
"I've been completely stitched
up, this is amazing!"
Michael Aspel; "Toyah Ann Willcox, This Is Your Life."
"We have
friends from your home in Salisbury, former band
members, and most
importantly your current hairdresser."
"Most
people will recognise you like this, setting the style
for the eighties with
outrageous images as you topped
the charts."
"While you
carved your name as the scarlet woman of rock,
your husband did it his way
with a band called King Crimson.
He's been away on a six week
tour of Europe. Where should
he be tonight?"
Toyah; "He
told me he was in Germany."
Robert; "We first met at a charity lunch in 1983."
Michael Aspel;
"You marry on May 16 1986."
Tim Piggot
Smith; "Your committment has helped you to be so
successful in everything
you've undertaken."
Leslie Ash;
"My favourite Toyah story is when she was topping
the charts she swung from a
chandelier from the fourth floor
of a hotel."
Michael Aspel;
"You were born at home in Kings Heath, South
Birmingham on May 18 1958,
the youngest of three children
and always the rebel of the
family."
Toyah's dad, Berrick, and mum, Barbara.
Barbara; "I
found Toyah's name many years ago when I was 15
reading a book about a
ballerina called Toyah."
Toyah's Teacher
Karen Howle; "One of your favourite lessons was
art. I remember you helped
with the make up for our
production of Hansel and
Gretel."
Michael Aspel;"At
14, you audition for the Birmingham Old Rep
Theatre School and win a
place on weekend classes."
Toyah's brother, Kim, and sister, Nicola.
Kim;"Mum
always told us that Toyah was different."
Old friends Beena Jirage and Derek Goddard
Toyah; "We
used to go out every Friday, Saturday and Sunday
night."
Beena; "We used to love to pose, and dress up."
Derek; "She was the most original first."
Toyah; "Mum,
this is the man (Derek) who shaved the back of
my head, when I came home and you
were in tears."
Michael Aspel;
"You start a full time drama course at Birmingham,
and among other things are
Ian Lavender's dresser."
"In your
first year as a student you audition for the creator of
a BBC production. He'd been
searching for someone to star
in his musical, and from
hundreds of hopefuls he picked you."
"The TV
break was Glitter."
Toyah; "Eeeurgh, turn it off."
Michael Aspel;
"You win a part in Derek Jarman's 1977 celebration
of punk Britain, Jubilee.
You play a punkette pyromaniac
called Mad."
"You later
play Miranda in Jarman's version of The Tempest, and you
win a Best Newcomer Nomination at
the Evening Standard
Film Awards."
"You also appear with Katherine Hepburn in The Corn Is Green."
"Established
as an actress, you decide to make your name as a
singer. With a group of
friends you form a band and you win your
first record deal. In 1979
your debut single, Victims of the Riddle,
tops the independent charts
for almost a year."
"Within 18
months you break into mainstream music. Your album
Anthem goes platinum.
Your image is ideal for the video age."
Kevin Godley, "We were due to
do a video called Thunder In
The
Mountains, centred on Toyah as this mad warrior
priestess
riding a horse drawn chariot across the countryside."
Michael Aspel;
"You play a wrestler in the stage play, Trafford Tanzi."
"And you tour with Girlschool."
"Your a
team captain on the pop panel game, Roll With It, with
Noddy Holder of Slade."
Noddy; "Don't
get too drunk, cos you know what you're like
when you have a drink!"
Michael Aspel;
"Your romance with Robert blossoms when
together you write a song called Freedom."
Robert; "I fell in love with my wife when she sang Freedom."
Michael Aspel;"You
also star in the West End show, Cabaret,
with Wayne Sleep."
Wayne; "There
was a musician's dispute. The first time in the
history of the West End a
musical was performed without a
band in the pit. But Toyah
is such a trooper, she still went on
and got a standing ovation."
Ron Moody, "We first met in the
photocall , you were dressed
as
Peter Pan, hanging horizontally from a wire. You were a
right
little Peter. You gave a dynamic performance, and those
eyes,
those eyes!"
Tony Bika (Producer of Glitter),
"Toyah came to the singing
audition,
slammed down the music to Space Oddity, sang it
brilliantly,
and got the part."
Michael Aspel, "Toyah Willcox this, so far, is your life."
Toyah, "Excellent."
Broadcast on
BBC 1 TV UK on October 4 1996
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