A huge THANKS to everyone who took the time to visit Dreamscape in 2002, making it the site's busiest year yet. Thanks too for all your emails, messages and feedback throughout the year. Have a safe and peaceful Christmas and a Toyahtastic 2003 - Davie :)

The Top 100 will be announced by Russ Williams and Ben Jones between 10am and 6pm on New Year's Eve. The eight hour British music extravaganza will feature a song from every act in the Top 100 and culminate in the number one rock and roll act from the UK.

Only a few days left for us to get Toyah included, a tall order so close to Christmas but to vote click the pic or go to: www.virginradio.co.uk/thestation/top100/index.html

For more details about Toyah's 2002 please click the pic to go to Dreamscape's News Index. A huge archive of Willcox happenings, an Aladdin's cave of Toyah info, a whole plethora of news and trivia just asking to be investigated (can you tell I've been sampling the Christmas refreshments a little early?). You will surely be stunned and amazed at just how much work one woman can cram into twelve months...

• Due to schedules clashing Toyah won't be taking part in the Eighties Pop Idol show, but has been asked again for next year's.

• Any new music releases from Toyah, including the new 'Little Tears Of Love' EP, now won't be available until, at least, May 2003. There may also be a few gigs around this time to promote the EP.

• Toyah's new record label, NMC Music, may be reissuing the classic albums 'Desire', 'Prostitute', 'Ophelia's Shadow' and '(Take The) Leap' on CD next year.

"Everyday we select a Celebrity Site of the Day. We maintain strict standards: not every celebrity site can become Celebrity Site of the Day. To become Celebrity Site of the Day the site must have something 'special'."

I'm not sure if this is the previously mentioned 'Midland's Musicians' docu, though it seems likely as that was being made by Carlton.

FRIDAY 3RD JANUARY 2003
10.30pm
ROCK LEGENDS
A new series of pop-music documentaries begins with a profile of punk singer-turned-actress Toyah Willcox.
Director Philip Banjit Basi ;  Executive Producer Duncan Rycroft.

Thanks to my good mate Rob Cope for the info:)

Listings Source - Christmas Radio Times (Carlton region).

THIS WEBSITE RESPECTS TOYAH WILLCOX AND HER PRIVACY

Over the last three years (almost) I have concentrated 100% on Toyah's professional activities and honestly can't recall ever including anything relating to Toyah's private life.

From Far And Near : ITV1 - Christmas Eve : 10.35am

The site has also been updated, and features a "festive" Toyah picture, the 'Minx' cover pic from 1985, on its opening page.

If you haven't visited the site before, leap on over by clicking the picture. You'll love the visually enhanced Toyah pictures on display there. 

HMV have the Toyah/Nigel Planer reissued Cabaret CD listed at their website. £4.99 for the CD and £1.99 for cassette. Order online in the next few days and I'm sure it will arrive in plenty of time for the big day.

www.hmv.co.uk - search word = cabaret (or) toyah

Thanks to Richard and Mandy for pointing this out.

• Toyah is mentioned in 'Heat' magazine this week. She pops up in their "Spotted" pages - Toyah Willcox at a Soho bar telling anyone within earshot that she turned down Celebrity Big Brother because she didn't need to "rekindle her career".

Could they be confusing this with the Celebrity Pop Idol thing? Who knows? Thanks to Richard Featherstone for letting me know about this.

• Toyah is listed at www.eastcentralone.com, in their 2003 Gig Guide - March-May 2003: TOYAH (UK) - band - sporadic dates UK and Ireland.

Do they know something we don't? It'll be a tight squeeze, what with Calamity Jane.

The day in question is Sunday 22nd December - Let's call it an early Christmas present.

Gloria was joined by Toyah, Christopher Biggins, Rula Lenska, Danny La Rue and Sally Taylor, who are all starring in various pantomimes around the UK this Christmas. Each of them were in full character costume, including Toyah as Aladdin, and Gloria interviewed each individually, and also as a group at the end of the show.

