| 1 December : Toyah Rocks
Northampton |
 Toyah's second
PA of the year, on Thursday night at the
Chicago Rock Cafe in Northampton, was as
stunning as the first way back in June at
Ruby's Nightclub in Stoke. The setlist
was the same, 'Good Morning Universe',
'Thunder In The Mountains', 'Be Proud Be
Loud (Be Heard)', 'It's A Mystery', 'I
Want To Be Free' and 'Ieya', and the
crowd reaction to Toyah the same too. Unfortunately no photographs are
available yet, though hopefully some will
surface soon. In the meantime read, Toyah
fan and good pal of Dreamscape, Paul
Richard's stonking review of the
night.
Go here for the
review and a look back at Ruby's in June!
Thanks
Paul, very much appreciated.
|
| 1 December : 'Here And Now
2002' - Femail Website |
 The femail.co.uk
website have an online article about the
'Here And Now 2002' Tour, at their site (text and
pics), and at Yahoo's News section (text
only). Ready for an
eighties revival?
Are you
ready to revisit the eighties? Certain of
the decade's maturing stars certainly are
as they get ready to tour the country in
a New Romantic revival.
Just
when you thought you were safe from
bolero jackets and ra-ra skirts, a motley
crew of what was the cream of eighties
pop prepare to grace a stage near you
soon.
Adam
Ant, Toyah Willcox, Belinda Carlisle,
Tony Hadley and Howard Jones are just
some of the familiar faces who will be
performing together in a string of dates
under the Hear And Now tour banner.
They
will be joined by the likes of former
Spandau Ballet members Steve Norman and
John Keeble and China Crisis - aka Gary
Daly and Eddie Lundon - on the tour,
which will take place in arenas in
Cardiff, Brighton, Birmingham, Newcastle
and London next April.
Launching
the tour yesterday, Toyah looked the
opposite of her eighties glam-punk self,
sporting long, blonde hair and grey
trousers. 'It's like a big, family
reunion, like being back on Top of the
Pops, a real blast from the past,' said
the singer.
 For others,
however, time seemed to have stood still.
Smoking a cigarette, Adam Ant - real name
Stuart Leslie Goddard - performed an
impromptu version of his hit Goody Two
Shoes, singing: 'I do smoke, I do drink,
what don't I do?'
To
celebrate their return from obscurity, we
take a look at what Adam and the rest of
his cohorts have been doing for the past
two decades. Click on the picture showing
what they look like today to see what
they looked like at the height of their
fame.
Adam
Ant
Think
of Adam Ant and you think of Prince
Charming and Stand And Deliver. He was
the epitome of eighties glam pop until
the middle of the decade and then -
nothing. Adam took an extended break from
music after starring in the Live Aid
concert in 1985. According to him it was
a 'natural place to stop'.
Since
then he based himself in LA for four
years, took up acting and has appeared in
16 films as well as at Manchester's Royal
Exchange in an adaptation of Joe Orton's
Entertaining Mr Sloane. Recently he has
gone back to writing songs and may
release some solo material next
year.
Toyah
Willcox
The
original eighties wild child, Toyah was a
hero among teenage tearaways with her
orange punk hair and outlandish hits such
as I Want To Be Free and Thunder In The
Mountains. Nowadays she is more well
known for her roles behind the
scenes.
Since
turning her back on her music career, she
has appeared as a presenter on The Good
Sex Show Late, the Holiday Programme and
Face Value. She has also provided voices
for the Teletubbies and appeared in
several West End plays.
|
| 1 December : 'Here And Now
2002' - Ananova |
 Ananova also
covers the 'Here And Now 2002' tour as a
news item and includes a great picture of
Toyah, Adam and Belinda from the Press
Conference. Eighties stars
announce New Romantic tour
Adam
Ant has joined a host of other '80s stars
to launch a New Romantic revival.
Spandau
Ballet, Belinda Carlisle, Toyah Willcox,
China Crisis and Howard Jones announced a
string of dates for their Here & Now
Tour 2002.
Adam
Ant performed an impromptu version of his
hit Goody Two Shoes, singing: "I do
smoke, I do drink, what don't I do?"
He
said: "I'm doing this tour because
these are some of my favourite people.
It's great to see them all again and this
tour is going to be a knockout."
Toyah,
now 43, said: "It's really weird. I
haven't seen some of these people for 20
years.
"It's
like a big family reunion, like being
back on Top Of The Pops, a real blast
from the past."
With
straight blonde hair and grey trousers, a
glittery black top was the only hint of
her colourful past.
Spandau
Ballet singer Tony Hadley was joined at
the launch by the band's drummer, John
Keeble, and saxophone player, Steve
Norman. The trio failed in a legal bid
two years ago to claim royalties from the
band's songwriter, Gary Kemp.
They
will be performing some of Spandau
Ballet's classic hits, including Gold and
Through the Barricades during the tour.
The
42-year-old singer said: "We're back
because we love music and we love
performing. It's good to meet up with
everyone again. I don't think anyone's
really changed that much."
The
Here & Now Tour 2002 will take place
in April next year at arenas in Cardiff,
Brighton, Birmingham, Newcastle, London,
Sheffield, Manchester and Glasgow.
