An Official Toyah
eNews update was mailed out last
night; A special on The Humans
forthcoming live dates.
The Humans - featuring Toyah
Willcox, Bill Rieflin (REM),
Chris Wong - and guest band
member Robert Fripp - play three
UK concert dates later this
month. Performing for the first
time live, (outside of Estonia)
the gigs will see performances of
material from their debut album We Are The Humans, the single These Boots Are Made
For Walkin' and brand new songs
Sugar Rush, Sweet Agitation, Fragment Pool and Put A Woman On The
Moon. Tickets
are now on sale and can be bought
online for 22 Feb at Assembly,
Leamington Spa (+44 (0) 1926
523001), 23 Feb at The Junction,
Cambridge (+44 (0) 1223 511 511)
and 24 Feb at The Scala, London
(+44 (0) 20 7833 2022).
• 'Is It Wrong'
featuring Robert Fripp, recorded
live in Estonia (May 2008) is now
streaming on the Official Toyah
MySpace... a taster of what's to
come from the gigs. Take a listen
at www.myspace.com/toyahofficial.
Toyah was
interviewed in 'Record
Collector', January 2010 issue.
Now that the issue is no longer
on sale in stores, here are a few
interesting extracts from the
article.
Let's go back. You were
already making a name for
yourself as an actress when you
released your first single,
Victims Of The Riddle...
All the early stuff was slighly
dictated by my lack of being an
actual musician. I'm always very
instinctive; I know what I want
to hear. With Victims Of The
Riddle, I sang the vocals before
any instrumentation was put down,
and then (Blood Donor
keyboardist) Keith Hale created
the tune and the sequences around
the vocal. I love the whole
accident of working that way; it
creates the emotional intentions
before you get the musical
honing.
You were being labelled
'High Priestess of Punk' in '79,
'80. Did you feel connected to
that scene?
I remember it as being very
exciting but also incredibly
frustrating, because I didn't fit
the mould. It's hard to say that
I felt a part of punk, or new
wave, because I never did. When
Victims Of The Riddle was number
one in the indie charts I was
making Jubilee, I was
making The Tempest, I
was in Quadrophenia, I
was appearing at the ICA with
Anthony Sher. I was doing
incredible things. So I think
people found me either fake, or
couldn't put me in a compartment.
But listening to things
like Sheep
Farming In Barnet,
you transcended punk. Tracks like
Neon Womb were almost
'Cyberpunk'!
Oh yeah! All those songs were
well-practiced in front of large
audiences. They started in Sunday
rehearsals and sound checks and
then we'd play them as encores, so they
were created in a heightened
experience. Songs like Neon Womb,
Waiting, Ieya, Victims Of The
Riddle, even if I say so myself,
are absolute classics because
they were created with the
audience. They were very
shamanistic and our concerts used
to just accelerate out there to
the point where I used to look
out and think, 'God, we're like
Masai warriors dancing until
we're no longer aware of who we
are.'
Anthem
was huge, and very commercial,
but its follow-up, Changeling,
is dark. Changeling was a
reaction because I wasn't ready
to write. I wanted to work with
Steve Lillywhite but the
relationship just didn't work
because I should have had another
six or twelve months to address
the album. It was all written in
the studio. I think it's a good
album, it says something very
powerful. But it was a painful
album and a very painful period
in my life where I just had to
move back into acting, which was Trafford
Tanzi.
Another
Humans competition. This time
tickets for The Scala gig in
London are up for grabs. Comp
entry closes 19th February.
The band - featuring Toyah
Willcox, Bill Rieflin (REM) and
Chris Wong with a special guest
appearance from the legendary
Robert Fripp, will perform at
Leamington Spa Assembly on 22
February, Cambridge Junction on
23 February and The Scala, London
on Wednesday 24 February.
The shows are the first time in
20 years that Toyah has shared a
UK stage with her husband Robert
Fripp. (The last time was when
their 1989 band, Sunday All Over
The World, played a handful of UK
dates.)
The Humans comprise a very
different musical direction for
Toyah, not surprising given the
band line-up with their own
individual musical backgrounds.
Their first single These Boots
Are Made For Walkin has just been
released along with their debut
album We Are The Humans.
Click here for the chance of
winning one of five pairs of
tickets.
The album recorded
in 2009 by Toyah, Markus Reuter,
Arvo Urb, Chris Wong, and Robert
Jurjendal, released as 'This
Fragile Moment', is now available
from various online music stores
to download.
At Play (www.play.com) it is
available as an album download or
each track can be bought
individually (apart from 'Don't
Even Try').
The CD is still available to
purchase here. Further
information on 'This Fragile
Moment' can be found here.
.Official
Toyah - February 2010 Blog - The
Humans Tour
Toyah's
February blog is now online at The Official
Toyah MySpace andtoyahwillcox.com. Read up on Toyah
reclaiming her social life, what
"it" is with herself
and Bill Rieflin, Vampires
Rock, and the live dates by
The Humans.
