Coordinates	12°58′0″N77°34′0″N
name	Faye Tozer
background	solo_singer
birth name	Faye Louise Tozer
born	November 14, 1975Northampton, England
instrument	Vocals
genre	Pop
occupation	Singer, songwriter, actress
years active	1997–2010
associated acts	Steps
website	Official website }}

Faye Louise Tozer (born 14 November 1975) is an English singer, songwriter and actress who first gained fame as a member of the pop group Steps.

Music

Steps were a pop group that achieved a series of charted singles between 1997 and 2001. Their name was based around a simple marketing gimmick: each of their music videos were choreographed, and the dance steps were included with most of their single releases. Steps formed on 7 May 1997 and disbanded on 26 December 2001. In total Steps have sold over 25 million records, including 15 million albums worldwide.

Since Steps split on 26 December 2001, Faye Tozer has only returned to the pop charts once, duetting with Russell Watson, whom she met at a BBC Proms In The Park concert in 2001. Their UK single ''Someone Like You'' charted at #10 in May 2002 and she joined him on his extensive UK tour around the same time. In July 2006, Faye was featured as a guest vocalist for Plastic Cinema for 2 songs: ''Take Me Under'' and ''Any Minute Now''.

Film and theatre

Most of Tozer's post-Steps work has been in the theatre. In 2004 she toured the UK in a production of Andrew Lloyd-Webber's one-woman musical ''Tell Me On A Sunday'', where she, Marti Webb and Patsy Palmer would alternate in the same role. In 2005, Tozer toured with the musical ''Love Shack'', which also featured former pop singers Jon Lee and Noel Sullivan, and performed in a production of ''Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens at The Venue Leicester Square.

In 2006 she toured in a production of ''Me and My Girl'' opposite Sylvester McCoy, acted in the film ''Lady Godiva Back in the Saddle'' and appeared in the charity fitness DVD ''The Allstar Workout''.

In 2007, Tozer appeared in a production of ''Dial M for Murder'' and in October began touring with the production ''Over the Rainbow - the Eva Cassidy Story'' playing Eva Cassidy. The tour continued into 2008, and ended in November. At Christmas 2007, she appeared in the pantomime ''Aladdin'' at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle.

Over Christmas 2008, Faye played alongside ''X Factor'' finalist Ray Quinn in Aladdin, at the Broadway Theatre in Peterborough.

Faye has recently filmed roles in the independent films ''Kung Fu Flid'' & ''Mixed Up''

In 2010, Faye will be appearing in "In The Spotlight - Songs From The Musicals" touring a number of venues around the UK. In December 2010 will be starring in "Aladdin" at the Grove Theatre in her home town of Dunstable along side Sooty, Sweep and Richard Cadell She is currently represented by Olivia Bell Agency.

Private life

In 2002, she married her longtime Danish boyfriend Jesper Irn at the Priory Church in her hometown of Dunstable, Bedfordshire. They divorced after five years.

On 24 February 2009, 7.30a.m, Faye gave birth to her first child, named Benjamin Barrington Tozer-Smith.

On 5 December 2009 Faye married Michael Smith in a ceremony at Beamish Hall which was televised on an episode of Celebrity Four Weddings.

References

External links

Official website

In The Spotlight - Songs From The Musicals

Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:English female singers Category:Steps members

nl:Faye Tozer

Coordinates	12°58′0″N77°34′0″N
Name	Russell Watson
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Russell Watson
Born	November 24, 1966
Origin	Salford, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
Genre	Classical, Pop rock, Operatic pop
Occupation	Tenor
Years active	1998–present
Label	Sony Records (2009–)Decca (2000–2009)
Website	www.russell-watson.com }}

Russell Watson (born 24 November 1966) is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. The self-styled "People's Tenor" had been singing since he was a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club. He came to attention in 1999 when he sang the National anthem at the Rugby League Rugby League Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, "Barcelona" at the last match of the Premiership season between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford and a full set of songs at the final of the UEFA Champions League in Barcelona between Manchester United and Bayern Munich.

Watson's debut album entitled ''The Voice'' was released in May 2001; four others followed. However, an album planned for November 2006 was delayed due to the removal of a benign pituitary tumour. This album, entitled ''That's Life'', was eventually released on 5 March 2007.

On 24 October 2007, it was discovered that there had been a regrowth of his pituitary tumour and bleeding into his brain. He underwent emergency surgery and was discharged from hospital on 31 October. He underwent an extensive rehabilitation programme, including radiotherapy. His sixth studio album, ''Outside In'', was released on 26 November 2007.

On 22 November 2010 Russell's new album, ''La Voce'', was released. It's his first album since overcoming brain cancer.

Early career

Watson was born on 24 November 1966 in Salford, Lancashire, England. Although he had been singing since he was a child, he never sought a career as a professional singer. He left school with no GCE, and started earning £29.50 a week on a Youth Opportunities Programme as a bolt-cutter in Irlam, near Manchester. Then married and with a baby, he began to earn extra cash singing Elvis Presley and MC Hammer covers in north-west clubs to help support his young family.

The turning point in his career came one night at an engagement at Wigan Road Working Men's Club, when the secretary suggested that he try singing "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's ''Turandot''. Although Russell Watson was not a classically-trained singer he continued to perform the aria, and was encouraged to try other classical pieces. In 1990 he won a Search for a Star contest organised by Manchester's Piccadilly Radio.

In 1998 Ian Boasman, manager of the Bistro French restaurant in Preston, arranged for him to sing at Old Trafford during the interval at a memorial football match for the Munich air disaster, a huge privilege for a lifelong Manchester United fan. However, his appearance was cancelled at the last minute when player Eric Cantona requested that Mick Hucknall sing instead. Russell signed a management deal with Boasman, this also involved comic Bobby Ball and businessman Keith Chadwick. Watson would eventually renege on his contract, something he has quite a reputation for.

In 1999 he sang England's national anthem at the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, then finally got to sing at Old Trafford before the last match of the Premiership season between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. After the game, when his team had won the league championship, he returned to the pitch to sing the Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé song "Barcelona", during which he tore off his dinner jacket to reveal a Manchester United shirt.

This appearance sealed his success, and only a week later he was invited to sing a full set at the final of the UEFA Champions League in Barcelona between United and Bayern Munich, duetting with Montserrat Caballé.

Watson used to work at St. Ambrose College, Altrincham.

2000–2005: The "People's Tenor"

Watson's debut album entitled ''The Voice'' followed in May 2001. A mixture of operatic arias and covers of pop songs, it topped the UK Classical Chart and eventually reached number five in the UK Albums Chart. Later, when released in the United States, the album took the number one spot and made history as the first time a British artist had held both the US and UK classical number one. The album contained perhaps Watson's most unusual collaboration to date, with former Happy Mondays singer Shaun Ryder who lent his vocals to the Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé song "Barcelona". The album also featured a duet with Cleo of girl group Cleopatra on the song "Someone Like You". Cleo later duetted with Russell again on his third album ''Reprise'' on the song "The Best That Love Can Be".

Prior to the formation of Velvet Revolver, Watson was asked by Slash (former guitarist of Guns N' Roses and currently in Velvet Revolver) whether he would be their singer. Watson turned down this opportunity, at least for the time being, to concentrate on his solo career.

