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The www.toyah.net News Section offers you up-to-date info about Toyah. We compile all the latest headlines, confirmed Toyah news, rumours, and events. We also bring you the latest on most of Toyah's appearances, plus all the info on new & forthcoming releases.

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 JUNE 2009 NEWS:
.Journal Live - Multi-talented Toyah just loves getting back to her roots
.Tuesday 30th June, 2009............................................................Interview
Since the early 80s, Toyah Willcox has been a name synonymous with something. Whether it be pink hair, alternative remedies, plastic surgery or an iconic children’s TV show. Sam Wonfor talks to her ahead of a return to her (non-hair-related) roots.

Toyah Willcox is one of the first voices I hear upon waking pretty much every morning.

Now I don’t live with the former punk princess ... and, although I am a child of the 80s and delighted to be so, I don’t have It’s A Mystery programmed into my alarm clock.

However, I do immerse myself in the wonderfully colourful world of Teletubbies as the sun rises each day ... and, as anyone who has become a parent in the past 12 years will know, it is Toyah’s distinctive voice which opens and closes proceedings.

As the baby-faced sunshine comes up over the greener than green hills in Teletubbyland – Ms Willcox gets things under way with the immortal words (in the world of children’s TV anyway): “Over the hills and far away, Teletubbies come to play ...”

And then, following whatever antics we’ve enjoyed from those crazy beings who have tellies in their tummies, she brings the curtain, and the sun down, with: “the sun is setting in the sky, Teletubbies say goodbye,” which is particularly impressive when you consider Toyah’s position as one of the world’s most famous lispers.

Thus, I can’t let a chat with the now 50-year-old pass without giving this entry on her ridiculously varied and packed-to-the-rafters CV an early mention.

Turns out, she’s proud as punch about her involvement ... just as she is about the entries which cover her other careers as a singer, prolific and award-winning actress, TV presenter, author, reality television subject and alternative therapy flag waver.

Read the full lengthy interview here or here.

.Official Toyah - YouTube Channel - Lesser God
.Tuesday 30th June, 2009.....................................................Music/Internet
The The Official Toyah YouTube channel recently updated with a Toyah performance of 'Lesser God'. Please click on the caps for larger versions.

'Lesser God' from Vampires Rock 2008 DVD. Buy at www.vampiresrock.com. Track taken from Toyah's 2008 studio album 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen'. The 10-track, critically acclaimed, album is available to buy now at iTunes and www.remembertheeighties.com.

.Dreamscape Downloads - Net Talk @ Spiritual Tides 2006
.Monday 29th June, 2009..........................................................Downloads
Just re-added to Dreamscape Downloads: Ghosts, homeopathy, moon landings, the resurgence of interest in her music, bossiness, playing a gig in Estonia, and former record producer Nick Tauber... just some of the topics covered in Toyah's Spiritual Tides 'Net Talk' interview:

• Thanks to Ross Hemsworth, who interviewed Toyah at the Spiritual Tides Festival, and provided the file, back in April 2006.

.Dreamscape Downloads - Coming Soon!
.Monday 29th June, 2009............................................................Site News
Coming Soon! - Another couple of interesting Toyah interviews: Toyah talks 'Ophelia's Shadow' & much, much more in 1991, and promotes her, just published autobiography, 'Living Out Loud', almost ten years later, in 2000!

.Toyah on TV - Cash In The Celebrity Attic [Repeat]
.Monday 29th June, 2009............................................................Television
Cash In The Celebrity Attic : BBC1 - Friday 10th July : 11.30am
Toyah Willcox. Eighties pop star and actress Toyah Willcox invites the Cash in the Attic team into her beautiful home to raise money for MacMillan nurses. Toyah even gets on the podium herself to help sell some of her items.

.Toyah - In Time And Space
.Monday 29th June, 2009...................................................................Music
I've always thought that some of Toyah's lyrics could have been inspired by Doctor Who. Especially as she is a self-confessed fan of the series, and grew up watching it.

Many of Toyah's songs allude to adventures and events in time and space, intergalactic visits to Mars and far beyond, and lyrics about The Druids, Sphinx and many other historical events.

So yesterday on a very hot, lazy Sunday I compiled, just for fun, Toyah In Time And Space:

1. Race Through Space, 2. Castaways, 3. Moon Migration, 4. It's A Mystery, 5. Martian Cowboy, 6. Jungles of Jupiter, 7. Brave New World, 8. Falling To Earth, 9. Space Between The Sounds, 10. Dreamscape, 11. Ghost Light, 12. The Druids, 13. Danced, 14. Alien, 15. The Furious Futures, 16. Sphinx

.South Yorkshire Times - Ice say! It's Panto time again
.Sunday 28th June, 2009...........................................................Press Clips
As the sun shines down on South Yorkshire, it seems a world away from the season of Christmas Panto

But as is traditional these days, the stars came out in style as the cast of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs launched Sheffield Lyceum's 2010 offering.

The ever popular Damian Williams stars as Nurse Nellie, Toyah Willcox plays the Wicked Witch and comedian and radio Sheffield presenter Toby Foster is making his first steps into the world of panto as the Dame's son Muddles, who gets everything wrong.

I caught up with Toby and Toyah after they posed for the customary promotional snaps.

Said Toby: "I came to see Aladdin last year with my kids. I saw Damian playing the dame and he was so good at it, I decided I would like to have a go! There is nothing finer than making a lot of kids laugh at Christmas. I cannot think of a higher calling.

