Dreamscape: A Toyah Willcox Fansite [www.toyah.net] : somewhere in the distance : archived Toyah news for the month of May 2001
Dreamscape: A Toyah Willcox
Fansite [www.toyah.net] : somewhere in the distance : archived
Toyah news for the month of May 2001
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Thanks to Claire for the info and picture.
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Complaining last year that she didn't see enough of her husband, Nashville-based Robert Fripp - 'You don't marry someone to be single', she said - Toyah Willcox now appears to subscribe to the notion that absence makes the heart grow fonder. 'We spend about 15 days a year together ', confessed the 43 year old former wild girl of punk, who wed Fripp 15 years ago near the 11 bedroom Dorset mansion thay all too infrequently share. 'It doesn't put a strain on the marriage. It's like we're still in the honeymoon stage.' As I revealed, Toyah, who stars in A Misummer Night's Dream at Stafford Castle next month, moved two years ago from their Wiltshire home, Reddish House, to their more discreet residence in Dorset after she felt vulnerable following the murder of her close friend Jill Dando. Former King Crimson guitarist Fripp has launched Bootlegtv.com, which makes live music avaiable on the internet. He told me: 'When we are together, we have what the Americans call quality time.' Thanks, once again, to Paul Lomas. |
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| 27 May : Bumper News Update : All This Week's Toyah News | |||||||||
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| 14 May : Karrie On Peter - "There Is Very Little Interest In Me As A Singer". | ||
| This excellent interview, first broadcast last
November, was repeated last night on BBC Radio Wales.
Toyah spoke to Peter Karrie about 'Living Out Loud' and
much more. The show began with' It's A Mystery', and Toyah explained how Safari Records discovered the song and how she subsequently grew to hate it. She recalled that breaking up the original Toyah band "broke her heart", and that she cared about the members deeply. She also spoke about how she doesn't like spiritualism and thinks the dead should be "left to move onto their next life". Peter played some of Toyah's favourite records through the interview: 'Life On Mars' by David Bowie, "it evoked oncoming freedom, transported me into a future where I would have the |
independence I craved, everything David Bowie
does affects me". 'Sleeping Satellite' by Tasmin
Archer, "the most perfectly written, beautifully
sung and produced song ever". '20th Century Boy' by
T Rex, "Marc Bolan was my first teen crush, my first
hearthrob". 'Ray Of Light' by Madonna, "I
really admire Madonna, the 'Ray Of Light' album is
miraculously good, and 'Music' is a sheer act of
genius". Asked if she would ever tour or record another album Toyah replied, "Under the right circumstances, but there is very little interest in me as a singer, that's to do with my age. The last time I toured I took care of everything, the finances, getting the band from A to B, and I'm not doing that again." |
 Peter recalled when Toyah made
an appearancece on his Welsh television show Unmasked,
and the poignant moment when she revealed how she and her
mother had recently for the first time said they loved
each other. Peter observed there were parallels between her and Bowie, "Yeah right, I wish" laughed Toyah. Other interesting revelations: Toyah's more conventional image these days is so she can have some sort of privacy. She thinks the music business is in a "frightening state", and she is nicknamed the pitbull. |
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| 10 May : Panto In Print - Aladdin (In)Sane!!! | ||
 Manchester
Evening News Toyah, and Aladdin, were featured in the Manchester Evening News on Monday 7 May in an article titled 'Punk Star Toyah to wow crowds - oh yes she will!' The original queen of punk is getting back onstage - as panto's Aladdin. And paying tribute to Stockport's restored Plaza Theatre TV actor and presenter Toyah Willcox said: "What has been been achieved at the Plaza is truly amazing. And I am certain that the show is going to be a resounding success." The 930 seat, 1930's art deco town centre theatre re-opened last Autumn after it was saved by campaigners determined to prevent the grade II listed building from becoming a giant pub or club. Toyah, who plays Aunt Boomerang on TV, stars in the Christmas show with television cop Mark Chatterton and Steven Cole, who played Brookside's troubled teenager Leo Johnson in the soap. Toyah's diverse and successful career has included hit records and prestige stage and screen roles. Mark starred in TV shows including Last Of The Summer Wine, Coronation Street and Children's Ward, as well as the BBC police drama Cops. Toyah's launch of the panto, to be staged at Christmas, started a weekend programme of events to celebrate the theatre's re-opening. She said: "It is marvellous to be part also of the celebrations at the Plaza." |
 Stockport
Express The Stockport Express also ran a
feature on May 9 on Toyah, Aladdin and the Plaza's
weekend of celebrations. This article was similar to the
Manchester Evening News, though they did use a few
different quotes from Toyah Toyah said: "I am
really looking forward to it. Panto is the only way to
spend Christmas for me. I think the Plaza is wonderful.
