TOYAH ON
ITV THIS MORNING
WITH PHILIP SCHOFIELD
AND HOLLY WILLOUGHBY
8.11.2021

PHILLIP: She first burst onto the music scene in the 80's. But 40 years on Toyah Willcox is going from punk princess to cabaret queen

HOLLY: She'll be treating fans to a spectacular evening of music, burlesque artists and award winning acrobats as she hits the stage at Proud Embankment

PHILLIP: Here to us all about it is Toyah and it's always lovely to see you

HOLLY: It’s lovely to see you

TOYAH: Good morning!

PHILLIP: So this is Cabaret All Stars, tickets available now. Part of the Proud Embankment, that's their latest show. And you say that this is tasteful but pushes the boundaries?

TOYAH: It's very glamorous, it is certainly exotic and erotic. Very young performers, very beautiful boys and girls and so highly qualified at what they do. Trained by Cirque du Soleil, trained in Vegas, all from around the world. And they are defying gravity, defying death in some cases.

Some of the acts are so breathtakingly dangerous, but brilliantly done. I would say that the evening is definitely for 18 upwards. But I have not seen anything that I would not want my parents to see if they were around because it's a very friendly venue.

You walk in, it's a beautiful venue, you have a three course meal. You are looked after, the moment you get in, by really gorgeous young girls and fabulous waiters. And the performers is so funny. What they do is so empowering to women.

So you have women with fags in their mouth setting fire to the men. It’s like that, it's so empowering and you come away thinking they've made an incredible social comment about stereotypes. You have your wonderful drag performers, you have kind of gender fluid performers. Everything makes a very beautiful comment about today without preaching, and with great humour and incredible talent. 

PHILLIP: Well, you’ve sold it to me!

TOYAH: And then you get an old bag like me

HOLLY: Oh, stop that!

TOYAH: Singing the hits

PHILLIP: So your role is what?

TOYAH: I'm the MC and because I have a history of dressing up and I also have recent history of undressing on my social media. I'm very much in capturing that. I come out like the the battle ready hard Queen of Rock, kind of waving the flag.

I mean 42 years ago when I had pink hair I couldn't get a bus or a taxi and people were always trying to arrest me. And here I am in a room full of incredibly beautiful young people, hair all colours, covered in tattoos, and they're free to do that today. I find that incredibly emotional.

HOLLY: I bet you do and also for you who is touring constantly, but on your own, solo up there on stage, then be sharing the stage with all these people. It must just feel like a different experience?

TOYAH: It's a very different experience. There's one song I do “I Want To Be Free” with an amazing aerial artist called Katrina and I'm lying on the stage (below) looking up at her. And every time I've performed this song with her, I'm in tears, because she is such an extraordinary performer. She can do things with her body that you think would just break her.

It's beautiful, it's balletic, breathtaking and I do lie there thinking this couldn't have happened when I started in the business. A woman could not have done this. And it's a glorious, glorious feeling. And yes, I am on tour. I went straight from Proud Cabaret on Thursday to play two shows with my band in Halifax and to be back -

HOLLY: I bet that feels good

TOYAH: Everything is just like embracing everyone and not wanting to let them go. And at the end of my band show on both shows in Halifax, the audience started to hold each other and slow dance with each other. And it's like this incredible celebration of being back.

HOLLY: Yeah, the audience needed it as much as you getting back out there performing, I imagine

TOYAH: Absolutely. Well, performers have to perform - which is why I ended up forming Toyah YouTube channel with my husband. We didn't think it would go viral and that Alice Cooper would be watching and Matt Damon and ZZ Top.

PHILLIP: It was massive!

TOYAH: It was massive.

PHILLIP: And bonkers! 

 
TOYAH: It’s absolutely bonkers. It's had 40 million people pass through to watch what we do. 

HOLLY: We're just watching some of – (video of Toyah and Robert plays)

TOYAH: Oh, you found one that you could show. That is the very first one we did. When we posted that within five minutes we were getting messages from Australia, from the Philippines, from Hong Kong. People saying thank you -

PHILIP: We should say your husband, Robert - he's one of the world's foremost guitarists and of King Crimson, isn't it? He's an amazing musician and world renowned and there you are, and you say that you started doing that keep him occupied?

TOYAH: To keep him moving. As soon as lockdown started he disappeared into his office and was only coming out to eat and I thought we've got months of this. He's not going to be well. So I started to teach him to dance.

And I posted (a video of) us jiving and it instantly went viral within an hour. And he got very interested in this and the messages that were coming back with “thank you. I'm alone in an apartment. I'm so miserable. And you’re cheering me up” -

PHILLIP: Well, there's one clip we can’t show. You're performing Metallica's “Enter Sandman” and you've got an see through top on on an exercise bike. We can't show it!

TOYAH: 40 million views … (they all laugh)


HOLLY: Did you realise it was going to have such an effect on people because you can see … everything

TOYAH: I know! I'm an actress so I don't I care about it. When you're on theatre you have to get changed in the wings. If you don't get a dressing room at a gig you just take everything off and say hard luck. If you don't get me a dressing room this is what you get! (Philip laughs) So I'm used to that.

What I didn't realise is when Alice Cooper sent a message, saying that it made him laugh his socks off and then Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin texted me and said that he was laughing his socks off. And then you start seeing people copying what you do.

I shaved my husband's hair before he went on tour to turn him into a road warrior. So I said my husband's going on tour. I need him to leave the house as a road warrior. Then Robbie Williams did, Matt Damon did it. Everyone was doing it!

PHILLIP: Who would’ve thought. I just love those things that came out of -

HOLLY: Well done -

PHILLIP: Just brilliant. Right then, tickets for Cabaret All Stars are available now. Sounds like a hell of a night.

TOYAH: It's a big hug and it's phenomenal. It’s Vegas in London.

PHILLIP: Beautiful. Thank you.

HOLLY: Thank you very much.

You can watch the interview here HERE