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TOYAH'S BLOG - FEBRUARY 2010
Hello there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's the 1st of February!
I have been waiting for this month for so long, six months to be precise!
My life can return to the eclectic adventure I love it to be...lots of telly, lots of photo shoots, lots of writing and recording, lots of travel and concerts and tons of wheeling and dealing! I am no good at doing the same thing every day. I get too twitchy.
In the last six months I have completed 106 shows. It has been a total, hugely successful and all consuming commitment.
Now I can have a social life. On my desk is Brian Eno's invite to join him and Nick Clegg and many other music luminaries at The House Of Lords this Thursday. Also this Thursday is an invite to dine with Shirley Bassey and Cilla, two Grand Dames I haven't seen in too long a time.
And next to these invites is an embossed card from the Ambassador of Estonia inviting all the HUMANS to the embassy to celebrate their Independence Day.
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH YES! A social life again!
This month I return to the world of TOYAH where all is unpredictable and has an edge of danger to it.....THE HUMANS tour being a prime example....tee heee! It's been too long since I last saw Bill Rieflin in the flesh. He lands in the UK in two weeks.
We had a bit of an extreme adventure in Seattle last September when I flew out for two days between Vampires shows to buy an apartment. We ran out of time and Bill had power of attorney to bid on a fabulous apartment by the space needle as I had to return to the UK. Bill, I'm guessing thinks I am stark raving mad and it's because of this I love pushing the boundaries of chance and possibility out with him.
Gemma Newman text me last November to ask "what is IT with you and Bill?"
"IT" is nothing other than, in Bill, both Robert and myself have found a brother relationship we have never had any other time in our lives. For me neither of us have expectations, conditions, nor rules. We just have lots of fun and we give our all in a creative sense.
Bill arrives in the UK on the 16th. Robert and I have been preparing his room for the last two weeks.....our soul brother comes home.
I am in my dressing room, an hour and half away from Vampires show time, working on four new HUMANS songs for the tour in three weeks. SUGAR RUSH, SWEET AGITATION, PUT A WOMAN ON THE MOON and FRAGMENT POOL. They are lively little numbers, slightly non-age-appropriate, in the vein of silver surfer rage. Something master Bill Rieflin condones.
I have three Vampires shows left to do before I leave to work with THE HUMANS for two months.
Nickki Miller (Vampires drummer) owes me at least twenty quid for food I have bought him over the tours, whenever he came into my dressing room moaning ...."I'm hungry and I have no food....." ( this was a bog standard moan of his, others where "I have mouth ulcers", "I've cut my thumb", "I've got blisters", "I've got a spot on my nose", " My bottom hurts", "I want to have sex with a horse," " I want a piss and I'm going to do it on you."
God I hate myself for being such a sucker. 51 years old and I am owed money by a 20year old rent boy in the making.
But at least THE HUMANS don't have that rare animal called "a drummer" to deal with. Technically Bill IS A DRUMMER, but he has five fingers and five toes, unlike Nickki Miller who has six fingers and six toes and a little tail tucked into his trouser tops and he keeps pointing at the moon shouting "cheese!"
An interesting fact about working without drums is you have to count bars rather than rely on a thud, thud, thud to trigger your instinctive reaction into a chorus. I am not ashamed to admit that often I am thinking of shopping lists and my bunny's cute little ears on stage when the drummer reminds me with one almighty thud, THAP, POW that I am two bars away from a chorus.....no such behaviour with THE HUMANS. It will be 'quaking on your toes time, like a hair trigger ready to shoot,' from beginning to end, else brother Bill will be snapping like a wild bear.
Funnily enough he only ever snaps at me...never at Robert..who is frequently in the wrong but never scolded!
I am longing for THE HUMANS shows. The music is like nothing I have ever done before and the performance is a totally new experience too, coming totally from within the subconscious, where all is dark and unexplored!
Today my task is to learn SUGAR RUSH, written in Seattle the day my father passed over, the 29th July 2009. This makes THE HUMANS have even more power and resonance for me.
I hope you get to see us, apart from the mini-tour and the SCALA in London we are appearing the next day, the 25th Feb at THE ROUNDHOUSE at a gig organised by BILL DRUMMOND to help raise funds for HAITI. Then further dates and festivals will be announced shortly after.
