As the Women of the Year awards celebrate their 50th anniversary, Viv Groskop considers this special hall of fame.

Can you name last year's award winners at the Women of the Year Lunch and Assembly (Woyla)? No, don't worry; neither could I. They were double Olympic gold winner Kelly Holmes; Jane Tomlinson, the terminally ill cancer patient who has raised millions for charity by competing in marathons; Josette Bushell-Mingo, theatre director and founder of Push, the black-led arts festival; and Mary Blewitt, director of Surf, (the Rwandan Survivors' Fund). All worthy winners, I am sure, but somehow, I don't remember the fanfare surrounding the announcement. Why aren't Woyla's efforts better known? Could it be that all-women celebratory events are looking a bit too out-dated in today's climate of political correctness? This Thursday, the organisation celebrates its 50th anniversary with a lunch in London. The winners' names are under wraps but the guest list includes 'everyone from the first woman Concorde pilot to the most senior nurse in Britain' with a few celebs thrown in for good measure.

Since 1955, the list of guest speakers reads like a Who's Who of female achievement: Margaret Thatcher (1960), Sheila Hancock (1969), Germaine Greer (1975), Zandra Rhodes (1981). I have enjoyed the unlikely pairings the lunches have inspired: Kate Adie and Toyah Willcox shared a platform in 1986 (theme: 'Vision'), Floella Benjamin and the Duchess of York in 1991 ('Harmony').

I'd just like to say a big THANKS to Toyah for that. Amid the chaos of CMS, LMS, Avaya (and lots more that will only make sense to anyone who works in a Jobcentre - Grrrr!) it was a really cool surprise. I dunno what funeral she means though ;o) 

Thanks to Paul Lomas and Merx.

Phill played 'Our Movie' at the beginning of Toyah's guest slot and 'I Want To Be Free' at the end, and they chatted about almost everything under the sun inbetween.

Toyah talked about getting her very first record contract with Safari Records, filming Quadrophenia, working on Quatermass with John Mills, PJ Harvey, playing Butlins, the 'Safari Singles' CD collections, the upcoming Wild Essence DVD, Robert, An Audience with Toyah Willcox, the Official wesbite, and much more.... including *gasp* Dreamscape ;o)

The interview is available online, for a limited time (possibly just the next few days). So please click on the picture to go to the 6 Music website. You will need Real Player to listen.

Thanks to Paul Lomas and Merx.

The October/November 2005 (Issue 21) edition takes a look at two live 1980 bootlegs and also includes a couple of great live Toyah pics from around the same time.

'The Mick' is a free pdf magazine, available at Mick's website on a monthly (sometimes twice monthly) basis.

The magazine can be downloaded from Mick's website [www.mickmercer.com]. You will need Acrobat Reader to read the pdf file. There is a link to download Acrobat at the website too.

NB. Mick will also be reviewing Toyah's 'Mayhem' album soon.

Please click on the article to visit Mick's website.

Thanks to Chris Limb.

All of the information that was on 'Tellurian Online' (once considered by most to be Toyah's official website until www.toyahwillcox.com was launched) has now been relocated there.

In the beginning was the Intergalactic Ranch-House - this was back in 1980. In 1984 this mutated into the Toyah Fan Club, which lasted until 1985. In 1986 Tellurian was born, which lasted for ten years and thirty issues before migrating to the internet in 1996. Tellurian Online continued until 1999, before all went quiet. 

The new millennium dawned (except for the maths geeks) and in early 2000 Toyah launched her own official website at [www.toyahwillcox.com]. Tellurian Online was then reborn as an archive site. 

In 2005 it was rebirthed as a wiki. 

Tellurian - made from recycled HTML 

Please click on the screen capture to visit toyah.org

Toyah Willcox is a woman of many talents – a musical icon, a talented stage performer and even an author. As a native of Worcestershire, Toyah launched the County Council’s new recycling campaign  ‘Mission Impossible: Target 75’ earlier this year.

The Autumn issue of WoW features a summary of the exclusive Toyah interview, but here you can read her answers in full...

My Worcestershire – with Toyah Willcox

With the release of your book ‘Diary of a Facelift’ and your busy schedule of live shows, do you ever find the time to enjoy living in Pershore?

I have enough time to enjoy where I live. That said, I’m in London most days. Recently, I’ve decided to commute daily as the atmosphere in London is very uncomfortable after the bomb attacks.

My schedule is such that I used to spend five days a week in London, where I have a home as well as in Worcestershire, but now thanks to technology I can have meetings around the world with lawyers, record companies and publishers from my office at home, which means I’m aiming to spend less time travelling to ‘the big smoke’.

For me, Worcestershire offers what I often refer to as ‘real life’ where I can be with real people who value the same things that I value – those are strength of community and goodwill to others. My husband Robert Fripp and myself have lived here for four years now and we wish we’d moved here 20 years ago as we both get equally homesick whenever we have to leave.

We have visitors from all over the world to our home and many are A-List names. They all go away saying they’d like to move to where we live because it is not only a great looking place but they feel safe and welcome here.

What do you like the most and the least about where you live?

