 Smash Hits : 18th March 1982 The Pictures - And there was a partying and a popping of flashbulbs down at the Daily Mirror/Radio One/Nationwide Rock And Pop Awards (as seen on TV). The place was sardined with celebs; the famous, the talented, the beautiful, Dave Lee Travis...Fizzy drinks flowed, cheese dip went down by the tubload, and Engraved Discs were pressed into many a deserving palm. Best Album - "Dare", Best Single - "Vienna", Most Oustanding Musical Personality - Adam, Best Female Vocalist - Toyah, Best Male Vocalist - Shakin' Stevens, and they kept on coming. Our cameras, meanwhile, took a penetrating peek at some of the familiar faces... (Pic caption reads:
Haze treats Kim and Toyah to an extract from her latest
single. Obviously a crowd pleaser.)
.............
Now Magazine - 2000 Toyah Willcox has landed a role in Emmerdale. The former punk begins filming her part in November and could be on screen by Christmas. Toyah will play a southern yuppie who decides to downshift from her high-flying London lifestyle and relocate to Yorkshire. It's her first big TV role and will re-establish her as a household name - especially once she starts her steamy affair with Jack Sugden. Scriptwriters plan for Toyah's character to waste no time in seducing Jack, played by Clive Hornby. Jack is still devastated after his wife Sarah cheated on him with their lodger Richie Carter and jumps at the chance of an extra-marital fling of his own. Toyah, 42, had pop success in the '80s with her singles It's A Mystery and I Wanna Be Free. She had a part in the film Quadrophenia and has had success on stage in Trafford Tanzi. Toyah has an
unconventional marriage to musician Robert Fripp. Despite
being married for 14 years, they live mostly apart and
see each other for just a few weeks each year. .............
The Sun - 1990 Flame haired pop star and actress Toyah
Willcox is to play a lady in red this Christmas. Toyah,
32, is to star as scheming aristocrat Miss Scarlet in a
seasonal special of the TV crime-busting series Cluedo.
The ex-punk follows in the footsteps of Tracey Ward. ..............
UK Tabloid - 1986 Best Of Friends...The Princess And The Punk The Princess and the punk rocker got on famously yesterday - chatting about all the things they don't have in common. The Princess Of Wales, wearing cream, and singer Toyah Willcox, all in black, sat next to each other at the annual Women Of The Year Luncheon. They talked about children - Toyah doesn't want any and Diana loves hers more than anything, fashion - Toyah patronises English Eccentrics and the Princess doesn't, and keep fit - Toyah does weight training, unlike Diana. Afterwards the 28 year old singer said: 'We had a wonderful time. I probably did more talking than I should have but the Princess was absolutely incredible, very chatty and nice.' Toyah, whose big studded belt was the only reminder of her punk style, said she had been very nervous but the Princess relaxed her. 'I wasn't expecting the person I met. She's a very good person. I know that is how she is portrayed in newspapers, but I genuinely think it is real. 'She is full of life, very kind and looked fabulous. But I don't think she is one of my fans. My music is too chaotic for her.' The 500 guests, who
included Neil Kinnock's wife Glenyis, the Beverley
Sisters and Virginia Wade, were marshalled into the event
at London's Savoy Hotel by Christine Akehurst, Britain's
only woman toastmaster. .............
Daily Mail - 13th January 1987 Life's A Cabaret For Ever-Changing Toyah Princess of punk Toyah Willcox made her debut last night thanks to her loyal fans. Many of them were in the audience to see the 28-year-old former rocker take her first nervous steps as a musical stage star in Cabaret opposite dancer Wayne Sleep. But her debut as showgirl Sally Bowles was fraught with difficulties. Outside, fans who had waited in the freezing temperatures outraged officials by ripping down posters of the show, while inside Miss Willcox was having her own problems. The suspenders, stockings and dress of her flimsy costume left the flustered singer battling with clothes straps during rehearsals. And, moments before she stepped out on stage, 4ft 11ins tall, Toyah revealed the secret sadness behind her biggest night, her husband guitarist Robert Fripp would not be in the audience. The musician with former Sixties group King Crimson, who married Toyah last May is touring Holland before travelling to Israel. 'I wish above anything else in the world that he could have been here tonight,' she explained. 'He's so supportive and I need him more than ever.' Toyah also revealed that she took over the role from actress Kelly Hunter despite being terrified at the prospect. 'I sat back and thought: "I can't really handle this"... but I simply decided that I would have to work at it.' The singer's new image does not mean she is leaving her rock life behind. A new album will be released next month which also has her husband playing on it. |
 Smash Hits 1st April 1982 If you haven't managed to secure tickets for Toyah's forthcoming tour, there's a flicker of light on the horizon. The 23 year old has just added an extra show at Sheffield City Hall on June 18th and two extras at London's Hammersmith Odeon on July 17 and 18. Tickets cost £5, £4.50 and £4. In addition to the tour she's recording a new album for release in June. On April 25 she appears on telly in a play called "Blue Marigolds" which kicks off a new teeth-chattering series of Tales Of The Unexpected. This girl deserves a holiday. ..............
