TOYAH STORY

The flame-haired priestess of punk looks back on 30 years of fame. Interview by Ian Abrahams

Few artistes have moved so effortlessly between mediums as Toyah Willcox. As an actor she appeared in some of the most important pop-culture films of the 1970s, playing ‘Mad’ in Derek Jarman’s controversial Jubilee and ‘Monkey’ in the seminal mod-revivalist Quadrophenia, but also performing in works as diverse as Jarman’s adaption of The Tempest and the final instalment of the Quatermass saga for ITV.

At the same time, she has released a slew of records that moved from the ferocity of her early post-punk albums, Sheep Farming In Barnet and Blue Meaning, through the peak of her commercial appeal, with the It’s A Mystery led Four From Toyah EP, and her image-defining LP Anthem, hitting numbers four and two in their respective charts.

The Steve Lillywhite produced follow-up, The Changeling, returned to darker themes with Goth trappings, while the final studio release under the Toyah band name, Love Is The Law, just scraped into the Top 30 album chart, with only one subsequent solo album achieving a similar status. But at the same time, a diversification into stage roles, television presenting and voiceovers ran side-by-side with an increasingly eclectic and well-respected run of solo records.

Musically, things have been quiet …

by Ian Abrahams
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