I like the fact that my parents are in a safe environment – they live in the next village. In fact, I can’t think about one thing that I dislike about the area. I’m a fierce believer in farming. It’s utter madness to turn food-producing land into other usage when we are an island that may one day need to sustain itself and, considering the way things are with imports, we’re dependent on mainland Europe for a lot of our food. Utter madness, and a terrorist’s dream situation.

I think this area works so well for my husband and I because we have established careers and can travel far and wide. It’s a perfect place to come home to and recharge our batteries and possibly retire.

We don’t have any of the big name shops on our high street, which I see as a blessing. It makes our high street unique in many ways. My office looks out onto the high street and whenever I see an elderly person stumble, which is too often, I also witness everyone around running to help. There was one occasion when I was on the phone doing a live Radio 2 interview when I saw a lady fall outside and I thought I was going to have to drop the phone live on air and help her, but the rest of the street got there first. That’s what I like about where I live – people care about each other. I never feel lonely here because I don’t think I’ve ever walked down the high street without having a conversation with someone I’ve never met before.

The only thing I would dislike is if it were to change too much. If it’s not broken, why fix it? But perhaps that’s an impossible thing to wish. Changes happen to sustain population.

The architecture where I live is magnificent. Whenever I drive into town my heart lifts to see such a perfect high street. Some buildings are made of golden stone that glows in the sunlight and I feel immensely proud to live here. It’s almost timeless.

You’ve been helping the County Council to promote recycling and waste minimisation recently. Do you ‘slim your bin’ at home?

We most definitely slim our bin. We have a compost heap where all our vegetable matter goes, we’re vegetarian and we eat fresh local produce. We gather all our old paper and all our plastics and aluminium. The amount of recyclable stuff that two people can generate is staggering – we put out at least two large bags each of paper, plastics and glass every week!

It’s so easy to recycle these days. We have regular collections on our street and once you’re in the habit of asking yourself “Is this reusable, could it have another life?” you instinctively sort and save things as part of your everyday life. When I’m touring it’s impossible to recycle when you’re going from hotel to hotel, so I keep all my recyclables in bags in the boot of my car and sort it out when I get home!

Would you encourage your friends to visit Worcestershire?

We do regularly and they’re always amazed at how easy it is to get to and how beautiful it is. I boast often that I can get to any part of the UK in four hours without any hassle. I can drive to Glasgow, Dover, Swansea or Lands End all within a reasonable time and, believe me, I do it regularly. For a touring artist who hates the hassle of airports the geography is perfect.

We have people visit us from all over the world, from Australia to LA, and they love it here because it’s close to being unspoilt in relation to the big cities. The countryside is sublime. I adore seeing the fruit orchards, the roadside stalls and the majesty of the Malvern Hills.

I tell everyone who loves JRR Tolkien and The Lord Of The Rings to drive to junction 7 of the M5 where the hill that inspired Bilbo Baggins’ home still stands with a tree right on the top. Tolkien knew this area well and all my life I’ve been convinced that this little hill next to the M5 is the inspiration for the illustrations that Tolkien drew himself.

As a local Council Tax payer, do you think you get value for money?

I think we get incredible value for money here. I live outside of Worcester City, where I’m sure the money has to spread further, but where I live we have a fantastic council that keeps our town pristine. Our local hospitals are the best, better than London, and I’m a supporter of Evesham Hospital which is superb.

We do as much for young people as possible, giving them communal space. The services here run like clockwork. I would only fear too much modernisation. There’s a great spirit here, it’s all about the people and sometimes modernisation depersonalises everything and takes the soul out of the community.

And finally, how would you sum up Worcestershire in one sentence?

Worcestershire is the true heart of a country known for its history as much as its beauty – it has everything.

To find out where you can catch up with Toyah, visit www.toyahwillcox.com

To view the Top 200 list please visit: www.btyahoo.com/dma05/top_200.html

Thanks to Andi Westhorpe for the screen capture.

This ad, featuring Toyah, Richard O'Brien and Suzanne Shaw, was included in last Friday's (21st October) 'Daily Mail'.

This dazzling all-new pantomime is set to transform Milton Keynes as this magical fairytale melts your heart when the beautiful Snow White meets her Prince Charming. With glittering costumes, fantastic sets, side–splitting comedy and lots lots more this is the perfect winter warmer for Christmas 2005 through to the New Year’s celebrations of 2006. 

Box Office: 0870 060 6652 

Thanks to Angus Turner for the advert.

What Women Really Want : UKTV Style - Friday 28th October : 00.30am
What Women Really Want : UKTV Style Plus 1 - Friday 28th October : 01.30am
Girlfriends. Get up close and personal with the female psyche in this pacy new series featuring feisty celebrity opinions and gripping true-life stories. In this episode, Jenny Eclair, Toyah Willcox, Jodie Marsh and Sarah Cawood discuss why their girlfriends are so important to them. Discover which celeb hates her own company, and who admits that even her best mates bitch about her behind her back. Miaow! Narrated by Ulrika Jonsson.

Brum : CBeebies - Saturday 29th October - 7.20am
Brum and The Airport Adventure. The adventures of a little car who lives in a motor museum, narrated by Toyah Willcox. When precious gems are stolen from a famous celebrity at the airport, Brum is soon on the trail of the two thieves.

