TOYAH ON
PEARLS OF WISDOM
#NOTGOINGOUTCLUB
WITH JULIE PEASGOOD
13.5.2020

JULIE: Hello Toyah! Thank you for joining me!

TOYAH: It's so good to see you! It’s been so long!

JULIE: Oh, absolutely! But listen, Toyah Willcox - you are a celebrated musician, singer, songwriter, actress, producer, author. You have released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 stage plays and 10 feature films. You are truly multitalented. Are you relaxing just a little during lockdown?

TOYAH: Such a good question because I don't know about you but I'm getting about 20 emails a day that start with “now you have nothing to do . . . will you . . . ?” I've never been busier! We can't get the cleaner in, we're cooking our own food. We live in a market town so we were always able to pop out to a restaurant or a cafe at lunchtime, and that saw us for the day.

So we've gone fully vegetarian. I cook at lunchtime, and it's quite a meal. It takes about two hours to prep. Then we have cleaning jobs for the day. And then I have about 20 internet jobs to do like doing voiceovers for adverts, voiceovers for computer games, films, for TV programmes. It’s busier than ever! And I don't know if you're discovering this - I'm now not only the artist . . . I'm the camera person, the microphone person, the makeup person, the hair person, it's just . . . argh!

JULIE: I know! It's extraordinary, and I am exactly the same as you - very very busy. But I have to say - we're lucky that my husband Patrick helps me with the technicals. I notice, Robert Fripp, your wonderful husband helps you, and I've also noticed your amazing dances on a Sunday. I don't know if you just stick to a Sunday but they're wonderful! “Strictly (Come Dancing)” is going to come knocking at your door because they've been an internet sensation!

TOYAH: I know! I'm supposed to be on tour now with Hazel O'Connor and it broke my heart that we've had to move that. So I thought about three Sundays ago . . . I'll wear the costume, and I wanted my character because I always create a character for a tour, even though this is a rock tour. I wanted my character to be like a demented beauty queen so I actually had a prom dress, and it's phenomenally beautiful. I invented this kind of real “Strictly” dance, and it flew! We're about to hit a million on it, a million views, which is a first for me.

JULIE: Congratulations!

TOYAH: Thank you! So we decided, every Sunday before lunch, we will post a new film, and my goodness! This coming Sunday, we have a humdinger! A humdinger!!!

JULIE: Yes? I will tune in, but what I love is that both of you take it very, very seriously. I mean, that thing with the rose in your mouth and you just go for it, which is how it has to be and the best -

TOYAH: You never play the humour. Never play the humour! And with my beautiful husband I don't have to because he's the most brilliant guitarist. Through his fingers he can count, he can play any speed. He can't do it through the body. So trying to teach him the tango . . . it took seven days. He kept getting it wrong and even then he dropped me. It’s actually, for us as a couple, a wonderful experience in tolerance. In a positive way.

JULIE: Fantastic! Now listen -  I suspect you are full of pearls of wisdom, great advice that you've been given in your amazing life. Would you like to share one or two with me now and with everybody watching this?

TOYAH: Yes. Are these pearls of lockdown wisdom or pearls of growing older wisdom?

JULIE: Very good question! They're actually pearls of growing older wisdom, but if they are pertinent for lockdown, even better, but they don't have to be just to do with lockdown. They’re Toyah’s wisdom, you might have been told something by your grandma when you were eight that has stayed with you forever.

TOYAH: Well, I never knew my grandparents and I wish I did. But what I would say is always plan ahead. It really is not a waste of time to think ahead and plan ahead. With my parents - who I cared for for the last 10 years of their lives - made no plans. They did not even think about the future. And my feeling is it's such a privilege to grow older. It's nothing to do with being left behind by society. Yes, that happens, but I think it's such a privilege that we get to grow older, because we become more of who we are and what we are.

