Toyah Ann Willcox (born 18 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter, actress, and television presenter. In a career spanning more than 40 years, she has had eight top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 stage plays and 10 feature films, and voiced and presented numerous television shows.[1]
Willcox is married to English guitarist Robert Fripp.
Early life
Willcox was born on 18 May 1958 in Kings Heath, Birmingham.[2] Her father Beric Willcox ran a successful joinery business and owned three factories. Her mother Barbara Joy, née Rollinson, was a professional dancer, with whom he had fallen in love after seeing her on stage in Weston-super-Mare with singing and comedy double act Flanagan and Allen, and married in 1949. Her mother gave up her career after giving birth to Willcox's elder sister and brother.[3] Willcox has suggested her first name could be in reference to Toyah in the US or to a Native American word "toyah" meaning "water," although she notes her parents deny both origins.[4]
Willcox enjoyed a financially comfortable childhood, attending a private girls' school, but was bullied. Requiring physiotherapy for a spinal condition, she behaved violently towards her mother, to whom she was close.[5] An absentee pupil and frequently rebellious, she sat O-levels a year late, owing to corrective surgery on her feet. She achieved one O-level pass, in music.[6] Alienated by her background and surroundings, her rebellious behaviour led to her shunning male company and adopting an aggressive and flamboyant identity.[7]
Her early interest in music, dance and acting, combined with her alienation, and her uncertainty regarding her sexuality, led Willcox to seek an outlet, initially in acting and then in music. She attended the Old Rep Drama School in Birmingham, paying privately because she was denied a grant, the assessor noting: "She has a lisp and isn't attractive." She began working as a dresser in local theatres, including The Alexandra, Birmingham, and the Birmingham Hippodrome. Because of her distinctive appearance and gaudily dyed hair, repertory actors referred to her as "The Bird of Paradise."[8] A friend's suggestion that she should see the Sex Pistols led to her being attracted to the punk movement, but she resolved to do better, travelling to London to take up a career in acting and music.[9]
Career
1976–1979: Career beginnings
After appearing as an extra in a drama being made at the BBCPebble Mill Studios in Birmingham, an opening came to take a role in Glitter (1976), a play in the BBC Second City Firsts series, alongside Noel Edmonds and Phil Daniels.[10] Recommended to the play's director by a member of the wardrobe department because of her distinctive appearance and oddball character, Willcox was given the role of Sue, a girl who sang with the band Bilbo and who dreamed of appearing on Top of the Pops.[4] In the course of the 30-minute play, Willcox performed two songs she had co-written: "Floating Free" (an acoustic ballad, with Phil Daniels accompanying her on guitar) and "Dream Maker".[11][12] The play was seen by Kate Nelligan and Maximilian Schell, who offered her work with the National Theatre in London, where she got the part of Emma in Tales from the Vienna Woods, directed by Schell. The opening led to her relocating to London.[13]
In 1977, while playing Emma in Tales from the Vienna Woods at the National Theatre, Willcox, inspired by her role as a musician in Glitter, fronted a band called Toyah[4] which featured Joel Bogen on guitar, Mark Henry on bass, Steve Bray on drums, Peter Bush on keyboards, and herself on vocals.[11] Having never considered herself a musician, she found herself lead singer of a successful band, although still uncertain about her own sexuality and repelled by her bandmates' antics with groupies.[14]
Introduced by actor Ian Charleson to director Derek Jarman, Willcox was offered 'any part you want' in Jubilee (called Down with the Queen at the time).[15] Plagued by budgetary issues, the film featured Willcox as the murderous 'Mad', as well as a number of other prominent figures from the punk scene, including Siouxsie Sioux, Adam Ant and Richard O’Brien.[16] She went on to play 'Monkey' in the 1979 film of The Who'sQuadrophenia, having been introduced to director Franc Roddam through an association with John Lydon. Willcox demanded the part of Monkey from Roddam.[17] She completed filming despite requiring medical attention for pneumonia.[14]
Willcox found her dual careers as a musician and actress frequently in conflict, leading to confusion as to which role constituted a 'compartment' to put her into.[20] Feeling her musical career was not taken as seriously as her acting,[14] she nevertheless viewed her acting role as 'highbrow' and her musical career as 'lowbrow'.[14]
