A Free Spirit - Marital home is just for one

After sharing her jungle hammock with creepy-crawlies in I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!, singer Toyah is enjoying the comfort of her luxury home. The 80s pop guru isn't sharing her bed with anyone though, because her husband of 16 years lives on the other side of the world.

It may sound like a bizarre arrangement but it certainly works for former wild child Toyah, 44, and her hubby, King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp, 56.  The pair have only ever shared a house for a few months - and he is frequently away on tour or in Seattle, where he runs an internet company.

Although their marriage is conducted mainly through telephone calls, it was love at first sight when they met. Toyah, who had hits such as It's A Mystery and I Want To Be Free, agreed to marry only a week after they met.

"Most of it has been a honeymon because we see so little of each other," she says. "It's an unusual situation but we like our own company. Last year he was actually home for three months, but we ended up living in different houses."

Toyah is busy putting the final touches to her autobiography Living Out Loud, which will be in the shops in September.

NB: 'Living Out Loud' was actually in the shops in September 2000, but is still available!

They list the new reissues of 'Ophelia's Shadow', 'Prostitute', plus 'Phoenix', 'The Changeling', 'Anthem', the new album 'Velvet Lined Shell', 'Proud, Loud & Heard - The Best Of Toyah', and 'Dreamchild'.

Each album has short, 30 seconds approx, preview clips to listen to. If you haven't heard the new songs on 'Velvet Lined Shell' and would like a "try-before-you-buy" sneak-preview of them then leap on over.

You'll need either Real Player or Windows Media Plyer to listen.

Hopefully some (positive and glowing) reviews will apear soon, but in the meantime I have been doing my little bit by submitting my review of it to various music websites over the holiday weekend!

I sent my humble opinion to 'Our Music', 'UK Mix', 'Spare Change' magazine, 'Get Ready To Rock', 'Sound Cult', 'Sweet Cherrie', 'Freak Scene', and 'Ear Medicine'.

Let's hope a few of them print the review, 'Our Music' already has, even if it only encourages a couple of people to buy the CD.

Every little helps!!

Toyah, swimmer Sharon Davies, Carol Decker of T'Pau, and three others appeared naked except for a painted-on bikini. Toyah looks amazing, much better than Rachel Hunter I'd say.

BRAVE NUDE WORLD... or how we persuaded six celebrities to copy Rachel Hunter's body paintin pose

TOYAH WILLCOX, 45, is appearing on stage in London in Calamity Jane and was a contestant on I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! She lives in the Midlands with her husband, Robert Fripp, guitarist with King Crimson. Toyah is 5ft 1in, weighs 8st 3lb and is a size 8 to 10.

Obviously, I had my face painted in the Eighties, but I've never had my whole body painted, and I was rather nervous about the experience.

Although I think I'm in pretty good shape for a 45-year-old, I was a bit worried about how my breasts might look. I haven't had any cosmetic surgery on them, but I would like to have breast reduction because I think as you get older, clothes look better if your breasts aren't too huge.

I'm quite careful about my diet. becuse I'm so small, I never eat more than 1,500 calories a day, and I usually don't eat dairy or wheat products, but I do eat plenty of fruit.

I'm doing eight shows a week of Calamity Jane, so I need to keep my energy levels up. I drink about three litres of water a day, eat plenty of carbohydrates, and, usually, a scone before I go onstage.

I lost weight while I was in the jungle for I'm A Celebrity ... and I'm losing weight doing Calamity Jane because it is an inredibly energetic show - I even have to change my costume halfway through because it's so damp with perspiration.

When I'm not performing, I either walk ten miles a day, or do two hours of aerobics or go to the gym.

I've always loved being fit and healthy. I don't drink and take care of my weight. In fact, I weigh exactly the same as I did in the Eighties.

Thanks to Paul Cable & Michael Bartrum at the Dreamscape Forum.

• Terry Wogan, commentating on last night's Eurovision Song Contest (UK came a hilarious last, with nil points) said he thought that the woman fronting the Slovenian entry "bore more than a passing resemblance to Toyah Willcox, recent star of I'm A Celebrity ... I Can't Decide If It's Stork Or Butter!" - Can't say I agree.