And what I mean by this is - always explore what you've become as a result of your past. So, this morning - we're very lucky we have a garden, we're on the river Avon, I go down and I thought I was sitting there for an hour and three hours later I go back to the house … where has the time gone? But allow yourself to go inside. We so often think outside of the body and I'd say allow yourself to go inside and think about the journey and the path you've made and why. It's so informative and I think we are on a continual developing journey. So that's the spiritual side of my pearls of wisdom

JULIE: Hmm … I love that

TOYAH: The other one is in lockdown do not have anything in the house you cannot resist. It's just too much. All my friends are saying they've put weight on and it's like well, if you're going to stock up on chocolates and cakes, and the lovely tasty manufactured snacks . . . you're in big trouble. So, what we do once a week, my husband's been very good. He's done the shopping. I'm not allowed out because I've had pneumonia a few times. So I'm in complete lockdown.

We only get vegetables. That's all we've got in the house. We have to be inventive with it. There's some lunch times where I'm just saying I don't want to eat anything – I want a doughnut! We’ve kept our weight down, we're able to do these fantastic dances and get in ridiculous costumes, and I would say to anyone do not put anything in your house that distracts you as a temptation. Because we're weak, we're all weak, I'm weak.

JULIE: And with so much time on our hands. And the focus is so much more on food. For me, Patrick is the cook in our house, but I'm the shopper because he's had pneumonia as well. And I don't buy anything as you say that will (tempt you). I've even still got my Easter egg, because I've actually managed to lose weight, which is miraculous but then it's probably because I've been doing so much more walking and cycling. I never used to go out every day, doing the levels of exercise that we're doing. But I absolutely agree with you - if there is a packet of biscuits, you'll get that weak moment, especially if you've had a glass of wine or something and you'll just think, oh heck, and just go for it and devour it.

TOYAH: It's four in the afternoon with me. It’s always a weak point. So what I've done - I have a tiny jar of jelly beans. And I allow myself four at the most and it actually becomes enough. And the thing jelly beans - there's no fat, yes it is sugar, but then it gives me that pep for the rest of the afternoon, and I do a bit cleaning.

JULIE: What a good idea. I used to love jelly beans and I haven't had them for ages. Do you get a whole variety of flavours or do you really like coconut or blueberry or … ?

TOYAH: Well, I do love single flavours, there's actually a chocolate flavour one and you can't get it in isolation. I hate cinnamon. I actually don't love jelly beans which is why I've got them. So I can give myself the sweet kind of boost with something I know I'm not going to sit down and eat the whole lot. It’s always been my dieting secret. If you want to lose weight, only allow yourself to eat things you really dislike (Julie laughs) I mean nothing takes your appetite away more than looking at a plate of food thinking oh! I hate this!

JULIE: I love it. Just to finish have you always been this incredibly disciplined? Because what's coming across is his great strength of character

TOYAH: When the lockdown started, I was completely lost. I didn't know how to organise my thoughts. I was angry because career wise this would’ve have been the zenith of my career. And everything, all my albums have been rereleased this year, touring the whole year, and so much going on . . . and it's all gone. So I was dealing with anger. Dealing with grief and we've lost people we couldn't see in the end, very close people. My sister's working on the front line so the last four weeks for me have been trying to maintain, to some degree, a mental balance. And I realised that this is an amazing opportunity to address everything that I've never had time for.

So a timetable is really important. And you stick to that timetable. For instance we only eat at lunchtime. Then after that we allow ourselves a very small snack at six o'clock, therefore we've maintained our weight, and then in the middle of all that if I feel myself going stir crazy I go and do the garden. But most of the time I written five children's books, which are little kind of little rhyme books and I've illustrated them -

JULIE: You've written them during lockdown?!

TOYAH: Yes. I just carry this notepad (shows the pad) with me everywhere and all my artwork is in the kitchen, and I do a drawing a day, and as you probably would guess by looking at the dance films I'm very much into stuff and nonsense. So I've invented this this character based on my husband. These (shows the drawings) are literally just sketches to remind me what to do. It’s about a little bee - based on my husband - who wants to be a unicorn. That's not the book illustration. The book illustration is more like the tray behind you with the little girl. But this is my bible of books so I always carry a notebook. Always.

JULIE: Toyah! Thank you! You really are phenomenal. Multitalented just doesn't even touch it. I wish you the greatest of luck. I hope that the album's are available, that people can get hold of them if they're all being rereleased, and I wish you so much success in every area. You really are absolutely inspirational. Thank you.

TOYAH: It's so good to see you! Thank you!

JULIE: Thank you for joining me today, darling!