Toyah says
of the new Humans songs, 'Sugar
Rush', 'Sweet Agitation',
'Fragment Pool', and the
gloriously titled 'Put A Woman On
The Moon', "They are
lively little numbers, slightly
non-age-appropriate, in the vein
of silver surfer rage."
Hear some, if not all, of these
at The Humans gigs later this
month.
To celebrate The
Humans first ever string of live
concert dates (anywhere in the
world outside of Estonia.....) we
have a prize of a sealed copy of
the debut album WE ARE THE HUMANS
limited edition CD packaging
version PLUS a copy of the very
rare 1-track radio promo CD of
the single THESE BOOTS ARE MADE
FOR WALKIN' featuring Robert
Fripp.
To win these two CDs simply send
the answer to the following
question to:
humans@toyahwillcox.com by 19
February 2010.
Apart from last year's launch
concert in Estonia, what year did
Toyah and Robert Fripp last share
the stage as part of the same
band?
.Official
Toyah - The Humans Get Into Gear
For UK Tour
With only three
weeks to go until The Humans
embark on their UK tour things
are gearing up...
The set list for the concerts
will include some new songs which
may include some or all of the
following: "Sugar
Rush", "Put A Woman On
The Moon", "Sweet
Agitation" and
"Fragment Pool".
Additionally, The Humans are
confirmed as one of the acts
performing a short set at a
concert raising funds for Haiti
at The Roundhouse on 25 Feb, the
night after their Scala London
gig. The benefit gig has been
organised by Bill Drummond and
acts are being announced
daily.... so far alongside The
Humans, those playing live sets
include KT Tunstall, Paul Weller
and The Futureheads.
Just
Announced! The Humans
will perform a live set at the
Haiti Earthquake Fundraiser at
The Roundhouse on Thursday 25th
February. Please click below for
line-up and ticket info on the
fundraiser event, plus donation
details.
Further news
on The Humans, from Official
Toyah Facebook: With
only three weeks to go until The
Humans embark on their UK tour
things are gearing up... The set
list for the concerts will
include some new songs which may
include some or all of the
following: 'Sugar Rush', 'Put A
Woman On The Moon', 'Sweet
Agitation' and 'Fragment Pool'.
A review, by
Steve Burbridge, of one of the Vampires
Rock shows
at Darlington Civic Theatre last
Friday.
The auditorium of Darlington
Civic Theatre was packed to the
rafters for the first of two
sellout performances of Steve
Steinman’s cult classic,
Vampires Rock.
Set in New York in 2030, the
undead are among us and livelier
than ever.
A young girl named Pandora (Emily
Clark) has skipped school to
attend an audition to be the
resident rock singer at the Live
and Let Die Club.
There she encounters Baron Von
Rockula (Steinman), who instantly
falls in love with her and is
determined that she should become
his new bride Shame he
didn’t bother to consult his
current Devil Queen (Toyah
Willcox, pictured), who is none
too impressed with the idea.
Ostensibly, Vampires Rock is The
Rocky Horror Show for hot-blooded
heterosexual hairy bikers and
heavy metal heads.
More vamp than camp, more gothy
than frothy, the show uses its
storyline – which is as
translucent as a vampire’s
skin in the midday sun – to
string together some of the
greatest rock anthems of all
time.
They’re all there, from
Killer Queen to Total Eclipse of
the Heart, The Final Countdown to
Bat out of Hell.
Steinman, Willcox and Clark, who
delivered stunning vocal
performances, were backed by a
five-piece band, whose acoustics
almost lifted the roof right off
the grand old theatre, they
really whipped the crowd up into
a frenzy.
The shortcomings of the storyline
are compensated by the energy and
enthusiasm that the cast put into
the show which, ultimately, is
what makes Vampires Rock a great
night out.
Read other recent news reports on
Toyah in Vampires Rock
at 'Yeovil Express' here, and 'Weston &
Somerset Mercury' here.
Tony Banks talks
about his 'Soundtracks' album, Lorca
& The Outlaws, 'Lion Of
Symmetry' and Toyah's involvement
in these, in an interview with
'The Waiting Room' (date
unknown).
Of course in Lorca there were
the two songs, the title song
which I did with Jim Diamond, You
Call This Victory, and other one
that I did with Toyah, Lion Of
Symmetry. There was a moment in
the film where they had a sort of
video jukebox and that was the
song to go with that. I thought
that the song was potentially
very good. I just looked around
for a possible singer and someone
suggested Toyah. She was up for
it, she seemed very keen to do
it. So we met and the end result
was one of the most enjoyable
moments of my career in fact. She
was a revelation to me, it just
sounded so much better than it
had ever done on her own where
her voice always sounded so small
and restricted. She has a
fantastic range and it's one of
my favourite songs, I was really
pleased with the way it turned
out especially the middle part.
The idea of a female voice on
what is essentially a traditional
Genesis song was an interesting
idea, it just changed the whole
character of it completely. She
wrote the lyrics and I love some
of the imagery - it sends a
shiver down my spine when I hear
it now!
Read the full interview at the
Tony Banks fansite, Lake Of
Silence, here. Tony also talked
about Toyah and 'Lion Of
Symmetry'/Lorca & The
Outlaws in an interview with
'Genesis Magazine' in 1985. Read
that interview here.