1980–1983: Toyah and gaining punk status
Willcox was considered a pinnacle of the new-wave punk movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s
In London, Willcox lived in a place called "Mayhem", a converted British Rail warehouse serving as a studio.[21] It was here the band Toyah recorded their first demos. For the lack of proper bed she slept for a while in a "second-hand" coffin, reportedly used by the French Red Cross to transport victims of fatal accidents.[22] Citing her role in Quadrophenia as a boost to her musical career, with growing audiences Toyah signed to Safari Records, releasing a debut single "Victims of the Riddle", which topped the UK Indie Chart.[21] This was followed by the Sheep Farming in Barnet EP, produced by Steve James and Keith Hale. Initially released in Germany, in 1979 it was re-released as an LP, comprising the original six tracks, "Victims of the Riddle" A and B sides and three tracks that were previously unavailable on vinyl.[23] Willcox's second album, The Blue Meaning, went to no. 40 in the UK Albums Chart in June 1980.[24] By this time, she is reported as announcing she had severed all ties with punk aesthetics.[21][25]
In January 1981, the live album Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!, recorded at the Lafayette Club in Wolverhampton the previous June,[26] made it to the Top 30, backed up by a TV documentary Toyah. By now the original band had broken up[18] and a new lineup was in place, consisting of Phil Spalding, Nigel Glockler and Adrian Lee, only Joel Bogen and Willcox remaining.[26] 1981 saw Willcox's strengthened presence in the UK chart with hits such as Four from Toyah EP (no. 4, February 1981, including "It's a Mystery"), the third studio album Anthem that went to no. 2 in May 1981,[24] to be later certified platinum,[24] "I Want to Be Free" (no. 8, June 1981), "Thunder in the Mountains" (no. 4, October 1981) and Four More from Toyah EP (no. 14, November 1981). She became one of the first acts to score regularly in the UK Singles Chart with EPs, which were also successful on an international level. At the end of the year Willcox won the Smash Hits' reader's poll in two categories: Best Female Singer and Most Fanciable Female (beating Kim Wilde to the second place).[27] In 1981 she alone, according to Safari, sold in the UK more units than the whole of the Warner Bros. put together.[21]
The making of Love Is the Law (1983) was the happiest period of her life, according to Willcox, combining work in the critically acclaimed stage play Trafford Tanzi and the film The Ebony Tower with Laurence Olivier with work on the album.[23] By this time, though, her popularity started to decline: the album reached no. 28 (with singles "Rebel Run" and "The Vow" peaking at no. 24 and no. 50 respectively),[24] and with a 1984 greatest hits compilation, released by K-tel and called confusingly Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! All the Hits, failing to chart.[26]
Willcox and her husband Robert Fripp (left) have been married since 1986
Willcox secretly married British guitarist Robert Fripp, founding member of King Crimson, in Witchampton, Dorset[30] on his 40th birthday (16 May 1986). Together they formed a new band, called Fripp Fripp on the initial tours, later changing its name to Sunday All Over the World, which released the critically acclaimed album Kneeling at the Shrine (1991). She referred to Fripp as her 'soulmate'.[6] That same year, she also sang lead vocals on the track "Lion of Symmetry" by Tony Banks of Genesis.[24]
Her next solo studio album Desire (1987) was less successful although the single with her version of "Echo Beach" made it to the Top 50. Then in 1988 Prostitute came out, an album through which Willcox vented her frustrations which started to accumulate as a result of having made the transformation "from all-powerful artist to invisible woman" in the course of just one year of marriage.[23] This experimental concept album, marking a considerable divergence from previous works, was released on E.G. Records. The attitude to Prostitute, according to Willcox, in the UK and the US was radically different: "In the UK, when my management tried to sell it to the music reps, an awful lot got up and walked out of meetings; all male I hasten to add. In America, Billboard magazine said it was the dawning of a new era for me as a producer and that it was an antidote to Madonna. I started to receive mail from professors at eminent universities telling me they played the album at their lectures as an example of the new way of thinking coming from contemporary women."