TOYAH’S BRAVE NEW WORLD

Toyah Willcox Interview

From princess of punk to accomplished stage actress, Toyah Willcox is a uniquely gifted, well-loved and respected performer. Charismatic, outspoken and very passionate, she is one of Britain’s most beloved household names of stage, screen and radio. The hit singles ‘It’s A Mystery’, ‘I Want to Be Free’, ‘Brave New World’ and platinum-selling albums Anthem and The Changeling confirmed her status as one of the most significant talents of the 1980s. In 1982 she won the Best Female Singer at the British Rock & Pop Awards (which later became The Brits). 

In recent years, Toyah has seen her career take on even more challenges with TV, live festivals, re-releases of classic albums, as well as awards and new material too. For issue 18 of Blitzed, we spoke to Toyah about her legacy and kicked off by asking her how she would summarise 2024 in terms of the highs and lows?

The year has been very rewarding, and it’s satisfying to be seen and regarded as an artist of influence in the music industry. I will remember 2024 for the rewards after decades of work. Glastonbury will always be a high point in my life. It is a magical festival that takes place on a very powerful piece of land and the audience add to that. No other experience matches it, it is a truly loving caring community where music is the very heart and soul of everything. The lows, there aren’t really any other than seeing my brilliant 78-year-old husband move into a more fragile time in his life but that is inevitable.

When you were asked to appear on Strictly Come Dancing, was it an instant yes from you, or did you have to take time and mull over the pros and cons?

Strictly was an instant yes for me. Also, it was now or never. I regard myself as a young 66 year old but I was well aware that Strictly is a full on commitment… there is no easy way of approaching it, it demands full physical and mental attention. 

I am not sure I could have done it a year later and I would have preferred to have done it 10 years sooner! It is one of those rare shows that still has world class production values. It was incredible to be part of that.

I loved every minute. It is a fantastic team to work with. Costume, make up, hair, the production team are great fun and brilliant at what they do. I adored working with Neil Jones and particularly loved the bubble we had in the rehearsal space; the outside world didn’t exist while we trained. I was pretty confident I was doing well.

My contract said no prior training and I was told that the show required me to go on a journey of growth which I certainly feel I did.

This past couple of years has seen quite a few re-releases as well as new music via the Cherry Red label. What’s your relationship like with the label and how supportive have they been?

Cherry Red want success as much as I do. It is a symbiotic relationship. I am hugely grateful for the quality of the products they release and Cherry Red address fan demand and build a community of collectors. They take fans very seriously. It means a lot to me that my brilliant back catalogue is so highly regarded and now has a powerful outlet and a high presence.

Your YouTube channel has over 214,000 subscribers, and is crammed with the most fascinating, insightful, entertaining and downright fun videos from you and Robert, experimenting with ideas, presenting behind the scenes cameos and just doing things that you like. It’s a real treat for fans. You must spend hours and hours putting these together. How do you find the energy and ideas to keep it so fresh?

That’s a good question. We don’t have high production values which helps us be spontaneous which is important to us. We always want to keep it real. We want the world to see the true us, also we really hope that we put across the message that everyone deserves a good life… and don’t put up with anyone de-valuing you.

For further information and news on all of Toyah’s upcoming gigs and concerts, music releases and personal appearances go to www.toyahwillcox.com

Read the full interview with Toyah in issue 18 of Blitzed, available here: https://blitzedmag.com/product/blitzed-issue-18-pre-order-on-sale-2nd-of-jan-2025/