Also in 2001, Watson sang the opening theme of ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', "Where My Heart Will Take Me", which was written by Diane Warren. Watson also sang it live at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England in 2002. In 2003, the song was remixed to produce a more upbeat version. In August 2007, the song was played as a wake-up call for American Mission Specialist Richard Mastracchio on Space Shuttle Endeavour mission STS-118.

In late 2002, Watson released the single "Nothing Sacred – A Song for Kirsty" to raise money for the Francis House children's hospice in Didsbury, Manchester. The campaign to raise £5 million was fronted by Kirsty Howard, a seven-year-old girl with a serious heart defect. The song reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart.

The self-styled "People's Tenor", who is also known as "The Voice" after his first album, won the Album of the Year at the Classical BRIT Awards in both 2001 and 2002, also collecting awards for Best-Selling Debut Album (2001) and Best-Selling Album (2002).

In 2005, he collaborated with Secret Garden for his song called, "Always There," from the album Earthsongs.

2006–2008

In addition to his recording work, Watson played Parson Nathaniel in the stage adaptation of ''Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'' which toured the UK in early 2006. In the same year, he also took part in the BBC reality TV show ''Just the Two of Us''. The programme involved eight couples, including Siân Reeves and Watson, competing in a duet-singing showdown, complete with a live band, a panel of judges and viewer voting, to see who would be crowned champions. A wide array of music was performed, from country and western to rock. The scores each week were tallied from both a judging vote (the judges were Lulu, Trevor Nelson, Stewart Copeland and Cece Sammy) and a public phone-in vote. Watson, a late arrival to the competition replacing Reeves's original partner Rick Astley, who had pulled out, took the crown despite the low scores awarded by the judges to their performances. Following the competition Reeves and Watson released a victory single, "Can't Help Falling In Love". Russell Watson was scheduled to defend his title in the 2007 series with a new celebrity partner, Loui Batley, but had to withdraw at the last minute because of serious health problems.

First pituitary tumour

In 2005, Watson began having headaches, which he described as "like a knife being pressed into the bridge of my nose". He consulted a specialist, who told him there was nothing to worry about as he was suffering from stress and should find ways of relaxing. When his peripheral vision began to be affected in late 2006, he visited another specialist, who also said he was suffering from stress. Watson told him, "The only thing that's stressing me is this pain in my head."

In September 2006, Watson flew to Los Angeles, California, to record his album ''That's Life''. On the flight, he told his producer that he was experiencing terrible pressure inside his skull. When they landed, his producer suggested a game of tennis to clear his head. Watson could not see the ball at all. After a visit to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and an MRI scan, he was advised that he had a developing pituitary adenoma, which was the size of two golf balls. According to Watson, "Since an early age I've had an in-built premonition, a vision that I wouldn't make 40. For the previous seven years I'd have a recurring nightmare in which my head exploded. And here I was with a brain tumour on the eve of my 40th birthday; I thought, 'This is it, I was right, I knew it'." Watson recalled that the tumours were "like a figure of eight, one filling the frontal cavity of my skull, the other forced through into the top of my nose." He stayed in Los Angeles for two days and continued recording his album while tests confirmed whether the tumour was malignant or not – it turned out to be benign.

After the operation, Watson could barely walk, and the tumour had affected his pituitary gland which controls hormone levels: "My mood swings went from ecstatic to suicidal. I remember one night standing on the balcony, full of dark thoughts and self-pity, thinking 'God, this is f**king terrible, why me?' I went back to bed, couldn't sleep, got up again. I thought I'd had enough. If it hadn't been for the girls [his daughters]..." His energy levels were very low and he did not leave his house for two months: "I couldn't deal with more than one person at a time or with multitasking and I cried easily."

Upon recovering, Watson returned to the recording studio to finish his album ''That's Life''. Originally due out in November 2006, it was subsequently released on 5 March 2007. On the advice of his doctors, his latest UK tour, which had been due to start in late October 2006, was also postponed until March 2007 to coincide with the album release. The rescheduled tour met with huge approval throughout the country, with night after night of standing ovations to a visibly-moved Watson. On 19 May 2007, Watson sang the England's National Anthem at the 2007 FA Cup Final.

Second pituitary tumour

Whilst in the middle of the studio recording of his album ''Outside In'' on 24 October 2007 Watson suddenly became incapacitated, with multiple symptoms including a dramatic deterioration of vision. An MRI scan showed he had a regrowth of his tumour with bleeding into his brain. He underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumour at the Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, and was for a while in a critical condition in the hospital's Intensive Therapy Unit. Watson was discharged from hospital on 31 October. Watson later underwent an extensive rehabilitation programme including radiotherapy. He released his sixth studio album, ''Outside In'', on 26 November 2007.

Activities

Watson appeared as a judge on the talent show ''Last Choir Standing'', which was broadcast on BBC One beginning 5 July 2008. His album ''People Get Ready'', containing easy listening, rock and soul music standards, was released on 17 November 2008. He performed at the ''Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special 2008'' on 25 December 2008, and at the BBC's ''New Year Live 2008'' programme from the HMS Belfast on the Thames on New Year's Eve. In April and May 2009, Watson undertook a 20-date tour of the UK backed by Liverpool's Sense of Sound, who came to his attention after they performed in the BBC's ''Last Choir Standing''. In July 2009, he performed at the opening ceremony of the World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Watson was one of the principal singers (in the role of Karl-Oskar) in the English world premiere of the Swedish musical ''Kristina från Duvemåla'' (''Kristina from Duvemåla'') by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus at Carnegie Hall in New York on 23 and 24 September 2009. He and his female lead Helen Sjöholm were praised by music critic Stephen Holden as having "first-rate poperetta voices, with Mr. Watson's Puccini-ready tenor the more operatic. Each brings down the house at least once." He will reprise the role in the UK premiere of the musical in concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 14 April 2010.

2008–present

Once Watson finished radiotherapy in 2008 he decided to embark on a return to music. He soon found that his treatment had given him not just a fresh outlook on the world, but a whole new, deeper, richer voice. "The tumour could have been growing for 10–15 years in my nasal cavity, so when I had cut it out I went from a V8 to a V12!"

Critical reception

Some critics have said that Watson's untrained tenor voice is not up to operatic standards; Rupert Christiansen, music critic of ''The Daily Telegraph'' has, for instance, called him a "karaoke crooner". Watson has responded that it "[d]oesn't bother me. Seven years ago classical crossover didn't exist – putting Italian lyrics to pop songs in a big ballsy way. Now every bugger's doing it. I've transcended all that bickering and bitching." Watson's career ambition is "[l]ongevity, that's the most important thing. I want to be a musical force for a good long while."

Discography

Personal life

Watson has two daughters: Rebecca and Hannah. He is divorced, having separated from his former wife soon after the release of his first album. Watson has been reported as saying: "It [his first pituitary tumour] changed my priorities. Made me appreciate the importance of relationships, of friends and family and, most of all, my two daughters. My fear for them if I died – that was the worst part." Watson is also a fan of ''Manchester United''.

Tours

Notes

Further reading

News reports

. .

Books

.

External links

Official website of Russell Watson

Russell Watson Facebook

Russell Watson at ClassicalX

Russell Watson at Classicsandjazz.co.uk

.