What Women Really Want : UKTV Style - Sunday 30th October : 00.30am
What Women Really Want : UKTV Style Plus 1 - Sunday 30th October : 01.30am
Sex. Fast-paced series presented by Ulrika Jonsson, with an array of female celebrities discussing what they really want out of life in the noughties. Christine Hamilton, Toyah Willcox, Vanessa Feltz and others talk candidly about sex. Find out which celeb finds one-night stands easier than commitment, who lies to her men about sex, and who was called 'undresser' at school - naughty!

What Women Really Want : UKTV Style - Friday 4th November : 00.30am
What Women Really Want : UKTV Style Plus 1 - Friday 4th November : 01.30am
Money. It's grumpy old men with heels on! Er no, it's feisty high-profile women of all ages giving forth on everything from sex and singledom to plastic surgery and pregnancy. Today's hot topic is money - find out what Toyah Willcox, Jenny Eclair, Nadia Almada and other celebs have to say about loot. Narrated by Ulrika Jonsson.

Huge THANKS to Elaine Rayner for the pictures.

The servers for the Forum are undergoing extensive hardware & software upgrades.

Forumer.com have told me: "These upgrades are going to double server memory, processor, etc etc. When all upgrades are done we expect to see faster speed and much higher reliability."

Two Boy George lookalikes managed to get up onstage at one point, and Toyah obligingly danced with them. She even flirted with someone at the front of the stage and also let a few sing into her microphone, shook lots of hands and even signed an autograph.

There was also some audience participation, with Toyah getting half the crowd to shout TOYAH and the other half WILLCOX to gauge who was the loudest.

Butlins, Skegness: Saturday 15th October 2005 - Set-List: 

Echo Beach
Hello I Love You (The Doors)
Hangin' On The Telephone (Blondie)
Obsolete
Thunder In The Montains
Neon Womb
Little Tears Of Love
Jungles Of Jupiter
It’s A Mystery
Sweet Child Of Mine (Guns 'N Roses)
She Sells Sanctuary (The Cult)
----------
Till Victory (Patti Smith)
You Really Got Me Going (The Kinks)

The order of songs may differ slightly from above, though 'You Really Got Me was definitely the encore.

Check back soon for a picture or two from the gig.

Thanks to Elaine Rayner for the pictures and info.

Many thanks to Damon King.

Many thanks to Damon King.

'Because The Night' was dedicated to Laurence Olivier, with whom Toyah starred in The Ebony Tower back in 1984.

Damon King asked Toyah what one thing she would like to be remembered for, "my determination and for not giving up..." was her response. (Thanks to Damon)

An Audience With Toyah, Arts Depot, Finchley: Sunday 16th October 2005 - Set-List: 

Thunder in the Mountians
Echo Beach
Obsolete
Because the Night 
It's A Mystery 
Sweet Child of Mine 
River Deep Mountain High
I Want To Be Free 

Can anyone cconfirm the actual set-list as there seems to be some confusion? I'd assume it would've been exact to the first An Audience With... but instead the first song was 'Thunder In The Mountains' rather than 'Good Morning Universe'.

Thanks to Angus Turner (1) and Damon King (2) for the pictures.

Both also use the gorgeous picture of Toyah from the back of her book 'Diary Of A Facelift'.

• The 'This Is Local London' website are also currently running the interview.

• This interview was part of the promotion for Toyah's appearance, tomorrow night, at the Finchley Arts Depot for the second show of An Audience With Toyah Willcox.

• The Stamford Arts Centre, Lincolnshire date of An Audience with Toyah Willcox, on Sunday 6th November, has SOLD OUT!! Great news!

• BBC London's The Don't Miss List has chosen An Audience With... at Finchley Arts Depot:

An Audience With...Toyah Willcox
The chirpy comeback actress-cum-musician discusses her varied experiences from 70s punk stardom to acting on the West End stage and being a contestant on reality show I'm A Celebrity...

Expect her recent encounter with the surgeon's knife and the accompanying bestseller The Diary Of A Facelift to get a look-in as she takes questions from the audience.

As a finale, you can always remind her of her long-lost recording Sheep Farming in Barnet.

DETAILS: Sunday 16 October. 8pm. Arts Depot, 5 Nether Street, Tally Ho Corner, north Finchley N3. Tickets £14, £12 concs. Tel: 020 8369 5454

• Finchley Arts Depot: An Evening With Toyah Willcox

Arts Depot patron Toyah Willcox has had a successful and highly diverse career with hit records, including the aptly titled Sheep Farming in Barnet, and many prestigious roles on stage and screen. She first came to fame in the punk rock era with appearances in cult films Jubilee and Quadrophenia, not to mention her hit singles. Since then she has become a household name appearing on television in everything from Songs of Praise to Quartermass and on stage in Shakespeare and popular musicals such as Calamity Jane. Most recently she is recognisable as the voice of Teletubbies and from her appearance in Im A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! In this evening of conversation, Toyah covers all of this and more, including why she recently went under the knife to regain her youth, and throws the floor open to questions from the audience.

80's Madness!: Relax – it’s the best of the eighties!