• IAC Newsybit 1: Wayne Sleep guesting on RI:SE on Friday morning mentioned that he and Toyah appeared in Cabaret together. Sue Perkins (of Mel & Sue) asked him about her, and said she really liked Toyah and thought she was great.

• IAC Newsybit 2: Phil Tufnell, guesting on The Jonathan Ross Show on Friday night was asked about Toyah. Phil said Toyah was cool and very into her "spiritual thing", Jonathan replied "but obviously not her make-up bag!!"

Toyah did appear, along with the other nine jungle mates, looking lovely and made sure John Fashanu knew exactly how she felt about his "not exactly Britt Eckland" comment - tee hee!

The final total raised for charity was announced on the reunion show as £1,073,102. Fantastic amount.

Read what Toyah said, where her share of the money will be going, and more screen captures, in Dreamscape's IAC ... GMOOH! section (click on Toyah).

I've heard that some people are still having trouble finding the CDs in shops, and even ordering them for immediate delivery online. Here's a rough guide to what I've been able to find out:

Voiceprint.co.uk are sending out all three immediately, they are the official distributors, Amazon.co.uk keep altering their listings, delivery varies from 'dipatched in 24 hours' to 'available in 4-6 weeks'! Play.com have 'Prostitute' available for immediate dispatch, 'Ophelia's Shadow' for next week and 'waiting for delivery of stock' for 'Velvet Lined Shell'.

HMV don't seem to be stocking any of the CDs yet (in their Glasgow/Braehead stores anyway) and don't have them listed at their webstore either. CD Zone have 'VLS' available for immediate delivery, Woolworths 'available in 7-14 days, likewise with Virginmegastore.com. It is a positive sign that many online stores have the CDs listed and the covers displayed beside the listings.

Not much help I know, hope everyone manages to get their CDs soon. They are too good to miss out on. The new songs are fantastic and the artwork (on all CDs, but particularly 'OS') is worth paying for alone.

Toyah is in Sheffield with Calamity Jane, so maybe she won't be at the reunion. I think this wll be going out live on ITV1 so pehaps they will do a link up with The Lyceum in Sheffield? - unlikely I know. Or maybe Toyah's Calamity Jane understudy will be used for the first time?, it would be a shame if Toyah didn't appear with all the other celebrities.

I'm A Celebrity ... Reunion : ITV1 - Tonight : 9.00pm

• Toyah is now back treading the boards as Calamity Jane. This week in Sheffield at The Lyceum, next week in Bristol at The Hippodrome, and the following week in Blackpool at the Opera House. 

Then it will be straight to London's West End for a three month run at the Shaftesbury Theatre, including a Toyah fan preview (see tw.com for more details about this).

Click the pic to visit Dreamscape's Calamity Jane secton: Pictures, reviews, interviews, tour dates, cast & much more...

TOYAH WILLCOX: Learning Curve

Actress, singer and TV presenter TOYAH WILLCOX, 44, was recently seen in I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! and is the voice that introduces the Teletubbies. She lives with her husband Robert Fripp in Worcester. She tells Yvonne Swann...

What I wish I'd known at 21

'In my 20s, as soon as a big cheque came in, I'd keep spending until that money was gone. Such behaviour fills me with horror today. Now, 40 per cent of my earnings goes to a tax account, 30 per cent is invested, 20 per cent goes into pensions and I live on 10 per cent. I feel much more secure.

'I wish I'd had more boyfriends when I was younger. I didn't live the rock 'n' roll lifestyle at all. I think relationships help you deal with your negative side - I was always very possessive and jealous. I wish I'd learned earlier that relationships are not a form of entrapment.

'No matter how successful you are, life is not worth living if you don't have great friends. I value the art of conversation now in a way I never used to. When I was in my 20s, I was quite narrow-minded. Now, I can't get enough of other people's opinions.

'I'm not as reactionary as I used to be. When I was 21, I was very defensive, and would take things personally. That was because I lacked confidence. Now, I have the ability to ignore things that would previously have wound me up. I have also learned that criticism can be valuable it it is constructive. It allows you to move on and break away from your old self.