Snow White It is a bit odd to be working with Toyah – when I was 14, she was the gorgeous girl at the top of the charts – and she is still gorgeous".

Toyah has been no stranger to controversy during her 30 year career, which has seen her top the charts with arty-punk hits like It's a Mystery, star in iconic films like Quadrophenia – and latterly bare her life in reality TV shows. She is also now something of a veteran in the panto world.

She said: "I have played the Witch Queen about six times and I love it. I do like to make the audience hate me."

Toyah is keeping busy in a similar gothic way with a 50-date tour of the Rocky-Horror style Vampires Rock as well as touring with her own arthouse band The Humans.

"I have always Iiked to push the boundaries in different ways – and now I am in my 50s I can get away with it. Every new birthday I am told I am too old but every decade there are new challenges.

"I love doing things which take people by surprise."

Tickets for Sheffield Lyceum's 2009 Pantomime 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' are on sale now. Box Office 0114 249 6000.

Read the full article
here.

.Power of Three - Lara King's Morning Show
.Sunday 28th June, 2009...................................................................Radio
Lara King, of BBC Radio Humberside, chatted with three women in their fifties - who decided to turn their hands to film-making when the industry stopped making movies they wanted to watch. Hear how they recruited Toyah Willcox and Shirley Ann Field to their campaign on the release of their first film.

This aired last Wednesday during Lara King's Morning Show and is available to listen to at BBC iPlayer
here, scroll to 1:41.34, until this Wednesday (1st July).
.Life Class
.Sunday 28th June, 2009...........................................................TV/Internet
Toyah presented a seven-part series called Life Class a few years ago. This was only ever broadcast in the ITV West region of the UK.

The series, an award-winner at the Columbus US International Film and Video Festival, explored all aspects of figurative drawing. Every Picture Media, who produced the series, have added a short clip from the series to their website.

View the short clip here.

.Maspalomas Pride 2009 - Official DVD Trailer - Screen Caps
.Thursday 25th June, 2009............................................................Releases
Screen captures from the Maspalomas Pride, Toyah Live at Sparkles Showbar, Official DVD Trailer. Click on the caps to watch this at You Tube.

.Maspalomas Pride 2009 - Official DVD Trailer
.Thursday 25th June, 2009............................................................Releases
The Official DVD Trailer for Toyah Live at Sparkles Showbar.

.Vampires Rock - 2009 Tour
.Thursday 25th June, 2009..............................................................Theatre
Numerous theatres and venues are now advertising the Vampires Rock 2009 dates at their websites and in their brochures. There are also a few venues advertising early 2010 dates.

This is from 'The Cambridge Corn Exchange' brochure.

SPECIAL GUEST STAR TOYAH WILLCOX AS THE DEVIL QUEEN
Hailed by some of rock’s royalty including Brian May (Queen) Paul Crook (Anthrax and Meat Loaf) and Eddie Ojeda (Twisted Sister), Vampires Rock is a show like no other! Seen by over a million people the show features Steve Steinman and Toyah Willcox plus a full cast of superb singers, dancers and live band, blasting their way through some of the greatest ever rock anthems including Bat Out Of Hell, We Will Rock You, Highway To Hell, Since You’ve Been Gone, Total Eclipse Of The Heart, Devil Gate Drive, I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll, Sweet Child Of Mine and many more! All teamed with an amazing stage set and pyrotechnics to blow your mind, this rock spectacular is not to be missed!

.FlyBe Magazine - Riviera Rocks
.Tuesday 23rd June, 2009 • Thanks to Colin Dew-Parry.............Magazines
Toyah is featured, in a three-page special, in the May/June 2009 issue of 'FlyBe' magazine, the in-flight publication of the airline. This includes some great Summery photos of Toyah at her apartment in Menton, plus an interview.

Please click here for part one of the article, and here for part two.

.Dreamscape Library - Update!
.Tuesday 23rd June, 2009...........................................................Site News
I've given Dreamscape's Toyah Library another small update. Mostly 2009 interviews but there are also a couple of earlier ones (marked with ***), including one similar to "Riviera Rocks" (above) from 'France' magazine in 2006.

.New Toyah Photo - Bare Essential(s)!
.Sunday 21st June, 2009...................................................Pictures/Internet
The new photo of Toyah has already received much online attention, with lots of comments about it at Dreamscape's Forum & The Official Toyah Facebook.

.Homes & Property - Homes Gossip
.Sunday 21st June, 2009............................................................Press Clips
If you fancy living in a one-bedroom flat with one of the French Riviera’s most impressive views then actress/singer Toyah Willcox could be your landlady.

Her high-tech pad in the medieval mountain-top village of Eze is for rent at £1,100 a month via Menton agent A-Plus Properties.

“I started buying property because I was nervous about the stock market and pensions,” says the former pink-tressed princess of punk. “I also have an amazing two-bedroom period apartment overlooking Menton harbour; a Georgian manor-house in Pershore, Worcestershire; two adjoining 19th century fishermen’s cottages in Wyre Piddle and a modern two-storey Chiswick cottage (“my London office”).

This article has also been covered by The Move Channel.

.DGM Live - That Humans Touch
.Sunday 21st June, 2009 • Thanks to Owen Keenan..........................Music
Touch guitarist Markus Reuter (one half of TUNER with Pat Mastelotto) has been working in Estonia recently on a project called This Fragile Moment.

