TOYAH ON
BBC RADIO LONDON
WITH CARRIE
AND DAVID GRANT
13.9.2025

It's A Mystery plays

DAVID GRANT: “It's A Mystery” - a massive, massive hit for Toyah Willcox who is with us now. Good morning, Toyah! Welcome to the show!

TOYAH: Thank you so much! Good morning, Carrie! Good morning, David!

CARRIE GRANT & DAVID: Good morning!

DAVID: I want to say how much you inspired me to get back out live, because you have been just tearing it up. You're gigging!

CARRIE: Are you ever home?

DAVID: Are you ever at home?

TOYAH: I'm home today, which is fantastic. Yeah, there's a lot of gigs. I'm about to go out on the road with Adam Ant. Then I have two gigs - Union Chapel, London, Islington at the end of October and Warwick Arts Center

Then I'm on the road with Big Country in December. But next year I have 49 dates on a solo tour and a brand new book called “Meteorite” where I tell really great stories

CARRIE: I bet you've got some -

DAVID: Oh, my goodness!

CARRIE: You've got some stories I can imagine. When David said about featuring all the music - how many songs are on this new project?


TOYAH: There's over 40. On the vinyl there's 20 songs per side and it's a double vinyl. And then on the CD - which is a triple CD because it has my very first blu ray of all the videos. I think there's 28 songs per side and every single one of them has been a single

CARRIE: When you mentioned video there - and I think you were one of the first artists that really got into video. Your videos were amazing, absolutely incredible, weren't they?

TOYAH: I loved making videos because I'm an actress as well. I loved really vibrant strong images - which 45 years ago was quite groundbreaking for a woman to do and I loved it. I loved everyone being shocked at how I looked in the video

It was such an exciting time, but today is equally exciting. And David, we've had this conversation about going out on the road. I believe we were filming a TV program -

DAVID: That's absolutely right!

TOYAH: And you said you wanted to play live again

DAVID: Yes!

TOYAH: Music live is so special. I think our generation - and I think I'm a lot older than both of you - but my generation went to gigs every night

DAVID: Yeah, it's very true. There were gigs to go to. And by the way, no, you're not older than me but kind of you to say so

CARRIE: That's terribly kind

DAVID: Did you imagine when you started making records and started having hits - because you were known as an actress and everybody was like "this is going to be Dame Toyah in a few years time" and you took a sideline into music. Did you imagine that 45 years later you would be playing to packed audiences? Did you imagine that was gonna happen?


TOYAH: No, but this is thanks to technology, thanks to YouTube. in 2001 I received a good old fashioned fax at a theatre I was performing in saying would I like to play Wembley? And I thought it was a joke

I played Wembley four times in this millennium on multi artist bills and I haven't looked back. I've done Glastonbury twice. Isle Of Wight three times. I have not looked back and if someone told me this was going to happen I'd have thought they were just jesting with me

CARRIE: I love your gratitude, it's so beautiful. Toyah, what do you think was your appeal as an artist? Because I remember you so well. I'm absolutely at that age where I would have been a fan. I was a fan. Why do you think your music suddenly took off?

TOYAH: I think it's music and image. I think because I could not compete with the  ideal of beauty expected of women in any form of entertainment industry. I don't have long legs. I am not conventionally beautiful so I presented a part of me that I felt represented me and it hit the zeitgeist

So many young kids could not meet up to this ideal of beauty and we're still battling it today with Instagram and Tiktok and all of that. I just said "this is what I am, this is what I'm giving you". It's all I can do and parents and children just said yes

CARRIE: Yeah, that's fresh

TOYAH: We're all different sounding. We're all different shapes and sizes. So, yes, let's go that way. I think it was the energy and the positivity of it as well

CARRIE: Yeah, which you've never lost, clearly, just listening to you there. So it's “Chameleon – The Very Best Of Toyah”. It has just come out on the 5th of September. Just remind us of those London dates, Toyah, for our London listeners?

TOYAH: Oh, thank you! It's the Union Chapel on the 28th of October, which is the most astounding venue -

CARRIE: It is!

TOYAH: Warwick Arts Center, the 30th of October. But with Adam Ant and Big Country that's all online. If you look up my name, toyahwillcox.com you'll find it. And can I add to your list a song I wrote called “Blue Meaning”?

CARRIE: Yes!!! You can! Thank you so so much, Toyah!

DAVID: Thank you!

CARRIE: I love it! I love this!


Listen to the interview