'I am still a very contradictory person. I love having a beautiful home and garden, but I hate being stuck there for long. I've learned that I need to travel and I need to perform constantly, and then I can go home for a short while and enjoy it.

'I live very near my parents, and my husband and I see a lot of them. But it's taken a long time to make them understand that, even though we need complete freedom, we still love them.

'I was a yo-yo dieter for years, but I have found that the simplest way to keep fit is to exercise. I've given up alcohol, tea and coffee, I avoide dairy foods, eat fewer carbohydrates and never eat late at night, but best of all is a fast walk, aerobics, or the kind of wild workout I get on stage.

'As you get older you let go of your biggest dreams. I've let go of an awful lot. I always wanted to be a Hollywood film star and sing in stadiums in America. I've done neither. I've learned to be happy with what I've got and to really honour and respoect it. And what I've got is fabulous. I have my parents, a wonderful husband and I work. What could be better?'

Some of the Sunday newspapers, and a few magazines, have mentioned this, including the 'Sunday Mirror' magazine and the 'Sunday Express' magazine.

Ananova have acknowledged Toyah's birthday too:

Toyah Willcox celebrates: Today's celebrity birthdays include; Pope John Paul II, 83; Actress Miriam Margolyes, 62; Former footballer Nobby Stiles, 61; Rock keyboard player Rick Wakeman, 54; Football manager Jimmy Case, 49; Actor Chow Yun-Fat, 48; Singer and actress Toyah Willcox, 45; Cyclist Sean Yates, 43; Actress Holly Aird, 34; Footballer Dennis Bergkamp, 34; Footballer Danny Mills, 26.

It's their wedding anniversary today. 17 years ago, this very day, they tied the knot in Witchampton, Dorset. Dreamscape wishes them a very happy day.

"Robert insisted that their wedding be kept a secret. 'I wore a disgusting pink Little Bo-Peep ballgown because it was the only thing I could buy that didn't look like a wedding dress. Unfortunately, a journalist spotted police guards outside the church. When we came out, the photographers were waiting for us. Robert ran away and left me standing there alone. I posed for photographs happily. I understood that it was all part of the fame package.'"

Toyah, speaking in January 2003.

Actress and singer Toyah Willcox can't do without her daily chocolate fix
"Normally I'm a really careful eater, and particularly since I've been performing in Calamity Jane , I've had to watch what I eat. I can't eat right before I go onstage and I try to avoid meat and dairy. I've also discovered mangoes make my joints ache and so do too many lemons. Robert and I [husband, Robert Fripp] eat lots of salads and raw food and I take cod liver oil, vitamin E and a supplement called ReviFace for my skin every day. We grow our own tomatoes at our home in the country and I do a sun-dried version in the Aga. 

My food diary here reflects the week I spent almost continually in my car driving to London for meetings about I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here . I ate a lot of chocolate, but I am a chocoholic - two bars a day, preferably Cadbury's milk chocolate. My ambition is to sing the Cadbury's Flake jingle. 

I'm was very nervous at the prospect of having to eat grubs on I'm a Celebrity , because I didn't think I could do it without retching, and I hate the idea of killing anything, but I like the rice and beans." 

· Toyah Willcox's new album, Velvet Lined Shell is out now on Vertical Species VSR001. I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, ITV 

Monday 
Breakfast Weetabix, soya milk. 
Lunch In car all day, so cheese and pickle sandwich from garage, lots of different Cadbury's chocolate, Quavers, Diet Coke. 
Dinner Avocado and prawns, mushroom soup and bread roll, bread and butter pudding. 

Tuesday
Breakfast Weetabix and soya milk. 
Lunch At home, so a healthier regime. Roast chicken without the skin, apple, water. 
Tea Houmus, cheese crackers, Cadbury's creme egg, Diet Coke. 
Dinner Roast chicken, houmus, chocolate. 

Wednesday 
Breakfast Weetabix and soya milk. 
Lunch In the car again, going to London for meetings, so ate Cadbury's chocolate, a tuna and sweetcorn sandwich, Diet Coke. 
Dinner Salad with egg, beetroot, chicken and Ryvita. Marshmallows and Liquorice Allsorts. 