The Fragile project is Robert Jürjendal and Arvo Urb with Markus, plus Toyah and Chris Wong from The Humans as collaborators/special guests.

“Working in Estonia was wonderful" says Markus. "The improvised music sits somewhere between nineties Crimson jams and more abstract Centrozoon stuff, with Toyah’s (mostly spoken word) improvised lyrics. I went totally crazy with wacky guitar sounds. We’re hoping to complete the production later this year. I’ll be producing the final mixes."

Posted by Sid Smith on Thursday 18th June at www.dgmlive.com

.Maspalomas Pride 2009 - Toyah DVD - Screen Caps
.Sunday 21st June, 2009...............................................................Releases
The Toyah Willcox Fans Club Facebook has a new video of clips from 'Toyah Live at Sparkles Showbar' DVD, filmed in Gran Canaria. This DVD is priced £10 (plus p&p) and can be ordered at the GBC website here, with all proceeds going to Maspalomas Pride. Here are a few screen captures from what looks like a fantastic 60-minute performance. Click on the caps for larger versions.

.Toyah on TV - TV Diary Round Up
.Sunday 21st June, 2009.............................................................Television
• Quadrophenia : Sky Movies Modern Greats - Thursday 25th June : 3.20am
• FM : ITV2 - Sunday 5th July : 1.30am
• FM : ITV2 Plus 1 - Sunday 5th July : 2.30am
• Psychic Therapy : Biography Channel - Date & Time tbc
• Toyah Documentary : Biography Channel - Date & Time tbc
• Secret Diary Of A Call Girl : ITV2 - Date & Time tbc
.Official Toyah - New Toyah Photo
.Saturday 20th June, 2009..............................................................Internet
The Official Toyah News has been updated at toyahwillcox.com and the Official Toyah Facebook. This includes a new photo of Toyah, featuring a "Helmut Newton-inspired look" for the forthcoming 'Quicksilver' video by The Humans.

.Official Toyah - YouTube Channel
.Saturday 20th June, 2009....................................................Music/Internet
The video for 'Quicksilver' by The Humans will premiere a week today, Saturday 27th June, at The Official Toyah YouTube channel.

There will also be "an exclusive sneak peak" of clips from the 'Toyah at Maspalomas/Gran Canaria Pride' DVD's at the channel soon. See our recent news items below for further details on these DVD's.
.Remember The Eighties - Toyah Interview - Now Online
.Wednesday 17th June, 2009.......................................................Interview
Toyah's 'Remember The Eighties' interview has gone live at their site today.

Toyah talks about The Humans, Estonia, In The Court Of the Crimson Queen, live dates and much more.

She also speaks a little, for the first time in a long while, about Sunday All Over The World.

A great read. Click
here or on the picture to go to the RTE website.
.Retro Sellers - Toyah Interview Soon!
.Wednesday 17th June, 2009 • Thanks to David Barnes...............Interview
Keep an eye on the Retro Sellers website. Toyah's Official site reported earlier this month that they would be interviewing Toyah. Retro Sellers have been in touch with me this week to say the interview will be going live at their website very soon.
.Maspalomas Pride 2009 - Toyah DVD - Tracklist
.Wednesday 17th June, 2009 • Thanks to Paul Lomas.................Releases
The tracklist for the 'Toyah Live in Gran Canaria' DVD is as follows: 1. Are You Gonna Go My Way?, 2. Echo Beach, 3. Thunder In The Mountains, 4. Devil Gate Drive, 5. School's Out, 6. Ballroom Blitz, 7. It's A Mystery, 8. Sweet Child 'O Mine, 9. I Want To Be Free. 10. River Deep, Mountain High, 11. I Love Rock 'N Roll, 12. It's A Mystery (Reprise).

This DVD is priced £10 (plus p&p) and can be ordered at the GBC website here.

.Dreamscape News Archive - April 2009
.Wednesday 17th June, 2009......................................................Site News
Dreamscape's Toyah news for April 2009 has now been archived. Read up on 'We Are The Humans', Queens Of British Pop, Bargain Hunt Celebrity Finds, Ashes to Ashes, The Power of 3, and much more.

.Dreamscape Downloads
.Tuesday 16th June, 2009...........................................................Site News
Dreamscape's Downloads section is back online! Albeit on a much smaller scale. I'll be sporadically adding interviews as and when I can. Definitely no copyrighted music, though (just in case Safari are watching;))

.30 Years Of Music: 1979 - 2009
.Tuesday 16th June, 2009 • Thanks to Marco.....................................Music
You may remember that one of our first "30 Years Of Music" articles, back in February, was a Simon Phillips interview from 2003 where he remembered working with Toyah.

Simon was interviewed by 'Drumhead' magazine a few months/issues ago and, again, he talked, in a little more detail, about his time with Toyah.

"WE ARE": Warrior Rock, Toyah On Tour: Toyah Willcox

Simon: Wow, yeah… I don’t remember the song though, not at all.

Interviewer: “We Are,” Toyah On Tour.

Simon: Toyah of course, Hammersmith (Odeon), that was one of the recordings I was most proud of. Playing a live show, and I don’t think I made even one f*ck-up in the whole concert. I felt very confident at that stage, it was an amazing plateau.

Interviewer: How did you get the call to play for a punk band?

Simon: I know that’s pretty funny.

Interviewer: There’s a huge difference with the Toyah that you played with, and the Toyah a year before.