.Rare
Terence Donovan Photo 1985
.Wednesday
3rd February, 2010 • Thanks to
Andi.........................Pictures
A rare-ish
picture from mid-1985. Numerous
photos were taken during this
Terence Donovan session, &
used for newspaper articles and
fanclub mail-outs.
.St.
Pauls Gallery - Melissa
Mailer-Yates Signed Limited
Edition
St. Pauls
Gallery are currently featuring
the Melissa Mailer-Yates
painting, of Toyah from 2008, as
a limited edition portrait print.
The print is hand signed by Toyah
and Melissa. Click below for
further details.
Melissa
Mailer-Yates describes how the
Toyah portrait came to be:
"Thus St Pauls Gallery
introduced me to Toyah. Happily
Toyah lives quite close to my
Mothers house so those first meet
nerves were diminished somewhat
by plenty of time for
preparation, instead of my usual
trek from the deep and distant
wilds of Herefordshire. In fact I
was early for goodness sake
unheard of!
I had nothing to worry about as I
met with the most gracious,
welcoming person I have had the
good fortune to meet in a long
time. Perhaps being the same age
helps a little, but I found I
could have stayed all day and
talked about everything. Moving
up to Toyah's beautifully french
furnished drawing room, I found
someone a natural in front of the
camera, and soon I had what I
wanted, together with a real
sense of a woman bubbling over
with her enthusiasm for life.
Once home I found I had
everything I needed, the essence
of a truly beautiful woman,
inside and out. She was made for
my New York Treatment, that is
the style of work I first
formulated for my New York
exhibition in 1997. A combination
of representational portraiture
together with the abstract
interpretation of her emotional
self, the dance of life."
Date: June 2008 Signed By: Toyah
Willcox & Melissa
Mailer-Yates In Pencil Edition: 20
released World Wide Dimensions:
Image 440 x 540mm, Paper 640 x
770mm Atelier: Dekkel
Fine Art Publishing Ltd Condition: New -
Mint condition Medium: Giclee
On 330gsm Fine Art Paper
Cloud
Communications have an updated
Toyah career bio at their
website.
From punk princess to high
priestess of TV, Toyah Willcox is
a uniquely gifted performer.
Charismatic, outspoken and
impossible to categorise, she is
one of Britain’s iconic
household names – an
award-winning rock legend as well
as a much-loved actress and music
composer...
...Musically, Toyah has remained
fresh, uncompromising and
ground-breaking. In 2007 she
signed a new worldwide publishing
deal with Zomba Music and
released her first digital single
- Latex Messiah (Viva La Rebel In
You) from the 2008 album In The
Court Of The Crimson Queen,
written and produced in
collaboration with Simon Darlow.
Alongside this Toyah began a
collaboration with Bill Rieflin
(REM) and Chris Wong on the band
project, The Humans. Described as
“European experimental meets
West Coast American grunge",
The Humans debut live
performances took place in
Estonia in 2007. Their debut
album, We Are The Humans, was
recorded in Seattle in 2008 and
released in Estonia in May 2009
to coincide with the band's
return to play before the
country's president at Tartufest.
It received a UK digital release
on Sept 2009, along with a
Humans’ single, These Boots
Are Made For Walkin’.
Go here to read the full
bio at Cloud Communications.
There's another
couple of opportunities to watch
last year's Psychic Therapy:
Toyah Willcox. The one hour
docu re-airs tonight on Bio - The
Biography Channel at 8pm and
again at 11pm.
Gordon Smith journeys into the
remarkably diverse career of
Toyah Willcox - singer, actress,
presenter, writer and
businesswoman. Psychic medium,
Smith, reveals some of the star's
innermost secrets, delving into
her past and predicting her
future with help from the spirit
world.
Vampires
Rock plays a sold out show
at Perth Concert Hall tonight,
before heading to Darlington's
Civic Theatre for two consecutive
sold out shows tomorrow and
Saturday. Official Website:
www.vampiresrock.com
.Glasgow
University Guardian - Human
Nature
.Thursday
28th January, 2010 • Thanks to
Colin..........................Interview
Toyah was
interviewed recently (30th Nov
2009) by, the rather excellent,
'Glasgow University Guardian':
Oisín Kealy checks in with
punk pioneer Toyah Willcox
Does it feel like thirty
years since It’s a Mystery?
No, because I performed it six
weeks ago to thirty thousand
people, it’s remained
completely constant. I don’t
really think back, I’ve got
too much going on. I feel
absolutely no connection to the
eighties at all. That said, I
think it’s because for me
I’ve never stepped away from
that music, I’ve always
performed it. So I’m more in
touch with the music than with
the actual eighties. For instance
I’m not very fond about
shoulder pads coming back in!
Do you think you retained
your punk spirit as you grew
older?
I don’t think I ever grew
out of the punk ethos. It was
absolutely remarkable being
there. It was the first time
where I saw that race didn’t
matter, disability didn’t
matter, sexual orientation
didn’t matter, and if you
had a good idea, you had ears
that listened to it. It was the
most all-encompassing thing that
I’ve ever come across.