Thursday 
Breakfast Filming all day so kicked off with a mandarin, decaffeinated green tea, Weetabix and soya milk. 
Lunch Packet of Mini Cheddars, four Black Magic chocolates, three marshmallow biscuits, Time Out biscuit. 
Dinner Grapes, vegetable chilli, Cadbury's Creme Egg. 

Friday 
Breakfast Mandarin, grapes, Weetabix and soya milk. 
Lunch Custard slice, Cheesy Wotsits, yoghurt. 
Dinner Salad Niçoise, baked potato, Cadbury's Creme Egg, Caramel Snack-a- Jacks. 

Saturday
Breakfast Grapes, Weetabix and soya milk. 
Lunch Salad of olives, my sun-dried tomatoes in the Aga, beetroot, sweetcorn, yoghurt and cottage cheese. 
Dinner Scampi, peas, Diet Coke, Cadbury's Creme Egg. 

Sunday
Breakfast Decaffeinated green tea, Weetabix and soya milk. 
Lunch Roast tofu, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, beetroot, two caramel Snack-a-Jacks. 
Dinner Salad of olives, sun-dried tomatoes, beetroot, rocket, lamb's lettuce. Large orange, small apple, ice cream and chocolate. 

It's food for the fraught
Throw out the HRT and eat your way through menopause misery.

Toyah Willcox, Joan Collins and Corontion Street's Su Nichols all believe changing their diets has helped them through the hot flushes and night sweats that come with the change of life.

I'm A Celebrity ... star Toyah, 44, says: "By getting rid of certain things in my diet my body has changed shape and I have much more energy.

"I try to eat small meals throughout the day. I carry rice cakes to dip in Marmite, while lunch usually consists of spinach soup - to get my greens - and granary bread. I drink soya milk because it lowers cholesterol and balances hormone levels."

What a fortnight it was; hunger, dancing, treasure hunts, wading in a bog pit, singing, revelations, mutiny, animal liberation, washing-up, no make-up (interesting factoid: Toyah appeared to be the only female junglist to not wear ANY slap), Wayne Sleep's arse, and much, much more.

And to top it all Toyah helped to raise thousands of pounds for charity in the process.

Tomorrow night see the live final. I think all ten will be back at the camp to see Phil Tufnell being crowned "King Of The Jungle 2003" (well, it does look highly likely that it will be him). There is also the London reunion show on ITV1 on 21st May to look forward to.

Interesting to note that there seems to be whisperings about "conspiracy theories" and the way the show has been edited, with certain people being featured in the main ITV1 show far more than others. Have the producers manipulated this to ensure the winner is who they wanted? Have some of the celebrities had a raw deal? Is Linda Barker related to the producer? Who knows, or cares?

There's not a wrinkle to be seen anywhere on Toyah Willcox's face, and the singer and actress, 45, has worked hard to keep her complexion youthful

Even the experience of being thrown into the Australian rainforest for ITV1's I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! wasn't going to play havoc with the high priestess of punk's strict beauty regime. Before she was helicoptered deep into the jungle for the show, we caught up with Toyah - the celebrity heading Woman's Own's search for the real fce of ReviFace, the UK's leading anti-ageing skin supplement - to discover her top beauty survival tips for looking and feeling good in the world.

FACE FACTS 'At my age foundation just cakes on the skin and makes your wrinkles show up more, so  Idon't wear any foundation these days. I use a refelctive moisturiser instead.'

SMOKING 'I'm very anti-smoking, and I don't go anywhere where people are allowed to smoke.'

DRINK UP 'I avoid alcohol at all costs. Alcohol is so calorific, and I gave it up when I began trying to deal with my weight.'

SUPPLEMENT YOUR DIET 'I take cod liver oil, vitamin E and chromium supplements to help me stay physically fit. Calcium also protects me against osteoporosis.'

FOOD FOR THOUGHT 'I get ravenously hungry but I never eat after 7pm, and when I want something sweet I chew on sugar-free gum. I also have no caffeine and virtually no meat in my diet. I'm very diet-concious and love drinking fresh carrot juice.'

UP FOR IT 'I do 200 press-ups a day and 600 sit-ups. I love physicality. It only aids your health but it makes you feel much brighter mentally.'