Toyah's interview covered much more than just Aladdin. She also chatted to Gloria about Calamity Jane and, most notably, the photo session for her 'upside down, just wearing a smile' Daily Mail article last weekend.

As you can see Toyah looked absolutely gorgeous, and I'm sure these pics would make even Scrooge feel festive!

Check back tomorrow for the full interview transcript and more screen captures.

Win a family ticket to see Aladdin's adventures on 2nd January at 3pm. 

Starring Toyah Willcox And Christopher Lillicrap the production promises fun for all the family. 

Wicked Abanazer tries to get his hands on a fabled magic lamp and rule the world. Only the bravery of Aladdin can stop him – if his silly brother Wishee Washee doesn't mess things up first!

Forms must be received by 18th December 2002. Click the picture for more info, and to enter the competition.

"More than 25 years after punk rock exploded on to an unsuspecting world, and bands like the Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Clash and The Buzzcocks were at their most shocking, have we seen the last of the movement symbolised by the mohican haircut?

The Last of … the Mohicans looks back to the late '70s when many young people were anti-establishment, anti-government, anti-royalty, anti-society, anti-everything.

'When punk came along it allowed me to be overweight, unnattractive and accepted for who I was," says punk singer Toyah Willcox. "I knew I had a place in the world, but that place hadn't arrived. When I discovered punk, it gave me so much confidence to believe in who I was.'"

Thanks to Dean Stockings

Toyah attended the BBC Animal Awards 2002 last weekend and this will be televised on Friday 27th Decmber on BBC 1 at 7pm. There is a rumour that she was accompanied by, none other than, Graham Norton but we'll just have to watch on the 27th to find out.

BBC 2 are reshowing the entire I Love 1980's retrospective series over Christmas, beginning on Saturday 21st December with I Love 1980 (funnily enough), and ending with I Love 1989 on New Year's Eve.

As far as I can recall I think Toyah features in the 1981, 1983, and 1986 programmes. I Love Christmas, originally shown last year, is also repeated this Christmas Eve, on BBC 2 at 11.10pm. Toyah pops up on this to talk about, among other things festive, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Lastly (for now), Paradise Found is repeated on ITV 1 at 00.15am on Monday 23rd December. This was a fascinating 30 minute docu, originally shown in January 2001, following TW as she went on a week-long retreat to The Old Mission in Santa Barbara, California.

The Vicar's Diary - Monday 2nd. December, 2002: "On a musical note, Toyah has voted that HWWYHTBHW and TPTB "have the juice". I am incline to agree. The new KC material will yet surprise us all."

Thanks to Alec for this.

Many thanks to everyone who voted for Dreamscape. The site was number 244 in the list. Not bad, placing in the Top 250, when you consider almost 3,000 websites entered.

Last year Dreamscape placed 324 out of over 2,600 websites.

Sorry, I've come over all stats obsessed!! I just think that it's excellent that at the end of 2002, Toyah, and Toyah web/fansites, are still appearing in various polls and that lots of us continue to be interested in, easily, one of the UK's most diverse, innovative and musically  talented female performers!

Long may it continue!!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch!!...

How The West Was Sung . . . 

The heading above is subtitle of a major touring show called Calamity Jane starring Toyah Willcox. The show has adapted for the stage from the movie featuring Doris Day and features such songs as "Black Hills Of Dakota", "Secret Love", "Deadwood Stage, etc. It will be playing at various theatres around Britain between January 20 and May 3. 

Yikes - Toyah makes it into Country Music News

The article was titled WE'VE ALL DONE A FERN!, referring to a picture UK TV presenter Fern Britton posed for a few weeks ago, and also featured actress/singer Claire Sweeney, ITV1 weather presenter Sian Lloyd, BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond and TV presenter Julia Carling...

WE'VE ALL DONE A FERN! - How we persuaded five stars to pose with naked honesty as they'd like to be remembered

When This Morning presenter Fern Britton agreed to pose in all her Rubens-like glory for a charity calendar, fans were shocked but delighted, as was Fern, who said: 'I wanted pictures I could look back on when I'm 80 and think: "Yeah, I did look all right."' FEMAIL challenged five other celebrities to do the same. Here are the stunning results.