It’s probably the most
rewarding movement I’ve
lived through and I’m 51. I
never thought I’d be alive,
I thought I wouldn’t survive
past thirty. I knew that I could
never have family because
I’d rather have glass
inserted under my skin, and I
knew I would never stop working.
In a way I’ve kept to that
but I never conceived what it
would be like to hit fifty. I
think that’s because the
media ignores the power of each
decade, and I feel very critical
about that. I never believed that
there would be value beyond
thirty, and there is incredible
value. I’ve moved away from
my roots very obviously —
I’ve presented the Good Sex
Guide live, I’ve presented
Songs of Praise, I do pantomime,
but at the same time I’m
working with Bill Rieflin and
Robert Fripp, who are both
legends. So I feel very lucky in
that I’ve never been trapped
by any particular type of genre.
Read the full interview online at
'Glasgow University Guardian' here.
.Tellurian
Remembered / Flickr: The Toyah
Willcox Group
Back in the
day... before the interweb
hijacked our lives... there were
fanzines! One of the best was
'Tellurian' (running circa 1986
to 1997), the only way to get
your reliable Toyah news for many
years. A couple of examples of
the wonderfulness of 'Tellurian'
are included in The Toyah Willcox
Group @ flickr...
'Tellurian' was the
Official Toyah Fanclub/Newsletter
but fanzine sounds better!
.Dolls
& Dolls!
.Thursday
28th January, 2010 • Thanks to
Andi..............................Internet
The
continuing adventures of those
incredible Toyah dolls... Though
you may, understandably, mistake
the photo on the right as an,
undiscovered, outtake from the
famous photo session from 1980.
Click on the pics for larger
versions.
DGM News are
currently running a competition
with the prize of 'We Are The
Humans', plus the spiffingly rare
CD version of 'These Boots Are
Made For Walkin':
When did Robert
Fripp last play a non-soundscape
/ King Crimson gig in the UK? If
you know the answer to this
head-scratcher you could win a
copy of The Humans album, We Are
The Humans, and a CD copy of
their cover of These Boots Are
Made For Walking featuring RF on
guitar.
As Robert prepares for his guest
slot as part of The Humans’
gigs next month in Leamington
Spa, Cambridge and London we
wondered when he last appeared on
a UK stage where he wasn’t
soundscaping, Crimsonising,
Craftyising or even RFSQing!
So the question is
this: when did Robert last play
in the UK where he wasn't
soundscaping? Providing the name
of the group gets you The Humans
booty for your trouble.
All you need to do is send an
email with the answer to competitions@dgmlive.com with HUMANS in the
subject header and we’ll
announce the lucky winner on
Tuesday 2nd February.
NB:
John Young has just been
announced as support for The
Humans on all of their
forthcoming live dates. Visit the
John Young MySpace here.
DSD, aka
Die Shellsuit Die, reviewed 'We
Are The Humans' at the end of
2009:
It would appear we
have the President of Estonia to
thank for the existence of this
band - or perhaps it should be
Robert Fripp, who declined the
Presidential invitation to tour
the country, thus galvanising his
hard-working wife, Toyah Willcox.
Whoever deserves the gratitude;
let us not bow down too far, too
soon - although by no means a
poor effort, this debut album is
far from exemplary. Plenty of it
is self-indulgent, bass-heavy
dribble, with la Willcox’
oh-so-serious tones singing of
who-knows-what around the sides.
Quicksilver is a genuine score,
however, with Labyrinth a close
contender. Both capture a genuine
sense of other-ness without
seeming as arch as the other
tracks. I sense that without the
big names, this would not stand
up for long on its musical merits
but who knows where the band may
go next? At least it isn’t
more turgid identi-pop.
Local Secrets,
"the lively guide to
everything local", are
offering visitors to their
website the opportunity to win
two tickets to see The Humans
live at The Junction in Cambridge
on 23rd February.
Enter the competition at their
website here. There's no closing
date but they say they will
inform the winner on 31st
January.
Goodbye Pebble
Mill, the BBC1 special
presented by Toyah and originally
aired in February 2004, is now
available to view, in three
parts, at YouTube.
..
Toyah Willcox looks
back at more than three decades
of broadcasting from BBC Pebble
Mill. From the Archers to the
Clothes Show and from Top Gear to
Good Morning with Anne and Nick,
Pebble Mill has been turning out
TV and radio hits since the early
1970s. Cliff Richard, Warren
Clarke, Anne Diamond and a host
of other celebrities pay tribute
to The Mill as it prepares to
close its doors for the last
time.
Coming
to Dreamscape this week... finally... no,
really.... yes, really, really...
our exclusive interview with
Toyah fan, friend, PA and cameo
star of last year's stupendously
Humans-tastic 'Bootz' video - our
good buddy John Wain!!
Last night was the
first date for Vampires Rock
2010, playing at Dunstable's
Grove Theatre. There are another
nine dates of the show for Toyah
between now and 12th Feb.