LOOK TO THE FUTURE 'I take ReviFace skincare supplements. My energy levels are at an all-time high since I started taking them. They also help if you strugle with PMT, as I have done in the past.'

HAIR WE GO 'I cut my hair myself and use hot-oil treatments at least once a week to keep it looking good.'

MAKE TIME FOR YURSELF 'If your life is terribly stressful, it's important to take time to chill out for a little while each day.'

FEEL GOOD 'For women especially, life really begins at 40. By that time, we've got all those years' experience, so we should feel good about ourselves.'

TOYAH - VELVET LINED SHELL
(Vertical Species - released 6/5/03)

Fans of Toyah's will already know three of the six songs presented on this mini-album from Toyah's 2002 limited-edition 'Little Tears Of Love' ep, but it's good to see them finally get a more public airing alongside some long awaited new material.

Accompanied by a press release that promises the influences of artists as diverse as Marilyn Manson, Elbow, Mogwai and Nick Cave it is with some trepidation that I first listen to 'Velvet Lined Shell' and fortunately fears are unfounded - those artists may have been influences on Toyah, but the sound sidesteps them and is very much a continuation of Toyah's past rock style.

Opening track 'Every Scar Has A Silver Lining' is a bombastic rock track based around a simple guitar riff, and overlaid by Toyah's distinctive vocal although her voice has deepened since her heady days of pop stardom, is less aerobic in range and has just an edge of the awkwardness of someone trying a little bit too hard to please. No such criticism for 'Velvet Lined Shell' however; the title track fares much better with a slow and dignified vocal that make the atmosphere far more dangerous and prickly than all the rock energy and attitude of the opener. 'Little Tears Of Love' continues in this vein, vocals breathy and slightly distorted over a staccato guitar backing. 'You're A Miracle' and 'Mother' are the closest tracks to the Toyah-sound of the eighties; 'You're A Miracle' finds Toyah upbeat and in fine voice whereas 'Mother' is a surprisingly fast song that manages to sound slow and passionate. 'Troublesome Thing' rounds off the set with some ponderous and slighly cliched nu-metal guitar riffs saved by a Kate Bush vocal and a strong Toyah chorus.

An interesting addition to the Toyah catalogue, 'Velvet Lined Shell' nonetheless manages to sound like a work in progress - but given time to live and breathe, and with decent production rather than the heavy handed and muddied sound achieved here they could be the start of a very exciting new musical chapter for Toyah.

Also this week @ RememberTheEighties: TOYAH, currently filming 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here' in Australia, will be opening in the musical 'Calamity Jane' at London's Shaftsbury Theatre from June 12th in a run that will see her play the lead role until the end of September. Toyah's new mini album 'Velvet Lined Shell' is released on May 6th.

'Velvet Lined Shell' (catalogue number VSR001) is released tomorrow on Toyah's own, newly formed, record label, Vertical Species. The CD artwork is dark and dramatic, similar to the actual music. Toyah has cited Mogwai, PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Marilyn Manson and Elbow (among others) as her influences while recording these new songs.

"I know that people will appreciate the darker direction I am taking," said Toyah recently. "Hopefully it will appeal to those who still like their music to have little teeth."

Tracklist for the album is: 

1. Every Scar Has A Silver Lining 
2. Velvet Lined Shell 
3. Little Tears Of Love 
4. You're A Miracle 
5. Mother 
6. Troublesome Thing 

A Huge Thanks to Marcus Reddemann for all of the scans.

The CD tracklist is exactly as the original and comes with full lyrics and Toyah commentary, in text form, included in the booklet. 'Ophelia's Shadow' (catalogue number VSR002CD) is released on 26th May on Toyah's, newly formed, own record label, Vertical Species. The release also boasts a picture CD.

1. Ophelia's Shadow, 2. The Shaman Says, 3. Brilliant Day, 4. Prospect, 5. Turning Tide, 6. Take What You Will, 7. Ghost Light, 8. The Woman Who Had An Affair With Herself, 9. Homeward, 10. Lords Of The Never Known.

In my humble opinion the redesigned artwork is far superior to the original 'Ophelia' album.

And the reissued 'Prostitute' artwork.

