TOYAH ON
BBC RADIO DEVON
WITH RICHARD GREEN
18.9.2021

RICHARD: It's the BBC in the South West. Toyah's alongside me, brand new album out. It's your lockdown album that you did with Robert, of course. So tell us a bit about it? 

TOYAH: "Posh Pop" was made during lockdown. We started the main writing January of this year. My co-writer Simon Darlow and I wrote the whole album and recorded it and then we got Robert in. So we gave Robert the chord charts, half an hour every week, he'd come in to the studio, improvise over the tracks.

Now of course . . . Robert Fripp - 40th great guitarist in the world. He doesn't need very much prep time, and he only likes to do one take. So his role was very very quick and then we fed him which is the priority, he always wants to be fed. And I have to say that I think we are a magical three when it comes to creativity.

The sound on "Posh Pop" it’s very definitely Toyah but it's awfully unique at the same time, and it's just become a vast critical hit. It was number one across the board last week, but 22 in the main album charts. I don't have a Spotify audience yet, my audience like to buy LP’s, CD’s and have that physical product in their hand. So this is still 40 years on a massive learning curve for me.

RICHARD: Yeah, what about you? Do you still like to own a physical product, if you've got something that you enjoy listening to? I mean I do. I'm always buying CD's, I feel like a bit of an old boy in that respect. What about youself?

TOYAH: I think I would prefer physical product but I'm on the road the whole time. So last week I was on a ship, doing concerts for four days. Then I had to travel to a TV studio and then travel here. So having physical product for me, just with the job I do, is very, very hard. That said, I've still got absolutely every LP I've ever owned in the last 42 years. Well, actually - I’m 63 so in the last 60 years. I've got everything I owned as a child as well. Do I get to look at it? No.

RICHARD: You don't want to give it away. I heard somebody on Twitter the other day say “I got rid of my vinyl and I took it to the dump” and I thought no! Don't do that! Give it to a charity shop or something if you're going to get rid of it -

TOYAH: I mean in this day and age - and I think lockdown has proved it - everything has value. Don't put it in the dump, keep it.

RICHARD: I saw over lockedown - not only were you obviously with Robert and doing your album and so on and so forth. You were very active on things like Instagram and the socials keeping your fans, and yourself enthused I guess?

TOYAH: Yes, I started Toyah YouTube channel in lockdown because I had the time to. And again, it's this thing, the irony of lockdown. You took these very creative artists, me and my husband, and put us in a house with nothing to do, and we were going absolutely stir crazy, and it gave me an opportunity to develop this community. And we did it by posting very simple little videos.

The first one was 28 seconds long, and it was me and Robert jiving and it went viral in five minutes. Then we realised there's an audience out there that were getting a lot of pleasure from what we were doing. And eventually I think January this year, when we did Metallica's “Enter Sandman”, we had 40 million views or 40 million passed through Toyah YouTube, and it's now kind of a second career for me

RICHARD: It is amazing. So just tell us a little bit about performing again? Because I've heard it on good authority that when Let’s Rock Liverpool happened - I’m not certain whether you were at Liverpool - but Tony Hadley was full of nerves, so was Kim Wilde and Glen Gregory thought he was going to forget some of the words to a Heaven 17 song and all that sort of thing. So how are you now? Are you completely back into it or are you still with a frisson of nerves?

TOYAH: I’ve been performing concerts since the end of May, because I've been doing hotels, which are a controlled environment, and small venues which again are a controlled environment. And ironically, if we ever have a problem again with Covid it’s the smaller venues that can survive because we can prove testing. It’s huge events where it's difficult to control.

So I didn't have stage nerves. What was immensely emotional for me, and I could have kissed the stage, was that we could all be together again. And what Toyah YouTube has taught me is that we remained a community. The Let’s Rock is a community, and it's very much a family atmosphere.

So for me - my problem was not being overcome with emotion. This event being able to be a family again, and to be a cultural community, which we were all terrified was lost forever.

RICHARD: And we are a family, aren't we? Because we've known each other for years coming to the Let’s Rock event. I'm going to play something from the new album in a moment so have a little ponder in your mind as to what we ought to be playing. Whenever you go on stage, you always look stunning. Can you describe your ensemble for the radio audience that are listening now?

TOYAH: It's a very grand looking outfit. It's actually a prom dress covered completely in gold sequins that I found in a second hand shop. People cannot believe what I find. I'm an absolute treasure seeker. So this is a second hand prom dress. Only ever worn once probably. I snapped it up and it's become my signature dress. It's phenomenal.

RICHARD: It will look great when you're out on stage here at Exeter. So the new album. I've heard some of the tracks actually on the radio and as you rightly say - essentially Toyah but Robert’s there as well. You can hear Robert’s touches on it as well. What should we play?

TOYAH: I would love you to play “Space Dance”, because it's very very happy, very very up. The most popular tracks are  . . . “Rhythm In My House” is the runaway track on the internet. “Space Dance” I love doing live and “Summer of Love”.

RICHARD: And when you say you love doing it live, what's going beyond this afternoon. Beyond performing at Exeter? What what are your plans? Have you've got a big tour planned now?

TOYAH: I'm on tour now until the end of 2023. And that's because we've lost last year. So I play London in two weeks, and I have the Posh Pop band, we're promoting “Posh Pop” right up until June next year. Then Hazel O'Connor and I are touring together right throughout June, and then I'm touring “Anthem” which is being rereleased next year, which is my platinum 1981 album. Then after that, the touring continues and I’ve got to write a new album so it's busy.

RICHARD: Yeah, I don't know when you're going find time to do that in between all those gigs but it's lovely to catch up with you again. It's great to see you out and enjoying yourself and enjoying “Posh Pop” as well.

TOYAH: Yeah, thank you very much and lovely to see you. 

You can Listen to the interview HERE