BE PROUD, BE LOUD, BE HEARD!
LOVE TOYAH XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
CALENDER
THE HUMANS IN CONCERT 2010
Saturday 20 February 2010
THE HUMANS with special guest Robert Fripp
Secret warm-up concert
Venue & details to be announced
Monday 22 February 2010
THE HUMANS with special guest Robert Fripp
The Assembly, Leamington Spa
+44 (0) 1926 523001 / www.leamingtonassembly.com
ON SALE NOW
Tuesday 23 February 2010
THE HUMANS with special guest Robert Fripp
The Junction, Cambridge
+44 (0) 1223 511 511 / www.junction.co.uk
ON SALE NOW
Wednesday 24 February 2010
THE HUMANS with special guest Robert Fripp
The Scala, London
+44 (0) 20 7833 2022 / www.scala-london.co.uk
ON SALE NOW
TOYAH IN CONCERT 2010
Friday 19 March 2010
TOYAH IN CONCERT (with full band line-up)
48Hour Party, Southport
+44 (0) 8448153647 / www.48hourparty.com
Friday 26 March 2010
TOYAH IN CONCERT (with full band line-up)
48 Hour Party, Cambersands
+44 (0) 8448153647 / www.48hourparty.com
Saturday 27 March 2010
TOYAH IN CONCERT (with full band line-up)
The Robin 2, Wolverhampton
+44 (0) 1902 401211 / www.therobin.co.uk
Friday 23 April 2010
TOYAH IN CONCERT (with full band line-up)
The Asylum, Birmingham
+44 (0) 844 581 1333 / www.theasylumvenue.co.uk
BIOGRAPHY
Toyah Willcox has a highly successful, prolific and incredibly diverse career. Her major hit records and many prestigious stage and screen roles have made her one of Britain's biggest household names.
In a career spanning over 30 years Toyah has had 13 top 40 singles, recorded 20 albums, written 2 books, appeared in over 40 stage plays, made 10 feature films and presented hundreds of television programmes from The Good Sex Guide Late to Songs Of Praise. She continues to work at the top of the league in media, music, acting and writing.
Toyah has recently appeared in ITV2’s Secret Diary of a Call Girl as the mother of lead character played by Billie Piper. She has also completed writing and recording a brand new solo album, In The Court of The Crimson Queen, scheduled for release in Spring 2008. The lead single Latex Messiah (Viva La Rebel In You) will be Toyah’s 22nd single and first ever digital single release on 29 October 2007.
Her acting career began at the Old Rep Drama School, in her hometown Birmingham. Her first notable role came in 1977 when film director Derek Jarman offered the role of Mad in seminal punk epic Jubilee. Later that year she put together the first embryonic line up of her own band. Toyah continued to gain ever-strong roles, appearing alongside Katherine Hepburn in the film, The Corn is Green, as well as playing 'Monkey' in the legendary Quadrophenia.
By 1979 Toyah's band was gaining critical success with the debut single Victims of the Riddle (no 1 in the independent charts) and six track EP Sheep Farming in Barnet. Meanwhile Derek Jarman asked her to play Miranda in his innovative version of The Tempest, which won her a nomination as Best Newcomer at the year's Evening Standard Awards. She also appeared at the ICA in Stephen Poliakoff's American Days and in the BBC series Dr.Jekyll and Mr Hyde with David Hemmings.
The following year Toyah's album The Blue Meaning became a Top 40 hit. Acting roles continued too, including a leading part in Sugar & Spice at the Royal Court Theatre. An ATV Documentary "Toyah" and an accompanying live album Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! confirmed her status as one of the most significant new talents of the eighties.
A European tour, further television roles and chart successes including It's A Mystery, I Want to Be Free and the platinum album Anthem followed and 1981 ended with a Christmas Eve concert from Theatre Royal, Drury Lane screened live as The Old Grey Whistle Test Christmas Special. 1982 saw her winning Best Female Singer in the [then] Rock & Pop Awards. [Now 'The Brits'] The year also brought more extensive touring in support of the follow up album The Changeling and the hit singles Brave New World and Be Proud, Be Loud, Be Heard.
