A quirky update, from Phil Jupitus’ Instagram, and Official Toyah even replies!
These three women were key to the post punk era in music. All innovators in their spheres. And all still gigging.
(Toyah Willcox once sang ‘Secret Love’ from ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ to me. I remember a skinhead girl shouting for ‘Say When’ at The Lyceum and Lene looking down and saying quite sternly “Not yet.” Chrissie Hynde was on the pop quiz and was utterly delightful. The Pretenders debut album is one of those where I can’t dip in and out. It has to be the whole thing beginning to end. I would love to see her singing ‘Precious’ live, just once.)
Thanks Phil! ❤️🔥 (Secret Love is from Calamity Jane) 😘 x (reply from Toyah!)
A selection from the new Posh Pop / Space Dance promo at Toyah’s Official Instagram. The video for Space Dance premieres, very soon, here… (Images © Toyah Willcox)
There’s a Posh Pop Special of Toyah At Home on the horizon. Leave a comment or question – about the LP, videos, creative process – with #AskToyah, at Toyah’s Official Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
NB. This announcement was accompanied by two previously unseen Posh Pop photos of Toyah (below top left & right)! (Photos © Toyah Willcox)
Love the new Posh Pop / Summer Of Love promo at Toyah’s Official Instagram… (Images © Toyah Willcox)
US popstar Miley Cyrus gave an image shout out to Toyah and other iconic “L.E.G.E.N.D.S. ONLY” female performers on her official Instagram yesterday to her, mindboggling, 137m followers. She included the cover of the 1982 New Women In Rock book which features Clare Grogan, Grace Jones, Sheena Easton, Siouxsie Sioux, Debbie Harry and Toyah on its cover.
• Click below to see the Instagram post, and here to see Toyah’s tweet.
Toyah: “Today I played guitar on film for the first time in my life and loved it xxx” (Photo © Toyah Willcox)
Do you have a question please for Toyah? Please add them in the comments sections at Twitter and Instagram for this weekend’s Toyah At Home. (Photo © Toyah Willcox)
Toyah tweeted and instagrammed yesterday that she had just received her Toyah & The Humans Noise In Your Head box set. Please click on either of those links to see the photo. Toyah’s second box set of 2020 is released on 3rd July and can be pre-ordered by clicking below.
Shirley Manson of Garbage, and back in the mists of time, Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, speaks for us all. I would only add, never let the snobbery of music journalists dictate your tastes. I never did.
“I owe her an apology for not giving credit where credit is due.”
This is Toyah Willcox and this is a true story. I loved her growing up but I never admitted it publicly because I knew deep down that it wasn’t considered very cool by the serious music press to do so. The worst possible thing for me at that age was to be thought of as uncool. However truth was she fascinated me and I think it’s fair to say I studied her. By that I mean I obsessed over photographs of her in magazines and tried to emulate her fabulous, esoteric style, copy her make up, style my hair like she did.
Toyah wasn’t considered very culturally “important” like Siouxsie was. She was effervescent. She had a cute little lisp. She seemed a bit nerdy and she was considered pretty mainstream. I was 15 and pretty mainstream myself but as I said, needed more than anything to appear cool to my peers so I kept my tastes to myself.
I can’t remember who accompanied me to see her play when she came to The Edinburgh Playhouse in the summer of 1982. I am assuming it was my best friend Sara. We had been besties since nursery school but I can’t honestly remember. However I DO remember the undeniable, visceral thrill of seeing Toyah on stage. This was a time before pop stars were accessible and culturally omnipresent. The impact of seeing your idols on stage, in the flesh for the first time was something immense and extraordinarily overwhelming. It was the only time you ever really got to see them move through space. See them breathe and hear them speak. I just remember the lights and lusting after Toyah’s hair and being utterly transfixed.
I owe Toyah an apology. An apology for being a Judas. An apology for sucking at her teat and not having the strength of character to ever admit it. I owe her an apology for not giving credit where credit is due. I owe her an apology for, upon discovering she was a idiosyncratic firecracker and not ice cool, withholding my love. I apologize. And I want to thank her. For everything . For being a weirdo. For taking risks. For fucking trying and not being afraid. I love you Toyah Willcox. I wish I’d declared myself publicly sooner but it’s better late than never. “Don’t want to go to school. I want to be free. I want to be me”.