Toyah isn't taking
part in the Autumn 2010 tour but
these forthcoming dates aren't
the last for the Devil Queen.
It's been announced that Toyah
will play at the Vampires
Rock show date at the Rock
& Bike Festival, Derbyshire
on Saturday 17th July 2010.
Vampires Rock plays
Barnstaple's Queen's Theatre
tonight and tomorrow night.
The 'BRITs'
are celebrating their 30th
anniversary this year (the first
awards took place in 1977!!), and
they have a shiny new website
with lots of content to view.
Toyah is included, via a great
photo from the 1985 event, and as
a nominee in 1982 - '84, when it
was the 'British Record Industry
Awards'/'BPI Awards'.
NB:
There's always been some
confusion regarding the origins
of the 'BRITs' and the
"History Timeline" at
the new site seems to confirm
that they derived from the
'British Record Industry Awards'
(not televised - industry only -
Grosvenor House Hotel, London)
rather than the 'British Rock
& Pop Awards' (televised,
with band perfomances - Lyceum,
London) . Toyah won Best Female
1981 at the latter (held in early
1982). The photo of Toyah and
Paul Young is from 1985, when
they were known as the 'BPI'
Awards.
.The
Journal - Vampires Will Rock You
At The Queen's Theatre
.Tuesday
19th January, 2010 • Thanks to
Stephen Bennett.......Press Clips
Toyah and Vampires
Rock featured in a news
article in last Thursday's 'North
Devon Journal'. The show plays
two dates at the Queen's Theatre,
Barnstaple this Friday and
Saturday. Please click below for
a larger version of the scan.
• Brum
: BBC2 - Sunday 24th January :
6.35am
• Quadrophenia : ITV1 -
Sunday 24th January : 11.30pm
• Top 50 Showbiz Comebacks :
Sky3 - Monday 25th January :
9.00pm
• Bargain Hunt Famous Finds
: Home - Wednesday 27th January :
10.00am
• Psychic Therapy : Bio -
Thursday 28th January : 8.00pm
• Secret Diary Of A Call
Girl : ITV2 - Thursday 28th
January : 10.00pm
• Secret Diary Of A Call
Girl : ITV2 +1 - Thursday 28th
January : 10.30pm
• Psychic Therapy : Bio -
Thursday 28th January : 11.00pm
NB: No
confirmation as yet on whether
Toyah will appear in series three
of Secret Diary Of A Call
Girl.
.Review
Of The Year - Toyah's 2009: Toyah
Top Ten
.Tuesday
12th January, 2010..................................................Toyah's Year
Rounding
off our Review Of The Year - We
will all have our own favourites,
and this is Dreamscape's Top Ten
Toyah Moments of 2009. Thanks to
everyone who contributed Toyah
news or info to the site over the
last 12 months.
1. We Are The
Humans/Boots - The Humans
2. Cover Star! - A quartet of
great 2009 magazine covers
3. Gigz! - Headliners, PA's &
much more!
4. Psychic Therapy - Toyah
Willcox on Bio
5. Vampires Rock
6. Casualty on BBC1
7. Power Of 3/Three To Tango
8. This Fragile Moment
9. Quicksilver/Boots videos
10. Queens Of British Pop
2010
has some great things in store
for me and my shows. We kick off
the year with Toyah at The Grove
Theatre in Dunstable and we
finish the run at The Octagon
Theatre in Yeovil on the 12th
February. Vampires Rock will be
back in September for the new
tour but I’m afraid to say
without Toyah as The Devil Queen.
It has been an amazing time
performing with Toyah, and she
really has taken well to the
show, but I can say it won’t
be the last time you see her in
the show. I’m hoping for
some new celebrity guest
appearances but will let you know
as they confirm.
.Sunday
10th January, 2010...................................................Toyah's Year
In early July
Toyah’s Official website was
nine years online… Power
Of Three changed its title
to Three To Tango…
Toyah was interviewed for a
photo-feature in ‘Celebs On
Sunday’ magazine…
promotional images for The
Humans’
‘Quicksilver’
appeared… Toyah headlined
the South Tyneside Summer
Festival in South Shields…
she was interviewed by
‘Shields Gazette’ and
‘Retro Sellers‘…
and paid tribute to Michael
Jackson in her blog… sadly
this month Toyah’s father,
Beric Willcox, passed away.
August
saw the documentary Junglophilia
garnering much online
attention… details of Toyah
Willcox: Psychic Therapy,
the Bio channel documentary were
revealed… Urgh! A Music
War was released on DVD in
the US… Toyah played at
Copeland Stadium in the
‘Very Best Of The 80’s:
Here & Now’ show, and at
Henley On Thames in the '80s
Rewind Festival' - both to huge
audiences… Dreamscape’s
‘In The Court Of The Crimson
Queen’ feature went
live… there were interviews
with ‘High Spirit’
magazine, ‘Whitehaven
News’, and ‘BBC
News’… and a teaser
clip from The Human’s
‘Bootz’ was released.
