• Thanks to Carl for this great photo. Listen to Carl’s recent interview with Toyah here.

A talented singer/actress/songwriter, she’s one of Britain’s biggest household names, having clocked up over 30 years in show business, as well as two weeks in the jungle…

She won Best Female Singer in the Rock & Pop Awards in the early 80’s (now ‘The Brits’) and her diverse career has produced not only a string of hit records, but prestigious stage and screen roles, alongside Hollywood greats including Sir Laurence Olivier. She’s also enjoying multi-million-pound success as an international property investor, with apartments on the French Riviera in her property portfolio.

I never get on a plane without…
… a bottle of water and a notepad, because I like to keep my mind focused and tend to have good ideas on long-haul flights.

My ideal travelling companion would be…
… a great book.

I’d least like to travel with…
… someone who drinks, needs to talk incessantly and who thinks they are funny. I’m very independent and prefer my own company. I love solitude and my most treasured item, believe it or not, is privacy.

• Read the full interview at ‘Overseas Living Online’, here

• Thanks to David and Carl for the photos. Listen to Carl’s recent interview with Toyah here

• Courtney was also interviewed, on Saturday 22nd May, on RTE Radio 1, with Niall Stokes (editor of ‘Hot Press’) and she again mentioned Toyah. Courtney remembered being a photographer 30 years ago and taking photos of Toyah, which were possibly used in ‘Hot Press’. [Thanks to John O'Connor]

• View photos from two Toyah ‘Hot Press’ features in Dreamscape’s 1981 Gallery.

• The ‘Here & Now’ Facebook includes some live shots of Toyah, from past ‘H&N’ shows. Visit that here.

• Yet another upcoming female singer being compared to Toyah: Spark, aka Jess Morgan, was featured in The Guardian’s ‘New Band Of The Day’ last Thursday: She’s certainly whimsical. Her debut single Shut Out the Moon features handclaps, a dirty bassline and a theatrically enunciated vocal that is very stage-school, very Toyah. Read the full article here.

• Toyah was also namechecked in an article in Times24 on The Animals. Read that here.

Remember big hair, shoulder pads and men wearing make-up? Well put those memories aside, as this week we have teamed up with the promoters of Back to the 80s to offer 10 of our readers the chance to see a show which will transport them back to this iconic era.

Playing at Embankment in Peterborough, legends from the day including Banarama, ABC, Go West, Heaven 17 and Toyah will be performing their hits from the decade of decadence.

On the play list are classic tracks such as Robert de Niro’s Waiting, Crushed by the Wheels of Industry and Toyah’s much loved 1981 smash, ‘It’s a Mystery’.

The outside venue provides the perfect backdrop for the event which is taking place on July 17. Gates open at 4pm with the concert starting at 7pm. Tickets can be purchased for the event by ringing 0845 296 0000.

Go here to view this at ‘Cambs24' and enter the competition. It runs until 5th July 2010.

She’s an eighties legend whose outfits and songs defined a decade but twenty years on, Toyah Willcox is still drawing in the crowds. Once crowned the Princess of Punk Pop, she’s in Guernsey to headline a best of the 80s party at Beau Sejour. We sent our reporter Tamara, to meet Toyah…

A retro edition of Look! Hear! will air at Pop Goes The Talbot, part of the Kaleidoscope 2010 event in Stourbridge, West Midlands next month (Saturday 5th June). Toyah presented Look! Hear!, which aired on BBC Birmingham, between 1979 and 1981.

Pop Goes The Talbot: Saturday 5th June 2010, 12:00 – 7:00 pm
6:10pm: Look! Hear! – Duran Duran and Eclipse headline the BBC Birmingham local magazine pop show unseen outside the Midlands. Presented by Toyah Willcox and Chris Phipps (TX: 1981).

• Go here for full details on this event. Thanks to Andi for the Look! Hear! caps

It remains there until tomorrow afternoon at 1.44pm! View it here.

We caught up with Toyah Willcox for a quick fire round about her career.

Among her many chart successes “Thunder in the Mountains” was Toyah’s 8th UK single by the band aptly named ‘Toyah’, and was released in 1981. It was one of Toyah’s highest charting singles…

View the full report here.

Other album highlights include the ambient torch-song Let Me Go, the rousing, rock-infused Unkind, and the epic title track which features guest guitar from Jay Stapley. This reissue adds Open The Skies, a previously unheard outtake from the album sessions which is a heady mix of tribal beats, soaring guitar work and powerful vocals. Whilst Dreamchild is most definitely an ambient/dance album, it was born out of a proposed stage musical, Cindy X, also authored by Mike Bennett.

