TOYAH ON
COUNTDOWN
AUSTRALIA
4.4.1982

(The video of "I Want To Be Free" plays)

TOYAH: I've nicknamed that video “the tantrum”. To me, whatever a kid goes through at some point - it just gets too much. For me I reached an age where I didn't understand what the hell was going on, and I just wanted to rip the carpet up, go really mad

If I'd done that, I'd be a much calmer person now. But because you're taught to hold those feelings in, it grows more violent

I come from a very strict background. I went to what's called public school. I suppose I was born into the upper class system, and I just didn't fit in. I opened my mouth too much. I expressed myself too much


(Talking about making fillms) I absolutely love filming because you're dragged away into the middle of nowhere for, say, two months to portray a completely different person. You have a party. I mean, to me making a movie - you just have a party

(Talking about “I Want To Be Free”) I've never enjoyed myself so much. It was 24 hours of mayhem. We just went in the studio, not having any image whatsoever. Whereas with “Thunder In The Mountains” there was a definite image in mind

MOLLY MELDRUM: There was mayhem there as well, I imagine

TOYAH: Yeah, right! But with “I Want To Be Free” we went in there – we went soap powder, wedding cake. Do it! I just ran in there and and went rampant. Lol Cream and Kevin Godley, just brilliant directors

And after doing “I Want To Be Free”, I went back to them with “Thunder In The Mountains” a month later. I said, “I want there to have been a war. I want this woman to be evil". Dangerous physically, because anyone could be dangerous mentally. But for women to be physically dangerous, to sort of be physically strong, it's not quite accepted, yet

It was great! We turned up on the day. I didn't know what to expect. I knew they'd made me a chariot, this little thing. I saw it, and I couldn't stop laughing, because I was expecting a great shiny thing from “Ben Hur”. I saw it, and I thought it's not gonna work

I got in it and I was so frightened because I'd never ridden a horse before. I just thought go on, take it away and this little thing, little white horse, just wouldn't stop. It was great!

People don't expect a thing from me. They just expect this nutter. So if I turn around and do something pretty straight, a piece of straight acting, I catch them off their guard. I intend to act and sing for as long as I've got a voice


I started off with the acting fully intending to sing. I had such a problem with nerves that I couldn't sing in front of anybody. I was hoping that through the acting I'd combat these nerves. It took me two years with the Toyah band before I could walk on stage and sing without having nervous breakdown. I just wanted to sing so much I couldn't do it

The image - there's no limits. It's like your imagination with lyrics, there's no limits. I can't stand being limited. I feel trapped. The same goes with the image. I write a song and I have an image there in my head, so I do it and I live it. Everything with me - I don't just sing. It's got to connect with movement

To me, movement is my language in a foreign country. Because in, say, France, they don't understand what I'm saying. So I've got to put it through movement

I try and accept each new day is a completely new experience, and make the most of it and make the most of the people I'm with. Enjoy their company. But most of all I think you've got to have humour

Watch the interview HERE