Weekend Brunch Actress and singer Toyah Willcox didn't raise an orange eyebrow when she had to strip in front of Britain's greatest actor, Sir Laurence Olivier. But ask the flame haired former punk to step outside without her lipstick and she feels more naked. The 32 year old's collection of lipliners is so exclusive it's valued at £4,000 and on show at London's Theatre Museum in Covent Garden. "I can never go out without lipstick. It makes me feel more confident and sensual," says Toyah. Some of her older sticks have tremendous value - they were handed down from her mother. "Lipsticks made by Leichner or Max Factor 40 years ago were much waxier and thicker. You have to scrub hard to get them off. They haven't aged a bit and I still use them. "But my favourite colour now is a fiery orange because it goes with my hair." The actress, soon to play a scheming record executive in Channel Four's Midnight Breaks, has used more than 40 colours since stepping out as the princess of punk in the seventies. "I used to wear Biba purples, blues or greens then. I spent six years being laughed at but I didn't care." Now she's a firm believer in animal rights. "I go for Beauty Without Cruelty or Cosmetics To Go but never anything French," she says. You could say she's doing more than paying lip service to the animal world. .............
Toyah Goes Back To Rock School Rock idol Toyah Willcox, now a leading actress, was in Bradford casting her expert eyes over the cream of Britain's young bands. And she wasn't the only star in town yesterday. Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and Phil Oakey, of the Human League, were among the judges of the national final of the TSB Rock School competition established eight years ago to give talented school bands their first big break. .............
What has become of the incredibly talented TOYAH WILLCOX??? I haven't heard any new releases from her lately. Please tell me if she's going to release any more songs and I would be grateful if you could send me an address so I can write to her. If it's possible could you send me her home address? Thanks a million. (A Mad Toyah Fan) Toyah's been anything but inactive over the last year or so. Last summer she surprised a lot of people by marrying musician Robert Fripp at a secret ceremony in Devon. Since then she's been writing and recording and rehearsing for her role as Sally Bowles in the West End production of Cabaret. She's also been heard in a couple of BBC Radio 4 plays. But she hasn't given up music completely. We can expect a new single from her sometime in March and an album to follow sometime in April. ..............
Toyah Jaw Broken As Play Fight Backfires Actress Toyah Willcox was nursing a broken jaw last night after being head-butted when a stage punch-up went wrong. Tiny Toyah, 32, staggered back in agony as a fellow actress accidentally nutted her in the opening scene of Shakespeare's Taming Of The Shrew. But the 4ft 11ins former punk singer carried on for TWO HOURS with concussion, before a doctor wired her jaw. Pain She said: "It was very painful but it was an accident and I don't bear a grudge." A spokeswoman for York's theatre Royal said the stage scrap had been rehearsed many times. She said: "Things got out of synch and Toyah staggered back clutching her jaw. "She was very brave and wouldn't let the side down even though she was in great pain." Doctors have told Toyah to rest for a month before the Cambridge Touring Theatre Company play moves to London's West End. ............
UK Tabloid - 1986 Toyah Wedding Snub Sultry singer Toyah Willcox has married rock star Robert Fripp in secret - and upset her friends about keeping them in the dark. She invited only a few people to the wedding in the tiny Dorset village of Witchampton. Last night a friend said bitterly: "Quite a few people are upset at not being invited." Toyah, 28, the ex-queen of pop, wore a white calf-length dress and 39 year-old Fripp, founder of King Crimson, wore a dark suit. Bust-Up The couple, who wed on Friday, are planning to set up home in a £250,000 mansion at Cranborne, Dorset. Toyah originally planned to marry her burly minder Tom Taylor, 30. But in December she walked out of the £250,000 London home they shared. Taylor said later that she offered him £10,000 and a car to stay quiet about the bust-up. Fripp
said last night: "Toyah is the salt of the earth. I
must ask you to respect our privacy." |
 UK Tabloid - 1985 Rock singer and actress Toyah Willcox is to play Queen Boadicea in a new film. It will be the flame-haired former punk's fourth film role and she said yesterday: 'It is the most exciting thing I have ever been involved in. 'She's a character I greatly admire and it is a wonderful role for woman to play!' Boadicea, a first century ruler, killed herself after leading her people against the Romans in eastern England. 'She was a larger than
life character who will remain well known throughout the
ages,' said Toyah, 24 - who has appeared in Jubilee, The
Tempest and Murder - Ultimate Grounds For Divorce. ..............