Although the stage musical didn’t come to fruition, recordings of songs for “what-would-have-been” a soundtrack cast album were produced with Toyah on vocals, and have remained vaulted until now. These are all contained on this special edition, including two tracks which were translated and carried over to the Dreamchild album, and two further songs which both clearly illustrate the mooted narrative of Cindy X. This includes Another Way, (later sampled and re-built as World Of Tension) and the storming, glam-rock Let Me Go (Jangle Mix) featuring backing vocals from Toto Coelo’s Lacey Bond.

Tone Poem / Now And Then / Let Me Go / World Of Tension / Out Of The Blue (Radio Mix) / Unkind / Dreamchild / Lost And Found / Over You / I Don’t Know / Disappear / Open The Skies (Dreamchild Outtake) (Bonus Track) / Another Way (Bonus Track) / Over You ( Cindy X Version) (Bonus Track) / Let Me Go (Jangle Mix) (Bonus Track) / Lost And Found ( Cindy X Version) (Bonus Track)

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by today. It’s been busy. We’ve had three times the number of visitors we normally do.

Here’s hoping Toyah’s next 12 months is 365 days of continued success (with, maybe, a new album – please!)

I’m taking a short break from updating. In the meantime, please vote for Toyah’s haircut here. (Thanks to Paul)

The gorgeous photos, by Dean Stockings, of Toyah with the acoustic guitar that were used in some press articles late last year and in early 2010 (including ‘Record Collector’, ‘Mojo’ and the ‘Coventry Telegraph’) were taken to be used on the artwork for a CD reissue of ‘The Acoustic Album’. This will happen at some point in the future.

• Minna’s birthday card for Toyah. Visit the ‘Toyah Willcox Interview Archive’ here.

• Lots of birthday wishes for Toyah today:

At the Fans Club Facebook, The Official Toyah MySpace, Mayhem Forum, and The Official Toyah Facebook.

• This great fun birthday photo of Toyah and her PA John appeared online.

• ‘Brilliant Day’ by Toyah, from ‘Ophelia’s Shadow’, was played on ‘Flashback Alternatives’ earlier today – possibly to mark Toyah’s big day. View their ‘Last 500 Tracks Played’ page here.

• Toyah was also included in ‘The Times’ Birthday’s Today feature. View that here.

• Thanks to Minna, Kevin, Colin and Steven for the info.

Birthday 2010: Anthem/I Want To Be Free Revisited • 18th May, 2010

• A massive thank you to Andi Westhorpe and Jay Myrdal for this unique feature.

• There’s also a few additions to the 1980 and 1983 pages. A huge thank you to Paul Lomas and Andi Westhorpe for their help with photos for recent updates. Thanks to everyone else who has provided photos over the years too.

1. Radio One: My Top 12 (November 1981): Toyah chooses her favourite songs and talks about her life, music, hobbies, childhood, fans, career… and more!. 2. Radio One: The Annie Nightingale Show: (August 1981): Toyah talks to Annie about her life, success in 1981 and new single. 3. BFBS Radio: (December 1981): Toyah interviewed in Europe at the end of her extraordinarily successful 1981. She talks about the year, her future plans, Christmas and the band’s new EP ‘Four More From Toyah’. 4. Radio One: Talkabout (February 1981): A Valentine’s Day special.

• Thanks to Giddy Gavin (aka Logan 5) and Sean.

• There’s also a similar slideshow of photos of Toyah, live at Hammersmith Odeon in June 1981, on the ‘Anthem’ tour. View that here.

The issue, which features Kate Bush on the cover, is significant as this was the first time the magazine included a “pin-up” of Toyah.

It’s a photo from the famous “stairs” session. View the full session the pin up is taken from at Dreamscape’s 1980 Gallery here.

Toyah also figures in “Bitz” again (page 11), with news on the release of ‘The Blue Meaning’, ‘Ieya’, the Ieya Tour, and The Tempest.

As well as Kate Bush and Toyah there’s also Phil Lynott, The Undertones, The Jam, Blondie, The Human League, Motorhead, Michael Jackson, Roxy Music and more.

This is great news as the American-based station broadcasts to tens of thousands of listeners.

• Not showing on BBC1 Scotland. It will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer after airing.

