TOYAH ON
BBC BREAKFAST
31.8.2021

The "Zoom Zoom" video plays

LOUISE MINCHIN: I’m really excited! Toyah’s here! Good morning!

TOYAH: Good morning! I’m excited! I watch you guys every morning!

DAN WALKER: I can’t believe that all of that was shot on an iPhone basically?

TOYAH: I shot it all in lockdown on an iPhone.

DAN: That is a pandemic album then?

TOYAH: It's a pandemic album. It's also an album about freedom and getting out again, hugging, kissing people, celebrating, dancing, celebrating those that you love as well, so (it's a) very up album

LOUISE: It definitely is and it's also so you - you literally listen to 10 seconds … I know who that is.

TOYAH: Yes, and it's doing incredibly well. Midweek chart is five for me in the main charts, and we're trying to get me my first number one ... so let's see what happens -

DAN: I can’t believe you haven’t had a number one album ...

TOYAH: No … actually - by association, Teletubbies. I was the narrator on Teletubbies and they had a number one in the 90’s.

LOUISE: I’d take that, Teletubbies number one - that's good!

TOYAH: So "Posh Pop" will be my highest chart placing possibly ever. Especially since 1985. It's gone crazy out there ...

DAN: And in terms of - you're trying to sort of purposely make it fun. Having done this during lockdown - did you go against the national feeling if you like ... because people were struggling ... Did you think "I've got to sort of fight against this and make a really positive record"?

TOYAH: I didn’t have to fight against it. I felt really unified with with my Toyah YouTube audience. May last year, I put a video out of me teaching my husband to jive and with within five minutes (it had) 100,000 viewers. That was May. By January, we had 14 million viewers, and I've never felt so connected. It was the great leveller. There was no point being a rock star. We were suddenly agony aunts, and people were confiding in us and telling us incredible things.

(“Zoom Zoom” video plays) That's my husband Robert Fripp, the gorgeous man in the blue suit, who I adore, and my co-writer Simon Darlow (above on the left) in the red shirt. So we created a pod where we tested, so we only worked together during the five months this album was made. And then I shot the videos on an iPhone with a wonderful neighbour, who held the iPhone so I could get all the shots.

LOUISE: Honestly - you are multitalented … I mean somebody is holding the iPhone but this is quite something!

TOYAH: Yeah, that's my garden (Dan and Louise laugh) It was warmer in April than it is now. And that is my kitchen -

LOUISE: Absolutely brilliant. Is this your kitchen? ("Levitate" and “Summer Of Love” videos play)

TOYAH: Yeah, we did it all on green screen

DAN: Must be lovely - essentially that entire editorial control over everything?

TOYAH: I loved it because no one can tell me what to do and I didn't tell my husband and my co-writer what we were shooting. I just put them in the picture holding a guitar, and then we just added all the green screen information behind it which allowed us to put really deep messages in when it came to the edit like “peace, no war” “summer of love”, “dance”, “have peace”, “make love”.

LOUISE: Absolutely brilliant. Tell us about the title "Posh Posh"?

TOYAH: Well, if it was just a Toyah album - it became "Posh Pop" because my husband Robert Fripp is on it. World famous guitarist. In the top 40 of all time guitarists. If he wasn't on it, it could have been called "Pop Tart", or if it was just me it would be “Pop”

LOUISE: Right - so he's the posh bit
 
TOYAH: He’s the posh bit because instantly around the world - and this is going to be my first international album and I'm 63! This is about my 29th album … because he's on it it's instantly perceived as something incredibly posh

LOUISE: Oh, that’s lovely and very useful having him in the house. From a guitar point of view -

TOYAH: Well, yeah. But what was beautiful about going into the studio - because Simon and I prepared everything. We recorded and wrote the songs first - we put my husband in the studio for half an hour once a week, handed him the chord chart and we said, “do whatever you want”. And we said "channel Blondie. Channel Talking Heads. Channel Bowie" - all of who he (has) worked with, and he just did one take and that’s it on this glorious album

DAN: That’s talent, isn’t it?

TOYAH: It’s talent

DAN: Is he involved – because you’re on tour next month. Is that right?

TOYAH: I’ve been on tour for the last five weeks. He is now in the States and was hit by the hurricane in New York and had to move his outdoor venue indoors. So he gets home in two weeks.

I’ve been on the road now at least for five weeks doing the festivals, which is fabulous and carrying on! Because everyone you talk to in show business … all the gigs that were sold out last year are now buffered into this year. So we're very, very busy.

DAN: What's it like now having lived through the pandemic and everyone involved in the arts, as you said - the creative industries are so frustrated, not being able to perform. What's it like to have a crowd out there singing back at you now?

TOYAH: I have to stop myself from crying. I just want to kiss the stage, and I'm meeting people face to face that I helped through lockdown. Some people who lost relatives who contacted me and asked me to do singing in their virtual funerals.

I mean ... really deep connections that I'm now seeing face to face in the audience. And they're coming to say thank you and they're able to hug me now. So it's been a really intense, and remarkable time that's taught me a lot about myself, I've come out of this a much better person.

LOUISE: Your enthusiasm is infectious.

TOYAH: Sorry!

LOUISE: No - it’s brilliant!

TOYAH: Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

LOUISE: No - it’s absolutely brilliant! It really is and the album's actually fantastic. It's a great listen. Thank you very much for coming to see us, and spreading your energy.

TOYAH: Thank you.

DAN: I do feel energised by sitting next to you. Thank you and hopefully we will sort out that album for you as well - because we can't have the Teletubbies being your only number one!

TOYAH: No, this has got to be number one, hasn’t it? (they all laugh)

DAN: The new album is called “Posh Pop”

LOUISE: Absolutely brilliant to see you, Toyah. Thank you very much indeed