[23] She had many television roles, including series such as Quatermass (1979), Minder (1980),[31] and the movie Quadrophenia. She starred opposite Laurence Olivier in The Ebony Tower (1984),[31] and opposite the Who's Roger Daltrey in Murder: Ultimate Grounds for Divorce (1984).[31] She also appeared on Kavanagh QC. During the late 1980s and 1990s, Willcox forged ahead with a career as a stage performer. Notable credits include Trafford Tanzi (at the Mermaid Theatre, leading role), Cabaret (Sally Bowles), Three Men on a Horse (winner of an Laurence Olivier Awards for Best New Comedy), and the UK tour of Arthur Smith's Live Bed Show. In 1990, she played Costanza in the national tour of Amadeus.[1]
1991–1999: Presenting work and further albums
Although she had presented the magazine series Look! Hear! for BBC Birmingham between 1979 and 1981, it was in the 1990s that Willcox's career as a TV presenter took off. She began by presenting arts programmes First Night and Time Off in 1993.[32] By the mid to late 1990s, she could be seen presenting items on shows such as Watchdog:healthcheck, This Morning and The Heaven and Earth Show. She also worked on VH1 for three years, presenting Toyah and Toyah and Chase for the cable music station.[33] Viewers could accompany Willcox to various locations worldwide during her tenure as a reporter on BBC travel shows such as Holiday and Holiday- Fasten Your Seatbelts. Willcox's husband Robert Fripp joined her on her studio album Ophelia's Shadow (1991), which received good reviews.[1] She released three more albums, Take the Leap! (1993), Dreamchild (1994), and Looking Back (1995).[1] In 1996, she had the unique honour of simultaneously hosting both Songs of Praise on the BBC and Good Sex Guide Late on ITV. IThe same year, Willcox released The Acoustic Album on Aardvark Records, featuring strings from Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and produced by Oliver Davis.[23] In 1999, she took the lead in the children's television series Barmy Aunt Boomerang. She also provided the voices for the children's television programmes Teletubbies and Brum.[34]
2000–2010: Television appearances and touring
Willcox in 2006
At the turn of the millennium, she continued to work on The Heaven and Earth Show as a newspaper reviewer and also presented a series of Whose Recipe Is It Anyway on the Carlton Food Network and 40 episodes of Beyond Medicine on the Discovery Health Channel. As the noughties progressed, she had stints presenting Head2Head and Destination Lunch on the Overseas Property TV channel, was a newspaper reviewer on Sky News, and hosted various music programmes for Vintage TV.[35]
In 2001, Willcox was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Central England in recognition of her achievements in performing arts, media and broadcasting.[1] The 2001 May issue of Q magazine named Willcox number 48 in their top 100 Greatest Women in Music poll, as voted for by readers of the magazine.[36] She returned to music in 2002 with new material for a limited edition Little Tears of Love EP and a one-off preview concert at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. The same year she sold out eleven stadium gigs for the Here and Now tour. She continued to perform with her band, releasing a mini-album Velvet Lined Shell in 2003 on her own record label, Vertical Species Records, showcasing a darker, edgier direction. Willcox also appeared on the BBC Radio 4 series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. In May 2003, Willcox was a contestant on the second series of the ITV survival reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, and she was fourth to be eliminated.[37] In June 2003, Willcox appeared on stage in London's West End performing the title role of Calamity Jane, which was subsequently nominated for an Evening Standard Award for Best Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre. In 2004, she performed as part of The Best of the 80s tour in the UK alongside Nick Heyward, Curiosity Killed the Cat and Altered Images. A live DVD followed in 2005, the year that also saw two parts of The Safari Records Singles Collection being issued. In February 2005, Willcox appeared on the fourth and final series of the Living TV programme, I'm Famous and Frightened!.[38] Willcox was a guest vocalist in the anniversary concert of The Rocky Horror Show at the Royal Court Theatre in May 2006.[39] In December 2006, she joined the radio drama series Silver Street on the BBC Asian Network as Siobhan Brady.