• That’s more than enough Peter Pan for the time being. I’m sure many of you will agree! For anyone who is interested, you can find all the updates here.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of J. M. Barrie’s tale of childhood adventure starring Toyah Willcox as Peter Pan and Ron Moody as Captain Hook.

Peter Pan : BBC Radio 7 – Thu 13th May : 5.00am
Spring Cleaning Time Again. Wendy longs for home, but first she and the brothers must be rescued from Hook. Stars Toyah Willcox and Ron Moody. Episode 4 of 4.

• You can hear these at the BBC Radio 7 website via their Listen Live option, and each episode will also be available at BBC iPlayer after airing.

It’s available to listen to for another four days here. Toyah appears approximately one hour into the show and the clip lasts around three minutes.

It’s Stevie Wonder’s 60th Birthday next week, and Biographer Mark Ribowsky joins Richard to chat about his commercial heyday from the late 70’s through to the early 90’s.

Also there’ll be music from the charts from the featured year – 1987. Toyah Willcox talks of her back catalogue in a clip from the 80’s archive.

Have you been watching Ashes to Ashes/ They’ll be music from Episode 5 of the third series, a 12 inch mix of the week, and two of those tricky teasers. How’s your points tally going?

‘It’s A Mystery’ was played on 4th May, ‘Prospect’, from ‘Ophelia’s Shadow’ yesterday, and this morning the, sublime, album version of ‘Brave New World’ – also included on ‘Proud, Loud & Heard: The Best Of Toyah’.

The station plays The Cure, The Smiths, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, The Jam, Kate Bush, Lloyd Cole, Pixies, The Chameleons and Ministry, to name but a few, as well as more obscure bands, so Toyah is in very good company. [ Thanks to Kevin ]

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of J. M. Barrie’s tale of childhood adventure starring Toyah Willcox as Peter Pan and Ron Moody as Captain Hook.

Peter Pan : BBC Radio 7 – Wed 12th May : 5.00am
An Awfully Big Adventure. Captain Hook turns the tables, as the battle between the Lost Boys and pirates begins. Stars Toyah Willcox and Ron Moody. Episode 3 of 4.

• You can hear these at the BBC Radio 7 website via their Listen Live option, and each episode will also be available at BBC iPlayer after airing.

• Click here or above for the Downloads section. [ Thanks to Sean ]

• Return to Dreamscape next week (18th May) for more rare radio interviews – All from 1981 as part of our Toyah’s Birthday|Anthem|1981 celebration.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of J. M. Barrie’s tale of childhood adventure starring Toyah Willcox as Peter Pan and Ron Moody as Captain Hook.

Peter Pan : BBC Radio 7 – Tue 11th May : 5.00am
In the Mermaid’s Lagoon. The mischievous boy and the children arrive in Neverland. Stars Toyah Willcox, Ron Moody, Georgina Cates and Roy Hudd. Episode 2 of 4.

• You can hear these at the BBC Radio 7 website via their Listen Live option, and each episode will also be available at BBC iPlayer after airing.

The CD cover features slightly alternative artwork (Toyah’s eyes are open rather than closed as on the original release), and boasts five bonus tracks.

The album will be available from 21st June 2010.

Tracklist: 1. Tone Poem; 2. Now And Then; 3. Let Me Go; 4. World Of Tension; 5. Out Of The Blue (Radio Mix); 6. Unkind; 7. Dreamchild; 8. Lost And Found; 9. Over You; 10. I Don’t Know; 11. Disappear; 12. Open The Skies (‘Dreamchild’ Outtake); 13. Another Way; 14. Over You (‘Cindy X’ Version); 15. Let Me Go (Jangle Mix); 16. Lost And Found (‘Cindy X’ Version).

Tracks 12 – 16 are bonus tracks/previously unavailable.

• View a larger version of the cover here. [ Thanks to Alan ]

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of J. M. Barrie’s tale of childhood adventure starring Toyah Willcox as Peter Pan and Ron Moody as Captain Hook.

Peter Pan : BBC Radio 7 – Monday 10th May : 5.00am
Away to Neverland. A strange visitor transforms the Darling household one bedtime. Stars Toyah Willcox, Ron Moody and June Whitfield. Episode 1 of 4.

• You can hear these at the BBC Radio 7 website via their Listen Live option, and each episode will also be available at BBC iPlayer after airing.