RussellWatsonInfo – a fansite

Russell Watson UK – a fansite

Category:English tenors Category:English male singers Category:Reality show winners Category:People from Salford Category:Music from Salford Category:Musicians from Manchester Category:1966 births Category:Living people

de:Russell Watson fr:Russell Watson ja:ラッセル・ワトソン pl:Russell Watson pt:Russell Watson

Coordinates	12°58′0″N77°34′0″N
Name	Ian 'H' Watkins
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Ian Watkins
Alias	'H'
Born	May 08, 1976
Instrument	Vocals
Genre	Pop
Occupation	singer, actor, comedian
Years active	1997–present
Associated acts	Steps
Website	http://www.ianhwatkins.com }}

Ian Watkins also known as H, credited as "Ian 'H' Watkins", is a Welsh singer and actor. He was one of the five members of the British pop group Steps. He has said that "H" stands for "hyperactive", describing his character.

Career

Before Steps

Watkins first appeared on stage with Frank Vickery productions, he then spent his teenage years with Spotlight Theatre Company. Before joining Steps, he worked as a redcoat for Butlins holiday parks.

After Steps

After Steps split in 2001, he formed a duo with fellow ex-Steps member Claire Richards and became H & Claire. They released a few singles and then went their separate ways. He then decided to take a musical theatre course at the Royal Academy of Music. Whilst taking the course he also appeared in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and was filmed for a reality TV series, ''H-side Story'', which followed him as he tried to make a new career in acting. In 2003 he was voted number 8 on a Channel 4 poll of 100 Worst Britons We Love to Hate. After graduating from the academy Watkins travelled to New York to continue refining his acting skills. Following his extra tuition in New York, Watkins performed at Preston's Charter theatre in the pantomime Cinderella as the character of Buttons. In Summer 2007 he performed in the West End version of ''Fame''. During Christmas 2007 he reprised his role as Buttons in the pantomime Cinderella at the Grimsby Auditorium. Christmas 2010 saw his return to Grimsby as he performed in the pantomime Beauty and the Beast playing the part of Muddles.

In June 2006, Watkins appeared in a special week of episodes of the BBC Radio Drama ''Silver Street'' on the BBC Asian Network. He played the character of former soldier Dave in episodes set in the Welsh countryside. In November 2006, Watkins featured on the BBC Children in Need ''Celebrity Scissorhands'' show, where Michelle cut his hair.

Celebrity Big Brother 5

Watkins was the ninth housemate to enter the ''Celebrity Big Brother'' house on 3 January 2007. He had complained to Big Brother about fellow housemate Shilpa Shetty being bullied. At times both Watkins and Shetty sat together talking amongst themselves. He finished in fourth place on Celebrity Big Brother 2007 and was the highest placed British contestant in the show.

After Celebrity Big Brother

In April 2007 Watkins starred as the 'hidden' celebrity in an episode of the CBBC show ''Hider in the House''.

On 11 March 2008 Watkins presented a documentary about growing up gay in Wales, shown on BBC Wales. Whilst filming for this Watkins interviewed Christian Voice leader Stephen Green. During the interview Green compared him to Jeffrey Dahmer. Watkins starred in a production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang playing the part of the child catcher, with performances in Cardiff and Sunderland before touring with Frank Vickerys Erogenous Zones playing Michael.

In December 2008 Ian was a contestant in Bargain Hunt Famous Finds partnered with Connie Fisher. Ian played the role of 'Silly Billy' in pantomime ''Jack & The Beanstalk'' at the Southport Theatre from 10 December 2009 to 3 January 2010. Ian appeared on ''Skins'', episode 2 of series 4. He is due to appear in upcoming Living TV show Party Wars. Ian also appeared in 'Cinderella'

Personal life

On 3 January 2007, Watkins came out as gay, in an interview with ''The Sun'' newspaper. He also stated that he had been involved in a ten-year relationship with Steps' manager, Tim Byrne, though this had ended a few months earlier. Prior to this, Watkins had hidden the fact he was gay from fans, although rumours were widespread. His interview was published the same day he entered the Celebrity Big Brother house.

References

External links

Celebrity Big Brother 5 Updates: Ian "H" Watkins

Gay Singer Tells of 'Nightmare' - BBC News, 11 March 2008

Category:Welsh male singers Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Category:Steps members Category:LGBT people from Wales Category:LGBT musicians from the United Kingdom Category:Big Brother UK contestants Category:People from Rhondda Category:Butlins Redcoats Category:People educated at Treorchy Comprehensive School

cy:Ian Watkins (Steps) pl:Ian Watkins (Steps)

Coordinates	12°58′0″N77°34′0″N
name	The Kings
background	group_or_band
origin	Vancouver, BC, Canada
genre	Rock, pop
years active	1977–present
current members	David Diamond Mister Zero Peter Nunn Sonny Keyes Peter Kadar Todd Reynolds
past members	Gary Craig Greg Chritchley Josh Broadbent Marty Cordrey Max Styles Randall Coryell Rich Roxborough Whitey Glan Atilla Turi
notable instruments	}}

The Kings are a Canadian band formed in the 1970s, best known for their 1980 North American hit "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide".

Recording history

The Kings were formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Oakville, Ontario in the late 1970s. The original lineup included David Diamond (bass, lead vocals), Sonny Keyes (keyboards, vocals), Max Styles (drums), and Mister Zero (guitar) with Mister Zero and David Diamond serving as the main songwriters with contributions from Sonny Keyes. The Kings were originally known as WhistleKing and rehearsed, performed club gigs, and wrote a considerable number of songs for more than three years.

In early 1980 the band went into Nimbus 9 Studio in Toronto to record their first album. While recording, renowned producer Bob Ezrin visited the studio, listened to the band, and liked what he heard. Together they created the album ''The Kings Are Here'' featuring the hit "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide". Two other singles followed and the band began touring extensively with Bob Seger, Jeff Beck, The Beach Boys and Eric Clapton. During 1980, their rising commercial fortunes culminated in an appearance on Dick Clark's ''American Bandstand'', and the closing spot at the major Heatwave festival in August.

''Amazon Beach'', the 1981 follow-up to ''The Kings Are Here'', produced little in the way of sales, and the band was soon dropped from their label Elektra Records. The Kings soldiered on and released the EP "R.S.V.P" and the live album ''Party Live '85'' on their own Dizzy label, while continuing to tour Canada and the US throughout the remainder of the 1980s. Max Styles left the band in approximately 1982.

Comebacks

The late 1980s were a difficult period for The Kings as they lost their drummer and their record label. As it were, the group was on the verge of a major revival as the single "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide" became a huge radio hit in Chicago getting major play on all of the main rock stations: Classic rock WCKG, Alternative rock WXRT, and Mainstream Rock WLUP, as well as Top 40 powerhouse WLS-AM. The unavailability of the Kings records led Chicago DJ Bob Stroud of WLUP to record his own version of the single with his band Rockestra . Elektra Records unfortunately remained unaware of the burgeoning hit and never reissued the single or album.

The single "Parting Of The Ways" appeared on Bullseye Records compilation ''Unsigned, Sealed and Delivered'' in 1991. This comeback prompted The Kings to return to the studio to record ''Unstoppable'' produced by John Punter, David Diamond and Mister Zero in 1993. ''Unstoppable'' produced several hits in Canada including "Lesson To Learn", "Shoulda Been Me", "Tonight I Got You", "Parting Of The Ways", and the title track "Unstoppable". A phone call in 1999 from Mister Zero to Alan Fletcher at Warner Canada led to the green light needed for Warner to re-issue ''The Kings Are Here..and More'' which allowed fans to get their hit "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide" on CD, which was fully remastered from the original 2 track tapes by Zero . ''...and More'' also contained a few re-mixed tracks from Unstoppable and two previously unreleased tracks -"If The Stars Come Out Tonight" and "Right To The Top". A remixed and more mature version of "If The Stars Come Out Tonight" appeared on ''Because Of You'' released in 2003. Combined original sales and cd sales have passed the platinum mark in Canada but no certification is allowed because of the bonus tracks on the cd, which are the only way the band makes money from that project.

