Toyah Ann Willcox (born 18 May 1958 in Kings Heath, Birmingham) is an English actress and singer.
Contents
1 Early life and career
2 Punk era
3 Singer
4 Acting
5 Autobiography
6 Radio
7 Recent activities
8 Personal life
9 Discography
9.1 Albums
9.1.1 Compilations
9.1.2 Collaborations
9.1.3 Reissues
9.2 Singles / EPs
10 Filmography
10.1 TV appearances
10.2 Music videos
10.2.1 Other music compilations
11 Notes
12 References
13 External links
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Early life and career
Toyah's father ran a successful joinery business. She attended Edgbaston C of E College where she gained a GCE pass in music and trained as an actress at the Old Rep Drama School in her home town of Birmingham.
Punk era
She first became well-known during the punk rock era, her appearances in Derek Jarman's 1977 film Jubilee and 1979's Who album-inspired Quadrophenia launching her as a provocative and anti-establishment figure.
Singer
Fronting a band known as Toyah, her singing career was slow to take off and the band released six singles in the UK before finally hitting the charts in 1981, with "It's a Mystery." This was followed by several other huge hits including "Thunder In The Mountains" and "I Want to Be Free." These singles were also successful on jones grey road jersey an international level. In the early eighties, Toyah also had her own successful make-up range called 'Soul Searches'.
In 1982, she was voted Best Female Singer at the British Rock and Pop Awards since restyled as The BRIT Awards, or "BRITs" and in 1986 she married UK guitarist Robert Fripp. She was one of the first acts to score regularly in the UK Singles Chart with EPs. Also in 1986, Willcox sang lead on the Tony Banks track "Lion of Symmetry." In 1987 she made the top fifty with her version of "Echo Beach."
Toyah has released 30 albums (both as a solo artist, and part of groups), 22 of which have been studio albums, 7 of which have been UK Top 40 successes. She has 13 UK top 40 singles, making her one of the most successful female artists in British history.
In 2001, 'Q' magazine named Toyah number 48 in their top 100 Greatest Women in Music poll, as voted for by readers of the magazine.
In 2009, Toyah came 7th in a BBC series naming the 'Queens of British Pop,' as voted for by the British Public.
In 2010, Toyah will perform with her band 'The Humans' at the London Roundhouse 'Haiti Earthquake Fundraiser' concert. She will also be performing both as a solo artist and as part of 'The Humans' on various dates across the UK.
Acting
Toyah's acting career began with the Old Rep Drama School in Birmingham and her theatre career includes Shakespeare plays and other productions such as Tales from the Vienna Woods at the National Theatre and in Trafford Tanzi at the Mermaid Theatre. She has played Calamity Jane at the Shaftesbury Theatre and was a guest vocalist in the anniversary tour of The Rocky Horror Show at the Royal Court Theatre. In 1990 she played Costanza in the national tour of Amadeus. She is currently (11th December 2009 to 10th January 2010), in pantomime playing Queen Ivannah in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Lyceum in Sheffield.
She has starred in a number of feature films including Jubilee and Quadrophenia and has had many television roles, including series such as Quatermass (1979) and Minder. In 1984 she starred
She has also appeared as a presenter of programmes such as Songs of Praise, Holiday (BBC), and Good Sex Guide Late as well as being a guest on several shows such as The Heaven and Earth Show, Through the Keyhole and Loose Women.
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.
She has also appeared in the reality television series I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and I'm Famous and Frightened!.
Autobiography
Toyah has had two best selling books published. Following her 2000 autobiography Living Out Loud, Toyah had a further autobiographical book published in 2005 documenting her experience of cosmetic surgery, Diary of a Facelift.
Radio
She has been heard on radio including the 2002 BBC Radio 4 series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. She is also credited with voicing the widow Fantine in Focus on the Family Radio Theatre's version of Les Miserables. In December 2006, she joined the radio drama series Silver Street on the BBC Asian Network as Siobhan Brady.
Recent activities
In 2002, Toyah became a prominent opponent of planned accommodation centres for asylum seekers near the Worcestershire village, Throckmorton. Protesting together with more than 1000 villagers, Willcox said, "The villagers are not anti-asylum seekers and they are not racists," adding that "It was not a simple black and white issue." Commenting on the Government's plans to build asylum centres in other rural areas, Toyah said "This is only the first of 15. The sheer scale is mind-boggling. This is a small country - it's all happening illegally."
She continues to perform with her band, releasing a live DVD in 2005, and has a busy schedule with theatre commitments, including appearing on stage in London's West End performing the title role of Calamity Jane at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2003.
Toyah was approached to tour Estonia by the Estonian ambassador in 2006, where she went on to form new band 'The Humans'
In 2007, she collaborated with Bill Rieflin as The Humans for live dates in Estonia. Previews of this material can be heard at "The Humans Myspace page". http://www.myspace.com/wearethehumans.?.
Toyah is writing, jones grey road jersey recording and co-producing new solo material with long-term collaborator Simon Darlow. A preview of one of these songs, "Latex Messiah", can be heard at Toyah's official MySpace page as well as clips of new songs "Lesser God" and "Heal Ourselves". Toyah is currently negotiating a worldwide publishing deal with Zomba. "Latex Messiah" was released as a single on 29 October 2007; the associated album, In The Court Of The Crimson Queen, was released on 12 September 2008.
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