It ain’t what you do it’s the way that you do it – that’s the theme of the Butlins ‘Fantastic’ 80s party. From Yuppies to New Romantics, puffballs and pixie boots to power dressing. The extravagant eighties had unique styles and sounds – It’s a Kind of Magic and it’s happening all over again at Butlins, so lets put on our red shoes and dance the blues!

These ‘Top Gun’ weekends ‘go like the wind’ but ‘Don’t worry, be happy’ - if you book your break early! 

Original artists include:
- Go West
- Toyah
- Neville Staples
- Limahl
- Chesney Hawkes
- Dr & the Medics
- Katrina and the Waves 

Shoestring : UKTV Drama - Tuesday 18th October : 8.00am
Shoestring : UKTV Drama - Tuesday 18th October : 2.00pm
Shoestring : UKTV Drama - Wednesday 19th October : 3.45am
Find The Lady. Our favourite crumpled private eye investigates the reported murder of a seaside beauty queen. More vintage crime cracking with Trevor Eve. Starring: Trevor Eve, Michael Medwin, Doran Godwin, Christopher Biggins, Toyah Willcox, and Gary Holton.

Celebrity Life Skills : Channel 4 - Monday 24th October - 11.50am
Self Defence. Celebrities explain how to handle extraordinary situations using everyday objects found around the house and office. Toyah Willcox demonstrates how to disable an attacker with the aid of various objects from the broom cupboard.

What Women Really Want : UKTV Style - Friday 28th October : 00.30am
What Women Really Want : UKTV Style Plus 1 - Friday 28th October : 01.30am
Girlfriends. Get up close and personal with the female psyche in this pacy new series featuring feisty celebrity opinions and gripping true-life stories. In this episode, Jenny Eclair, Toyah Willcox, Jodie Marsh and Sarah Cawood discuss why their girlfriends are so important to them. Discover which celeb hates her own company, and who admits that even her best mates bitch about her behind her back. Miaow! Narrated by Ulrika Jonsson.

"Toyah Willcox demonstrates how to disable an attacker using basic self defence with the aid of various objects from the broom cupboard..." 

"Actress, writer, and 80's pop icon Toyah Willcox  unleashes her repertoire of self defence moves on an unsuspecting array of broom cupboard objects. For today's reconstruction she will be using a mop-head, a hat-stand, a free-standing shelving unit, a bag of dog biscuits, an elephant's foot umbrella stand, a standard lamp, and a space hopper...."

Celebrity Life Skills : Channel 4 - Monday 24th October - 11.50am
Self Defence. Celebrities explain how to handle extraordinary situations using everyday objects found around the house and office. Toyah Willcox demonstrates how to disable an attacker with the aid of various objects from the broom cupboard.

Please click on the screen captures for a page of pictures, at Dreamscape's CAPTURED section, taken from the original broadcast of Celebrity Life Skills back in May.

Unfortunately the website is listing the DVD as by Wild Essence, rather than using it as it should be - the title!

Hopefully this error will be rectified as soon as possible.

The DVD is released on Monday 28th November 2005 and features the 16-song set Toyah played last month at the Robin in Bilston, Wolverhampton to a packed venue of Toyah fans.

Songs include; Race Through Space, Neon Womb, Little Tears Of Love, Thunder In The Mountains, Jungles Of Jupiter, Our Movie, It's A Mystery, Danced, I Explode, and many more.

To pre-order this DVD, via Amazon UK, please click on the cover.

• Toyah - Live 2006
Friday 24th February : Skegness - Butlins (full band) *REVISED*
Saturday 25th February : Bognor - Butlins (full band)
Friday 17th March : Minehead - Butlins (full band)
Saturday 18th March : Skegness - Butlins (full band)

A number of the above dates are subject to change. 
Check out Dreamscape's LIVE section for dedicated pages on Toyah's past 2005 gigs.

Alice Eaton talks to Toyah Willcox about punk, reality TV and her recent facelift

Most women would rather die than go public about any procedures they may have had at the hands of their plastic surgeon - but not Toyah Willcox.

Unlike many of her contemporaries in the showbiz world who hotly deny any subtle touching up on Mother Nature's behalf, when Toyah decided to go under the knife for what she says was a much-needed facelift, she wasn't content with confessing the fact to a few close friends over lunch. She wrote a book about the whole experience and, in the weeks following the operation, was frequently quoted on television and in the tabloids extolling the overwhelming benefits the procedure has had in her life.

This typical unveiled openness from the one-time punk princess is what promises to make An Evening with Toyah Willcox, being held this month at North Finchley's artsdepot, of which she is a patron, an event full of revelations and juicy gossip.

"I always knew that I would have surgery from when I was a teenager," explains 47-year-old Toyah, when I call her Midlands home to find out more about the upcoming engagement.

"I'd wake up in the morning feeling fantastic and would go to the mirror and the person staring back looked like someone who hadn't slept for a month. I have a lot of energy that is disproportionate to my age, and my face and the way I was feeling were growing apart at a rate of knots," she laughs.

She admits the facelift has completely changed her life but is careful to point out that her motive for writing the book, entitled Diary of a Facelift, was not to encourage others to go down the same path, but to give an honest account of the whole procedure, stitches and all.