Again, the CD tracklist is identical to the original, though there are no lyrics included with this. There is the three original promo pictures of Toyah from this era, and the text commentary, about the album, from Toyah. 'Prostitute' (catalogue number VSR003CD) will be available to buy on Monday 19th May 2003, and is also a picture CD.

1. Hello, 2. Prostitute, 3. Wife, 4. The Show, 5. Dream House, 6. Homecraft, 7. Obsession, 8. Let The Power Bleed, 9. Restless, 10. Falling To Earth, 11. Jazz Singers In The Trees, 12. Vale Of Evesham, 13. Ghosts In The Universe.

A Huge Thanks to Marcus Reddemann.

...what single person links Toyah and Leonard Nimoy, and what Queen Victoria's Toyah Willcox number is...?

If yes, then you'll love the latest 'Tellurian Online' update. 

On the day we arrive at her west London maisonette, Toyah Willcox is preparing to fly off to Australia for I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! She is reflecting on having to battle her way through jungle life "with more SAS-style action promised this time round" in the company of Wayne Sleep, Danniella Westbrook and other fellow celebrities. Why do it? "It suits my exhibitionist nature," she states, refreshingly. 

The little flat gives further evidence of Toyah's exhibitionist nature. Gold discs, awards, album cover artworks and myriad Toyah! signatures cover the walls, while screenprints of her face rest on surfaces and her autobiography is prominently displayed on a shelf. Elsewhere there are crosses, seashells, and books on her heroine, Dora Maar, the lover and muse of Picasso whose own considerable artistic talent was submerged by the ego of her more famous companion. 

Toyah is using her time in the Australian outback to take a break from her lead role in a production of Calamity Jane, which comes to the West End soon after she returns. It was between rehearsals of the production that she made an album, Velvet Lined Shell, which is far heavier than what you might expect from a former presenter of The Heaven and Earth Show. 

"We're all into heavy music," says Toyah as she brings us tea and Hobnobs. "I love Nick Cave and PJ Harvey - and if anyone's inspired this album, it's her. We were rehearsing Calamity in Northampton from 10 until 6, and then I drove to Birmingham and worked through the night on the album. I'm spurred on by lack of time and needing to be somewhere else, so we recorded the tracks when we were hungry, tired, and wanted to do them as quickly as possible. It reminded me of my early touring days, when you would forget to eat, forget to sleep, spend all your money on alcohol and then do a gig." 

The rock'n'roll life goes hand in hand with hanging around for hours in smoky dressing rooms, but these days Toyah has done away with that, and her rock career must be fitted in around other commitments. One of the songs, all of which were written in the London flat, is Mother, a dark, lush mood piece that makes Toyah sound like a slightly menacing sexual predator. "I said to my musical partner, 'My problem is that I'm 44 and I like 20 year-old blokes.' He told me to write about it. But everyone I've played it to thinks it's about paedophilia. The problem is that people expect controversy with me, and they haven't got it really." 

Much of Toyah's musical choices are fashioned around having a suitable soundtrack for her regular aerobics workouts, and she finds that Marilyn Manson fits the bill perfectly. "He's a good one for aerobics, and a good one for kicking arse," she says. "We're big friends with a group called Tool who have the same ethic: breaking all the American taboos in a smart way. I think Marilyn Manson has a better take on America than Michael Moore and I don't think he's appreciated for his intellect. There's no range in his voice so I don't know where he can go, but as a performer he's so sexy." 

PJ Harvey's last album, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, was the biggest guide for Toyah's own record. "She picks the right keys for her voice; she never goes beyond it into someone else's territory and that's very clever," she says. "I know that I'll try anything and that's my downfall, but she knows her territory and she claims it." 

Then there is Roxy Music, whose first three albums had a camp sense of humour that was lost in their later recordings. This may well have had something to do with the departure of Brian Eno, a long-time musical collaborator of Toyah's husband, Robert Fripp, and a good friend. 

"He's a really nice, kind gentleman who cycles round Notting Hill and whose main creative endeavours only ever go on inside his head," she says of the man who once combined a peacock feather collar, a bald pate and foot-long side tresses to remarkable visual effect. "My own teenage style was modelled on Barbara Hulanicki's Biba look, which was based around smart 1930s chic. Roxy Music crystallised that look and made it high fashion. You felt that they were living the dream." 