Catching up with Toyah’s official social media, which is bursting with content! From news on the great new mix of Step Into The New World to clapping gratitude for the NHS. Plus eating well, staying healthy, easter bees (“we’re just buzzing”), tripping the light fantastic for a lockdown lunch and much more! Follow Toyah at the official Instagram and Twitter. (Photos © Toyah Willcox)
Toyah sending Westside Bid her congratulations on Instagram…
Toyah Willcox urged to sign up to Strictly after sharing lockdown dance routine
Fans of the punk icon have pleaded with her to appear on Strictly Come Dancing after she showcased her dancing skills on social media
Toyah Willcox and her husband Robert Fripp, like many, are trying to stay occupied amid the coronavirus lockdown.
And the punk icon sprinkled cheer on social media on Sunday by uploading footage of her and her husband executing a fun dance routine onto Twitter – which led to fans pleading with her to sign up to BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.
Glamming up for the routine, the musician, 61, slipped into a stunning embellished gown for the performance and Robert went all out by donning a suit and tie.
Using their kitchen as their stage the husband and wife pulled off impressive footwork to Bill Haley’s 1956 hit Rock Around the Clock. After they finished the uplifting jig, Toyah addressed the camera and said: “Happy lockdown lunch.”
• Continue reading at The Mirror. NB: At time of writing the video clip – Happy #lockdown lunch – had been viewed almost 107,000 times.
Toyah celebrating the release of her Toyah Solo box set, and, very soon (Friday 13th March) to be released, Minx on Red Vinyl album. See the full versions of both of these great photos at Toyah’s Official Instagram and Twitter pages. (Photos © Toyah Willcox)
Toyah unboxing Toyah Solo. It looks great. A much better looking box set than Madonna’s Complete Studio Albums released in 2012 (and that one was really good!)
“I am so excited. This is the first ever Toyah box set… The first of a few to be announced. Enjoy!” TOYAH
Toyah Solo is a new 7 CD + DVD anthology of collected works by Toyah, released 28 February 2020 by Edsel Records
An Amazon Exclusive edition featured a signed print and was strictly limited to 500 copies. (Now Sold Out!)
The first Toyah box set ever features six studio albums (Minx, Desire, Prostitute, Ophelia’s Shadow, Take The Leap!, Velvet Lined Shell).
The set also boasts 44 bonus tracks, including rarities, B-sides, collaborations, and several unreleased tracks, plus a DVD of promo videos and a brand new exclusive interview filmed in December 2019 with Toyah talking about her solo albums.
RELEASE DATE: 28 February 2020 | FORMAT: 7 CD + DVD in wallets in 2-piece box with 48 page booklet.
• Toyah Solo is available to pre-order now from Amazon. See Dreamscape’s Toyah Solo News Archive and our new Toyah 2020 Releases page which will, hopefully, be updated with each release this year. (Screen caps taken from a video clip that is © Toyah Willcox).
Its beginning to look a lot like… Toyah, looking amazing, is just about to rock Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham on the first date of the Let’s Rock Winter Tour. (Photo © Toyah Willcox)
A great photo of Toyah – an outtake from Take The Leap 1993 – posted at Instagram this week. (Photo © Official Toyah)
Check out news, updates and photos direct from the Crimson Queen herself at the Official Toyah Twitter and Instagram… (Photos 1, 3, 5 & 6 © Toyah Willcox)
The Official Toyah Instagram is in full Crimson Queen mode this morning…
A rare photo of Toyah with, German band, Kiss Of Reality was posted by Official Toyah at their current Toyah LP Countdown feature. Toyah collaborated with KOR in 1993 on an album that is one of a number of lesser-known treasures included in Toyah’s magnificent 40-year discography:
The Toyah LP Countdown touches 1993 and the third entry for a side project from the core albums released under the ‘Toyah’ artist name. The band Kiss Of Reality consisted of David Pittaway, Volker Rehn & Jörg Schwickerath. David had previously toured across the world with Robert Fripp and The League of Crafty Guitarists in the late 80s/early 90s.
Toyah asked German progressive rock trio Kiss Of Reality if she could write lyrics to some of their music and collaborate with them in 1992. After laying down some demos Toyah recorded six tracks for the album in early 1993. The CD was only released in Germany by M+D Records and is very sought after by fans. Toyah features on six of the eleven tracks, for which she also wrote lyrics…
• Continue reading at The Official Toyah Instagram. (Photo © David Pittaway)
Look! Hear! and Toyah’s 1979 Record Mirror cover – 40th music – anniversary updates this week at the Official Toyah Instagram and Twitter…
Isn’t it reassuring that some people still listen to, and appreciate, great music. Congratulations to Toyah for her success at Spotify this year. Not forgetting how well the Four From Toyah: Birthday Edition EP did upon its release in May. While on the subject of music, Toyah and Simon Darlow recently signed a new record contract and completed a new song for release in 2019.