Psychic Therapy,
a one-hour Toyah documentary,
aired on Bio at the beginning of September…
Toyah played a live PA in
Nottingham… BFBS added lots
of '80s Rewind Festival'
interviews and footage to their
website… Toyah was
interviewed by BBC Radio Suffolk,
‘Staffordshire
Sentinel’, ‘Basildon
Recorder’, ‘Bury Free
Press’, ‘Bournemouth
Daily Echo’, ‘Inverness
Courier’… she was the
cover star of ‘G Scene: Out
& About’… The
Humans’ debut single’
These Boots Are Made For
Walkin’ was released…
and ‘We Are The Humans’
was released digitally… Vampires
Rock 2009/10 tour
began… a 2CD set from the
previous Vampires Rock
tour went on sale… Toyah
guested on Celeb Experiences
at the end of the month.
There were numerous
interviews/reviews through October,
mainly to promote the continuing Vampires
Rock tour… Toyah spoke
to ’Aberdeen Press &
Journal’, The Paul
Franks Show on BBC Radio
West Midlands, Radio Borders,
‘York Press’,
‘Nottingham Evening
Post’, ‘Midlands
Magazine’, and ‘Tea
& Ten’… Toyah was
the cover star of ‘Edinburgh
Evening News: The Guide’ and
‘Kent On Sunday:
Review’… The Humans
were interviewed in ‘Sunday
Mercury’… live dates
for The Humans in 2010 were
announced… Toyah guested in
BBC1’s Casualty…
and the Three To Tango/Power
Of Three charity preview
screening took place in London.
In November This
Fragile Moment was released on
CD… Vampires Rock
continued to tour the UK…
Toyah was interviewed by
‘Your Sheffield’,
‘Formby Times’,
‘Buy Association’,
‘Buxton Advertiser’,
and ‘The Star’…
she also contributed to the My
Story BBC event in
Blackpool… Toyah guested on The
One Show… and appeared
on Hole In The Wall,
both on BBC1.
In December
the Vampires Rock
Christmas shows took place…
Toyah was in panto, Snow
White & The Seven Dwarfs
at the Sheffield Lyceum, for most
of the month… there were
interviews with ‘Sheffield
Telegraph’, ‘The
Star’ times two, and a
two-page special in ‘Record
Collector’ magazine…
more 2010 lives dates were
announced for The Humans, and
Toyah… there were a batch of
positive reviews for Snow
White… and Toyah was,
as with the rest of 2009, all
over the TV schedules in
December!
Toyah's
first blog of the decade is now
online at toyahwillcox.com and The Official
Toyah MySpace. Toyah talks Snow
White & The Seven Dwarfs,
plus positive news on Toyah's
back catalogue - Viva the
"One Stop Toyah Shop"!!
PS. The
'Toyah-for-a-part in Doctor
Who' campaign starts here!
;)
Have just
"borrowed" this great
photo of a great photo from
Robert Fripp's diary entry of
Sunday 27th December. It's A
Mystery indeed! Snow White
in Sheffield closes this Sunday
night after 52 shows in a month!
No mean feat!
.Review
Of The Year - Toyah's 2009: Part
One
.Friday
8th January, 2010.......................................................Toyah's Year
January:
It was announced that Celebrity
Mastermind, which Toyah
guested in, had been a hit in the
Christmas ratings... Toyah was
the cover star of the Winter
issue of 'Eternal Spirit'
magazine... she was quoted in the
advertising blurb for Paul
Hendy's book 'Who Killed Simon
Peters?'... The Power Of
Three website was given a
"fierce & fabulous"
makeover... Pontins announced
Toyah as one of the guests at
their 48Hr Party Weekends... the
'Belfast Telegraph' claimed that
Toyah thought the Vampires
Rock tour was haunted...
Dreamscape celebrated 30 Years Of
Music: 1979-2009... Toyah rounded
off the month by guesting at The
SAS Band's New Year Bash at The
Indig02.
In February
Toyah hit the road again,
rejoining the Vampires Rock
tour with further dates around
the UK... she guested on ITV1's Alan
Titchmarsh Show... & had
a bum lift courtesy of the 'Daily
Mail'... there were interviews
with the 'Daily Mail', '
Perthshire Advertiser' and
'Belfast Telegraph'... Toyah's
new tiny bottom gained column
inches in the 'Sunday Times' and
'The Sun'... Here & Now gigs
were announced ... 'It's A
Mystery' was included on the '100
Hits - 80s Pop' 5CD set... Toyah
guested on GMTV with Lorraine,
and Richard & Judy's
chat show on Watch - she
discussed buttocks, vampires and
more on both shows... Quadrophenia:
The Musical started its
first UK tour, Toyah was
mentioned in numerous articles on
this... the 80s Rewind Festival
website was launched... Toyah was
the subject of a question on the
l-egg-endary BBC2 quiz Eggheads...
she guested on Ant &
Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
... and was interviewed in the
new online magazine 'The Gay
Nation', with the feature
accompanied by some great new
vampiretastic photos.