Toyah is hardly the first pop star to cite Bowie as an influence, but she is unusual in holding up his last album, Heathen, as his best. "It sounds like the last gasp of a dying man, and I mean that in a romantic way," she says. "Bowie has based his life around being youthful, beautiful and sexually attractive. He has understood the transience of that, for the first time, on this album. It is a moment of spiritual recognition and he has done it beautifully." 

Bowie asked Fripp to play on Heathen, having worked with him before on his albums Heroes and Scary Monsters. Four years ago, Fripp was working as musician-in-residence at the World Trade Centre and met Bowie there to discuss plans for his proposed album. To Toyah's great disappointment, he never did. "Bowie went to meet up with Robert a few years ago, and then we didn't hear anything apart from getting an email at Christmas," says Toyah. "But I think you can hear Robert's influence on Heathen. It has an organic feel, like the songs were written 12 hours before they were recorded. He's gone back to doing what he does best, and I have a feeling that he won't manage to do it again." 

Huw worked for many magazines, including 'Flexi Pop, which this article first appeared in over 20 years ago.

"What did Toyah do before she set off to the jungle? We reveal the shocking truth about her days as a Bunny Girl!!!"

Click to go read the full article.

Toyah was interviewed on the stage of the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, on the set of Calamity Jane, which played at the theatre in February of this year.

She chatted about her early life and childhood: "I was a bit of a wreck!", her mum: "I've known my mother for 44 years, I look after her now, but I don't really know her", and her dad: "My greatest spiritual lessons have come from my father. He's a great friend and a soul brother".

Toyah also spoke about what drives her: "Anger! I'm the most angry person I know. I'm lucky, though, I can release my anger eight times-a-week onstage", how she got ahead: "I've lived my life through bluff. I'm the greatest bluff merchant. When I want something I do lie to get it, but most actors do".

On the inevitable passage of time, Toyah mused: "I love growing older. I think it's magnificent. Problems have no weight, they are opportunities. I don't freak out and scream my head off anymore, like I used to. I don't take any notice of what people think of me either".

Toyah also said: "I've always felt that music is the key to all knowledge, all life".

And finally Toyah revealed what she would take with her to a desert island: "One David Bowie album, a lot of chocolate, a lot of diet coke, and my husband could visit at weekends!".

Click the picture for a page of screen captures from this interview.

Many thanks to Andi Westhorpe for this.

TOP TABLES: Singer Toyah Willcox's five favourite restaurants

Pasha, 1 Gloucester Road SW7, Tel: 020 7589 7969. Tube: Gloucester Road
My favourite place. I eat there weekly, even if I'm on tour. It's homely and has the best vegetarian menu I know, with roasted pumpkins, figs and really exotic puddings.

The Bollo House, 13 Bollo Lane W4, Tel: 020 8994 6037. Tube: Chiswick Park
My local: a trendy gastropub. They do things like onion or Stilton soup, venison, fish: and chips like quartered potatoes. But I go for the ambience.

Nan King, 332 King Street W6, Tel: 020 8748 7604. Tube: Ravenscourt Park
More expensive than most Chinese restaurants as it's very media, but you can still sit in all night and they won't kick you out. They do my favourite Chinese dessert, which is red bean pancakes - normally you can only find them in Chinatown.

Le Shop, 329 King's Road SW3, Tel: 020 7352 3891. Tube: Sloane Square
A creperie with a cult following, it's cheap and cheerful. The staff are unemployed actors, a;lways trying to sel you their latest idea. But the food is fantastic and crepes range from tuna and mozzarella, to baked beans and sour cream. My favourite is cream cheese and ginger. Yum.

Jasons Restaurant, Bloomfield Road W9, Tel: 020 7286 3428. Tube: Warwick Avenue
A lovely fish restaurant by the canal offering anything from plaice and cod to shark. It's a bit showbizzy, but as a singer the punters don't recognise you.

Many thanks to Michael Cooney for this.

West End Divas - You'll see many famous faces on the London stage. And from the moment a leading lady - loaded with star quality - makes her entrance, you simply know that you won't be able to steal your eyes away from her for a second...