Throughout the remainder of the 1990s, The Kings continued to tour and play live shows around Toronto, but Sonny Keyes' role with The Kings diminished and only Mister Zero and David Diamond remain as permanent members from the original lineup. Sonny Keyes continued to contribute when called upon by Zero and Diamond.

Drummer Atilla Turi and keyboard players Peter Nunn and Rich Roxborough joined Mister Zero and David Diamond on the 2003 Bullseye Records release "Because Of You" (Josh Broadbent - Diamond's son - was also recruited into The Kings to contribute his vocals). "Because Of You" would be The Kings' strongest effort to date with Harry Hess recording alongside producers Zero and Diamond. A video was made for the title track, "It's Up To You" and "The Fools Are In Love" was re-mixed from the ''Amazon Beach'' release. Sonny Keyes co-wrote "A Way You'll Never Be" with Mister Zero.

A reunion of the original lineup of The Kings occurred in the winter of 2001 with Max Styles and Sonny Keyes joining their old mates for Alan Frew's (Glass Tiger) children benefit concert for Camp Trillium in Toronto. They played the benefit concert again in 2002.

In late 2005 The Kings had a full length reunion concert in Toronto which was filmed for inclusion in the DVD documentary being assembled by Mister Zero. The first part of this film to be seen is the incredible video for ''This Beat Goes On/Switchin' to Glide'', released October 2006, which gets thousands of plays on youtube.

Another focus for The Kings was to put as many songs as possible on iTunes, thus having the catalog available worldwide instantly. The album ''The Kings Anthology One'' is the latest addition, 12 songs from different eras including never before heard epic rockers from Whistleking.

In to 2008, The Kings continue to play live shows across southern Ontario and, from time to time, the northern United States. The Kings are also finishing new songs for their next studio album.

Lineups

The Kings 1977 - 1982 # David Diamond (vocals, bass) # Mister Zero (guitar) # Sonny Keyes (keyboards) # Max Styles (drums)

The Kings 1982 - 1999 # David Diamond (vocals, bass) # Mister Zero (guitar) # Sonny Keyes (keyboards) #Peter Nunn (1994) (keyboards) #Marty Cordrey, Whitey Glan, Gary Craig, Randall Coryell, Greg Chritchley, Atilla Turi (drums) #Josh Broadbent (vocals) The Kings 1999 - 2005 # David Diamond (vocals, bass) # Mister Zero (guitar) # Atilla Turi (drums) # Peter Nunn (keyboards) # Rich Roxborough (keyboards) # Josh Broadbent (vocals)

The Kings 2005–present # David Diamond (vocals, bass) # Mister Zero (guitar) # Atilla Turi (drums) # Peter Nunn (keyboards) # Sonny Keyes (keyboards) # Peter Kadar (keyboards) #Josh Broadbent (vocals) #Todd Reynolds (Drums)

Discography

''The Kings Are Here'' album (Elektra, 1980)

''Amazon Beach'' album (Elektra, 1981)

''R.S.V.P'' [4-Song EP] (Dizzy, 1982)

''Party Live '85'' live album (Dizzy, 1985)

''Parting Of The Ways'' single (1991)

''Unstoppable'' CD (Dizzy, 1993)

''Unstoppable'' [W/This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide added] CD (Griffin, 1995)

''The Kings Are Here..and More'' CD (Warner, 2000)

''The Kings Are Here/Amazon Beach'' (2 on 1 CD, Wounded Bird, 2003)

''Because Of You'' CD (2003)

''Anthology One'' CD (2006)

See also

Canadian rock

Music of Canada

References

External links

Official website

Bullseye Records

The Kings: Anatomy of a One-Hit Wonder DVD review

Category:Canadian rock music groups Category:Musical groups from Vancouver

Coordinates	12°58′0″N77°34′0″N
Name	Toyah Willcox
Landscape	yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Toyah Ann Willcox
Alias	Toyah
Born	May 18, 1958Kings Heath, BirminghamEngland, United Kingdom
Instrument	vocals, guitar, keyboards
Genre	Punk rock, Rock music, New wave
Occupation	musician, actress, songwriter, producer, author
Years active	1977–present
Label	Safari Records, E.G. Records
Associated acts	Toyah, Robert Fripp, Sunday All Over The World, Kiss Of Reality, The Humans
Website	http://www.toyahwillcox.com
Past members	}}

Toyah Ann Willcox (born 18 May 1958 in Kings Heath, Birmingham) is an English actress and singer. In a career spanning more than thirty years Toyah has had 13 top 40 singles, released 22 studio albums, written two books, appeared in over forty stage plays, made ten feature films, as well as voicing and presenting numerous television shows including Brum, Watchdog" and Songs of Praise.

Biography

Toyah Willcox was born in Kings Heath, Birmingham. Her father Beric Willcox ran a successful joinery business and owned three factories, her mother Barbara Joy (née Rollinson) was a professional dancer whom he fell in love with after seeing her on stage in Weston-super-Mare, with Flanagan and Allen and married in 1949. Barbara Willcox had to give up her career after giving birth to Nicola (b. 1950) and Kim (b. 1953), Toyah's older sister and brother, respectively. Asked of why her parents might have called her so, Toyah said in a 1981 interview: "I don’t know, they won’t tell me, but its definitely my birth name. There is a town in Texas, called Toyah, and Toyah in Red Indian means 'water'. My parents deny that's where they got it from…"

Toyah was born with a twisted spine, clawed feet, a clubbed right foot, one leg two inches shorter than the other and no hip sockets. Because of this she endured years of painful operations and physiotherapy. Her physical condition was one of the reasons for her having difficult times at school. "When I was bullied at school, it was coz of my character. I was a weak child, I was incredibly small. I had a speech impediment, I was the perfect bait for bullying. My dad took me out the back and taught how to punch the hell out of someone and from then on I was never bullied again", Toyah recalled.

Years later she described her relationship with her mother as complicated, saying she "hasn't hugged her mother since she was 12 and can't see it ever happening". Later she gave much credit to her parents, though. "I've never gone hungry. I never suffered though lack of money in any way. Not because of my parents, anyway. They wanted the best for me, like all parents do for their children. They wanted me to have a very good education, to be polite child, to be taught good manners and have a future", she recalled in 1980. In fact, until the age of seven Toyah remembered to have been very close to her mother, if only for the reason of being very ill and having to be taught how to walk and talk. Then Barbara had another child, a daughter called Fleur, who died. "When she came home from hospital there was a bit of a distance between us. It was never talked about again", Toyah remembered. At the launch of her autobiography in 2000, the singer said "We had a very violent relationship together. I was the violent person. And I didn't want her to kind of suffer by the book and I hope I represented her very well. Coz she really was a wonderful woman with a child from hell." In another interview of the time, Toyah said: "My mother... taught me how to walk, she was one that was trained to give me the physiotherapy to straighten my own spine so twice a day we would go through this routine. So she was disciplinarian in my life from a very - well right from when I can remember. So it was natural she was the first person I should rebel against. And I regret that our relationship was very often violent... And I feel very strongly towards my mum that she sacrificed everything to give me the freedom I have today".

