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Posts Tagged ‘Christmas Countdown 2022’

Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 20: I Believe In Father Christmas

December 24th, 2022

It’s Christmas Eve! And the final day of Dreamscape’s Christmas Countdown 2022…

Christmas 1982, The build up/countdown to Christmas wouldn’t be complete at Dreamscape without this… I think I’ve mentioned I Believe in Father Christmas almost every December for the last 23 years, so here we go again…

Toyah covers the Greg Lake 1975 classic (which I didn’t realise also features Robert Fripp until Toyah mentioned it a few years ago on Toyah’s Christmas at the Zoo) for ITV’s Pop Goes Christmas in 1982. The programme aired on Boxing Day and also featured Musical Youth, Mari Wilson, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, The Nolans, Toto Coelo, The Mighty Wah! and Shakin’ Stevens.

According to an info board posted online, Pop Goes Christmas was only recorded less than a fortnight before it aired. Not sure if this is completely accurate. 

Toyah sounds glorious, looks amazing (wearing her Brave New World/The Changeling black contacts) and Keith Hale and Joel Bogen are having a right old festive time in the forest of lit up trees during the recording, which was introduced by David Essex. Bravo!

Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 19: A Retro Winter Tour

December 23rd, 2022

Hey, welcome to the penultimate Christmas Countdown entry for 2022. It’s Christmas Eve Eve… Always one of the most exciting days of the year!

Christmas 2019, Toyah rounded off yet another incredibly busy year of live concerts by playing the three-date Let’s Rock – The Retro Winter Tour. A festive extravaganza which played three arenas; Motorpoint in Nottingham (29th November), The SSE Hydro in Glasgow (11th December) and Wembley Arena in London (13th December).

The tour also featured Tony Hadley, Marc Almond, ABC, Jimmy Somerville, Nik Kershaw, Boney M, Altered Images, Toyah, Sonia, Annabella Lwin, Peter Coyle, Dr & The Medics.

Here’s the Let’s Rock Winter promo image and photos of Toyah ready to hit the stage at Motorpoint, Nottingham and the Crimson Queen with Clare Grogan at Glasgow’s Hydro. (Photos © Toyah Willcox/Clare Grogan)

Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 18: Once Upon A Christmas

December 22nd, 2022

Christmas 1996, Toyah contributed a festive recollection of Christmas past to the charity publication Once Upon A Christmas (Memories and Recipes From Your Favourite Celebrities). The book is now long out of print and unavailable.

In this delightful Christmas book, a host of our most popular and well-known celebrities from all walks of life have contributed stories, memories, recipes and thoughts about Christmas to make this the most irresistible festive anthology there is… Once Upon A Christmas will help to put – and keep – you in the Christmas spirit.

Toyah Willcox: Broadcaster and Singer

“Childhood Christmasses were the most magical. It was the appearance of the Christmas tree that cued two weeks of sheer all-encompassing joy. I’m talking about being four years old. Just able to talk but unable to comprehend the hidden meanings of the words of wisdom from the giants, the adults…”

• Continue reading Toyah’s Once Upon A Christmas entry at Dreamscape’s Press Archive.

Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 17: Happy Xmas From The Stars

December 21st, 2022

Christmas 1982, Happy Christmas From The Stars, a “Free Christmas Record (12 Minutes of Festive Fun)”, was attached to the December 9-22, 1982 issue of Smash Hits magazine.

The Christmas flexi was originally an idea by Neil Tennant – who worked as a journalist at Smash Hits before global pop stardom as a Pet Shop Boy. It was produced in association with Levis, released by Lyntone Records, produced by Trevor Dann and recorded by Mark Ellen.

The festive flexi-disc featured numerous pop stars – Abba, ABC, Adam Ant, Bananarama, Bucks Fizz, Captain Sensible, Culture Club, Duran Duran, Funboy Three, Haircut 100, Imagination, The Jam, Madness, Mari Wilson, Musical Youth, The Piranahs, The Police, Steve Strange, Toyah, Ultravox – sending readers Christmas greetings, messages and Yuletide tunes.

Click below to listen – Toyah arrives at the Christmas 1982 Pop Star Party at 4.46, in-between Martin Fry of ABC and Steve Strange of Visage. Too-de-loo!!

NB. I’d like to dedicate this post to Terry Hall, not only of The Specials and Funboy Three, but two other great bands, The Colour Field, and Terry Blair & Anouchka. He truly was the voice of a generation! Rest in Peace.

Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 16: The Great British Panto

December 20th, 2022

Christmas 2016, saw Toyah Willcox and the Great British Panto take place. The festive event was held at the Victoria & Albert Museum, aka the V&A, London. A fascinating event, with Toyah discussing the history, origins and traditions of pantomime, as well as her own 20-year panto career.

The V&A, in anticipation of the festive event, said: “Toyah Willcox’s career has encompassed chart-hits, novels and roles on stage and screen, from working at the National Theatre to cult-classic Quadrophenia. She is also a celebrated pantomime performer, having spent many a season playing a variety of roles from Principal Boy to Wicked Queen. Join her as part of the V&A’s Christmas Festivities as she celebrates one of her and Britain’s best loved artforms. Toyah will be in conversation with Senior Curator and Pantomime Editor of the British Theatre Guide, Simon Sladen. (Photos © Damon King)

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Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 15: The Old Grey Whistle Test

December 19th, 2022

Christmas 1981, Following an incredible year of huge hit singles, gold-selling album, tours, a multitude of images, hundreds of press interviews and numerous television appearances, Toyah closed her/their sensational 1981 by playing the final date of the Good Morning Universe European Tour, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London on Christmas Eve.

This was Toyah’s third, and final, tour of the year, following the College Tour at the beginning of 1981 and the Anthem Tour in the middle of the year.

The gig was broadcast live on BBC2  – and simultaneously in stereo on BBC Radio 1 – on The Old Grey Whistle Test – introduced by Radio 1/TOGWT legend, Annie Nightingale – as their annual Christmas Eve concert for 1981, in a schedule that also included everything from a festive All Creatures Great & Small, to an episode of Russell Harty At Home.

The band were: Toyah Willcox (Vocals|), Joel Bogen (Guitar), Adrian Lee (Keyboards), Phil Spalding (Bass Guitar, Vocals), Simon Phillips (Drums).

The concert was released on regular VHS (and Limited Edition hardback cover VHS with an Introduction note by Toyah) by BBC Video in 1982.

Toyah was among a small number who received this not inconsiderable accolade during the 1970s/80s golden era of music. Others bands/artists who were gifted The Old Grey Whistle Test festive concert over the years included Elton John (1974), Queen (1975), Rod Stewart (1976), The Kinks (1977), 10CC (1978), Ian Dury & The Blockheads (1980), Elton John (1982), Paul Young (1983).

Toyah would later recall:I spent one Christmas in complete euphoria after doing the Drury Lane Whistle Test. I can remember driving home to Birmingham that night and it was snowing. Everything was just wonderful and I remained on a high after doing that show for about ten days.

Toyah’s Theatre Royal, Drury Lane/The Old Grey Whistle Test concert has become an intrinsic and memorable part of Christmas. A legendary event that thousands attended and many millions watched, and remember as such a special moment in Toyah’s career as well as everyone’s Christmas – past, present and, no doubt, future!

Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 14: Re-Joyce (In The Bleak Midwinter)

December 18th, 2022

Christmas 2010, and The Hazel O’Connor Collective, which included Toyah as one of the main vocalists, released the charity single – written by Hazel O’Connor – Re-Joyce (In The Bleak Midwinter). Proceeds from the single went to Myton Hospice in Coventry where Hazel’s mum, Joyce, received care and treatment for cancer.

The track was also released on CD, and alongside the main single mix, some special solo versions were also released digitally, including Toyah’s.

Re-Joyce (In The Bleak Midwinter) by The Hazel O’Connor Collective reached the Top 10 of the Amazon UK Music/Singles chart at Christmas 2010.

NB: Sending Best Wishes to Hazel this Christmas. An update to her Go Fund Me page on 15th December said: “Hazel continues to make good progress and is very grateful for everyone’s good wishes, love and support. Merry Christmas to everyone and here’s hoping next year brings good health and happiness.”

Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 13: Fistral Bay Joy!

December 17th, 2022

Just one week until Christmas Eve! Hope you are enjoying Dreamscape’s Christmas Countdown – revisiting lots of festive Toyah memories for our 23rd Christmas online…

Christmas 2018, Toyah tweeted a sensational and joyous photo taken at Fistral Bay in Newquay, Cornwall:

Rocking out the storm at Fistral Bay. A great way to celebrate definitely the best month of the year! (Photo © Toyah Willcox)

Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 12: Toyah & Messenger @ Liberty

December 16th, 2022

Christmas 1983, and a little, albeit unconventional, festive retail therapy at one of London’s most legendary department stores – Liberty on Regent Street – made the fourth festive season of the 1980s a very memorable one for Toyah fans and viewers of Good Morning Britain on TVAM.