March
1st and the final date of the Vampires
Rock 2008/09 tour - at the
Shaw Theatre, London - took
place... Season Two of Secret
Diary Of A Call Girl was
released on DVD, as was a double
set with both seasons... Toyah,
and her apricot tart, guested on Britain's
Best Dish Celebrity Special
on ITV1... meanwhile on ITV2 she
made a split-second guest
appearance on new sitcom FM...
a PA at Blackpool Pride was
announced ... details of Toyah's
panto for Christmas 2009 were
revealed... new song samples were
added to The Humans MySpace...
and Toyah played at Pontins
Camber Sands.
At the beginning of April
Toyah was on TV with Bargain
Hunt Famous Finds on BBC2
and The Truth About Eternal
Youth on ITV1... The
Power Of Three Facebook
opened... new publicity photos
for the film were released... and
throughout April Toyah and the
cast filmed the movie in various
locations in London... more new
songs by The Humans were
previewed ... details on The
Humans debut album' We Are The
Humans' were announced... Toyah
placed at a sensational number
seven in the BBC Queens Of
British Pop online poll -
great news after she was,
ridiculously, left out of the
two-part BBC1 documentary ... As
the second series of Ashes To
Ashes aired Toyah was
interviewed by the 'Daily Mail'
on her memories of the era the
show was set in - 1982... she
also attended the premiere of
short film Pictures in
London.
In May
'We Are The Humans' was
released... Toyah played two PA's
at Maspalomas/Gran Canaria
Pride... and one at Blackpool
Pride the following week... she
was sampled by Tuner for a track
on their album 'MUUT'... on her
birthday, Toyah, via a 1981
poster , made an appearance on
BBC1's Ashes To Ashes...
and she was interviewed by Gran
Canaria's 'Round Town News'.
June
saw the release of the Vampires
Rock DVD featuring Toyah as
the Devil Queen... a DVD of Toyah
live at Sparkles Showbar in Gran
Canaria was also made
available... the photo call/press
launch for Snow White &
The Seven Dwarfs took
place... Toyah confirmed in her
blog that she would be working
with Charlie Francis again, after
almost 30 years... she was
interviewed by 'Whitehaven News',
'Sheffield Telegraph', 'Northern
Echo', 'Remember The Eighties',
'South Yorkshire Times', and
'Journal Live'... she was also
the cover star of 'Lifestyle'
magazine, and interviewed by
'FlyBe' magazine... Anchoress
was finally released on Region 2
DVD... the first info on This
Fragile Moment was mentioned...
and the much talked about photo
taken at the filming of The
Humans' 'Quicksilver' video was
revealed!
•
Film24 have now removed Jubilee
from their schedules for
Wednesday 13th January. The film
still airs the following Wednesday
(20th Jan) on the
channel at 10.00pm.
• Continuing
the tradition of Toyah being
namechecked in the most weird
& wonderful of places... Dinnington
Today: A kickboxer's
start to 2010: World kickboxing
champion Kerry Louise Norbury
writes her first blog of 2010 for
the Dinnington Guardian
Boxing Day has its own
tradition for me as I love going
to the pantomime and this year we
went to Sheffield to watch Snow
White with Toyah Willcox as the
evil step mother. Her voice was
fantastic. [ Read the full
blog here ]
• 'Mid Devon
Gazette'/'This Is Exter'
published a short news article on
Vampires Rock yesterday:
Toyah's show has rock in its
blood - Read it here. Vampires Rock
plays the Queen's Theatre,
Barnstaple on Friday 22nd &
Saturday 23rd January.
• Check out
Robert Fripp's online diary
updates from over Christmas. The 23rd
December, Christmas
Day, and Boxing Day entries all feature
great festive photos, as well as
a glimpse of behind-the-scenes at
Snow White in Sheffield.
• The 'Sheffield Telegraph'
again listed Snow White &
The Seven Dwarfs in their
"Top Ten things to do"
list yesterday.
Ten Top things to do -
Wed 06 January 2010:
Looking for something to do in
and around Sheffield today? Check
out our 10 top things - plus
other ideas for the next few days
2.Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs, the story of a young girl
escaping her wicked step mother
and setting off on an adventure
in the forest full of dwarfs,
magic mirrors, poisoned apples,
singing, dancing, audience
participation and all the
ingredients of a traditional
pantomime with Toyah Willcox as
the Wicked Queen, Damian Williams
back as the dame, Nurse Nellie,
and Toby Foster as Muddles,
Lyceum Theatre, New Year's Eve,
2pm, Saturday, 2pm, 7pm, Sunday,
1pm, 5.30pm, Tuesday-Thursday,
7pm, continuing to January 10
(£13-£18)
• More Toyah on TV - As well
as airing on Wednesday 13th
January on Film24, Jubilee
is also showing on the following
Wednesday too. Both days at
10.00pm. (Update: Both were later
removed from Film24's schedules!)
• Pontins have just launched
their 2010 brochure. The press
release published yesterday
mentions Toyah.
.The Star -
Where There's A Willcox There's A
Way...
A new Toyah
interview, published by Yorkshire
based 'The Star' on New Year's
Eve:
If Toyah Willcox made a
new year resolution in 2009 to be
a queen she got her wish granted
– twice
And she begins next year as she
finishes this one, beneath a
brash crown as the Wicked Queen
in Sheffield's biggest panto,
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs.