Years of alienation and rebellion

Toyah attended the private school Edgbaston C of E College where she was noted for absence from the class room and setting of a series of alarm clocks during a speech by a visiting MP, one Margaret Thatcher. Suffering from dyslexia, which by her own admission, turned her into an "angry, rebellious" teenager; she achieved just one 'O' Level pass in music. The ambition to sing and act started at about nine. "I was incredible dreamer when I was at school… I just felt trapped… I wanted to escape, really", she remembered. This had to do also with her upbringing which she described as "very strict".

As a teenager, obsessed with aliens and the concept of alienation, Toyah felt she couldn't fit in with anything. "I loathed suburbia, I loathed the idea of getting married and having kids. I just thought, Where the hell do I belong?" she recalled. In 1974 Toyah started to exercise her rebel instincts in experimenting with hair. "I just looked like something off another planet. And I was very very lonely. Noone would come near me. Buses wouldn't pick me up, boys wouldn't come near me", she remembered. In the mid-1970s, as the punk movement started to gain ground, Toyah saw something she might belong to, even if she understood little about punk politics. A friend suggested that she should see the Sex Pistols. "It wasn’t that I saw Sex Pistols and thought Oh that changed my life. I saw them and my reaction was, I can do better, I go to London to do it... From then on I knew I didn’t have to behave in a social norm. Because I wasn't alone". By the time she formed her first band, though, Toyah was already an aspiring young actress.

Acting career

After her O-levels (which she took late, having lost a year to have corrective surgery on her feet) Toyah left school at about 17 and I went straight to Old Rep Drama School in Birmingham. "Already by then I was known in Birmingham for being the oddball that walked around with dyed hair. And you’ve got to remember that this is pre-punk, this was about 1973-74", she later recalled. While in drama school she had to earn her own way to pay her fees because in here, ironically, she proved to be the one member of her year who didn’t get a grant (the man who took her grant meeting wrote down on a piece of paper, which she saw: "She has a lisp and isn’t attractive"). "I worked in all the theatres in Birmingham so I'd go to drama school from 10 to 5 , then I'd go to the Alex Theatre or the Hippodrome Theatre and I'd dress the stars who were on tour", she recalled. All of those stars without exception, including Judy Geeson, Simon Williams and Sylvia Simms took a liking to her; by this time she was known in theatre clique as the 'Bird Of Paradise'.

After one year at the Old Rep, 18-year old Toyah had done some extra work at a BBC Pebble Mill TV station. A month later director and playwright Tony Bicat was looking for a girl to play the leading role in the BBC 'Second City Firsts' play ''Glitter'' (along with Noel Edmonds and Phil Daniels). And so Toyah has got the part of Sue, the girl who sang with the band called Bilbo Baggins and was dreaming of appearing at the Top of the Pops. In the course of the 30-minutes play Toyah performed two songs (she co-wrote): "Floating Free" (an acoustic ballad, with Phil Daniels accompanying her on guitar) and "Dream Maker". In the 1981 interview, having learned the play's footage had been wiped, Toyah commented: "Its the best thing they could have done with it, really. It was the first time I ever sung in public, and I was shaking like a leaf... and I was so fat!" It was ''Glitter'', though, that launched Toyah's career: it appeared that Kate Milligan and Maximilian Schell were watching that play. They offered her a place with the National Theatre in London, where she's got the part of Emma in ''Tales from the Vienna Woods''. "So I got a phone call the following day saying come down to London and I went down to London with a carrier bag and never went back", Toyah remembered. It was at this time that she formed a band, Toyah. In the National Theater Toyah was known as The Animal, the nickname John Gielgud gave her after she with a girlfriend "discovered you could have a backwards wheelchair race" and she wheeled herself "into John’s private parts".

In the summer of 1977 a National Theatre actor Ian Charleson (best known for his role in ''Chariots Of Fire'') thought that Toyah was someone that his friend, film director Derek Jarman should meet and took her to tea on Tregunter Road in Fulham at Derek's flat. The director picked the script of what later proved to be a seminal punk epic ''Jubilee'' (called ''Down With The Queen'' at the time), said "it’s a punk movie and I don’t know what we’re going to call it. But it's fun, it anarchic", and threw it on Toyah's lap saying: "Pick any part you want". "So I picked Mad because she had the most lines in the film. And Derek then said 'of all the characters if any have to be cut because of lack of money, it's going to be Mad. Because she is superficial, she doesn’t serve a purpose', and I said 'how wonderfully anarchic, I still want it'", Toyah remembered. In a month's time he did have to cut Mad from the film, but, seeing Toyah greatly upset, gave up his fee on the film so that she could play the role she was craving for. "After that Derek became like a surrogate father because he knew what it was like to go hungry and so did I", Toyah recalled. Later she cited Jarman as one of her greatest inspirations: Psychologically, though, the filming was difficult. "I'd never seen a nude person before... And there was this scene where I jump into bed with two brothers and get the lighter out and the first time we did it they had their clothes on and then we did the take and I jumped into bed and they had nothing on! I completely freaked out. I'd never seen a nude man before!", she told Paul Morley in a 1980 interview.

Toyah continued to gain strong roles, notably, Monkey in 1979's Who album-inspired ''Quadrophenia'', which boosted her reputation of a provocative and anti-establishment figure. Later she recalled the circumstances: Later she admitted of her awareness of it being a strong career move. "I wouldn't have stayed otherwise. Getting up at five, catching pneumonia. I didn't have a day off. I had to keep going, there was this nurse with me the whole time. I really was very ill. But I realised the film was... benefiting me", Toyah said.

Then the Sex Pistols started on their own film, "The Great Rock And Roll Swindle and for a while, when Russ Meyer was due to direct, Toyah was going to take part in the movie. Then, her role fell through. Instead, she teamed up with Derek Jarman again to play Miranda in his innovative version of ''The Tempest'', which won her a nomination as ''Best Newcomer'' at the 1980 Evening Standard Awards. "Derek offered me Miranda which was the first time I've really ever experienced Shakespeare and was very frightened of doing it but refused to give it up because I like a challenge and that was the biggest challenge in my acting career yet", Toyah recalled. Her 'wild child' performance, described as "naive and knowing", exotically "puffed out" her image, according to Paul Morley. "I knew it would benefit my acting career within the acting world... Punk rock star Toyah Willcox doing Shakespeare. It had that sensationalist aspect about it. But not only has it benefited my acting career. It's opened up a new audience for me", Toyah commented.

In 1979 on London's Royal Court Theatre stage Toyah played Sharon in Nigel Williams' ''Sugar And Spice'', the play about "hate, despair and sexual derision", climaxing with an unsettling jab of physical violence (the main character Steve having his genitals twisted out by the broken whisky bottle). "I was offered the part of Carol, who is the bird that ends up naked, and I instantly refused it. I just couldn't handle a part like that. I sent the script back, and was offered the part of Sharon, which I was quite happy to take... The nudity would freak me out. Completely", she explained in the 1980 NME interview. The part took six weeks to learn and still proved demanding, lots of words Toyah muffled on stage. "You get to the point where if you're not concentrating I find I'm talking a load of gibberish because I'm missing certain words out. I'm not thinking about what I'm saying, and the cast are looking at me in horror. You do things like that 'cos there's so many lines, you forget you are talking sense", she explained. Still she insisted on having at least one stage play a year, merely as a mental stimulant. "'Cos it's training, really good training... Film can be so related and you don't have to concentrate so much. I just find it a good refresher course. It just makes you think", she told ZigZag in 1980.