Toyah sporting her late 1983 – most associated with the promotion of The Vow – look, and her Brave New World video co-star Messenger (the beautiful horse), went early Christmas shopping in November…

Pop singer and actress Toyah Willcox has always wanted to do her Christmas shopping on horseback! With a little help from TV-am’s ‘Fantasy Time’, and Liberty London in Regent Street, Toyah rode a white horse called Messenger through the store.

• Watch the full TVAM clip at Toyah’s Official You Tube channel and click below to see larger versions of the screen captures of Toyah and Messenger.

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Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 11: Musical Milestones

December 15th, 2022

Christmas 2012, Toyah guested on Marlow FM’s ‘Musical Milestones’ on The Eclectic Light Show.

She discussed her life and career in relation to music and what it has meant to her, as well as its importance in her life. Toyah also chose six pieces of her favourite music, for significant reasons which she discusses during the programme.

The music choices were by Gustav Holst (Mars, The Planet Suite), Simon & Garfunkel (Bridge Over Troubled Water), T. Rex (Ride A White Swan), David Bowie (Life On Mars), Shakespears Sister (Stay), Muse (Supermassive Black Hole).

“Music embodies your soul, it embodies your physicality, it embodies your thoughts…”

This aired on Christmas Eve that year, and at the time marlow FM didn’t have a Listen Again function so I recorded it and uploaded to Dreamscape a low quality mp3 of the 30-minute special. Click below to listen/download.

Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 10: David Bowie & Starman

December 14th, 2022

Cchristmas2018dhristmas 2012, Toyah guested on Steve Lamacq’s Rock College on BBC Radio 2 as ‘Guest Lecturer’, discussing how absolutely life-changing first discovering David Bowie was for her when growing up in Birmingham in the early 1970s.

Toyah talks about the legendary album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and of first glimpsing, and hearing, Bowie performing Starman on the music programme Lift Off With Ayshea.

“This was a moment that changed my life forever…”

This was such a great audio clip/opinion piece by Toyah it would’ve been a real shame to just let it disappear after its week on iPlayer back in 2012… so here it is! Click below to listen.

Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 9: A Fanclub Christmas

December 13th, 2022

Christmas 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984. In the early eighties Toyah’s Official Fanclub – Intergalactic Ranch House – sent out Christmas cards to subscribing members each December, with Toyah taking the time to sign each and every card, which numbered around 6,000 at the height of the fanclub’s popularity.

This tradition was carried on for an extra year, in 1984, when the Intergalactic Ranch House became simply the Toyah Fanclub following Toyah leaving Safari Records after five years and signing to CBS/Portrait Records.

All four cards featured photos of Toyah, showcasing great early eighties imagery and creating a unique set of fanclub memorabilia that became collector’s items. Here’s a snapshot of a feature on the Christmas cards from an issue of Dreamscape’s fanzine.

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Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 8: The Ebony Tower

December 12th, 2022

Christmas 1984, The Ebony Tower, written by John Fowles and originally published in 1974, premiered on ITV on the 9th December.

Toyah filmed the 90-minute television drama, which was produced by Granada TV, in the Dordogne region of France during the Summer of 1983.

She starred alongside Sir Laurence Olivier, Greta Scacchi and Roger Rees. In a 1984 interview, Toyah said of the character she plays: “The girl I play in The Ebony Tower may be called ‘The Freak’, and she may even look like a freak, but deep down she is the sanest person in the story“.

View promo shots from the drama here and here. Read an interview with Toyah, published when The Ebony Tower aired, by Outlook magazine, and another from around the same time, by Cosmopolitan magazine. Read Dreamscape’s 2011 DVD review, and view a couple of our fan adverts. (Thanks to andy for the screen cap below)

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Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 7: Toyah At Home

December 11th, 2022

Christmas 2022, Toyah At Home on Saturday 10th December was a festive special – featuring Toyah and Robert – airing at Toyah’s Official You Tube channel and Facebook feed.

Toyah and Robert watched and reacted to Toyah’s performance of, Greg Lake’s wonderful, I Believe In Father Christmas from the tv show Pop Goes Christmas, which originally aired at Christmas 1982 on ITV. The full retro festive clip was also shown at the end of the episode.

In today’s Toyah At Home episode, Toyah reacts to the fantastically festive 1982 performance of the Greg Lake classic I Believe In Father Christmas. Filmed in December 1982, this clip turns 40- this year and features Toyah sporting black contact lenses and accompanied by Joel Bogen and Keith Hale. Happy 40th to this version!

• Watch Saturday’s Toyah At Home by clicking below. (Image © Toyah Willcox)

Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 6: Birmingham Walk Of Stars

December 10th, 2022

Christmas 2016, Toyah attended a ceremony and was inducted into the Birmingham Walk Of Stars.

