An interesting aside are the replicas of guitars such as the one used by Eddie Van Halen, and the reproduction gold discs by Bruce Springsteen etc. 

The policy of the houseowners is to supply pre ‘dance’ disco music, originated from the 60’s 70’s 80’s and early 90’s. And along with this policy, Bacardi have sponsored ‘The Bacardi Music Tour’ which brings tribute bands from these years to the venues - bands such as D’ran D’ran, The Cheat Beatles, The Jamm, and By Jovi. 

Heavily advertised as ORIGINAL ARTIST was the appearance of Toyah "the lady herself appearing live on stage. Pop star of the 80’s with one of her most popular hits ‘It’s a Mystery’."  Maybe the advertising was a little tacky, but the prospect of 30 minutes of live Toyah had brought me the 140 miles from the South Coast. 

The stage was sparsely set. In fact there was just a mike stand and a smoke generator. Backdrop of black curtain. But the wonder of it all was that I could stand right against the stage, front and centre. It also made a useful seat while waiting the hour and a half for the show. The crowd gradually grew, mainly dancing, until at about 10:20pm the DJ suggested it would be a good time to move alongside the stage.  Soon the area was packed with both sexes, and just before 10:30 we caught a glimpse of a diminutive figure in the shadows stage right. A chant went up 'TOYAH! TOYAH! TOYAH!' 

The figure gave a little wave back, bringing a huge cheer.  It was then I realised that I was surrounded by fellow Toyah devotees, not simply by the local disco kings and queens. The smoke machine spluttered it’s foggy cloud and then seemed to retire for the evening. 

Universe 
Thunder 
Proud 
Mystery 
Free 
IEYA 

- so we knew what to expect! 

And finally, there was Toyah, smiling hugely and looking a little shy. The cheer was deafening and she must have felt our love for her leap across the few feet that seperated her from us.  The security guy had moved us back about a foot from the stage. The first thing Toyah did was to move the mike stand to the very front of the stage. She wanted to share the evening with us, to let us share it with her.  So typical of the caring Toyah we know so well. 

‘We’re going to do some old songs’ she said ‘and if you don’t know them then either you weren’t born or you missed a great time!’ 

The music was canned, but not Toyah. She was very, very live. Would she be wearing a wig in the old redhead style? No. Her thick golden hair spilled freefall to her elbows and her fringe is now looking very good.  She was dressed in a shiny golden brown top and an almost full length brown skirt which, being worn on the hips, left the Willcox belly button to keep a watch on us! 

She performed songs listed above with the care and respect they deserve, making witty quips between them. Each song was greeted with a huge roar of approval and almost word perfect accompaniment by us all. It was turning into a real party. A party Toyah was enjoying too. Here we stood with our lovely lady. Our own intimate version of The Rainbow or the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Was it really so long ago? My personal feeling is that time has done nothing to Toyah but add to her grace charm and beauty. 

But make no mistake. this was a hard working and professional Toyah doing what she does so well. And doesn’t she always? Hearing the old standards was a delight, and she seemed to love singing them, with maximum effort being displayed as well as her powerful and dynamic vocal range. During several of the numbers she really held onto some of the notes without any problem. She used all the old stage routines, flicking

We were introduced to ‘Ruby’ now in boys clothes - ‘We share underwear’ she said.  Ruby held up the singalong cards for ‘Free’ (which were definitely not needed by the way), and gave us all a good laugh. Nice to meet you Ruby. 

Several audience members had cameras, but such was the athleticism of Toyah that I wondered if any shots would show a clear view? How I wish now I had invested in the mini disk recorder I had seen weeks before. She sounded great. 

Eventually it was time for IEYA. Toyah insisted that the front row pogo or she would not sing it. Needless to say we did not need much encouragement, and had a really good thrash through this wonderful song. 

Far too soon (yes, the 30 minutes were up) it was time for goodnight.  Toyah shook hands with some of the front row - how can I ever wash again? And I mean shook hands. Not a brief fingertip to fingertip or ‘high five’. And then she was gone. How lucky we are to have shared the musical and performing skills of this lady we know simply by the one name ‘Toyah’ 

A footnote which may surprise you is that all of the above did not cost any of us a cent. Admission was free. 

I suggest you contact your nearest Chicago Rock Cafe and persuade them to book Toyah. 

www.chicago-rock-cafe.co.uk 

There’s probably one near you. What say we all meet up at the next concert? 

I’m off to Manchester in a couple of weeks time to enjoy Toyah in pantomime. I hope you’ve got your tickets. 
 

Paul Richards
Nov 2001