Also in 1979 Toyah appeared as Tallulah in Stephen Poliakoff's ''American Days'' at the ICA, playing alongside Mel Smith, Antony Sher and Phil Daniels and, the same year, opposite Katharine Hepburn in the made-for-television movie ''The Corn is Green'', directed by George Cukor. Toyah remembered how she had to go and do an audition with 2000 other hopefuls for the film after the Emlyn Williams book: "Katherine Hepburn just fell in love with me the first time I met her and I say that modestly because she actually admitted she did... She loved my eyes, she said they were full of fire", Toyah was saying in her 2000 interviews.

Toyah played Calamity Jane at the Shaftesbury Theatre and was a guest vocalist in the anniversary tour of The Rocky Horror Show at the Royal Court Theatre. She had many television roles, including series such as ''Quatermass'' (1979) and ''Minder''. She starred opposite Laurence Olivier in ''The Ebony Tower'' (1984), also appeared on ''Kavanagh QC'' and ''Secret Diary of a Call Girl''.

During the late 1980s and 1990s Toyah forged ahead with a career as a stage performer. Notable credits include ''Trafford Tanzi'' (at the Mermaid Theatre, leading role), ''Cabaret'' (Sally Bowles), ''Three Men and a Horse'' (winner of Olivier Award for Best New Comedy), the UK tour of Arthur Smith's ''Live Bed Show''. In 1990 she played Costanza in the national tour of Amadeus. She has also appeared as a presenter of programmes such as ''Songs of Praise'', ''Holiday'' (BBC), and ''Good Sex Guide Late'' as well as being a guest on several shows such as ''The Heaven and Earth Show'', ''Through the Keyhole'' and ''Loose Women''.

In 1999 she took the lead in the children's television series ''Barmy Aunt Boomerang''. She also provided the voices for the children's television programmes ''Teletubbies'' and ''Brum''. She has also appeared in the reality television series ''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'' and ''I'm Famous and Frightened!''.

In the 2000s Toyah had a busy schedule with theatre commitments, including appearing on stage in London's West End performing the title role of ''Calamity Jane'' (nominated for an Evening Standard Award for Best Musical) at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2003. In June 2008 Toyah appeared on ''Living With The Dead'' on LivingTV to share her experiences living in her haunted home. On 24 July 2008 Toyah appeared on the UK ITV1 This Morning (TV series) to discuss her role as a vampire in rock musical Vampires Rock. More recently, Toyah played Queen Ivannah in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Lyceum in Sheffield for the 2009 Christmas season.

Career in music

Toyah's performance in ''Glitter'' (1976), which some years later she remembered as embarrassing, provided nevertheless a crucial impulse to start musical career of her own. "Inspired by the band, the equipment, the volume, the ambience... my mind was set. I had to put a band together myself, or get into one... quick!", she said. In 1977, while with the London's National Theatre playing Emma in ''Tales from the Vienna Woods'', Willcox fronted a band called Toyah which featured Joel Bogen on guitar, Mark Henry on bass, Steve Bray on drums, Peter Bush on keyboards, and herself on vocals, cutting (according to AllMusic) "a very striking visual image at this time with bright orange hair with pink tips". She never considered herself a musician. "I was writing poetry. Most of the poetry that went onto an album called ''Anthem''. But I’ve never really been a musician. I’m a lyricist primarily... So back then I was writing poetry and learning what I loved about a song", she later remembered.

In London Toyah lived in a place called ''Mayhem'', the converted British Rail warehouse serving as a studio which started off as a "sort of over ambitious multi-media idea and the whole idea was for anyone to go in there and try and create something", according to Toyah. It was there that the band Toyah recorded their first demos. For the lack of proper bed she slept for a while in a "second-hand" coffin, reportedly used by the French Red Cross to transport victims of fatal accidents. While doing ''Quadrophenia'' Toyah Willcox was getting a lot of press and the band was doing well. Up to two thousand people would turn out at gigs, which were huge crowds for an unsigned band. They did a showcase for Safari Records and the label signed them on the spot. "Which amazed me, because I'm a live performer, I need my audience, I need my interaction and we were performing in a small rehearsal studio that smelt of beer and piss. But this worked well. It meant I could go back to ''Quadrophenia'' and say to Sting: I've just been signed!" Toyah remembered. The band had it's first critical success with the debut single "Victims of the Riddle" which topped the UK Indie Charts. Then came the ''Sheep Farming in Barnet'' EP, produced by Steve James and Keith Hale. Initially released in Germany, in 1979 it was re-released as an LP, comprising the original six tracks, "Victims of the Riddle" A and B sides and three tracks that were previously unavailable on vinyl. Toyah's debut album ''The Blue Meaning'', went up to #40 in the UK Albums Chart in June 1980. By this time she severed all ties with punk aesthetics. "I don't use punk whatsoever because my philosophies are so different, my morals are so straight. I'm not a punk, I'm a modern woman", Toyah said in a 1980 TV interview.

In January the live album ''Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!'', recorded at the Lafayette Club in Wolverhampton the previous June, made it to Top 30, backed up by a TV Documentary "Toyah". By now the original band has broken up. "I played mother to that band for two years and they just walk out on me. It's left me bitter, but I know I can survive without them", Toyah said in an interview. The new lineup consisted of Phil Spalding, Nigel Glocker, and Adrian Lee, only Joel Bogen remaining and Toyah.

1981 saw Toyah's massive presence in the charts with hits like ''Four from Toyah'' EP (#4, February 1981, including "It's a Mystery"), the second album ''Anthem'' that went up to #2 in May 1981 to be later certified platinum, "I Want To Be Free" (#8, June 1981), "Thunder In The Mountains" (#4, October 1981) and ''Four More From Toyah'' EP (November 1981, #14). She became one of the first acts to score regularly in the UK Singles Chart with EPs, which were also successful on an international level. In the end of the year Toyah won the Smash Hits Reader's Poll 1981 in two categories: "Best female singer" and "Most Fanciable Female" (beating Kim Wilde to the second place). In 1981 she alone, according to Safari, sold in the UK more units than the whole of the Warner Bros. put together.

In 1982 the ''The Changeling'' album was released, produced by Steve Lillywhite; marking a turn for a more goth-tinged sound, it went up to #6 in the UK. "''Changeling'' was a reaction because I wasn't ready to write... I should have had another six or twelve months to address the album. It was all written in the studio. I think it's a good album, it says something very powerful. But it was a painful album and a very painful period in my life where I just had to move back into acting, which was Trafford Tanzi", Toyah remembered. ''Changeling'' was followed in the same year by a double live album ''Warrior Rock: Toyah on Tour''. Also in 1982 Toyah appeared in ''Urgh! A Music War'', a British film released in 1982 featuring performances by punk rock, new wave, and post-punk acts, filmed in 1980, in which she performed her hit, "Danced". Three more of her singles, "Brave New World", "Ieya" and "Be Loud Be Proud" have made it into the top 50. Later in the year Toyah was voted Best Female Singer at the British Rock and Pop Awards, since restyled as The BRIT Awards.