"I love it. I haven't
stopped laughing. My voice is
tired from laughing," says
the '80s pop-star- turned-actress
of her regal role.
"Playing the Queen means
that no matter what mood I'm in,
whether I decide to play her
sweetly, play her nastily, or
predictably, it works because the
audience knows she's bad which
means no matter what I give them
they will see me as a bad
person."
While being in panto right up
until Christmas Eve meant a mad
dash back to her home in
Worcestershire to be with family,
Toyah is enjoying working in one
of the country's most
"remarkable, versatile,
quickly- changing cities."
Her character is in stark
contrast to some of her previous
roles in the likes of British
comedy film The Power Of Three
and Secret Diary Of A Call Girl,
in which she played Billie
Piper's mother.
When Snow White concludes at The
Lyceum Theatre on January 10 she
will return to her Devil Queen
spot in the touring theatre
musical Vampires Rock.
Toyah is still making and
performing music of her own,
under her name and with her band
The Humans, which features Bill
Rieflin from REM and her husband
Robert Fripp, formerly of the
iconic band King Crimson. They
released an album late summer
while Toyah's put out In The
Court Of The Crimson Queen, a
tongue-in-cheek reference to
Fripp's album In The Court Of The
Crimson King.
Read the full
interview online at 'The Star' here.
• Happy
New Year to everyone.
Stay tuned to Dreamscape - Coming
Soon! Our annual Review Of The
Year, plus Top Ten Toyah 2009.
• To the right - A sneak
peak at the current issue of
'Record Collector' two-page Toyah
interview feature. This also
includes an article on the Top 5
Toyah collectables. 'Record
Collector', Issue 371 - January
2010, is available now.
• Eil.com are now listing the
Japanese import of 'In The Court
Of The Crimson Queen': TOYAH In
The Court Of The Crimson Queen
(2010 Japanese 10-track CD album,
the 1st longplayer of new
material from the acclaimed
singer/songwriter in nearly 16
years, co-written with long-time
collaborator Simon Darlow,
includes the single 'Latex
Messiah', picture sleeve + obi
strip, more details to follow...)
Release date: Wednesday 20
January 2010. (Thanks to Brian
Marsh)
• Pontins have updated their
48 Hour Party Weekender website.
Toyah plays gigs in Southport on
Friday 19th March, and Camber
Sands on Friday 26th March. Visit
their website here.
• Season 3 of Secret
Diary Of A Call Girl is due
to air... sometime soon!
.Snow White
& The Seven Dwarfs - Still
Going Strong!
For those
that are still feeling a little
festive, don't forget that
Toyah's panto, Snow White
& The Seven Dwarfs at
the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield,
is still going strong. It runs
through until this Sunday (10th
January). Click below for further
details. See our news updates in
December for various reviews.
Toyah plays
two solo gigs in March and April
in Wolverhampton and Birmingham.
Please click below for further
details and ticket information.
Drunken Dragon
Promotions & XiStance Xposed
present Toyah at The Robin 2,
Bilston, Wolverhampton on the
27th March 2010, and The Asylum
Venue in B'ham on the 23rd April
2010. These will be two amazing
nights and tickets are selling
fast so get yours now. Visit
Drunken Dragon Promotions &
XiStance Xposed MySpace here, or their Facebook here.
Dreamscape's
Toyah news for November 2009 has
now been archived. Please click
below for all that happened in
the penultimate month of those,
now departed, Noughties! - What
an eventful decade it was in
Toyahland!!
An Official Toyah
eNews update was mailed out last
night; A special on The Humans
forthcoming live dates.
Toyah was
interviewed in 'Record
Collector', January 2010 issue.
Now that the issue is no longer
on sale in stores, here are a few
interesting extracts from the
article.
encores, so they
were created in a heightened
experience. Songs like Neon Womb,
Waiting, Ieya, Victims Of The
Riddle, even if I say so myself,
are absolute classics because
they were created with the
audience. They were very
shamanistic and our concerts used
to just accelerate out there to
the point where I used to look
out and think, 'God, we're like
Masai warriors dancing until
we're no longer aware of who we
are.'
To celebrate The
Humans first ever string of live
concert dates (anywhere in the
world outside of Estonia.....) we
have a prize of a sealed copy of
the debut album WE ARE THE HUMANS
limited edition CD packaging
version PLUS a copy of the very
rare 1-track radio promo CD of
the single THESE BOOTS ARE MADE
FOR WALKIN' featuring Robert
Fripp. 
With only three
weeks to go until The Humans
embark on their UK tour things
are gearing up... 
There's another
couple of opportunities to watch
last year's Psychic Therapy:
Toyah Willcox. The one hour
docu re-airs tonight on Bio - The
Biography Channel at 8pm and
again at 11pm.
• Happy
New Year to everyone.
Stay tuned to Dreamscape - Coming
Soon! Our annual Review Of The
Year, plus Top Ten Toyah 2009.
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