Toyah discovered new skills as a wrestler when she played the leading role in Trafford Tanzi and went on to star alongside Sir Lawrence Olivier and Greta Scacchi in Granada TV's film version of The Ebony Tower. She played Sally Bowles in the West End revival of Cabaret, which closed early due to a strike but not before making the Guinness Book of Records as the only West End musical to go on without any musicians in the pit, performed acapella! Toyah appeared in the National Theatre's West End production of Three Men and a Horse which won the Olivier Award for best New Comedy and recorded the radio play Headcrash which was banned and not broadcast until 7 years later. Toyah could also be seen as Consuelo in the dark film adaptation of The Disputation.
The albums Minx and Desire continued Toyah's music career as she also made the charity project album The Lady or the Tiger with Robert Fripp. Notably her least commercial album Prostitute was released in 1988 as Toyah moved away from the glare of the pop spotlight and sought out her and refreshed her lyrical colour once more. This experimental album is seen as the benchmark for the newest generation of honest and expressive singer songwriters.
With her husband Robert Fripp she formed the band Sunday All Over the World, who became known for their strong live performances and toured world-wide before recording the debut album Kneeling at the Shrine which received rave reviews. In 1988 she played Hermia in Midsummer Night's Dream at Birmingham Rep and the following year joined the National Theatre again to appear in their production of the eco-tale Whale.
As a new decade began Toyah starred in the Channel 4 film Midnight Breaks and in the successful Cambridge Theatre Company's touring production of The Taming of the Shrew. It was during this production that Toyah was asked to play the lead in Emile Zola's Therese Racquin - a role Toyah considers her best and most challenging and brought some of the best reviews of her career.
She appeared as the Ship's Cat in the TV film version of Beatrix Potter's Little Pig Robinson and also appeared at the 'Women in Music Festival' at London's Shaw Theatre with an aptly named girl band, 'The She-Devils'. During 1991 Toyah and Robert Fripp travelled to America to promote both albums released that year, Sunday All Over the World and Toyah's self produced Ophelia's Shadow, the album Toyah feels is her strongest to date.
Toyah then played Constanza in the British tour of Amadeus and during this time she simultaneously performed in Cheap Thrills which visited prisons near the theatre. The play was especially written for her based on the life of rock singer Janis Joplin. 1992 saw Toyah appear in the premiere of Claire Luckham's new play about Downs Syndrome, The Choice at Salisbury Playhouse and also toured Britain with the band Strange Girls (formerly She-Devils) in addition to making her debut appearance with Berlin based progressive jazz-rock band Kiss of Reality. In September 1992 Toyah premiered Memoirs of a Survivor, a play based on a novel by Dorris Lessing which was written, adapted and directed by Richard Osborne. Toyah and Richard had sought Dorris Lessing's blessing for this project for more than five years. The play was performed again at the Salisbury Playhouse. Toyah then toured Berlin, Germany, Britain and Poland with Kiss of Reality and in Spring '93 they recorded an album. Toyah spent the summer in Belgium starring in the critically acclaimed BFI art-house film Anchoress.
In the spring of 1993 Toyah acted in the successful debut production of Carrington a play about the tortured life of artist Dora Carrington at Chichester Festival Theatre. She also recorded her album Take the Leap! 'as live' which included a brand new recording of It's A Mystery. To aid her return to her rock roots with this new album, she brought in a band of nineteen-year -olds from Salisbury and they embarked on a successful tour of Britain.
During the 1993/'94 Christmas season Toyah starred as Peter Pan at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford and on tour. In March 1994 she began a music tour which would be one of the longest and biggest she would undertake, continuing throughout the year until the end of November, playing England, Ireland, Scotland and South America. The Dreamchild album was released in May and received rave reviews in Europe and the UK and the single Now and Then was remixed by DJ Tim of Utah Saints. During a break in the tour Toyah filmed an appearance in John Thaw's new series Kavanagh QC and went onto play live as the Special Guest at the UK Henieken Music Beer Festivals appearing in front of audiences of 5,000 to 10,000 people. Toyah was back on screens in summer '94 as a dog in the half animated real life drama series The Ink Thief with Richard O'Brien. She also presented the television programmes Anything Goes and Time Off (Meridian).
A national tour of Peter Pan commenced in 1995 in which Toyah performed in for four months and over 200 stage shows - most sell outs! She proceeded TV reporting for The Magic & Mystery Show and fronted her own series in search of feminine spirituality, Discovering Eve for BBC1. The summer saw her return once more to Shakespeare when she played a skateboarding 'Puck' in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park and she closed the year with a stunning Dolby surround-sound radio production of Peter Pan for BBC Radio 4.