 Many Thanks to
the very helpful Madam Stan at Ant Lib Online, possibly the
best Adam & The Ants/Adam Ant website
in cyberspace!
|
|
| 1 December : Toyah Newsbits |
| Toyah
was interviewed on London Tonight
on 20th November. She was talking about
being part of next year's 'Here And Now'
Tour, and a clip from the 'Out Of The
Blue' video was shown too. Adam Ant was interviewed on GMTV
on 28th November, he recalled how he and
Toyah starred in Jubilee together
and commented that she has "the best
hair in the world"!
This
week 20 years ago: 'Four More From Toyah
(EP)' entered the UK singles chart at
number 23. Previous single 'Thunder In
The Mountains' was also still in the
chart at number 51.
Toyah
will soon be popping up on a new show
called Gatecrashers. Keep your
eyes peeled each Monday night @ 10.00pm
on ITV 2.
|
| 1 December : Tate @ BBC |
| Toyah
chooses the 'Artwork of the Month' on
this BBC Online section: Toyah Willcox has chosen a
Turner painting from Tate collections,
Moonlight, A Study At Millbank exhibited
1797 : Oil on canvas
"Turner
is better known for dramatic skies and
cloudy, ominous landscapes, which is
exactly why I like this picture.
It’s as if it’s his small
rebellion against the expected.
"But
why should night time shed no light? The
moon governs our planet as much as the
sun.
"I
am a huge ‘fan’ of moon
paintings. They evoke in me secrecy,
romance and freedom. Freedom from prying
eyes, freedom of movement and freedom of
spirit.
"This
moon reveals a world shrouded in sleepy
darkness where only ghosts and fishermen
move. The light is intense, the air
quiet, the water ever moving. It’s
an obscure world, that feels warm and in
this light, if you were to meet a
stranger, he would accept you for your
words and thoughts, not your looks and
fashion taste.
"Night
time can often be claustrophobic, but
this study is full of adventure and
possibility, the moon shedding enough
light not to be sinister, yet not so much
light, that one is weighed down by the
drudgery of every daylight normality. It
doesn’t, at any time, hint to me of
robbers and personal danger. Instead it
hints at great personal independence and
freedom of movement."
Click here to
see the painting.
|
| 1 December : Toyah On Telly |
I Love
1979 : UK
Horizons
Sun 2nd Dec : 11.00pm Toyah, and others, remember Quadrophenia.
Beyond
Medicine : Disc
Health
Sat 1st Dec : 6.30/10am 1/4pm
Thurs 6th Dec : 8.30pm
Brum : BBC1
Sat 1st Dec : 7.30am
Brum : BBC2
Mon 3rd Dec : 8.10am
Mon 3rd Dec : 1.00pm
Mystic
Challenge :
Challenge TV
Wed 12th Dec : 11.00am
Paul
Ross presents a game show in which
psychics, astrologers and palmists are
invited to put their powers to the test.
In each edition, a panel of mystic
masters is invited to reveal key personal
details about the lives of mystery
guests. With guest Toyah Willcox.
|
| 1 December : Children In Need |
Toyah
looks at the work of the neuro-oncology
unit in Birmingham as part of last
month's Children In Need appeal. Click here to
view the clip.
|
|
Aladdin is now in full
swing at the Stockport Plaza. Toyah is,
of course, appearing in the title role
(erm, oh yes she is...etc.), alongside
Wishee Washee and Widow Twankee!! 
The Stockport
Plaza is an interesting theatre, it being
a 1932 cinema lovingly restored art deco
style with a real Compton organ which is
played before and between acts. Lots of
history and atmosphere for Toyah to take
in, if she has a spare second or two to
do so that is! 
Toyah is now a
firm panto favourite in the UK, and
though some regard these type of shows as
naff Toyah seems to really enjoy her
annual "it's behind you! oh yes it
is, oh no it's not!" appearances (as
do the thousands of kids and adults who
attend the shows in search of some
festive entertainment and laughs). It's
Christmas, everybody needs some escapist
fun, particularly this year, and
pantomimes do this brilliantly. 
In 1995, between
February and April, Toyah toured the UK
in the same production of Peter Pan taking
in Bristol, Reading, Canterbury, Cardiff,
Leeds, Belfast, Aberdeen, Woking and
Oxford, though as this wasn't at
Christmas it isn't, technically,
considered a panto. Likewise The
Wizard Of Oz, in which Toyah played
the Wicked Witch at the Grand Opera House
in Belfast in July & August of 1997. 
Toyah's panto
for 2002, Aladdin, opened
yesterday at the Stockport Plaza. 
As previously
mentioned, the long awaited results of Q
Magazine's '100 Greatest Women In Music'
Poll have now been announced with Toyah
coming a very healthy number 48. 
The winner of
the Poll, PJ Harvey, is featured on the
cover. PJ (aka Polly), I'm sure once
cited Toyah as an influence when she was
younger. 
The 'Here And Now 2002' Arena
Tour still pops up here and there at
present, and probably will do
sporadically between now and next April. 
Adam explains of
the comeback, "I'm doing this tour
because these are some of my favourite
people. It's great to see them all again,
and this tour is going to be a
knockout." Toyah, now 43, adds,
"It's really weird. I haven't seen
some of these people for 20 years.
"It's like a big family reunion,
like being back on Top Of The Pops, a
real blast from the past."