TOYAH ON
BBC RADIO 2
WITH STEVE WRIGHT, MARTIKA
AND PAUL YOUNG
28.2.2017

STEVE WRIGHT: Paul Young, Martika - and Toyah, who's simply one of UK's biggest household names with 15 Top 40 singles, four gold and platinum selling albums, the star of stage and screen. All three of them are here! How was that for an intro, Toyah?

TOYAH: I'm really impressed! You've got three great people in here ... plus you … (Steve laughs)

STEVE: Three great people – excluding me you mean? And Janey (Lee Grace, part of the studio team)

TOYAH: Janey is the voice of reason

STEVE: The way we've got this set out this afternoon is that Janey is sat on my left with Paul and then in front of me are Martika and Toyah. So we've got a full studio. All mikes going. It's exciting, don't you think?

PAUL YOUNG: Very exciting

STEVE: How are you Paul, I haven't seen you in forever?

PAUL: Haven't you?

STEVE: No!

PAUL: I'm very busy, always out and about on the road. Loads of gigs and things

STEVE: Can I just ask you ... how come you're still handsome?

PAUL: (All snigger) I was on the Lorraine Show (ITV 1) the other day and I looked at my tweet feed and someone said “had surgery” (all laugh)

STEVE: Oh, no!

TOYAH: Oh, I love it!

STEVE: Certainly not!

PAUL: So I gave them a one word answer

STEVE: And you two gals – looking and sounding fantastic, if you don't mind me saying that too

TOYAH: Thank you!

MARTIKA: Thank you!

STEVE: Tell me about this tour that you're doing. How does it actually work? What happens?

TOYAH: We have the wonderful China Crisis as well. Great boys from Liverpool -

STEVE: Great!

TOYAH: - They're opening and then I go on and the theory is that because I'm a bit punky and rocky and very loud (Steve laughs) I close act one and then Martika, I think you open act two -

MARTIKA: OK, yeah -

TOYAH: - And Paul then goes home with all the beautiful women after the show ... No! That is a really bad joke!

STEVE: No, that's not true …

JANEY: Do you share a house band because you can't keep wheeling on new musicians all the time? So that must be really great fun for them? They have to learn all your sets and to be able to mould towards your style?

TOYAH: Absolutely. We spent last week rehearsing with them. They sound absolutely great. We're all discussing each other's style because we are incredibly different, these four artists

STEVE: The interesting thing, Martika, is that young people know all of your stuff because that stuff is played on the radio virtually every day. Not only in Britain but also around the world. That's a phenomenon really, isn't it?

MARTIKA: Yeah, a lot of young kids who are into the 80s. They enjoy the energy of it I think. It's so different to what they are growing up with now

JANEY: My son got introduced to her. I was hearing him listening to and singing along to Eminem's version of “Toy Soldiers”. I walked in the room singing along and he was outraged! “When have you been listening ...” and I said “sweetie, it's all been done before”

MARTIKA: Let me educate you, right? It's got the sample … (all laugh)

STEVE: That was about 2004 that he sampled your stuff?

MARTIKA: I think so

TOYAH: You look out there and you've got teenagers singing all of your lyrics back at you. And you're exactly right – they're discovering this music for themselves and making it their own. For some reason the 80s just really resonates with the younger audiences

STEVE: Yeah. What songs are you going to be doing then, Martika?

MARTIKA: So I'm doing “Martika's Kitchen" and my version of Carol King's “I Feel The Earth Move” -

STEVE: Oh yeah, that's great!

MARTIKA: “Love Thy Will Be Done”, “More Than You Know” and “Toy Soldiers”

STEVE: Superb (To Toyah) And you'll be doing “It's A Mystery” -

TOYAH: “I Want Be Free”, “Brave New World”, “Rebel Run”, “It's A Mystery”, “Thunder In The Mountains” and “Echo Beach”, which I had a hit with

STEVE: Oh, yeah! And do you do all the old routines as well? As I recall – what's the second one you said?

TOYAH: “It's A Mystery”? “I Want To Be Free”?

STEVE: “I Want To Be Free” - you did a kind of swinging thing where you swung from side to side?

TOYAH: I'm not known for being still anyway. It will be eventful …

STEVE: Would there be a possibility of you wearing that red wig or anything like that?

TOYAH: What I'm wearing has already been featured in the Daily Mail because they thought I was semi-naked when I last wore it (Steve laughs) I'm just trying to find a way of wearing it and not looking semi-naked underneath

STEVE: You're post-punk now aren't you?

TOYAH: I'm almost 59 years old, I'm post everything! (they all crack up) I'm seriously post-punk!

STEVE: And you're still acting and doing all the other stuff?

TOYAH: Yeah, lots of movies – got seven movies this year lined up -

STEVE: Seven?!

TOYAH: Seven

STEVE: Really?

JANEY: Do you sleep?

TOYAH: No, but nice cameo roles, good fun cameo roles

STEVE: Oh, brilliant. And what songs will you be doing, Paul?

PAUL: “Love Of The Common People”, “Every Time You Go Away”, “Come Back And Stay”, “Otis Blue” - which is a little bit more 90s. I'm going to sneak one from the last album that came out last year, just one song. “Wherever I Lay My Hat” - I'll be doing that as well

STEVE: That's fantastic! Awesome to see you guys, thank you very much for coming in! Paul, Martika and Toyah!