During 1996 Toyah presented more television programmes including Watchdog Healthcheck, This Morning (Alternative Remedies series), Holiday, The Good Sex Guide Late and Roll With It! More radio work included Independence Day UK (based on the film) and Punk Fiction. She guested on Trey Gunn's "The Third Star" album and in the Autumn she returned to her hometown Birmingham to perform a series of acoustic concerts at the prestigious night-club Ronnie Scott's. Toyah -The Acoustic Album, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on 2 tracks, was released exclusively through the internet whilst Toyah made the motion picture Julie and The Cadillacs during which Michael Aspel surprised her as the subject of BBC1's This Is Your Life. In 1997 Toyah toured the UK with her band, recorded a studio album version of the show Cabaret with Nigel Planer and joined music station VH1 as VJ presenter. The film "Quadrophenia" received a cinematic reprint to celebrate it's 18th Anniversary and was released at cinemas and on video again. In the Summer she played Beatrice in Ludlow Castle's Open Air production of Much Ado About Nothing and also starred as The Wicked Witch in the Belfast Opera House RSC production The Wizard of Oz.
1998 saw a second series of the BBC's popular Fasten Your Seatbelt plus over 100 live concert dates. Toyah also found renewed cult status as a nation of students, children and parents were spellbound by the appeal of Teletubbies, for which she voices the intro and outro. She starred in the first ever UK tour of Arthur Smith's West End hit play, Live Bed Show and compiled the "Proud, Loud & Heard - Best of Toyah "album before appearing for third year running in the pantomime Jack & The Beanstalk. 1999 included television presentation and appearances for The Heaven & Earth Show, Lottery Greatest Hits and On Offer as well as beginning writing her autobiography. The Valentine's Day edition of Songs of Praise was presented by Toyah for which she also sang The Rose. The rest of 1999 included 3 months in Glasgow filming the BBC Scotland kids drama series Barmy Aunt Boomerang and she is now known to scores of children as Aunt Boomerang. Demand from Toyah's fans also resulted in her classic albums Anthem and The Changeling being made available again when they were reissued as re-mastered enhanced CD's in 1999. Toyah flew into the new Millennium, quite literally, starring in the Kevin Wood Christmas production of Peter Pan at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury.
The year 2000 saw the launch of Toyah's official website, www.toyahwillcox.com and publication of her long awaited autobiography "Living Out Loud". The Sky Pictures film production "The Most Fertile Man in Ireland" (in which Toyah plays Dr. Johnson) directed by Dudi Appleton premiered at the Dublin Film Festival. Toyah also hosted the London "Sister Act - Women's International Festival" in March, acted in BBC medical soap "Doctors" and reported for the BBC's "Holiday On A Shoestring" and Sunday morning programme "The Heaven & Earth Show". Toyah continued to be seen on our screens playing the lead in a second series of the popular "Barmy Aunt Boomerang" and explored the life of Dora Marr in the absorbing monologue "Picasso's Women" at the Edinburgh Festival 2000 later transferring to Westcliffe-on-Sea. In addition to a successful book signing tour in support of her autobiography television presentation continued including "Open House", "Money in the Bank" and again "The Heaven & Earth Show" for BBC. Toyah played the role of Fantine in a radio play recording of Les Miserables alongside Brian Blessed and Geoffery Palmer for the USA market. The year ended with Toyah playing the role of the Wicked Queen in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage.
2001 began with the soft-back print edition of the successful "Living Out Loud" autobiography as Toyah embarked on more book signing dates. Television continued to feature primarily in Toyah's schedule as she fronted 40 programmes of "Beyond Medicine" for the Discovery Channel and "Whose Recipe is it Anyway?" for the Carlton Food Network. Toyah made her first musical recording of the 21st century with a vocal contribution to a track "Lime in the Coconut" with the punk band Chester. On 8th March 2001 Toyah was awarded a prestigious Honorary Doctorate by the University of Central England in recognition of her distinguished achievements in performing arts, media and broadcasting.