"I work in an industry where I don't know anyone who hasn't had something done, but even my best friends don't admit to it. There is a lot on television about plastic surgery but no-one has ever asked the patient what it is actually like. The book is all about getting the body ready for major surgery as well as the recovery afterwards. I know a number of doctors who have actually given the book to people who are having major organ surgery as it shows them how to prepare for it and how to achieve maximum recovery."

Toyah has also had a huge response from women who have already had plastic surgery as well as those thinking of taking the plunge.

"I have had letters from women who have found it a huge relief to read that it is usual for the skin to take ten weeks before it is back to normal as there are times when you think you are never going to look normal again. I have also had women who wanted to know what it would be like to have a facelift and have read the book and decided against it, which is also a positive outcome."

Although Toyah's experience with plastic surgery has been a completely positive one, she is quick to speak out against young girls changing their shape to suit the industry.

"For me it was a completely personal choice - I couldn't live with myself. But I do have a problem with young girls having surgery to achieve bigger busts and having their skin pulled around before they are fully developed. This is the reason why we need to be more open about everything we do to ourselves."

Despite this conviction, Toyah doesn't intend to go into too much detail about her surgery on the actual evening, mainly because she says a lot of the details may be too graphic for some audience members.

"I experienced no pain from the surgery but some people have actually passed out when I have gone into details so I am going to be careful."

There is no shortage of other material to go on when it comes to Toyah's career. Since springing onto the 70s punk music scene as a fresh-faced singer with spiky pink hair and an attitude to match, Toyah has never looked back. Hit records followed, including the aptly named Sheep Farming in Barnet, and she was soon to be seen in a number of prestigious stage and screen roles, including memorable appearances in cult films Jubilee and Quadrophenia, work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as sharing the screen with Hollywood greats Katherine Hepburn in The Corn is Green and Sir Lawrence Olivier in Granada TV's film version of The Ebony Tower.

More recently, Toyah took the title role in the stage musical, Calamity Jane, on London's West End, and young parents and their offspring may be more familiar with the voice of Toyah offering the calming goodbye in the popular CBeebies series Teletubbies.

Toyah puts her diverse career down to persistence and self-belief.

"I am incredibly proactive," she admits.

"There is a trait among actors to have too much pride to actually go out and get work. My agent says he has never known an actor like me. I have no qualms about calling up a TV company and asking if they have got anything for me. People generally have preconceptions of other people and this is a way of getting rid of them, otherwise I would have for ever been seen as a punk rocker."

It is this tenacity that saw Toyah fighting for survival in the ITV reality show I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!

"I absolutely loved the first series of I'm A Celebrity so I got in touch with the producers and asked them, if they were ever doing it again, to consider me."

However, it proved to be more of a challenge than she realised.

"It was incredibly hard because we were hungry and that drives you mad," she remembers.

"I normally eat five times a day but we were being fed once a day and they took away any fruits or plants from the jungle so we couldn't even forage for food. It is very hard to stay civil when you are hungry and I had to learn to control my temper as all I wanted to do was eff and blind and smash the place up. If I had known I was going to be that hungry, I might have thought a bit more before volunteering myself but I am still glad I did it."

With so many different career paths trodden, from actor, presenter, singer to reality TV star, it is difficult to pin down the real Toyah and that is exactly the result she hopes to achieve.

"The industry is so corporate and the moment I feel I am conforming and fitting into the ideal', I take a job that goes against the grain. I love doing different things and am comfortable presenting anything, from sex to religion."

So what is she most proud of?

"I am not a retrospective person - I get up in the morning and deal with what I have to do. I don't operate through pride, I operate through zest for life.

"But if I am proud of anything, it is of still being around."

An Evening with Toyah Willcox is on Sunday October 16 at 8pm at artsdepot, Tally Ho Corner, North Finchley, London N12. Call the box office on 020 8369 5454 or visit www.artsdepot.co.uk

The Most Fertile Man In Ireland : Sky Movies 5 - Saturday 15th October : 2.55am
Twenty-four year old virgin, Eamonn Manley, lives with his mother in Belfast and is painfully shy with the ladies. Things change for Eamonn when Mary Malloy decides to make the first move and soon Mary realises that she is pregnant even though she was using birth control. The doctor discovers that Eamonn has an unusually high sperm count... His mother has the idea that he can help the local ladies who have had problems conceiving a baby... Director: Dudi Appleton. Starring: Kris Marshall, Kathy Kiera Clarke, Bronagh Gallagher, James Nesbitt, Kenneth Cranham, Toyah Willcox and Olivia Nash. 

What Women Really Want : UKTV Style - Sunday 16th October : 00.00am
What Women Really Want : UKTV Style Plus 1 - Sunday 16th October : 01.00am
Sex. Fast-paced series presented by Ulrika Jonsson, with an array of female celebrities discussing what they really want out of life in the noughties. Christine Hamilton, Toyah Willcox, Vanessa Feltz and others talk candidly about sex. Find out which celeb finds one-night stands easier than commitment, who lies to her men about sex, and who was called 'undresser' at school - naughty!

Inside Out : BBC1 Midlands - Monday 17th October : 7.30pm
Surprising real-life stories. East Midlands: Rupal Rajani makes an emotional return to Uganda to track down her family roots. West Midlands: The organised gangs stealing cars to order; Toyah Willcox goes on the Tolkien Tourist Trail in Birmingham; and prison penpals - the woman who writes to lifers.