Between 2007 and 2008, Willcox had a recurring role as Gail Baxter in Secret Diary of a Call Girl, the mother of the title character played by Billie Piper. In May 2007, she collaborated with Bill Rieflin as the Humans for live dates in Estonia, having been invited by the Estonian president.[40] According to The Northern Echo, that resulted "from reading one of her husband's emails". The invitation was for him to go but he was not keen, so Willcox accepted.[41] The same year, Willcox was a guest presenter on Loose Women.[42] Also in 2007, Willcox signed a new worldwide publishing deal with Zomba Music Group.[43] She continued to write and record solo material with long-term collaborator Simon Darlow. On 29 October 2007, a new single Latex Messiah (Viva la Rebel in You), came out, followed by the In the Court of the Crimson Queen album, written and produced in collaboration with Darlow and released by Willow Recordings Ltd on 15 September 2008.[1] As part of Liverpool's European Capital of Culture year, she performed for the first time ever at the newly opened Liverpool Echo Arena and Conference Centre.[44]
In June 2008, Willcox appeared on Living with the Dead on Living TV to share her experiences of living in her haunted home.[45] In July 2008, Willcox appeared on UK ITV1's This Morning to discuss her role as a vampire in the rock musical Vampires Rock.[46] She has also appeared in shows looking back on popular culture, including the I'm a Celebrity series, and various 'Top 100 favourite' shows. Willcox played Queen Ivannah in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Lyceum in Sheffield for the 2009 Christmas season.[47] In October 2009, she made a guest appearance in the BBC drama series Casualty.[48] She also played the widow Fantine in Focus on the Family radio theatre's version of Les Misérables. In 2009, a new version of Vampires Rock was created, called Vampires Rock Christmas, and Willcox was back in her role as the Killer Queen, alongside the writer and one of the stars of the show, Steve Steinman.[49] Willcox continued to perform with The Humans, featuring Bill Reiflin, Chris Wong and occasionally husband Robert Fripp. Described as "European experimental meets West Coast American grunge", the Humans recorded their debut studio album We Are the Humans in Seattle in 2008, released in Estonia in May 2009 to coincide with the band's return to play in front of the country's president.[50] The album received a UK digital release in September 2009, along with a single "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'".[1] At the end of the year Willcox came seventh in a BBC series naming the "Queens of British Pop", as voted for by the British public. In 2010 Willcox with the Humans performed at the London's RoundhouseHaiti earthquake fundraiser concert.[51]
2011–present: Anniversary tours, Posh Pop, and later work
On 17 June 2011, Willcox commenced on a special from Sheep Farming to Anthem tour, celebrating the 30th anniversary of her breakthrough hit "It's a Mystery" and the platinum-selling album Anthem, starting at the London's Leicester Square Theatre. The set included selections drawn exclusively from Toyah's first three albums, Sheep Farming in Barnet (1979), The Blue Meaning (1980) and Anthem (1981). Andi Fraggs, a British electronic musician, supported her on chosen dates.[52]
On 14 April 2012, Willcox launched the Changeling Resurrection 2012 tour at the Concorde 2 in Brighton to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her album The Changeling (1982).[53] On 16 July 2012, Willcox performed a concert in her birthplace of Kings Heath, Birmingham, to celebrate being the first artist with a star on the King's Heath Walk of Fame. Andi Fraggs made a surprise appearance, duetting Willcox's 1981 hit single "Thunder in the Mountains".[1] In 2013, Willcox took part in the second series of the ITV diving competition Splash!. She competed in the second heat, and lost the splash-off to Anna Williamson, ultimately becoming the sixth contestant to be eliminated.[54] Willcox released a deluxe edition of her 2008 album In the Court of the Crimson Queen and embarked on the tour revisiting the Love Is the Law (1983)-era material.[1][55]
Willcox continued to tour both with her full band and also with an acoustic line-up for her "Up Close and Personal" shows.[56] Willcox went on to appear in a number of films, including Aaaaaaaah!, In Extremis, Lies We Tell, Swiperight, Heckle and Invasion Planet Earth.[31] In November 2017, she played Queen Elizabeth II in a theatre adaptation of Derek Jarman's film Jubilee at Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre. This production transferred to the Lyric Hammersmith for a London run in March 2018.[57]