Simon: Yeah, this is what happened, it was the end of ‘81, and I’d been through the whole Jeff Beck thing, went through the whole Asia thing and bailed because I couldn’t stand it. I turned down a lot of stuff, big big bands, because it didn’t feel right. Also, I never like to commit for a very long time, a true session musician I guess. I’d been used to living life like that, dangerously, not knowing when the next bit of work was coming in, and I hated it if I was going to be tied down for six months. I think a lot of that came from doing Jesus Christ Superstar for a year. It cured me of doing any kind of residency. I don’t even like doing two shows in a row, let alone in a casino or something, I hate it. It’s just against my whole way of how music should be played. So I’d been through all that and then I found myself heavily unemployed in ‘81, mainly because I guess I turned a lot of stuff down to work with Jeff, which then fell through. ‘80 was a great year and there were a lot of things I could’ve done… Michael Schenker Group, PHD was happening, and I turned it all down because I was tied up with Jeff.

Then some sessions started trickling in and I got a call from Marquee Studios and Nick Tauber, their producer. They were just looking for a new drummer and they wanted to do something that was kind of voice and drums. I got the call out of the blue. I had heard of Toyah, seen her on the telly, so when I got the call to do that, I was like, “wow this is going to be interesting.” I turned up, it was an evening session, my gear was all dropped off and set up, my Tama mahogany kit, 22’s, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18. I turned up and found Nick, who was my age, but the rest were just kids, and it was just drums. Adrian Lee was doing all the sequencing, so I mainly worked with him and Toyah. We had a great time. They said, play what you want and I had a ball. We did a thing called, “Good Morning Universe,” which was the first thing I did with her. And I found it to be a really enlightening time, because I found a different way to play. It was the beginning of my motif playing. You know, coming up with all these kinds of grooves using all this stuff: because I could, because I was allowed to — it wasn’t just a straight session.

Besides, it was really fun and they loved it, they loved the sound of the kit. She just totally went for it. I think they asked me back to do some more recording and then I got a call from her manager, I’ll never forget. He called me and said, “Toyah’s going on the road, and we want to know if you’ll play.” I said, “Nah, not with those kids.” He told me to think about it and give him a call, and I said, “I don’t know what kind of a fee your thinking of, but I think I’m going to be a little expensive.” And he said, “Well, try me.” I said, “Well, I’m afraid I have to charge this, because if I’m going to go out of town…” and he said, “OK.” And I thought, wow, that’s actually not bad, so we did it.

Read the full Simon Phillips interview/feature
here.
.Lifestyle - Toyah talks Queens of British Pop
.Tuesday 16th June, 2009 • Thanks to Craig..............................Magazines
In her recent interview with 'Lifestyle' magazine Toyah talks about the BBC Queens of British Pop tv documentary/online poll and the subsequent controversy surrounding it.

How do you feel about the BBC naming you as one of the top ten Queens of British Pop?
I was relieved. I was the biggest selling artist from 1981 through the mid-80's and certainly one of the biggest selling female artists. I think the audience voted me into the top ten because the BBC decided not to include me in the making of the programme. I was massively grateful that people came forward and asked, "Why wasn't she included?" I know there was thousands of complaints.

Why do you suppose the BBC originally wanted to exclude you?
The producer said there was too many artists to choose from but I think they went for international names rather than truly Brit names. Everyone they chose had international careers so that was how it was decided but I was thrilled to be in the top ten.

Read the full interesting interview
here.

.Northern Echo - Rock On, Toyah
.Monday 15th June, 2009.............................................................Interview
It’s difficult to pin down Toyah Willcox – she’s a singer, actress and writer. She tells Steve Pratt variety is the spice of life and why she doesn’t mind replaying her old hits in the North East.

The ever-busy Toyah Willcox will be giving the audience exactly what it wants when she plays an open-air concert in South Shields, during South Tyneside Summer Festival next month.

She doesn’t intend turning her back on the music that made her famous. Witness her touring last year in the Hear And Now shows with other Eighties artists, playing castles, arenas and stately homes.

Her North-East appearance is one of a number of gigs in England over the summer, when she’ll also be travelling to Seattle for recording sessions.

“It’s much more civilised now. You get a dressing room for starters,” she says, of outdoor gigs. “I like doing open-air events. They’re always lovely, there’s a happening factor that goes with the open air.

“This whole thing is about nostalgia. I respect we’re doing songs and music people will know and love. And there’s always a new young audience out there enjoying the whole Eighties scene.

“There’s a lot of energy in the air. We did Ascot to 27,000 people in thunder and rain. I was sliding across the stage. You go on in all weathers. I use a bigger band for the outdoors and always choose music that will get the audience up and dancing.

“The open air shows aren’t really about the artist being indulgent. They’re about the artist sharing their love of music with the audience.

So I’ll be doing all my hits and the songs I love.”

Read the full interview with Toyah
here.
.Henley Standard - 10,000 extra tickets for Rewind Festival
.Monday 15th June, 2009...........................................................Press Clips
Demand for places at this summer’s Eighties Rewind Festival in Henley has been so great that organisers have made a further 10,000 tickets available.

Promoter David Heartfield, of the Rival Organisation, said: “For a new festival, the public response has been fantastic. We have people coming from around the world as well as across Britain to what promises to be a really fun weekend.”

When the festival was launched in February, organisers expected 20,000 visitors to Temple Island Meadows from August 21 to August 23. Now they are expecting about 30,000 over the weekend.