Shoestring : UKTV Drama - Tuesday 18th October : 8.00am
Shoestring : UKTV Drama - Tuesday 18th October : 2.00pm
Shoestring : UKTV Drama - Wednesday 19th October : 3.45am
Find The Lady. Our favourite crumpled private eye investigates the reported murder of a seaside beauty queen. More vintage crime cracking with Trevor Eve. Starring: Trevor Eve, Michael Medwin, Doran Godwin, Christopher Biggins, Toyah Willcox, and Gary Holton.

Toyah was reviewing the Sunday newspapers. 

Thanks to Alec Kelly.

WILD ESSENCE LIVE IN THE 21ST CENTURY:
The first ever DVD to feature one of the great British pop stars of the 1980's - Toyah Willcox.Since first exploding into the public's consciousness with her much acclaimed role as "Mad" in the Punk epic JUBILEE, Toyah has gone on to establish herself as one of Britain's most successful, prolific and versatile artists. As well as her success as an actress, TOYAH established herself in the 80's as one of Britain's most popular female vocalists, notching up a remarkable total of 82 weeks in the British charts with 11 Hit Singles. "Wild Essence.." features Toyah performing a full show to her ever loyal fanbase at the Robin 2 club in Wolverhampton, England on her recent UK tour. 

• www.toyahwillcox.com recently revealed this great new shot of Toyah, via an e-news update. This "space age" inspired image is thought to be one of a series that may be included on the, soon-to-be-released, Wild Essence DVD.

• Toyah talks about the recording of the DVD/Robin gig in her October webletter over at the Official website.

• Amazon UK are now also listing the new 'Mayhem' CD, set for release on Monday 14th November.

• Toyah has just recently recorded another appearance on the irreverent music quiz show Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

It's a strange thing to be a fan... once you've nailed your colours to a particular mast it's very difficult to be objective and back in 1985 when Toyah released 'Minx' I was perhaps at the height of my obsession with her and her music, but even then I knew that 'Minx' wasn't the album I wanted it to be and now, twenty years later it's an uneasy listening experience...

The album kicks off postively enough, rattling through 'Soldier Of Fortune, Terrorist Of Love' which neatly bridges the gap bewteen 'Minx' and preceding album 'Love Is The Law', but the pace falters with 'Don't Fall In Love (I Said)' which to my ears is still a disappointment even now, all these years after the original release... it's a pleasant enough track but isn't 'pleasant' a bit of a dirty word? It's a track that sounds like all traces of personality, passion and excitement have been meticulously removed in order to leave a track that is likely to appeal to the widest possible audience. The result in fact is a track that is sadly bland, middle of the road and tame, but likely to be utterly inoffensive to the widest possible audience. Things don't improve markedly with the next track - and second single - 'Soul Passing through Soul', similarly polished to a high sheen of production this is a track with every production device known to man - saxophones, chimes, and liberal use of what sounds like those shakers and scrapers that used to be the staple instrument in junior school music lessons - set to maximum and any true soul or grit set to minimum.

It's a relief therefore when things pick up massively with 'Sympathy', a slow, searing and impassioned song, dripping with strings which features perhaps Toyah's best vocal performance and which benefits from such shiny eighties production... one of Toyah's best torch-song moments for sure. 'I'll Serve You Well' sees Toyah on more familiar ground musically and lyrically (it's about S&M) and is probably my favourite Minx track - the production here is still polished but there is a starkness to it which gives the track depth and substance which makes Toyah's tense, clipped delivery shine. The next track 'Over Twenty-One' I'm going to skip... it's my second to least favourite Toyah track ever (pipped to the post only by 'Love's Unkind' on the next album, 'Desire', in case you were wondering) and given the strength of some of the project's b-sides (more of them later) I still can't believe that this track ever made it onto the album. Thank god then for 'All In A Rage' which is a fantastic upbeat track and a welcome moment where Toyah's middle-of-the-road mask slips and she gleefully careers through one of the albums true hightlights.

'Space Between The Sounds', with it's faux-mystical pretentious lyrics, and darkly swirling atmospherics could be something from 'The Changeling'... in the (excellent) sleevenotes Toyah readily acknowledges the pretentions of the song, but I liked it then and I think it has stood the test time better than many of the other tracks here. Alice Cooper's 'School's Out' is next... not a terrible version but just a weird song to include - it sounds odd in the context of the album and unfortunately it's a bit of a karaoke version with Toyah seeming to give little of herself to the performance which makes the experience rather flat and uncomfortable.

The third single to be taken from 'Minx' comes next. 'World In Action' is to my mind one of the strongest tracks here and would have made a great lead single... it's distictively Toyah with it's theme of alienation and futurism, but it's an updated version of the Toyah people would have expected at that time. The production is rockier and slightly grittier than much of the album and the pop-rock delivery would have certainly made it a more palatable single for Toyah's fanbase than 'Don't Fall In Love'. A version of Latin Quarter's 'America For Beginners' is next and it's great... precise, measured vocals and lush, minimal backing makes it a slightly unnerving, menacing and eerie listening experience. 'Vigilante' then relaxes the mood and is an enjoyable closer to the original album.