The making of ''Love Is The Law'' (1983) was the happiest period of her life, according to Toyah, when "...everything was going right. I was starring in a stage play called 'Trafford Tanzi', which won me especially huge critical acclaim, and I was about to star in a film, 'The Ebony Tower' with Lord Laurence Olivier just as soon as the album was finished... It was a killer timetable but I loved it with a passion", she remembered. By this time, though, her popularity started to decline: the album reached #28 (with singles "Rebel Run" and "The Vow" peaking at ##24 and 50 respectively), but the 1984 greatest hits compilation, released by K-tel and called confusingly ''Toyah Toyah Toyah'', failed to chart.

Solo career

In 1985 Toyah Willcox disbanded her group, signed to a major label, Portrait Records and released the solo album ''Minx'' (#24, 1985) which contained several cover versions, that Alice Cooper's "School's Out". In 1986, Willcox released ''The Acoustic Album'' on Aardvark Records, featuring strings from Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and produced by Oliver Davis. The same year she also sang lead on the Tony Banks track "Lion of Symmetry."

In 1986 Toyah married UK guitarist Robert Fripp and formed with him a new band Sunday All Over the World which released critically acclaimed ''Kneeling at the Shrine'' album. Her next solo album ''Desire'' (1987) was less successful although the single with her version of "Echo Beach" made it top 50. Then in 1988 ''Prostitute'' came out, an album through which Toyah vented her frustrations which started to accumulate as a result of having made the transformation "from all-powerful artist to invisible woman" in the course of just one year of marriage. This experimental concept album, marking a considerable divergence from previous works, was released on E.G. Records. The attitude to ''Prostitute'', according to Toyah, in the UK and the USA was radically different: Robert Fripp joined his wife on her 1991 album ''Ophelia's Shadow'' (1991) which, along with ''Dreamchild'' (1994), received good reviews.

In 2001 Toyah was awarded a prestigious Honorary Doctorate by the University of Central England in recognition of her distinguished achievements in performing arts, media and broadcasting. The 2001 May issue of ''Q magazine'' named Toyah number 48 in their top 100 Greatest Women in Music poll, as voted for by readers of the magazine. She returned to music in 2002 with new material for a limited edition ''Little Tears of Love'' EP and a one-off preview concert at Ronnie Scotts. The same year she sold out eleven stadium gigs for the ''Here and Now'' Tour. She continued to perform with her band, releasing a mini-album ''Velvet Lined Shell'' (2003, ''Little Tears of Love'' material included) on her own record label, Vertical Species Records, showcasing a darker, edgier direction. In 2004 she performed as part of ''The Best of the 80s Tour'' in the UK alongside Nick Heyward, Curiosity Killed the Cat and Altered Images. A live DVD in 2005 followed, the year which also saw ''The Safari Singles Collection'', parts I & II (1979–1981/1982–1983) being issued.

In May 2007, she collaborated with Bill Rieflin as ''The Humans'' for live dates in Estonia where she's been invited to personally the Estonian President. According to Northern Echo, that resulted "from reading one of her husband's emails". The invitation was for him to go, but he wasn't keen, so Toyah accepted. "In England, that doesn’t have much of a career prospect because people want me to sing like the Toyah they’ve known for 30 years. But in other places I can step away from that," she later commented.

Also in 2007 Toyah signed a new worldwide publishing deal with Zomba Music. She continued to write and record solo material with long-term collaborator Simon Darlow. On October 29, 2007 a new single "Latex Messiah" came out, followed by the ''In The Court Of The Crimson Queen'' album, written and produced in collaboration with Darlow and released by Willow Recordings Ltd. on September 15, 2008.

As part of Liverpool's European Capital Of Culture year, she performed for the first time ever at the newly opened Liverpool Echo Arena and Conference Centre. In 2009, a new version of Vampires Rock was created, called Vampires Rock Christmas, and Toyah is back in her role as the Killer Queen, next to the writer and one of the stars of the show, Steve Steinman. On July 5 she played at the Bents Park, South Shields in a live outdoor concert, and in October 2009 she made a guest appearance in the BBC1 drama series Casualty.

In 2009, Toyah continued to perform with The Humans, featuring Bill Reiflin, Chris Wong and occasionally husband Robert Fripp. Described as "European experimental meets West Coast American grunge", The Humans recorded their debut ''We Are The Humans'' in Seattle in 2008 and released in Estonia in May 2009 to coincide with the band's return to play before the country's president at Tartufest. The album received a UK digital release in September 2009, along with a Humans single, "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'." In the end of the year Toyah came seventh in a BBC series naming the 'Queens of British Pop,' as voted for by the British Public. In 2010, Toyah with The Humans performed at the London Roundhouse ''Haiti Earthquake Fundraiser'' concert.

On June 17, 2011 Toyah Willcox commenced on a special ''From Sheep Farming To Anthem'' tour, celebrating the 30th anniversary of her breakthrough hit "It's A Mystery" and the platinum-selling album ''Anthem'', starting at the London's Leicester Square Theatre. The set, including selections drawn exclusively from Toyah's first three albums, ''Sheep Farming In Barnet'', ''The Blue Meaning'' and ''Anthem''. garnered good reviews.

Two careers as one

Since Toyah's move to London in the mid-1970s her acting and musical careers developed in parallel, causing lots of misunderstanding. "I think people found me either fake, or couldn't put me in a compartment", Toyah later commented on the way her work in theater and the reputation of "High priestess of punk" collided.

In 1980 writer Paul Morley described Toyah's roles as having had "great attraction" and being "bright boosts". Solidly established ("and undeniably hot", in words of Morley), she had at the time much less credit as a musician, desperately wanting, meanwhile, her music to be as accepted as her acting. On the way those two world interacted, Toyah commented: Toyah often emphasized the fact that music and acting for her complimented one another: "I got to do both. I like both for totally different reasons but I find if I escape for a few months from music to do some acting, then when I’m acting I’ll probably write a lot of lyrics". "I like being busy the whole time. I like having to think the whole time. When I'm at my tiredest I get my best ideas. So if I had to do one career I would find it incredibly frustrating coz it wouldn't satisfy my imagination enough", she said in an ATV 1980 documentary. "There was a time when I was doing two movies and an album... ''Quadrophenia'' and ''Quatermass'' and the ''Sheep Farming In Barnet'' LP. I didn't sleep for two weeks and I was very happy", Toyah told Paul Morley in 1980. On distinction between the two careers, she remarked: "When I'm acting I'm someone else's puppet. I'm the director's or writer's puppet... You feel that you are eating other people's minds to create a totally separate person. You're creating something that doesn't exist, and it's great. You feel like a creator", adding: "I've got two personalities that both need feeding at the same time. I couldn't tell you what they are. I've got the snob in me and I've got the commoner in me. The snob does the acting and the commoner the music".

Social activities

In 1987 Toyah was invited to make a speech at ''Women of Year'' ceremony in presence of Princess Diana, expressing her views on the subject of how being handicapped incites creativity and craving for fuller life experience.

In 2002, Toyah became a prominent opponent of planned accommodation centers for asylum seekers near the Worcestershire village, Throckmorton. Protesting together with more than 1000 villagers, Willcox said, "The villagers are not anti-asylum seekers and they are not racists", adding that "It was not a simple black and white issue." Commenting on the Government's plans to build asylum centres in other rural areas, Toyah said "This is only the first of 15. The sheer scale is mind-boggling. This is a small country - it's all happening illegally."

In November 2007, Toyah took on the role of sponsoring the Black Country Urban Park for the Peoples £50M BIG Lottery. In April 2008, Toyah took part in the ''Great Walk To Beijing'' alongside other celebrities to raise money for Olivia Newton-John's Cancer charity.