In 2018, Willcox toured her #Toyah60 show, which marked her sixtieth birthday and fortieth year in music. This was accompanied by the release of her Four from Toyah – Birthday Edition EP of new material, which charted highly in the digital chart. She appeared in Celebrity Money for Nothing (2017),[31] she won her heat of Celebrity Mastermind (2018), and appeared on Pointless Celebrities in 2019.[31][58]
In 2019, Willcox charted at no. 74 in the UK Albums Chart with a re-issue of her 2008 album In the Court of the Crimson Queen.[24] It also peaked at no. 22 on the Official Charts Company's sales chart and no. 7 in the independent chart. This was Willcox' first appearance in the UK Albums Chart since Minx in 1985.[24]
In 2020, the box set Toyah Solo was released, containing six solo albums with bonus material, one Rare, Remixed and Revisited CD, and a DVD with promo videos and interviews.[1] Also in 2020, following their acquisition of the Toyah Safari catalogue, Cherry Red Records began reissuing Willcox's early albums in deluxe 2CD/DVD and vinyl formats. Both Sheep Farming in Barnet and Blue Meaning have been reissued, both appearing in the UK Albums Chart.[24]
During the first UK lockdown of 2020, Willcox began broadcasting from her home across social media and YouTube. On Saturdays she answers fan questions and shares archive performances in Toyah at Home and co-hosts Agony Aunts alongside her husband Robert Fripp. However, it is her Sunday Lunch series with Fripp that has garnered the most fame, frequently going viral and racking up millions of hits on YouTube. She and Fripp started publishing weekly videos in 2021, covering songs such as Slipknot's "Psychosocial", Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell", Rammstein's "Keine Lust", Foo Fighters' "All My Life", Grace Jones' "Slave to the Rhythm" and Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name".[59] On 12 August 2022, they released "Slave to the Rhythm" as a digital download and streaming single.[1] The duo toured the UK in 2023, performing the Sunday Lunch songs in concert.[60][61][62]
Willcox released Posh Pop, her first solo studio album since 2008, on CD and vinyl via DMG on 27 August 2021, with the album featuring 10 tracks composed by Willcox and "Slave to the Rhythm" co-writer Simon Darlow.[63][64] The album reached no. 22 in the chart.[24]
From September 2024 she was a contestant on the twenty-second series of the BBC competition Strictly Come Dancing and was partnered with professional dancer Neil Jones.[72] She described the show as "the best experience of her life". Willcox and Jones were placed at the bottom of the leader board in the first week, with 12 points.[73][74] They scored 18 points in week two, yet were placed at the bottom of the leaderboard when the scores from both weeks were combined. The audience vote landed the couple in the bottom two, but they beat Tom Dean and partner Nadiya Bychkova in the dance-off.[75] They scored 15 points in week three and were again at the bottom of the leaderboard. Placed by the audience in the bottom two, they lost the dance-off to Paul Merson and Karen Hauer.
Willcox has been married since 1986 to musician Robert Fripp, founder and guitarist of the progressive rock group King Crimson. The couple have no children; their wills leave their estates to the establishment of a musical educational trust for children.[76]
In 1987 Willcox was invited to make a speech at the Women of the Year ceremony in the presence of Diana, Princess of Wales, expressing her views on the subject of how being disabled (in her case, dyslexia) can be a goad to creativity and inspire a craving for a fuller life experience.[77]
In 2002 she became a prominent opponent of planned accommodation centres for asylum seekers near the Worcestershire village of Throckmorton, protesting together with more than one thousand villagers.[78]
In November 2007 Willcox took on the role of sponsoring the Black Country Urban Park for the People's £50 million Big Lottery Fund. In April 2008, she took part in the Great Walk to Beijing alongside other celebrities, to raise money for Olivia Newton-John's cancer charity.[79]
Robert Fripp is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session musician and collaborator, notably with David Bowie, Blondie, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Daryl Hall, the Roches, Talking Heads, and David Sylvian. He also composed the startup sound of Windows Vista, in collaboration with Tucker Martine and Steve Ball. His discography includes contributions to more than 700 official releases.