That this release is an expanded version of 'Minx' allows Toyah to present some of the strongest b-sides and bonus tracks of her career - 'Snow Covers The Kiss' the b-side to 'Don't Fall In Love' could so easily have been the single that Toyah's fanbase wanted to hear, like 'World In Action' it's distictively Toyah, but an updated version, ditto really for 'Kiss The Devil' also a b-side to 'Don't Fall In Love', both these tracks owing more perhaps to the 'Love Is The Law' project than the more grown-up 'Minx' campaign which is perhaps why although they are without a doubt strong tracks in their own right they didn't make the final album tracklisting. Twelve-inch versions of the three singles make up the rest of the bonus material presented here - 'Don't Fall In Love' and 'Soul Passing Through Soul' both benefit from the extra room to breathe that the format allows, but it's 'World In Action' that pushes the 12" format the furthest, the two mixes presented here each taking the song to new heights and fuelling my opinion that this could have been a better first single choice.

'Minx' is the sound of Toyah at a career crossroads - and you can almost hear the tension between the two directions crackle across the album; whether to deliver the fan-friendly album that would perhaps be the safer option, or to persue a wider audience that would take her to new career heights, albeit as a slightly different kind of artist. Ultimately though the album fails on both counts and is a compromise left uncomfortably struggling somewhere between the two.

A worthwhile release for collectors, the packaging is excellent, the sleevenotes are interesting and entertaining and it does feature some great tracks, but this album made me uncomfortable for Toyah when it came out and I have to say it still makes me uncomfortable now... 

Review by Richard Evans / www.remembertheeighties.com

The DVD, filmed at the Robin, Wolverhampton, last month is titled Wild Essence - Live In The 21st Century (CRDVD104). "Wild Essence" taken from one of the songs included, that being 'Jungles Of Jupiter'. It is released by Cherry Red Films.

The artwork features a great new picture of Toyah, from a recent yet-to-be-seen Dean Stockings session, as well as the much-loved original Toyah logo.

The tracklist comprises of 16 songs, and looks likely to be exactly as it was at the actual gig:

Echo Beach
Obsolete
Race Through Space
Neon Womb
Little Tears Of Love
Thunder In The Mountains
Jungles Of Jupiter
Our Movie
It's A Mystery
Danced
I Explode
Sweet Child Of Mine
She Sells Sanctuary
Ieya
Till Victory
I Want To Be Free

In addition there are numerous extras included too:

Backstage Interview with Toyah
I Want To Be Free (1981 Safari promo video)
Thunder In the Mountains (1981 Safari promo video)
Brave New World (1982 Safari promo video)
Rebel Run (1983 Safari promo video)

Thanks to www.toyahwillcox.com. Keep checking Toyah's Official website in the next few weeks for exclusive clips, features and competitions based around Wild Essence.

When the auditions were being advertised for this show some months back it was dubbed "the Pop Idol/X Factor for artists".

Granada Television produced this creative new daytime programme with the purpose of finding the UK's best amateur portrait painter. They are seeking undiscovered artists of all talents - so those with art degrees are just as elcome as the self-taught!

Nine UK cities played host to a national art road-show giving would-be artists a chance to paint 20 of Britain's best loved celebrities - and giving members of the public a chance to be voted Britain?s best amateur portrait artist. And win a top prize!

Toyah is the first celebrity, of the 20, who appears and is painted by various amateur artists in the Manchester heats.

A Brush With Fame : ITV1 - 
Wednesday 12th October : 2.15pm
Manchester. Carol Smillie presents a nationwide search for Britain's best amateur portrait painter. The search moves to Salford, with seventy hopefuls whittled down to the ten who will be painting the portrait of guest Toyah Willcox. The judges are Christian Furr and David Lee.

This from Toyah's Offical e-news: "The CD includes the full 15 track album with three tracks only included on the original cassette version. In addition, this brand new expanded version of Mayhem includes further bonus tracks never before commercially released. The package will be rounded out with rare, archive images and comprehensive sleevenotes which finally reveal the origins of the songs in a track-by-track commentary."

TOYAH - MAYHEM (RARE & ARCHIVE MATERIAL)
Release date: 14 November 2005 TBC
Label: Cherry Red Records
Catalogue No: CDMRED 285
Description: Demos, outtakes, rarities and alternate tracks

01. Clapham Junction 
02. Change of Scenery 
03. Problem Child 
04. You’re My Hero 
05. Cotton Vest
06. Gaoler 
07. Guilty 
08. Three-Sided Face 
09. Paradise Child 
10. Israel 
11. Christmas Carol
12. The Merchant & the Nubile 
13. Danced (Alternate version) 
14. I Believe in Father Christmas
15. Island Race
Bonus Tracks
16. Love Me (Demo)
17. Tribal Look (Demo) 
18. It’s A Mystery (Demo)
19. Run Wild, Run Free [Demo]
20. Rinaphobia 

Tracks 18 and 20 were originally only available on the Blood Donor album, and tracks 16, 17 and 19 were, as far as I'm aware, never available before.

Thanks to Scott (aka as Rubellan at the Dreamscape Forum).