Toyah Willcox - Toyah came to the public's attention as a singer with hits such as It's a Mystery and I Wanna be Free. She now brings Calamity Jane, the role made famous by Doris Day, to the West End for the first time, after a successful regional tour. Toyah, who has been an entertainer for 25 years, also starred in the film Quadrophenia and the Derek Jarman pictures Jubilee and The Tempest, early in her career. She releases her new album Velvet Lined Shell in May.

See her LIVE in Calamity Jane at the Shaftesbury Theatre from June onwards

John Mills stars as the eponymous Professor in 1979's Quatermass, the fourth, final and best of the celebrated television science fiction serials. The Professor's early adventures were 1950's TV productions, all made into cult Hammer films, including the excellent Quatermass and the Pit (1967). Here Quatermass, now an elderly scientist searching for his missing grand-daughter, finds himself facing a new alien nightmare in a convincingly bleak near-future Britain of urban decay, social collapse and unchecked violence. 

On the DVD: Quatermass is presented on three DVDs with two 50-minute episodes and perfunctory production notes on each of the first two discs. The 4:3 picture is good for a 1970's TV series, though there is some minor print damage. Sound is adequate two-channel mono. Disc 3 offers the 101-minute international theatrical version, called The Quatermass Conclusion. This version contains some slightly stronger, 15-rated material, and different credits. The disc also features an oddly presented but interesting 18-minute interview with Nigel Kneale which is centred on the original three Quatermass BBC serials. A 16-page booklet is informative and the packaging is among the most attractive to grace a DVD set thus far. --Gary S Dalkin 

Thanks to Colin Dew-Parry for the info.

Toyah has thus far managed to avoid being nominated for a "Bush Tucker Trial", though she was almost up for the 'Ladder Of Doom' on Wednesday. I actually think Toyah will benefit from doing one of these and will come into her own when faced with the challenge. She has been a little in the background over the past few days, and a tad subdued, despite being 'Leader for the day' on Wednesday.

William's 'Brave New World' fansite has the opening credits to IACGMOOH! and a few Toyah comments for view. Hop on over and take a look by clicking the picture.

And, once again, GOOD LUCK TOYAH!

Following a series of sell-out dates on tour during 2002/3, the stage adaptation of the film musical Calamity Jane is whip cracking its way into the West End.

The show stars Toyah Willcox as Calamity Jane and it will open at the Shaftesbury Theatre on June 12, running for a limited season to September 20.

Calamity Jane is an action-packed, rip-roaring roller coaster of a show with one of the most witty and memorable musical scores. The songs include such favourites as The Deadwood Stage, Windy City, The Black Hills of Dakota and Secret Love, which won an Oscar for Best Original Song.

Deadwood, Dakota Territory, is a typical Wild West town, where men are cowboys and women are clean living, wholesome gals.

That is except for Indian scout Calamity Jane, who is as hard riding, gun toting and boastful as any man on the prairie.

Tough-talking Calamity puts her reputation on the line when she promises to bring a famous singing star all the way from Chicago to Dakota's Golden Garter Saloon.

After a small matter of mistaken identity, the dainty chanteuse and our heroine (along with the rest of Deadwood) become the best of friends until Calamity realises she may have a rival for the affection of the town's two most eligible cowboys, the dashing Lieutenant Danny Gilmartin and fast-drawing Wild Bill Hickock.

Toyah Willcox returns to the stage to play Calamity, a role made famous on the Hollywood screen by Doris Day.

Toyah is one of Britain's biggest household names, and is this year celebrating 25 years in the business, with major hit records, frequent television appearances and many prestigious stage and screen roles from Shakespeare to Peter Pan.

Calamity Jane, adapted for the stage by Charles K Freeman, Directed by Ed Curtis, Music by Sammy Fain, Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster, Designed by Simon Higlett, Choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood, Lighting Designer James Whiteside, Sound Design by Simon Whitehorn (for Orbital), Musical Direction by Robert Cousins. Starring Toyah Willcox at the Shaftesbury Theatre, 210 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2 from June 12 to September 20 at 7.30pm. Tickets 0870 906 3798.