TOYAH AND ROBERT ON
BBC BREAKFAST
WITH SALLY NUGENT AND JON KAY
21.6.2023

JON KAY: At exactly eight o'clock the gates will open at Glastonbury for the first campers to go in. It's looking dry and sunny for most of the weekend, and that is good news for everyone who's pitching a tent

SALLY NUGENT: But maybe disappointing for people who like to go and enjoy the mud ... Some people who are definitely going to be there ... The singer Toyah Willcox and her guitarist husband Robert Fripp, who will be performing together on Sunday. They're here with us now, before you face the mud and the tents. Good morning!

TOYAH: Good morning!

ROBERT: Hi!

TOYAH: This is the first time either of us have played Glastonbury. So excited

JON: I'm not sure the dress code is going to work (they all laugh)

TOYAH: We always dress like this. Even with our show, the Toyah and Robert Rock Party

SALLY: We love it!

TOYAH: We’re pretty dressed up. So it's going to be quite an experience

JON: Well, that's brilliant, isn't it? You got to be who you are. That's what Glastonbury is all about

TOYAH: I will be in six inch heels. Thigh boots, head to toe in glitter. And if we've got to go through the mud, we've got to go through the mud

SALLY: I love that. Isn't it brilliant that you haven't played Glastonbury before and now here you are with all these years of experience. You can bring that to the stage

TOYAH: I think we have over 100 years of experience between us (To Robert) You don't mind me saying you're 77?

ROBERT: Not at all!

TOYAH: I'm 65 so it's about time we play Glastonbury and we're really proud about it. We've done huge festivals around the world. My husband opened for the Rolling Stones at Hyde Park  -

ROBERT: In July 1969

TOYAH: I've done massive festivals across Europe and in the UK, but never Glastonbury

JON: I can feel the excitement. Robert, what is it about Glastonbury that is so exciting for you?

ROBERT: Well, I realised after the Isle Of Wight Festival on Sunday, which was a blast -

TOYAH: It was amazing

ROBERT: - that I was probably the only person on the site that actually played festivals in the 60s. I was probably the oldest person on the site anyway. In 1967, when I turned professional, we all knew that music could change the world. The the free festivals were a primary vehicle for - today you might say - social transformation

The point is, by getting together with music, a lot of people in these events had such a power. We knew the world could spin backwards and the future you could reach back and grab us

TOYAH: Everyone you've been talking to, who are waiting at the gates - they want joy, they want music, they want to make friends. And what's so special about Glastonbury it's a groundbreaking festival. Its future forward looking to the whole ecology arguments and how we can change the world. It's a great success. Glastonbury speaks for itself

SALLY: Isn't that interesting? I love what you said there, Robert. It's like the future coming back and picking you up. Showing you forwards

ROBERT: Yes!

SALLY: You have vast experience of festivals. How have you seen them change?

ROBERT: To begin with they were all free. Primarily run by volunteers, including the Hells Angels. Today, the spirit is there but the organisation is much more professional. And if you're getting several tonnes of equipment on the stage, and turning up to an event with hundreds of thousands of people it's very good that the organisation is professional

TOYAH: Isle Of Wight (below) was just unbelievable. It was fabulous! Everyone talks about the toilets at festivals - 

SALLY: Yes, we have already mentioned them ourselves this morning, haven’t we, Jon?

TOYAH: The people who organise them mostly volunteers. They're absolutely fabulous. The actual audience themselves are a joy to be in front of. So this is a privilege for us

JON: That word joy. You've used the word joy a lot and how we all have this need for joy, especially after the last few years. You spread so much joy during the pandemic with your videos, your social media

TOYAH: "Robert and Robert's Sunday Lunch", which were touring in October. Coming back to Manchester, to the Lowry. We realised during lockdown that classic rock changes people's lives and it gives people the chance to visit really good memories. For me it would be David Bowie “Life On Mars, which I first heard when I was 12. Every time I hear that song I'm taken back there

And very much the concept of what we are doing, as a very large band, is taking people back to classic rock but also introducing new generations, who have just come from the dance tent, to Led Zeppelin. We're introducing them to Black Sabbath. We're even introducing them to classic Blondie and Robert has work with Debbie Harry and Blondie. So that's the whole concept of what we're doing

SALLY: What's quite interesting now for teenagers and young people, they are more aware of classic music because of the new forms of social media like Tik Tok. All the older stuff is coming through again, isn't it?

TOYAH: It is and (there's) another beautiful thing about festivals. We played one on Friday, where I was watching a father with his son on his shoulders. The years between them seemed enormous. But at that moment in time, as this father held his little boy on his shoulders, you can see that in 20 years time they will talk about that moment. The bonding, it's so special

JON: We heard from Boney M on Monday how their music is reaching a new generation of fans through Tik Tok

TOYAH: We easily look out at five year olds and 85 year old audience, all having a good time

JON: Looking at the crowds go through the gates at Glastonbury this morning it was really striking that the age range was enormous

TOYAH: And let's face it, we should live every year of our lives as if it's the best year of our lives. Age should not be something that we judge. As you say the gates that Glastonbury shows that's really true

SALLY: Couldn't agree more. I think the pair of you are the living breathing example of that, aren't you? It just doesn't matter, does it?

TOYAH: No, we're still pretty anarchic (Jon laughs)

SALLY: Is it your attitude or is it the music? Is it the performance? What is it?

TOYAH: It’s the music

ROBERT: It's my wife's energy. There is something about her classic repertoire. It’s s not old. It's alive, it’s in the moment. It’s immediate. Nothing ages with the classic repertoire

JON: Not going there camping there though, are you?

TOYAH: No! (they all laughs)

JON: You weren’t temped?

ROBERT: No

TOYAH: Never done it!

JON: Never camped?!

TOYAH: No, we drive overnight to avoid being in the tent (Jon laughs)

SALLY: I love that!

JON: (whispers) There are a few caravans out the back as well

TOYAH: Thank goodness!

JON: Lovely to meet you! Thank you so much for coming in and enjoy it! You’re going to!

TOYAH: We will

SALLY: What a moment!

TOYAH: Yeah!

WATCH the interview HERE