Toyah said: “I am thrilled to be receiving a star on the Birmingham Walk of Stars. Having spent my childhood and teenage years in this great city, I developed my love of music and theatre here, thanks to all the great music venues and theatres available within the one city.

• See news on Toyah attending the Birmingham Walk Of Stars event here and here. (Photo © Birmingham Mail)

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Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 5: Toyah’s Vintage Christmas

December 9th, 2022

Christmas 2011, Toyah presented a fantastic, three-hour, music-filled festive spectacular for the, relatively, new music channel Vintage TV.

Toyah’s Vintage Christmas was a constant that Christmas, airing numerous times through December, with Toyah introducing festive pop videos and sharing seasonal trivia. The programme was repeated in subsequent years, and Toyah would go on to present other Christmas shows – including A Very Vintage Christmas, Toyah’s Christmas At The Zoo – right through until Vintage TV ceased broadcasting in 2017.

Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 4: Believe|Winter|Dream

December 8th, 2022

Christmas 2012, 2013 & 2014 brought us, Christmas related, Toyah releases…

1. I Believe In Father ChristmasToyah’s version of the Greg Lake 70s festive classic (which was voted one of the greatest ever Christmas songs in a 2012 poll) has gathered quite a history over the years: It was originally recorded for ITV’s Pop Goes Christmas in 1982, Safari then included it on the Mayhem compilation album in 1985, and later it was also made available on the CD Live & More. Ten years ago, at Christmas 2012, it was released as a standalone digital single. Download at iTunes. 2.Winter In WonderlandOne year on and at Christmas 2013 there was another new digital single, make that an EP, for Christmas – Winter in Wonderland… Download at iTunes3. Has God Ceased To Dream You; Toyah released this four-song EP in December 2014 as a companion piece to the recently digitally released Take The Leap! album… Download at iTunes. (NB. Only I Believe In Father Christmas is still available at iTunes!)

Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 3: TOTP – Be Proud

December 7th, 2022

Christmas 2016, and BBC Four aired a repeat Top Of The Pops, which was originally broadcast in October 1982 on BBC1, which included Toyah’s studio performance of the single, Be Proud Be Loud (Be Heard). This website described Toyah’s performance/appearance as “iconic, classic and utterly unforgettable“.

While the retro TOTP aired, BBC Four also tweeted: “In 1982, Toyah was so famous, she even had a lion-tailed macaque named after her on Animal Magic, and appeared on the show to meet it“.

Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 2: Smash Hits Christmas

December 6th, 2022

Christmas 2012, BBC Radio 4 aired Neil Tennant’s Smash Hits Christmas on 20th December.

A fascinating look back at the golden years of the UK’s biggest pop magazine of the Eighties. A publication Toyah featured in a lot between 1980 and 1985, and also graced a trio of covers in 1980, ’81 and ’82.

The programme included contributions from Tennant, various Smash Hits editors and writers, and Toyah, talking about Smash Hits in general and her Brave New World cover from the Summer of 1982.

Neil Tennant had a life as a journalist before he became famous as a Pet Shop Boy, interviewing many of the pop stars and bands of the era, including a very early interview with Madonna. In fact, it was on a Smash Hits trip to New York that he had his big breakthrough with the record producer Bobby O.

Neil Tennant’s Smash Hits Christmas, a 30-minute radio docu, hasn’t been available at BBC iPlayer/BBC Sounds since Christmas 2012, but you can click below to listen to a recording of the programme at You Tube, or download direct from Dreamscape, here.

Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 1: Celebrity Mastermind

December 5th, 2022

Christmas 2018, Toyah became a Mastermind! She won Episode Two of Series 17 of Celebrity Mastermind, which aired on BBC1 on Saturday 22nd December.

John Humphrys put four celebrities to the test in another episode of the classic quiz, which aired across Christmas 2018 in ten episodes on BBC1.

Taking part were comedian Joe Pasquale, Newsround presenter Ricky Boleto, singer Toyah Willcox and Olympian Jeanette Kwakye. They answered questions on werewolf films, 1990s number one singles, Boudica and Disney animations.

Christmas Countdown 2022: Begins Monday!

December 3rd, 2022

Had some requests for a Dreamscape Christmas Countdown.

We haven’t had one for a few years and I was planning on starting one on 1st December but the website went awol for a couple of days, so the 2022 advent/countdown will start on 5th December and run for 21 days… through to Christmas Eve!

Stay tuned for some seriously Toyah festiveness… Beginning Monday!