Today - 14th July 1987 Toyah's £500,000 For Stately Home Queen Of Punk Turns Into A Lady Of The Manor Punk rock queen Toyah Willcox has joined high society - by splashing out at least half a million pounds on a second palatial home. She already has a studio flat in Chelsea and last year, on her 28th birthday, she treated herself to a Regency mansion in Dorset. Now she is set to move into Reddish House, the Queen Anne home of former royal photographer Sir Cecil Beaton. For more than 30 years, the redbrick house, set in six acres of landscaped grounds, was famous for its wild weekend parties, attended by Princess Margaret, Greta Garbo, Mick Jagger and other "beautiful people". But Toyah, 29, and her rock guitarist husband, Robert Fripp, say they plan to use it as a hideaway from the world of showbiz. The price of the Grade I listed house, in the village of Broad Chalke, Wiltshire, is a carefully guarded secret. But only prospective purchasers with £500,000 to spend were shown around. Lady Chichester, who
bought the house after the death of Beaton paid £255,000
for it. ..............
Radio Times - 1988 Great Briton Boadicea or Boudicca, freedom fighter or terrorist? To the Britons she was queen of the Iceni, dynamic leader of an oppressed people. To the Romans she was a barbarian and a threat to the state. Boring old history? Not the way Tony Robinson and Toyah Willcox tell it, combining epic poem and rock video technique with a soundtrack that goes from African rhythms through hip-hop to funk and back. Says Tony (who plays Baldrick to Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder) 'I got the idea for Boudicca (BBC1) while I was in The Gambia. There they tell stories with people instead of at them. There are drums and shouting. Everybody joins in. 'Aztec Camera's
drummer, Steve Sidelnyk, who recently did a Bros tour,
and Toyah's husband, guitarist Robert Fripp, put together
a rocky, rhythmical U2-style soundtrack. It's going to
look really exciting.' ............
UK Tabloid - 1987 One-Time High Priestess of Punk Toyah Willcox - who starred in the ill-fated Cabaret which closed earlier this year - bounces back to the West End stage this month playing a gambler's moll. Her new role in the classic American comedy Three Men And A Horse sees the former pop idol fall for a jingle writer. Toyah, a good friend of Prince Edward, is married to rock guitarist Robert Fripp. In the early 1980s her colourful aggressive style made her the talk of the pop world and the gossip columns. But she has since been
acclaimed for her acting in Trafford Tanzi and alongside
Lord Olivier in The Ebony Tower.
UK Tabloid - 1987 Toyah Slips In (And Out) Of Her New Role Princess of punk Toyah Willcox caused a sensation last night when she took over the starring role in the hit musical Cabaret...but not in the way she intended. She made an unscheduled performance that was a bit of a shocker - for she accidentally revealed all! Toyah, 28, who has taken over from actress Kelly Hunter, as Sally Bowles, was clearly suffering from first night nerves as she went through her first full dress rehearsal just hours before the debut performance. Her ill-fitting gown, suspenders and stockings did not help. Every few moments the tiny star had to pull her shoulder straps into place. But during one dance routine she could not stop herself spilling out of the top of the dress. Quickly she pulled herself together and continued, hiding her embarrassment. Outside the Strand Theatre, too, it turned out to be an outrageous event - for dozens of loyal Toyah fans ripped down posters as souvenirs, upsetting theatre officials. Moments before stepping
out on stage on the biggest night of her life, Toyah
revealed a secret grief - her husband of eight months,
rock guitarist Robert Fripp, could not be there to see
her. He is touring Holland and won't be back for a month.
"I wish above everything else he was here tonight,"
she said, "We miss each other terribly. We're on the
phone at least five times a day." |
UK
Tabloid - 1989 
UK
Tabloid - 1988 
No.1
Magazine - 1987 
The
Sun - 1990 