Summer saw extensive theatre work as Toyah played Beth in the critically acclaimed new play "The Shagaround" (for three runs in Southampton, London and Brighton). Toyah returned to "A Midsummer's Night Dream" for a third time, this time to play 'Titania', in an open-air production at Stafford Castle whilst continuing to write for newspapers. Christmas 2001 saw Toyah step into the role of "Aladdin" at the Stockport Plaza.
Toyah joined her fellow 80's pop music contemporaries, ABC, Howard Jones and ex-Spandau Ballet in April 2002 when she performed on the Here and Now UK stadium tour. Toyah stole the show with a daring outfit, which alluded to her 80's stage costumes. The nostalgia-filled tour saw Toyah perform her four biggest hits to a sold out Wembley Arena and a crowd of over 20,000 at Manchester Evening News Arena.
2002 saw Toyah return to songwriting as she co-wrote and recorded new material for a limited edition EP, Little Tears of Love and a one-off preview concert at London's prestigious Ronnie Scott's venue. Carlton Television also made a documentary on Toyah's music career in December as part of the Rock Legends series. Toyah undertook the biggest role of her career in 2002 when she assumed the lead role in the major national touring production of Calamity Jane which has subsequently played to twenty-seven cities and combined audiences of well over 140,000. Nominated for an Evening Standard Award for Best Musical the show transferred to the West End for a season at the Shaftesbury Theatre.
Toyah continued to record material and in May 2003 a brand new mini-album Velvet Lined Shell was released on Toyah's own record label Vertical Species Records, showcasing a darker, edgier direction. In addition, her personal favourites and most critically acclaimed albums Prostitute and Ophelia's Shadow were repackaged with commentary from Toyah and reissued on Vertical Species. In October 2003, Toyah performed a one-off concert at the Mean Fiddler in London to mark the celebration of her 25 years in showbusiness and the music industry. 2004 saw Toyah return once again to her musical roots as part of The Best of the 80s Tour - a month-long national UK tour alongside fellow 80s hit-makers Nick Heyward, Curiosity Killed the Cat and Altered Images.
In 2005, demand resulted in the reissue of Toyah’s 80s albums Warrior Rock – Toyah on Tour and Love is the Law, receiving their first ever CD release. This was followed by CD reissues of the 1985 studio album Minx and a rarities anthology, Mayhem. This series of reissues all contained material and bonus tracks previously unavailable on CD. In addition, Cherry Red issued two CD collections which compiled all of Toyah’s A-Sides and B-Sides from 1979-1983. Toyah successful played at many of the 2005 summer festivals including the Wasted Punk Festival and the Hastings Beer & Music Festival, performing alongside Keane to 4,500 festival-goers. An Autumn concert date featuring Toyah, her band and a guest brass section, was recorded and released in November as the DVD, Wild Essence – Live in the 21st Century.
2006 saw Toyah take up the role of Cruella De Vil in a sell-out summer production of The Hundred and One Dalmatians at Nottingham Theatre Royal. In the Autumn she embarked on The Hitmakers Tour this Autumn, a series of live UK dates with Howard Jones and ABC’s Martin Fry. The year also saw two further CD album releases, - a reissue of the live album Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! And the first ever UK release of the acclaimed Take the Leap!. Toyah also joined the cast of Silver Street, an online soap opera for BBC Radio Asian Network.
In 2007 Toyah continued to perform concerts with her band, including a series of summer dates at prestigious outdoor venues across the UK. Toyah also began writing and recording a brand new studio album with Simon Darlow, and signed a brand new worldwide publishing deal with Zomba Music. The year has also seen the launch of The Official Toyah MySpace which has exclusively previewed the new album material. Toyah has also produced a series of videos to present the music which are being previewed on the recently launched Official Toyah Youtube Channel.
October 2007 sees Toyah’s first ever digital single release of the album’s lead single Latex Messiah Viva La Rebel In You). The full album, In The Court Of The Crimson Queen will be released in Spring 2008. Alongside this solo album, Toyah is collaborating with Bill Rieflin (REM) and Chris Wong on the band project The Humans which is described as “European experimental meets West Coast American grunge”. The Humans debut live performances take place when they perform a short series of concerts in Estonia in October 2007, with an album scheduled to follow in 2008.
Toyah continues to work in all fields of the media and refuses to compromise any aspect of her multi-faceted and varied career.