Toyah and John battle it out among the bargains with Kiki Dee!

Bargain Hunt Famous Finds : Home – Mon 10th May: 10.00am
Bargain Hunt Famous Finds : Home+1 – Mon 10th May: 11.00am
Toyah Willcox v Kiki Dee. The bargain-spotting continues, here with rock queens Toyah Willcox and Kiki Dee shopping for hidden gems at an antique centre in Farnham, Surrey.

TOYAH: In The Court Of The Crimson Queen
Product Notes: Japanese pressing of this 2010 release, the first long-player of new material from the acclaimed singer/songwriter in nearly 16 years. The album was co-written with long-time collaborator Simon Darlow and includes the single ‘Latex Messiah’. 10 tracks.

Catalogue Number: IECP-10218
Label: Victor/WHD Entertainment

• View a larger version of the cover here (quality not too great, unfortunately).

Toyah was interviewed in one of the first issues of ‘The Face’ back in 1980.

30 years after it was launched, Robert Elms investigates the origins and influence of The Face, the ’style bible’ of the 80s. The magazine was at the forefront of a remarkable change in the visual landscape of Britain in the 1980s: from Sunday newspaper supplements, to television ads, to ordinary high street shop fronts.

Until 1980 music magazines were black and white broadsheet papers like the NME and Melody Maker. Then in the summer of 1980 The Face changed all that. Started by the former NME and Smash Hits editor Nick Logan, it brought a flash of colour to the magazine industry, mixing pop, politics, photography, fashion and style, all tied together by the iconic design of art director Neville Brody.

• ‘Shapers of The 80s’ also has a feature on the 30th anniversary of ‘The Face’ being launched. View that here.

Toyah reminisces about her first visit, aged 11, to Guernsey, her early career, filming Quadrophenia in Brighton with Sting, why the original band was called Toyah, the early singles before chart success with ‘It’s A Mystery’ (which is played), and winning ‘Best Female Singer’ at the British Rock & Pop Awards.

Toyah also talks about appearing on the second series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and all that it entailed, guesting on, and cross-dressing with, Kenny Everett on his show in 1982, the everlasting Eighties revival and why it endures, ’In The Court Of The Crimson Queen’ and ‘Lesser God’. There’s also a play of ‘I Want To Be Free’.

A great, fun interview, listen to it here. Thanks to Carl.

• A massive thank you to Andi for his generosity, patience and help.

• ‘Like Punk Never Happened: Smash Hits Archive’ has been updated with the issue dated: May 1st – 15th 1980, with Siouxsie on the cover. Toyah features inside in “Bitz” – Toyah’s All Time Top Ten – which includes songs by David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Pere Ubu, Laura Nyro and Tim Buckley. She says “I like all these songs equally because of the emotions they betray and also because of the emotional feelings they trigger in me“. Visit the ‘Smash Hits Archive’ here.

• ITV2 has announced that a fourth series of Secret Diary Of A Call Girl is to be made. Filming will take place later this year and the series will air in early 2011 on the channel. Toyah didn’t appear in Series Three but maybe Belle/Hannah’s mother will make a comeback in the fourth?

• BBC Radio 7’s JM Barrie’s Peter Pan page is now online here – in anticipation of the four episodes that they will air next week to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Barrie’s birth.

• I just recently found Jill’s blog post, from February, titled ‘I Have Eventually Met Toyah’. I enjoyed reading it so I thought I’d add a link to it. Read it here.

Programmes in the season

The Grumpy Guide To: The Eighties: The 80s, a decade that style forgot, along with any form of taste or decency. From Thatcher’s Britain to the New Romantics and the ubiquitous filofax there’s much about this decade to be grumpy about.

Money: Adapted from Martin Amis’s cult novel of the same name, Money stars Nick Frost as torpid anti-hero John Self. An archetypal hedonist living on his wits and his luck, Self lurches from one crisis to the next as he chases his dream – and the money.

Royal Wedding: Rich in cultural references and humour, Royal Wedding is set against the backdrop of the much-celebrated marriage of the, then, Lady Diana Spencer to the Prince Of Wales in 1981.

Top Of The Pops 2: 80s Special: Mark Radcliffe presents a look back at some of the most memorable Top of the Pops performances from the 80s including Adam Ant, Kylie and Jason, Culture Club, Bucks Fizz, Yazz, Duran Duran and Wham!

