM video)

Top Of The Pops: 1981: BBC Four: Thursday 1st February: 1.40am
01/10/81. Mike Read introduces the pop programme. Includes appearances from Godley & Creme (Under Your Thumb), Sheena Easton (Just Another Broken Heart), The Teardrop Explodes (Passionate Friend), The Creatures (Mad Eyed Screamer), Ottawan (Hands Up [Give Me Your Heart]), Toyah (Thunder In The Mountains), Bad Manners (Walking In The Sunshine), Altered Images (Happy Birthday), Dollar (Hand Held In Black & White), Adam & The Ants (Prince Charming).

Top Of The Pops: 1981: BBC Four: Tuesday 23rd January: 1am
04/06/1981. Richard Skinner introduces the pop programme, featuring Siouxsie and the Banshees (Spellbound), Shakin’ Stevens (You Drive Me Crazy), Kate Robbins (More Than in Love), Squeeze (Is That Love?), Imagination (Body Talk), The Jam (Funeral Pyre), Michael Jackson (One Day in Your Life), Toyah (I Want To Be Free), Phil Collins (If Leaving Me Is Easy), Adam & The Ants (Stand & Deliver), Odyssey (Going Back To My Roots).

Top Of The Pops: 1981: BBC Four: Friday 12th January: 0.00am
Mike Read presents. Duran Duran (Planet Earth), Talking Heads (Once In A Lifetime), Adam & The Ants (Kings Of The Wild Frontier), Toyah (It’s A Mystery), Shakin’ Stevens (This Ole House), Motorhead & Girlschool (Please Don’t Touch), Phil Collins (I Missed Again), Kool & The Gang (Jones Vs Jones), Teardrop Explodes (Reward), The Who (You Better You Bet), Joe Dolce (Shaddap Your Face). This originally aired on BBC1 on 5th March 1981. Toyah’s appearance is a repeat of their first studio performance which aired two weeks previously on 19th February 1981.

Top Of The Pops: 1981: BBC Four: Tuesday 16th January: 1.40am
Peter Powell presents. The Jacksons (Can You Feel It?), Sharron Redd (Can You Handle It?), Shakin’ Stevens (This Ole House), Dave Stewart & Colin Blunstone (What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?), The Who (You Better You Bet), Stevie Wonder (Lately), Phil Collins (I Missed Again), Bucks Fizz (Making Your Mind Up), Visage (Mind Of A Toy), Duran Duran (Planet Earth), Toyah (It’s A Mystery), Roxy Music (Jealous Guy). This originally aired on BBC1 on 19th March 1981 and was Toyah’s second studio appearance/performance (pictured above).

More airdates for Top Of The Pops, featuring the Rebel Run video.

Top Of The Pops: BBC4 
Saturday 22nd April: 0.00am/11.20pm
22.09.1983. Simon Bates and Mike Read present the pop chart programme, first broadcast in September 1983. Featuring Toyah Willcox, David Bowie, Nick Heyward, The Alarm, Howard Jones and Hot Chocolate.

Praying to the silent man…

‘Rebel Run’, released in September 1983, was Toyah’s 13th single in the UK.

This was one of only two singles to be released by Toyah in 1983 and was the debut from the album ‘Love Is The Law’. It was written by Toyah and Simon Darlow and reached number 24 in the UK Top 40.

Toyah made a memorable video for the single and promoted it with numerous appearances and interviews on shows including TVAM’s Summer Run, Hold Tight, The Saturday Show, Saturday Superstore, and German TV show Jugendabend. The video was also played on Top Of The Pops – being repeated later this month on BBC tv for the first time since the 1980’s.

Toyah said of the imagery: “This is the Rebel Run look. I was into armour. A friend, Simon, made a bronze headdress based on the skeletal structure of American football players.”

• Download ‘Rebel Run’ at iTunes, view the promo video, and the airing on Top Of The Pops. Watch Toyah perform the single on Hold Tight and Saturday Superstore. Listen to the song live at Hammersmith Odeon on the ‘Rebel Run’ Tour in December 1983. Andromeda Rising covered the song in 2005. Listen to their version here.