They added more bars and attractions, including a Kidzone, a fun area for younger festival goers and the Pimm’s double-decker bus. There will also be Bodean’s restaurant and The Comedy Store.

Stars performing at the festival include Carol Decker, who lives in Henley, with T’Pau, Kim Wilde, Rick Astley, Bananarama, Billy Ocean, Belinda Carlisle, Kid Creole, Heaven 17, Dr and the Medics, Cutting Crew, Toyah, The Real Thing, China Crisis, Gloria Gaynor, Sister Sledge, Paul Young, Go West, Midge Ure, Howard Jones, Nik Kershaw, The Christians, The Blockheads with Phil Jupitus, Chas ’n’ Dave and ABC.

Read the full news article
here.
.South Tyneside Summer Festival 2009 - Website
.Monday 15th June, 2009................................................................Internet
The South Tyneside Council website has further info on The South Tyneside Summer Festival 2009. Toyah will play at Bents Park on 5th July.

.This Fragile Moment
.Monday 15th June, 2009 • Thanks to Owen Keenan.........................Music
Toyah and Chris Wong will record a new album in Estonia with a leading musician from that country, reported toyahwillcox.com earlier this month.

"This Fragile Moment" are Arvo Urb, Chris Wong, Toyah Willcox, Markus Reuter and Robert Jürjendal.

We recorded more than 8 hours of music so far (in Tallinn). Lots of energy is being generated and several unlikely doors have been unlocked... Listening to 8 hours of music takes, well, 8 hours. There are about 40 individual pieces.

All of the above from Markus Reuter's (of Tuner)
Twitter.
.South Tyneside Summer Festival Guide 2009 - Toyah Cover
.Monday 15th June, 2009...........................................................Magazines
Toyah is featured on the cover of the South Tyneside Summer Festival Guide 2009. The brochure can be viewed online here. Please click below to view larger versions of the Toyah content.

.The Friars Aylesbury Compendium - Toyah '81
.Friday 12th June, 2009 • Thanks to Michael..................................Internet
The Friars Aylesbury Compendium website has an interesting collection of Toyah 1981 clippings, including some rare photographs from that year.

.Maspalomas Pride 2009 - Toyah DVD
.Friday 12th June, 2009 • Thanks to Paul Lomas..........................Releases
TOYAH WILLCOX at SPARKLES SHOWBAR
GRAN CANARIA 10th May 2009

GBC Television UK Ltd is proud to present an extra DVD filmed during Maspalomas Pride 2009.

A stunning hour long performance by the legendary Toyah Willcox at Sparkles Showbar on Sunday 10th May 2009.

This DVD is priced £10 (plus p&p) and can be ordered at the GBC website here.

.Snow White 2009 - Toyah Promo Photos
.Friday 12th June, 2009..................................................................Pictures

A few photos of Toyah from the Snow White 2009 photo call/press launch.

.Dreamscape Library - Annual Update!
.Thursday 11th June, 2009..........................................................Site News
Dreamscape's Toyah Library has been given a, long overdue, update. I've added almost 50 interviews, articles and reviews. Most are from 2008, the other additions are marked with ***.

.Sheffield Theatres - Latest News - Panto Cast Revealed
.Wednesday 10th June, 2009..........................................................Theatre
Sheffield Theatres and Evolution Pantomimes exclusively reveal for the first time, the cast for their 2009 Pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The cast include the 80’s pop icon and actress Toyah Willcox as Queen Morgiana.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, where is the funniest panto of them all?

This Christmas, don't miss our spectacular, fun-packed, family pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. With comedy, singing, dancing, audience participation, and stunning sets and costumes, this year's Lyceum Theatre pantomime promises to be our biggest and best panto ever!

Our star-studded cast includes pop icon, Toyah Willcox as The Wicked Queen; the hilarious Damian Williams (last year's Widow Twankey) is back by popular demand as Nurse Nellie and the funniest man in town, Toby Foster (BBC Radio Sheffield), makes his Lyceum debut as Muddles the Court Jester. Local legend, Bobby Knutt will also make a special 'virtual' appearance as the Man in the Mirror. They are joined by a top quality supporting cast and seven of the best professional dwarfs in the country. Written and directed by Paul Hendy and produced by the team that brought you last year's smash hit Aladdin, Snow White promises to be top quality family entertainment.

Can good conquer evil? Can love save the day? Can Damian Williams be funnier than last year?

Click here for further info and ticket/booking details. Click here for a larger photo of Toyah as Queen Morgiana.

.Toyah on TV - TV Diary Round Up
Wednesday 10th June, 2009.......................................................Television
• Quadrophenia : Sky Movies Modern Greats - Saturday 13th June : 1.15am
• Most Fertile Man In Ireland : Sky Movies Comedy - Fri 19th June : 7.00am
• Quadrophenia : Sky Movies Modern Greats - Friday 19th June : 11.55pm
• Psychic Therapy : Biography Channel - Date & Time tbc
• Toyah Documentary : Biography Channel - Date & Time tbc
• Secret Diary Of A Call Girl : ITV2 - Date & Time tbc
.Audiences Yorkshire - Sheffield Theatres search for local talent
.Wednesday 10th June, 2009..........................................................Theatre
Sheffield Theatres, in partnership with Evolution Pantomimes are looking for the Junior Ensemble for their pantomime, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which will run at Sheffield Lyceum Theatre this Christmas.