TOYAH - Now a TV presenter and actress, Toyah, 44, enjoyed a successful pop career in the Eighties. She is now touring in Calamity Jane. Her vital statistics are 34C-25-36. She is 5ft 1in tall and weighs 7st 10lb. She says:

I was a tubby child - by the age of seven I weighed 8st - and this earned me the nickname 'Barrel' at school. I was only 13 when I started my first diet. My parents had obviously been concerned about my weight, as neither of them protested when I began eating just one tiny meal a day. I lost 8lb and spent the next decade on ever more outrageous diets. I think I was borderline anorexic. I was 7st and spent meals thinking about the effects of food on my body rather than enjoying tastes.

In my 30s things swung the other way. I began a career as a TV presenter, which led to a sedetary lifestyle. I also fronted a holiday programme and spent months abroad eating local dishes.

By 1995 I weighed 10st and felt terrible. Hitting 40 was a wake-up call: I started exercising and gave up dairy products and alcohol. I look better now than ever and I'm happier than I've ever been.

Oddly, although I've twice been nude for film roles, I'm still self-concious about showing my body. I decided to do this because I wanted to make an age statement. We've got to challenge the Western view that older women are less attractive.

Thanks to Paul Cable for the scan from the Daily Mail. The Scottish Daily Mail only printed the feature in dull old black and white. And on their picture they have left off Willcox too.

Sadly, unless she films her appearance seperately we won't be seeing her with Dawn and Jennifer this festive season. Filming for the special takes place on 13th Dec, clashing exactly with the opening of Aladdin, Toyah's 2002 panto, at The Anvil in Basingstoke.

The Christmas special is scheduled for broadcast on 23rd December at 11.25pm on BBC1

Source - www.frenchandsaunders.com

Visitors to the site can view cast pictures and biographies, be astounded by some panto facts and there's lots of fun for the kiddies there too, with games and the like. The mini site opens with a flash intro too, featuring TW as Aladdin.

The panto runs from Friday 13th December 2002 through until Sunday 5th January 2003. 

“Toyah Willcox, who must be one of the finest Aladdins of her generation, displayed tremendous energy and an impish sense of fun that made her the ideal boy". (Encore Magazine) 

The Anvil, Churchil Way, 
Basingstoke 
Hants RG21 7QR 
Box Office: 01256 844244 

Visit the mini site by clicking on pic one. For ticket info, times, and prices, click picture two to visit The Anvil's main website.

Of course, Calamity Jane is playing in Edinburgh at the Festival Theatre from 28th January to 1st February 2003.

The musical has five evening performances (7.30pm) and two matinees (Thursday & Saturday @ 2.30pm). Ticket prices range from £15.50 to £25.50 and can be booked in person at the theatre (13/29 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh EH8 9FT), by telephone (0131 529 6000), or visit their website (please click the picture).

Toyah, and Calamity Jane, is also featured in Glasgow's Kings Theatre's new programme. Calamity plays there the week before Edinburgh (Tue 21st to Sat 25th January '03, 7.30 each evening and two matinees, Wed & Sat @ 2.30pm). 

The "blurb" in both programmes reads: "The Black Hills Of Dakota and the West at its wildest is the setting for this action-packed comedy adventure.

Inspired by Annie Get Your Gun, and created for Doris Day during the golden age of Hollywood, the pistol packin' tomboy Calamity puts her reputation on the line when she promises to bring a famous star to Deadwood's Golden Garter Saloon. But mistaken identity, feminine rivalry and secret love all conspire against her good intentions.

Riotous and romantic, Calamity Jane features sensational dance routines and many classic songs including The Deadwood Stage, Windy City and the Oscar winning Secret Love."

Ticket prices for The Kings in Glasgow range from £7.50 to £22.50 and can be booked in person (297 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4JN), by telephone (0141 240 1111) or at their website (please click the pic).

Thanks to my pal Giddy Gavin for the Edinburgh programme.