Toyah was an English new wave band fronted by namesake Toyah Willcox between 1977 and 1983. The only other consistent band member throughout this period was Joel Bogen, Willcox's principal co-writer and guitarist.
Anthem is a studio album by the English new wave band Toyah, fronted by Toyah Willcox, released in 1981 by Safari Records. It was the band's most successful album, reaching number 2 in the UK Albums Chart and featuring the Top 10 singles "It's a Mystery" and "I Want to Be Free". The album was certified gold in 1981 for selling more than 100,000 copies in the UK.
The Changeling is a studio album by the English new wave band Toyah, fronted by Toyah Willcox, released in 1982 by Safari Records. The album peaked at number 6 in the UK where it was certified silver for sales exceeding 60,000 copies. It included the Top 40 single "Brave New World".
Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! is a live album by the English new wave band Toyah, fronted by Toyah Willcox, released in 1980 by Safari Records.
Love Is the Law is the fifth studio album by British new wave band Toyah, fronted by Toyah Willcox, released in 1983 by Safari Records. It reached number 28 in the UK Albums Chart and included the Top 40 hit single "Rebel Run". It was the last album to be released by the band before singer Willcox embarked on a solo career and retained 'Toyah' as her stage name.
Minx is an album by English singer Toyah Willcox, released in 1985 by Portrait Records. It was her first album as a solo artist and spawned the moderate hit "Don't Fall in Love ".
Ophelia's Shadow is the fourth solo studio album by the British singer Toyah Willcox, released in 1991 by E.G. Records. Some musicians playing on this album have been members of King Crimson at a certain moment, people like Robert Fripp, Gordon Haskell, Keith Tippett and Trey Gunn.
Take the Leap! is a studio album by the British singer Toyah Willcox, first released as Leap! in 1993 by Pony Canyon. It consists of new tracks as well as re-recordings of older songs from Toyah the band's repertoire.
"Bird in Flight" is a song by the English new wave band Toyah, fronted by Toyah Willcox, released as a single in 1980 by Safari Records.
"Ieya" is a song by the English new wave band Toyah, fronted by Toyah Willcox. It was first released as a single in 1980 by Safari Records to promote the album The Blue Meaning. It was re-recorded and re-issued in 1982, and met with minor chart success in the UK.
"Latex Messiah (Viva la Rebel in You)" is a song by the British rock singer Toyah Willcox, released in 2007.
The Humans were a British-American rock band featuring singer Toyah Willcox, drummer Bill Rieflin, and musician Chris Wong. They have released three studio albums and have performed live in the UK, Estonia and the USA before disbanding in 2020, following Rieflin's passing.
Kneeling at the Shrine is a 1991 studio album by the English rock band Sunday All Over the World, consisting of singer Toyah Willcox, her husband, guitarist Robert Fripp, Chapman Stick player Trey Gunn, and drummer Paul Beavis.
In the Court of the Crimson Queen is a studio album by British singer Toyah Willcox, originally released in 2008 by Willow Recordings.
We Are the Humans is the debut studio album by the experimental rock band The Humans, consisting of Toyah Willcox, Bill Rieflin and Chris Wong. The album was released in 2009 via Willcox's label Vertical Species.
Sugar Rush is the second studio album by the experimental rock band The Humans, consisting of Toyah Willcox, Bill Rieflin and Chris Wong. It was first released in the USA on 27 September 2011 via The End Records, and then worldwide on 2 October via Willcox's Vertical Species label.
The discography of English musician Toyah Willcox includes releases as part of the band Toyah and as a solo artist, for which she has carried on releasing music credited as Toyah. It also includes Willcox's one-off collaborations with other artists. However, for the discography of The Humans, see § Discography.
"It's a Mystery" is a song by English new wave band Toyah, fronted by Toyah Willcox, released as a single in 1981 by Safari Records. The song was a hit in the UK where it peaked in the Top 5 in the charts as the lead track on the EP Four from Toyah.
Posh Pop is a 2021 studio album by British singer Toyah Willcox, released by Demon Records.
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