Registrations for the auditions will take place at 10.30am (audition at 11.00am) on Sunday 21st June at the Lyceum Theatre (main entrance).  Audition stage 1 finishes 1pm, stage 2 finishes 2pm. Young people need to be 8 - 15 years and ideally from Yorkshire. The young people need to be no taller than 5’4 and the audition is predominately for the dancing ensemble therefore auditonees must come wearing comfortable clothes and soft/dance shoes.   By 1st September 2009 audtionees must be between the ages of 8 and 15 (inclusive) and dates of birth will be verified.  Sheffield Theatres requires the total commitment of the pantomime from the rehearsal period to the full run of performance, 24th November 2009 – 10th January 2009. 

The chosen ensemble will star alongside 80’s pop icon Toyah Willcox (as The Wicked Queen), Toby Foster (BBC Radio Sheffield, Channel 4’s Phoenix Nights) will play Muddles and Damain Williams plays as Nurse Nelly. 

There are similar reports on this at www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk and The Star.

.British Video Association - Anchoress
.Wednesday 10th June, 2009...............................................................Film
Winner of the 'First Film Special Distinction' award at the Montreal World Film Festival, Chris Newby's film is a story of religious conflict set in the European Middle Ages. After a young girl, Christine Carpenter (Natalie Morse), experiences spiritual apparitions of the Virgin Mary she is coerced by the church priest into becoming an anchoress - a fate which requires her to be walled up in a chamber in the church where she must remain for the rest of her life. Although she has become an anchoress to bless the villagers, her confinement slowly begins to threaten them and, in turn, disturbs the foundations of the community in which they live. Pete Postlethwaite, Christopher Eccleston and Toyah Willcox co-star.

Certificate: 12
Main category: Feature
Sub category: Drama
Colour / BW: B/W
Country of origin: Belgium/UK
Year of Production: 1993
Starring: Natalie Morse, Gene Bervoets, Toyah Willcox, Peter Postlethwaite, Chris Eccleston
Director: Chris Newby
Producer: Ben Gibson, Paul Breuls
Writer: Judith Stanley-Smith, Christine Watkins

Lots more Toyah DVD/video info from the BVA here.

.Berwickshire News - Big screen success for Duns tartan firm
.Wednesday 10th June, 2009.....................................................Press Clips
The Power of Three will feature Anna's products

After supplying world famous designer Ralph Lauren and making its presence felt on the New York catwalk, a Duns firm is now gearing up to see its products hit the big screen.

ScotlandShop, based near Sinclairshill, has been up and running for six years now and was the brainchild of Gordon's Anna White.

Scotland Shop's bags are now going to be paraded by Toyah Willcox and South African actress Brumilda Van Rensburg in new film 'The Power of Three', which is being billed as 'Sex and the City for the more mature lady'.

Read the full article
here.
.Lifestyle - June 2009 - Toyah Cover
.Monday 8th June, 2009 • Thanks to Craig Astley......................Magazines
Toyah is the cover star of the June 2009 issue of 'Lifestyle' magazine, featuring a rare picture from the "Latex Messiah" photo session.

'Lifestyle' is an entertainment magazine, published in the North East of the UK.

This Mysterious Girl is the Queen of Pop

This year's South Tyneside Summer Festival eagerly awaits the arrival of pop royalty with an upcoming performance by one of the countiry's biggest selling female artists of all time, Toyah Willcox.

Toyah Willcox, voted as one of the Queens Of British Pop in the two-part BBC documentary, will be topping the bill at the free festival in Bents Park on July 5th as part of the South Tyneside Festival performing her classic hits and arena rock favourites.

Please click
here to read the full interview online. Click on the cover to view a larger version.
.Lifestyle - This Mysterious Girl is the Queen of Pop
.Monday 8th June, 2009 • Thanks to Craig Astley........................Interview
The feature from 'Lifestyle' magazine, with some excellent photos of Toyah. Please click on the scans to visit the 'Lifestyle' website.

.DVD Outsider - Anchoress in June
.Sunday 7th June, 2009.......................................................................Film
Chris Newby's exquisitely photographed and sensual tale of religious conflict starring Christopher Eccleston, Pete Postlethwait and Toyah Willcox has been announced for a UK DVD release in June by the BFI.

Christopher Eccleston, Pete Postlethwaite and Toyah Willcox star in Chris Newby's 1993 film Anchoress, a sensual tale of religious conflict, in which a young girl's transcendental vision threatens to upset the foundations of her community.

Inspired by records of the real Anchoress of Shere (near Guildford, Surrey), who was voluntarily walled up in a tiny cell adjoining a church, the film vividly evokes life in a remote medieval village and explores the gulf between patriarchal power and female rebellion.

After claiming to be in direct contact with the Virgin Mary, 14-year-old Christine (Natalie Morse) takes the advice of her local priest (Christopher Eccleston) and becomes an anchoress. Over the protestations of her parents, she devotes her life to prayer, surviving on charitable food donations while dispensing advice to pilgrims. Becoming an anchoress was a form of voluntary martyrdom, the sealing-up ceremony having a deliberately funereal feel, as though the subject had already died – which, in a sense, she had, at least from the outside world’s perspective.

Featuring exquisite cinematography by Michel Baudour, the film has been re-mastered for this DVD release from the original negative under the supervision of its director, Chris Newby. The DVD will be released in the UK on 22nd June 2009 by the BFI at the RRP of £19.99 with the following special features:

• The Old Man of the Sea (1989, 21 mins) - Newby's short film on the ancient relationship between man, nature and the supernatural;
• Flicker (2001, 4 mins) - Newby's study of the Guy Fawkes Night celebrations at Lewes;
• Stromboli (1998, 11 mins) - Newby's portrait of the Aeolian island known for its violent volcanic eruptions;
• Illustrated booklet.