It's great that so many people have helped to restore
it.". Big thanks to Paul Lomas for providing both of these. |
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Toyah is in the latest edition of Viz magazine.
Nothing too exciting, just a joke about her lisp (that'll
be the three squillionth since records began then), and a
nice pic, unfortunately they have committed the sin of
mispelling Willcox! 
Another small Toyah article in
Monday's Daily Mail (again in the Nigel Dempster column). 
This great little 15
minute programme, from 1999, was on BBC2 this
morning. Toyah showed Peter Curran round the
garden of Reddish House, the home of Cecil Beaton
until his death in 1980, and Toyah and Robert's
for 12 years.
The final of the 39
(count 'em and weep) Beyond Medicine shows
was shown on the Discovery Health channel today,
looking at anorexia, and alzheimer's. This series
has covered dozens of topics, and if you'd like
to watch it again, you can. The entire series is
being repeated from Monday 4 June, being
broadcast three times every Monday and Friday, at
6am, 5.30pm & 8.30pm. Earlier shows also
continue to be broadcast each Sunday (four
times).
The 'one where Toyah got stung' was
finally shown on Channel 4 on Friday night, three
months after its original broadcast on E4. Dom
Jolly's moving about too much (even though he
wasn't) was upsetting the cameraman, so off he
went. Leaving Toyah to comment, "but you
weren't moving about" to Dom. This 'sketch'
didn't work as well as other celeb set ups as I
think Toyah was aware of who Dom Joly was. Oh
well, rubbish sketch, great show. 
Toyah made another of
her sporadic appearances on this show last Sunday
morning. Looking back on the week's top newspaper
stories, she found time to talk about Egyptian
pyramids, the vague connection between Lady
Godiva and Geri Halliwell, and John Prescott's
'punch up'.
So it's 'see you around'
to the old Dreamscape ( take a last look) and a
'how do you do' to the new one. I have finally
uploaded version two, (that's right the one
that's made you go yuck!!). 
Is there, as Toyah seems
to think, very little interest in her as a singer
anymore? If anyone needs an answer to the
question of whether Toyah's music is still
popular or not, then all they need to do is pay a
visit to www.ebay.com. All sorts of Toyah
memoribila is often up for auction there and more
often than not the items receive many bids, and
are eventually snapped up for large sums. Old
magazines, badges, videos, fan club stuff and
autographs are all popular. But it is Toyah's
music, mainly CD's but vinyl and tapes too, that
is proving most popular. 'Minx', 'Desire'
& 'Prostitute' seem to be the most
sought after on CD, and if you manage to acquire
the original CD release of 'Anthem' consider
yourself very lucky indeed. As more and more
Toyah fans get online the demand will surely
grow, and maybe will prove to Toyah that there is
still an audience that would love another album
to add to their collection.
The Toyah Birthday
Message Book is now closed. Thanks to everyone
who left a message. I have now printed them all
and will include them in the birthday card that
I'm sending to the Nuffield Theatre in
Southampton. I am hoping that it will arrive
there on either Wednesday or Thursday.
This is the David Bailey
Photo book, mentioned in last month's news, that
Toyah is featured in. It is called 'If We
Shadows' and is published by Thames & Hudson.
It is a collection of the photographs David took
through the 80's of celebrities, and the not so
famous too. Predictably Toyah is included in a
section called Where Are They Now?
Toyah is schedueled to
play her first live gig of the millenium. It will
be a live P.A., not with a full band., at Ruby's
Nightclub in Stoke On Trent. Toyah has played at
this gay club a number of times before and this
appearance is to celebrate Ruby's 30th Birthday.
The club has a website, on which they are
advertising Toyah's forthcoming night. It is 
Topics covered so far
this week include hair and how it relates to
health, and Light Therapy & Seasonal
Affective Disorder (SAD). Really just an excuse
to print another screen grab showing, yet again,
how fab Toyah has looked throughout this series.
Does anyone know
anything about this? It's Looking Back but
with a completely different (and much better)
cover. Not sure if it is on the same record label
but it definitely has the exact same track list
and running order as the original 'sleeve'. 
Among the topics covered
in this weeks Beyond Medicine were weight
training, and hypnotherapy. Beyond Medicine
is being repeated from the beginning again each
Sunday.
The all new Shadow
Newsletter is now available. Packed with oodles
of exclusive Toyah news that I'm not going to
repeat here. A great Toyah read! Those interested
in obtaining a copy of "Shadow: TW Info
Service Newsletter" please direct enquiries
to Ryan, Toyah's Shadow c/o RD Media. Email: 
Huge thanks to Paul
Richards for his review of The
Shagaround and allowing me to put it on
the website. Paul went to see the play at the
Nuffield Theatre on Saturday 28 April. Read his
great review