TOYAH ON
BBC RADIO SCOTLAND
AFTERNOONS
WITH MICHELLE MCMANUS
26.2.2026

MICHELLE: Let's turn our attention now to our guest for today. There are very, very few people who can claim to be a singer, an actor, a TV host, an author, a multiple Brit Award nominee and a film star to boot. My next guest has worn more hats than possibly any other and she's back on tour mixing her incredible music with tales from her life so far. This woman's stories are unbelievable  

What a night this is going to be if you're going to see her on tour. I'm of course talking about the fabulous Toyah Willcox and I had the pleasure of chatting to her earlier. Toyah, it is such a joy to have you back on "Afternoons". You know what huge fans we are when you are on this show. Can I just start by saying you look out of this world. You look phenomenal, as you always do

TOYAH: (On a video call) Well, thank you very much. That's very kind of you. I have to announce when I get to Scotland I will have had a birthday by then and I'll be 68 years old

MICHELLE: Stop it!

TOYAH: So I'm now calling myself the punk pensioner

MICHELLE: (laughs) The double p! But you must get told all the time how phenomenal you look. I think that's not just even about your outward appearance. I think it's where you are in your career, right? Just this place you're in and the control that you have and that you get to do the things that you want to do. That's very empowering

TOYAH: It is empowering. I enjoy being older, funnily enough, because I feel well. I have had incidents in the past where I've had to work through illnesses. I think that's inevitable. But here I am in my late 60's and I feel really great. I'm loving what I'm doing. I can't wait to do this tour and to be with these wonderful audiences who want to enjoy the stories I have to tell

We're going to have a lot of laughter on the evenings I spend in Scotland. A lot of music and I'm going to be encouraging the audiences to join in with the music as well. It's a really good place to be. I would like to say to everyone out there who is approaching 60 or their late 60's that life can get better and it certainly has for me
 

MICHELLE: This is so exciting for the fans because this is the content that people want. You don't need me to give you the stats, but I'm going to do them for the sake of it. You've had eight Top 40 singles, released more than 20 albums, written three books, appeared in more than 40 stage plays, 10 feature films

The list goes on. It is such a hugely impressive career. For you to be doing this tour "Songs And Stories" and allowing the audience in ━  because of course we get to see all of that glitz and glamor, but it's almost like pulling back the curtain, right?

TOYAH: Oh, yeah!

MICHELLE: We are not short of dates in Scotland. You're going to be in Aberdeen on the 10th of June, Greenock on the 11th of June, Edinburgh on the 12th of June. Airdrie on June the 13th and then beautiful Perth on the 14th. You enjoy coming to Scotland, because sometimes when people come, they'll do Glasgow and they'll leave. Or Edinburgh and they'll leave, but you've really got (gigs) across the country here

TOYAH: I feel really honored that I get to spend almost a whole week in Scotland. I'm used to going into Scotland to do a show, just for an afternoon and then having to leave again. That's just scheduling. The problem of scheduling it's not by choice. So here I am. I'm going to actually be in Scotland

My husband is going to be with me. I'm going to be with the wonderful audiences.  My experiences of playing Scotland, especially Glasgow and Edinburgh, are pretty amazing. You don't forget those performances. So I'm very, very excited

MICHELLE: With this show how have you been able to distill all of these things I've just mentioned and you've achieved so much more - how do you narrow all of that down? What is the process of deciding what makes it onto the show?

TOYAH: It's a very visual show. We have a screen. We'll be showing videos. I will be showing behind the scenes and telling stories about one of the most amazing things about being in show business (and that is

) what happens away from the camera and the kind of people you end up in rooms with. There's a story of when I played Uxbridge College, which is near London, in 1978. When I arrived at the college, there were four members of the KGB waiting for me. They were there to pick up exchange students and get them back to Russia

They didn't want to go, so they stayed with me. They stayed and watched the show. They sat on stage because they wanted to see what punk rockers did, and they wanted to see them spitting at each other. Then they came to the dressing room and they didn't leave. We did not leave that dressing room until nine the following morning. It's these really peculiar situations you find yourself in that I'm going to be talking about, because they are hysterical and unbelievable

Like being flown into the middle of a rainforest in Belize to meet Martin Scorsese, go to his ranch there and have lunch and then leave again. Things you never expected to happen. I think this is what I find interesting about my work. Being a creative person opens so many doors, but I want my audience to come and be inspired. I want my audience to leave the show feeling “oh, I've had this idea. I think I could make that work in a business sense”. What's so exceptional about every single one of us is we have ideas. I have to wake up every day and create a new idea so that I can go out on tour. I'll be talking about all of this stuff. It'll be very funny, because everything in my life tends to be funny