.Vampires Rock - YouTube - New Videos
.Sunday 7th June, 2009..................................................................Internet
Official video clips, including a variety with Toyah, from the 2008 Vampires Rock 2008 Tour have just become available to view at YouTube.

The Vampires Rock 2008 DVD is on sale here.

.Dreamscape Forum - New(ish) Look!
.Friday 5th June, 2009................................................................Site News
I've, partially, rejigged the Forum. Added a new logo banner (well, an old one with slight changes), removed some sections that weren't being used (most of the content has been moved to other sections), and altered the colours. Pay a visit - there are well over 30,000 posts to plough through - and Merx has resurrected his almost legendary polls, with threads on The Humans!

.Sheffield Telegraph - Snow White - Toyah Video Interview
.Friday 5th June, 2009....................................................................Theatre
The 'Sheffield Telegraph' have a two-minute video interview with Toyah at their site. This includes footage from the Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs photo call that took place last Monday. Click on the screen caps to view larger versions.

Another video clip has also been added to 'The Star' website here. This contains further footage from the photo call/panto launch.

.Sheffield Telegraph - High Ho Temperature at Pantomime Launch
.Friday 5th June, 2009...............................................................Press Clips
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to the panto we go. The cast for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, this year's Lyceum Theatre pantomime, assembled for a photocall in the Botanical Gardens this week, gamely braving the sweltering heat in their elaborate costumes.

Heading the cast is Eighties pop icon turned TV presenter Toyah Willcox as The Wicked Queen with Damian Williams, last year's Widow Twankey, back by popular demand as the Dame, Nurse Nellie. BBC Radio Sheffield DJ and stand-up comic Toby Foster makes his panto debut as Muddles the Court Jester.

Written and directed by Paul Hendy and produced by the team behind last year's hit Aladdin, it also features Welsh actor-singer Kate Quinell in the title role, Andrew Alexander from musical theatre supergroup Teatro as the Prince, and, of course, seven professional dwarfs.

Regular Bobby Knutt has a part to play too, making a 'virtual' appearance as the Man in the Mirror.

Snow White will run at the Lyceum from Thursday December 10 to Sunday January 10.

All three principals have a busy summer. Toyah is off to Seattle to set up a US tour of her new band The Humans, featuring REM drummer Bill Rieflin and her husband, Robert Fripp, and from September tours the UK as the Devil Queen in Vampires Rock.

Toby Foster will face a new challenge, heading a cast and crew of over 200 people as the Narrator in the English Mystery Plays at Monk Bretton in July. Damian Williams will be on tour in farce Nobody's Perfect, coming to the Pomegranate, Chesterfield, in a couple of weeks. "The usual stuff, banging doors and dropping my trousers," as he puts it.
.Northern Echo - Resort's Concerts Plan
.Friday 5th June, 2009...............................................................Press Clips
A resort is gearing up for a summer of free concerts in seafront park.

Bents Park in South Shields will once again host a series of Sunday afternoon pop and rock concerts through the summer.

Punk star Toyah Willcox will be the headliner on July 5, supported by former T'Pau singer Carol Decker and Fame Academy star Sinead Quinn.

Read the full news item here.

.Whitehaven News - Eighties Punk Icon Toyah is 51 - And Fesity As Ever
.Thursday 4th June, 2009.............................................................Interview
Punk icon Toyah was edgy, vibrant and outspoken in the eighties and you’ll be pleased to know, she is still as feisty as ever.

The multi-talented singer, actor, television presenter and author, now 51, was a pleasure to talk to.

And she can’t wait to come up and perform in Whitehaven as part of the star-studded Here and Now concert on August 15.

“Whitehaven will be new territory for me, I have performed in Ambleside and Carlisle before,” said Toyah.

“Here and Now is incredibly successful around the world. It is hit after hit of pure nostalgia.

“And the audiences are getting younger and younger because eighties music is so popular, the audience is always smiling from beginning to end.”

So what makes it appealing to a younger audience?

“I think that teenagers have discovered eighties music for themselves. People have knocked the eighties and that’s done nothing but make them want to know more about it. It was written for teenagers, by teenagers.

“It was a decade of image and the songs were very strong, as was the fashion – for men and women.

“I do think that the songs were made for stadiums and because of that the open-air arenas work very well with this music – it’s very anthemic and very personal.”

Toyah’s eighties career was phenomenally successful, resulting in hit records including It’s A Mystery and I Want To Be Free. In fact, she has had a total of 15 Top 40 singles and four gold and platinum albums.

“It was a fabulous time,” she says. “When you are young and have that kind of fame, it is everything that you want. It is extraordinary because you could not go anywhere without being mobbed.

“There weren’t many women doing what we did then. We were on a crest of a wave, we were making women strong and opinionated.”

Read the full interview here. This has also been published as "Live and Kicking" by 'News & Star' here.

.Toyah to work with Charlie Francis
.Tuesday 2nd June, 2009...................................................................Music
Toyah has confirmed, in her June 2009 Blog, that she is to work again with Charlie Francis, the bass player from one of the early Toyah line-ups who left the band in August 1980.

He is recording with Toyah and Chris Wong for a new single by The Humans.