Worried About The Boy: Follows Boy George’s journey from cloakroom attendant to cultural icon – from falling in love for the first time, to embracing his unique style, to meeting his Culture Club bandmates.

Grumpy Guide To… : BBC2 – Monday 10th May : 9.00pm
The Eighties. The 80s, a decade that style forgot, along with any form of taste or decency. From Thatcher’s Britain to the New Romantics and the ubiquitous filofax there’s much about this decade to be grumpy about. Ronnie Ancona used to get an adverse physical reaction to seeing a mullet, and Shappi Khorsandi does a spookily good impression of those horrendous Cabbage Patch Dolls. This is look back at one of history’s most embarrassing decades.

• Thanks to PJ

• Please note that a number of other gigs and appearances are being advertised by promoters/ticket bookers/websites – None of these have, so far, been officially confirmed by Toyah.

All content herein; articles, soundfiles, photos, etc. are for that sole purpose. If you own copyright of anything included here and would like it removed please contact me.

• There’s also a few more photo additions to 1978/79 (bottom row), including a rare photograph of Toyah from Quatermass. [ Thanks to Andi for his help ]

And Peter Pan, Barrie’s classic tale of fantasy and adventure in a far away land, starring June Whitfield, Ron Moody, Toyah Willcox, Chris Emmett and Roy Hudd.
The Little White Bird – Sunday at 1pm and 1am
Peter Pan – starts Monday 10th May at 5am

Please click below to watch, or double click to go to ‘YouTube’.

This month sees the 30th anniversary of the release of Toyah’s first “proper” studio album, the incredible, ‘The Blue Meaning’.

From the stunning cover art to the awesome songs, including the iconic ‘Ieya’, the album has come to be regarded as something of a classic over the years since its release…

Released on Safari Records with the unique catalogue number “IEYA 666?, it also marked the first time Toyah’s name appeared on the (mainstream, non indie) UK charts, entering the Top 40 album chart in June 1980.

Check out Dreamscape’s feature, from last year, on ‘The Blue Meaning’ here. [ Thanks to PJ ]

There’s pre-show info; press interviews; video clips; some excellent fan photos, and a great review by Greg Fowler.

Thanks to everyone who contributed. View The Asylum news archive here.

Are You Gonna Go My Way
Echo Beach
Latex Messiah (Viva La Rebel In You)
It’s A Mystery
Lesser God
Thunder In The Mountains
Sweet Child O’ Mine
I Want To Be Free

The PA started at 1am, and other songs on the set-list but subsequently not played were ‘Sensational’, ‘River Deep Mountain High’ and ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.

Please check back later for more photos.

• Huge thanks to Paul Lomas for the photos and information.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of J. M. Barrie’s tale of childhood adventure starring Toyah Willcox as Peter Pan and Ron Moody as Captain Hook.

These audio editions, especially dramatised for BBC Radio, are of timeless stories that have enchanted generations of readers both young and old. The wonder and excitement of these much-loved tales live on in these acclaimed full-cast dramatisations, complete with evocative music and effects.

Also starring Roy Hudd as Smee and June Whitfield as Mrs Darling, this sparkling production is directed by award-winning producer Dirk Maggs, with an original music score and stunning sound effects.

JM Barrie’s Peter Pan : BBC Radio 7 – Monday 10th May : 5.00am
Away to Neverland. A strange visitor transforms the Darling household one bedtime. Stars Toyah Willcox, Ron Moody and June Whitfield. Episode 1 of 4.

JM Barrie’s Peter Pan : BBC Radio 7 – Tuesday 11th May : 5.00am
In the Mermaid’s Lagoon. The mischievous boy and the children arrive in Neverland. Stars Toyah Willcox, Ron Moody, Georgina Cates and Roy Hudd. Episode 2 of 4.

JM Barrie’s Peter Pan : BBC Radio 7 – Wednesday 12th May : 5.00am
An Awfully Big Adventure. Captain Hook turns the tables, as the battle between the Lost Boys and the pirates begins. Stars Toyah Willcox and Ron Moody. Episode 3 of 4.

JM Barrie’s Peter Pan : BBC Radio 7 – Thursday 13th May : 5.00am
Spring Cleaning Time Again. Wendy longs for home, but first she and the brothers must be rescued from Captain Hook. Stars Toyah Willcox and Ron Moody. Episode 4 of 4.

• You can hear these at the BBC Radio 7 website via their “Listen Live” option, and each episode will also be available at BBC iPlayer after airing.