MICHELLE: But here's the thing, even those little things that you've just dropped in our laps there, my jaw is kind of on the ground. The audience must be hanging on your every word because I know what you're saying  ━ that we can all do this, but we actually can, right? You have done it and I think you've had such a strong identity. No one says your name and no one doesn't know who we're talking about, right? The image pops up in the head, we know exactly who you are

You've always been your true authentic self or certainly that's what it seems like to those of us that have followed you  ━ which was hard, by the way, in some of the decades that we're talking about. To be that person, be female and be in the music industry, in the film industry and all that kind of stuff

But the audience must be hanging on every word because we haven't lived that life. You're so lovely and humble the way you're just dropping it in there. But for an audience what an exhilarating evening to be there and also to feel that you're part of that interaction, because you are sitting and you're talking to the audience. It's spoken words

TOYAH: It's spoken word. We are doing all the hits and we're going to do the music that inspired me. So there will be Black Sabbath “Paranoid” and Alice Cooper “Schools Out” (Michelle laughs) but there will be all the Toyah hits as well. But also, I wanted to say that I became a hair model very, very young in Birmingham. I was 16 when I started to travel around the UK doing shows

To have brightly colored hair back then could be dangerous. Taxi drivers wouldn't pick me up. Some busses wouldn't allow me on the bus. People were threatened by it. This was pre━punk. Now I think women have the freedom to be who and what they feel they are and what they want to be. If that includes hair color they can do it safely. It's their choice. But back then you couldn't

MICHELLE: But do you not think some of that's got to do with you and women like you and the people who kind of walked that walk for us? I know you know this anyway, you'll have had these discussions before, but if those kind of pioneers don't come forward, like yourself at 16, who just goes “this is what's happening. I'm doing this because creatively, this is where I'm as a person.” If you don't do that, the rest of us don't get to do it now and we don't get to be in this place


TOYAH: I totally agree that every new idea needs a pioneer. We're very good at recognising them these days but back then when women kind of stepped out of the "sugar and spice and all things nice" it was very challenging

The beginning of my creative life was when I started as a professional at the age of 18, working at the BBC. I did a drama there and then moved to the National Theater when I was still 18. It was a fabulous revolution for women. We're still working on it, but it was the start of the wave and it was a fantastic time to be working

MICHELLE: This is why we need the show, because it's the insight, it's the content. It's what the fans want, because we know the success and we know the story and what's being presented to us. But I also think it's so brave as well to be a little bit vulnerable on stage and talk about these things. I know there's a lot of laughter and you need laughter. Even in the darkest times we need light

Laughter and comedy is a great way to do that, but to entwine that all with the music, it just sounds like such an incredible evening for the fans that are going to come along. Is this where you're most comfortable because you have done everything. We just had the third book ("Meteorite") coming out. You have starred in movies, you have been on TV and performing and now we have this. Being in front of a live audience, essentially, is that where you feel you're most comfortable?

TOYAH: Well, not only am I in front of a live audience ━ I'm in front of an audience that wants to see me

MICHELLE: A safe space

TOYAH: It's incredible. It's a safe space and I do love it. We're going to do a Q and A in act two which I'm just going to have so much fun with. I've seen a few other artists do this particular style of show and the questions are outrageous. I just can't wait

MICHELLE: (laughs) Especially up in Scotland. But also I think it's a great vehicle for new fans to come and see you. You'll have the fans that have been with you the whole way through it and that's a great side of streaming. I know there's a different debate with music online and stuff, but for the the new generation of fans that are coming through this will be maybe the first time they get to see you in person

TOYAH: Well, yeah and our social media has just been ridiculous since lockdown. I'm very grateful for it. I think we've had 150 million people come to our sites and in the last three months 17 million people have viewed the content that I've made

MICHELLE: You're an influencer. We'll add that to the list of things that you are. You're now an influencer!


TOYAH: If you told me this 50 years ago  ━  that we'd be able to do this, the power of being able to do it and the independence of being able to do it is fabulous   

MICHELLE: It is fabulous, Toyah. That's why we adore you. We're such huge fans and I want to thank you for taking the time to speak to us again. We love having you on "Afternoons" here on BBC Radio Scotland

Let me just remind our listeners, because they're going to have to be really quick if they want to get tickets. And then the next time we'll see you at "Rewind" on the 23rd of August in Henley. Thank you for taking the time to come on. Have the best week when you're here in Scotland. Fingers crossed you get some sunshine when you're up here

TOYAH: Yes!

MICHELLE: It's been a joy to speak to you again

TOYAH: Very good to see you, Michelle. Thank you so much and lots of love

MICHELLE: Oh, she was just amazing. What a woman, what a career. I think that will be an incredible show. So do not mess about. Make sure you get your tickets for that. "Songs And Stories" touring Scotland in June. Aberdeen, Greenock, Edinburgh, Airdrie and Perth. Don't forget she's also got a new autobiography "Meteorite". That'll be a great read

Listen to the interview HERE