Charlie was the Toyah band's second bassist, having replaced Mark Henry in 1979. He played on the awesome album 'The Blue Meaning' and the equally wonderful 'Bird in Flight'/'Tribal Look' double A-Side single.

.The Star - Spot the celebs in the Botanical Gardens
.Tuesday 2nd June, 2009...........................................................Press Clips
A bizarrely unseasonal group of celebrities created some extra colour for sunbathing Sheffielders. Families enjoying a glorious afternoon in the city's Botanical Gardens yesterday could hardly believe their eyes when they spotted the stars.

The cast of Snow White and all seven of the dwarfs put in an appearance at the sunspot in full theatrical costume.

Because although it seems summer has only just arrived - it is time for the launch of the Lyceum's Christmas panto.

The theatre's annual festive offering has seen its popularity soar so much in recent years that hundreds of tickets were sold within days of the curtain coming down on last year's production.

Many of the same team have been given the job of cramming in the laughs this year including the ever popular dame Damian Williams as Nurse Nellie.

The list of new celebrities heading up December's show is topped by musician and television presenter Toyah Willcox, who plays the wicked witch.
.Official Toyah - Toyah Music News
.Tuesday 2nd June, 2009...................................................................Music
A plethora of interesting and tantalizing music related news has been revealed by Toyah's Official site:

• Toyah and Simon Darlow are working on a follow-up to 'In The Court Of The Crimson Queen'. They have also been asked to write for the new album of a "major artist".

• The digital release of The Humans debut album will be announced during Summer 2009.

• 2010 UK/European tour dates for The Humans will be announced by Toyah's Official site later this year.

• The Humans record their first single in Seattle and the UK this month.

• 'Quicksilver' from 'We Are The Humans' album is the featured track on a short film, by Stephanie Zarl of Zona Pictures, that will show around the world.

• Robert Fripp will be a member of The Humans for the follow-up album to 'We Are The Humans', writing and recording of which will take place in Seattle this Summer.

• Toyah and Chris Wong will record a new album in Estonia with a leading musician from that country.

.New Interviews with Toyah - Coming Soon!
.Tuesday 2nd June, 2009................................................................Internet
Look out for two new interviews with Toyah online at Remember The Eighties www.remembertheeighties.com and Retro Sellers www.retrosellers.com.
.Toyah Gig Guide 2009
.Tuesday 2nd June, 2009.............................................................Live/Gigs
• Sunday 5th July: Bents Park Festival - South Shields [ Website ]
• Saturday 15th Aug: Here & Now - Copelands Stadium, Cumbria [
Website ]
• Saturday 22nd August: 80s Rewind Festival, Henley [
Website ]
• Friday 4th September: New Foresters, Nottingham - Live PA [
Website ]

The Big Hair Affair 80s gig, scheduled for 1st August, has been cancelled.

.Official Toyah - A Busy Summer For Toyah
.Tuesday 2nd June, 2009................................................................Internet
The News at Toyah's Official website has been updated with details of her plans for Summer 2009. This includes lots of music info, plus video and DVD news. Click below to visit www.toyahwillcox.com.

.Official Toyah - June Blog
.Tuesday 2nd June, 2009................................................................Internet
Toyah's June blog has been added to The Official Toyah MySpace and www.toyahwillcox.com. Toyah talks about Maspalomas Pride, Blackpool Pride, Power of Three, The Humans and more...

.Toyah on TV - TV Diary Round Up
.Tuesday 2nd June, 2009............................................................Television
• In Your Dreams : S4C - Wednesday 3rd June : 9.00am
• Quadrophenia : Sky Screen 2 - Thursday 4th June : 2.30am
• Quadrophenia : Sky Movies Modern Greats - Saturday 13th June : 1.15am
.Maspalomas Pride 2009 Official DVDs
.Tuesday 2nd June, 2009..............................................................Releases
For the second year in a row GBC Television UK Ltd is proud to be the official video production company behind the official DVDs of Maspalomas Pride in Gran Canaria.

The Official DVDs of Gran Canaria's Maspalomas Pride 2009 will be on sale in our online shop on Friday 5th June 2009.

This year's DVDs will be added to our online shop when they are complete.
The DVDs that will be produced are as follows:

• Thursday Night HIV & AIDS Benefit Show
• Friday Night Show
• Saturday Night Show
• Pride Day

An Additional DVD will be available shortly, date to be confirmed:

• Toyah Willcox at Sparkles Showbar

.Vampires Rock - 2008 DVD - Available for Pre-order
.Monday 1st June, 2009................................................................Releases
The Vampires Rock DVD, starring Toyah as the Devil Queen, filmed on Halloween last year at the Regent Theatre in Ipswich, is now available to pre-order, with delivery for mid-June. The DVD is priced £20. Please click below for further information at the Vampires Rock website.

Update: Thanks to Hazel McCartney who has just been in touch. She ordered the DVD last week and received it on Thursday so it looks like this is being sent out.

 
 

[ In The Court Of The Crimson Queen - A Dreamscape Feature Page ]

[ Celebrating Three Classic Toyah Albums - & 30 Years Of Toyah as a Recording Artist! ]
[ TOYAH50 - Dreamscape Mini-Site ]

[ Toyah's Magic Patch - Travel in Time & Space with Toyah! ]

[ SUPERFEATURE: 25 Years of The Changeling ]

[ SUPERFEATURE: Jubilee - Toyah is Mad! ]

[ SUPERFEATURE: Toyah's GLITTERing beginning! ]

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