"Toyahwillcox.com have worked with Cherry Red on an exclusive limited edition slipcase which houses both volumes of the Safari Records Singles Collection. This will be available for exclusive download from the Cherry Red website very soon for you to print and assemble. 

A printed version will also feature in a competition soon to win a package containing Wild Essence, Mayhem and the slipcase."

Please click on the image to visit www.toyahwillcox.com.

The film, made in 1979, still has a huge following in 2005 all over the world. Toyah, of course, played the part of Monkey, starring alongside many actors who, like herself, went on to carve out long careers in the film and music industries.

Quadrophenia : TCM - Thursday 6th October - 9.00pm
The Who wrote and produced this energetic story of a young man disillusioned with his life in 1960s London. Phil Daniels excels as the alienated anti-hero Jimmy Cooper. Directed by Franc Roddam. Starring: Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Philip Davis, Mark Wingett, Sting, Ray Winstone and Toyah Willcox.

What Women Really Want : UKTV Style - Wednesday 5th October : 00.00am
What Women Really Want : UKTV Style Plus 1 - Wednesday 5th October : 01.00am
Girlfriends. Get up close and personal with the female psyche in this pacy new series featuring feisty celebrity opinions and gripping true-life stories. In this episode, Jenny Eclair, Toyah Willcox, Jodie Marsh and Sarah Cawood discuss why their girlfriends are so important to them. Discover which celeb hates her own company, and who admits that even her best mates bitch about her behind her back. Miaow! Narrated by Ulrika Jonsson.

Quadrophenia : TCM - Thursday 6th October - 9.00pm
The Who wrote and produced this energetic story of a young man disillusioned with his life in 1960s London. Phil Daniels excels as the alienated anti-hero Jimmy Cooper. Directed by Franc Roddam. Starring: Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Philip Davis, Mark Wingett, Sting, Ray Winstone and Toyah Willcox.

What Women Really Want : UKTV Style - Friday 7th October : 00.00
What Women Really Want : UKTV Style Plus 1 - Friday 7th October : 01.00am
Sex. Fast-paced series presented by Ulrika Jonsson, with an array of female celebrities discussing what they really want out of life in the noughties. Christine Hamilton, Toyah Willcox, Vanessa Feltz and others talk candidly about sex. Find out which celeb finds one-night stands easier than commitment, who lies to her men about sex, and who was called 'undresser' at school - naughty!

Brum : CBeebies - Saturday 8th October : 7.20am
Brum and The Football Hero. The adventures of a little car who lives in a motor museum, narrated by Toyah Willcox. Brum scores the winning goal when he comes on as a substitute during a football match.

What Women Really Want : UKTV Style - Monday 10th October : 00.30am
What Women Really Want : UKTV Style Plus 1 - Monday 10th October : 01.30am
Money. It's grumpy old men with heels on! Er no, it's feisty high-profile women of all ages giving forth on everything from sex and singledom to plastic surgery and pregnancy. Today's hot topic is money - find out what Toyah Willcox, Jenny Eclair, Nadia Almada and other celebs have to say about loot. Narrated by Ulrika Jonsson.

Top Ten Years: 1981 : Channel 4 - Wednesday 12th October : 00.00am
Presented by Madness frontman Suggs, Top Ten Years counts down the definitive top ten music acts of 1981 and reminds viewers of the major news stories and trends of the time. The top ten are: Adam Ant, Bucks Fizz, Human League, John Lennon, Kim Wilde, Madness, The Police, Shakin' Stevens, Soft Cell and Toyah.

A Brush With Fame : ITV1 - Wednesday 12th October : 2.15pm
Manchester. Carol Smillie presents a nationwide search for Britain's best amateur portrait painter. The search moves to Salford, with seventy hopefuls whittled down to the ten who will be painting the portrait of guest Toyah Willcox. The judges are Christian Furr and David Lee.

'Minx' (Demon/Edsel, DIAB8074): "The one and only album the post-punk shock queen recorded for the Portrait label (after her move from Safari and before migrating to EG with her husband). Produced by Christopher Neil (one of the top MOR and pop producers of the era) and featuring her last two UK top 40 entries 'Don't Fall In Love I Said' and 'Soul Passing Through Soul', this was Toyah's last successful album for quite some time. 

Also among the tracks were covers of Rare Bird's "Sympathy" and Alice Cooper's "School's Out" which nod at Ms Willcox's two most pervading influences- glam and prog. This reissue is boosted by five bonus tracks- two of which were the B-sides to the aforementioned singles (never before released on CD), the other three extended remixes of album tracks. All the lyrics are included, as well as sleevenotes from both Toyah and her webmaster and some interesting shots of the lovely lady."

'The Safari Records Singles Collection - Part 2' (1981 to 1983)' (Cherry Red, CDMRED 267): "Second volume of hits and B sides from Birmingham based shock-rock-popstress, now known as Mrs Robert Fripp. 

This album leads on from where the last Safari compilation left off, with the huge 1981 hits 'I Want To Be Free' and 'Thunder In The Mountains' and the subsequent six singles that followed. Also includes two songs that have never been heard before by anyone- making this an essential purchase for afficionados."

Both albums include great artwork, sleevenotes, and 'Minx' also has full album lyrics too.