Autobiographies

Toyah has had two best selling books published. Following her 2000 autobiography ''Living Out Loud'', Toyah had a further autobiographical book published in 2005 documenting her experience of cosmetic surgery, ''Diary of a Facelift''.

Radio

She has been heard on radio including the 2002 BBC Radio 4 series ''The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes''. She is also credited with voicing the widow Fantine in Focus on the Family Radio Theatre's version of Les Misérables. In December 2006, she joined the radio drama series ''Silver Street'' on the BBC Asian Network as Siobhan Brady.

Private life

From early childhood Toyah was aware she didn't fit into gender stereotypes. In a girl school she was always a tomboy, very aggressive and physical, always in rough and tumble fights. In 2003 Toyah remembered: As a teenager she became uncertain about her sexuality even more. "I went out with guys first when I was about 13 to 15 and then I just stopped. I never actually went out with a woman or anything … I generally thought I was a lesbian purely coz I wasn't interested in men but at the same time I wasn't interested in women. And that's why I concentrated so hard on my career from such an early age", she recalled. As the band Toyah started to gain ground, the singer felt put off by the groupie scene. "All I ever see of woman is usually groupies. They disgust me. How can they jump into bed with someone they've just met is beyond me… I just don't understand. There's no brain there as far as I'm concerned… I can put up with them. As soon as they get to me they change. They want to talk to you rather than pull your body. But as soon as I see them pulling, I just leave the room. I don't want to be associated with that at all. The band used to go out pulling every night and I just used to go back to the hotel. I wouldn't go anywhere with them", she told Paul Morley in a 1980 interview.

Marriage

In 1986 in Poole, Dorset Toyah married Robert Fripp of King Crimson and "I got married because I had found my soul mate, not because I wanted to be married", she said in a 2008 interview.

Shortly after her marriage Toyah underwent a sterilisation operation as she is incapable of carrying a child full-term due to her childhood illnesses and she has said that neither she nor her husband wants children. Asked if she had any regrets about that later, Toyah said: "No. The morning I woke up from the operation I was in tears, I felt I’d interfered with my femininity but since then no. You don’t have a child just because a woman, you have a child because you have calling and I did not want to be put in a position of terminating a birth when I felt so strongly that actually psychologically being pregnant would damage me. It was something that I really really thought about and I perhaps suffered for six weeks after but since then it's been a liberation". However, she and her husband have arranged their wills so as to leave their entire fortune to the establishment of a musical educational trust for children.

For the first 19 years of their marriage the couple lived largely separate lives due to the demands of their careers: she in Pershore, Worcestershire, UK, Fripp in the USA, and rarely saw each other for more than 12 weeks every year. "But in semi-retirement now, so he's home, I cook for him twice a day and I really like it. We're having lovely lovely autumn years of our marriage, it's really nice", Toyah said in 2006 radio interview.

Discography

Albums

With Toyah (band)

:{| class="wikitable" |- !Title !Recorded !Highest Chart !Date of release !Re-issue |- | ''Sheep Farming in Barnet'' | 1979 |align="center"| - | 22 February 1980 | 1990, 2003 |- | ''The Blue Meaning'' |rowspan="2"| 1980 |align="center"| 40 | 14 June 1980 | 1990, 2003 |- | ''Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!'' (live) |align="center"| 22 (certified Silver) | 17 January 1981 | 1990, 2006 |- | ''Anthem'' | 1981 |align="center"| 2 (certified Gold) | 20 May 1981 |1999 |- | ''The Changeling'' |rowspan="2"| 1982 |align="center"| 6 (certified Silver) | 2 June 1982 |1999 |- | ''Warrior Rock: Toyah On Tour'' |align="center"| 20 | 10 November 1982 | 2003 |- | ''Love Is The Law'' | 1983 |align="center"| 28 | ? |2005 |- | ''Mayhem'' |1985 |align="center"| - | ? | 2005 |}

As a solo artist

:* ''Minx'' (1985) #24 (UK Albums Chart) :* ''Desire'' (1987) :* ''Prostitute'' (1988) :* ''Ophelia's Shadow'' (with members of King Crimson) (1991) :* ''Take the Leap!'' (Japan-only release, same content as ''Leap!'') (1994) :* ''Dreamchild'' (1994) :* ''Looking Back'' (re-recorded versions of old tracks) (1995) :* ''The Acoustic Album'' (re-recorded versions of old tracks) (1996) :* ''Velvet Lined Shell'' (mini album) (2003) :* ''In the Court of the Crimson Queen'' (2008)

Compilations

With Toyah (band)

:* ''Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!'' (1984) :* ''Best Of Toyah'' (1994) :* ''Live & More: Live Favourites & Rarities'' (1998) :* ''The Very Best of Toyah'' (1998) :* ''Proud, Loud & Heard: The Best of Toyah'' (1998) :* ''The Safari Singles Collection Part I: 1979–1981'' (2005) :* ''The Safari Singles Collection Part II: 1982–1983'' (2005) :* ''Good Morning Universe - The Very Best of Toyah''(2008)

Collaborations

:* ''The Stranglers & Friends Live in Concert'' (with ''The Stranglers'' et al., lead/backing vocals on four tracks) (1982) :* ''Lion of Symmetry'' (with Tony Banks on the album ''Soundtracks'') (1986) :* ''The Lady or the Tiger'' (with Robert Fripp) (1986) :* ''Kneeling At The Shrine'' (with Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn, and Paul Beavis, as ''Sunday All Over The World'') (1991) :* ''Kiss Of Reality'' (with ''Kiss Of Reality'', lead vocals on six tracks) (1993) :* ''The Third Star''(by Trey Gunn, lead vocals on the track ''Symbiotic'') (1996) :* ''Cabaret'' (with Nigel Planer) (1997) :* ''How to Dress Sensibly'' (with various artists collective created by English Eccentrics, backing vocals on track ''One Cup of Tea'') (2007) :* ''We Are The Humans'' (2009, with The Humans) :* ''This Fragile Moment'' (2009, a music project formed by Toyah Willcox, Robert Jürjendal, Arvo Urb, Chris Wong and Markus Reuter)

Singles / EPs

:With Toyah (band):

!Title	!Year	!Highest Chart	!Date
Victims of the Riddle			-
Sheep Farming in Barnet EP		-
Bird in Flight / Tribal Look			-
Ieya		-
Danced (Live)		-
Four from Toyah EP			28 March 1981
I Want to Be Free		16 May 1981
Thunder in the Mountains		3 October 1981
Four More from Toyah EP		12 December 1981
			22 May 1982
		17 July 1982
Be Proud Be Loud (Be Heard)		9 October 1982
Rebel Run			24 September 1983
		12 November 1983

:As a solo artist:

!Title	!Year	!Highest Chart	!Date
"Don't Fall in Love (I Said)"			27 April 1985
"Soul Passing Through Soul"		29 June 1985
"World in Action"		21 September 1985
Echo Beach			25 April 1987
"Moonlight Dancing"		-
"Out of the Blue"	1993		-
"Now and Then"	1994		-
"Little Tears of Love" (limited release)	2002		-
"Latex Messiah (Viva La Rebel in You)" (Digital release)	2007		29 October 2007
"These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" (The Humans)	2009

:Collaborations: "Nine To Five" (with Adam Ant as ''Maneaters'') (1982)

"Lion of Symmetry" (EP with Tony Banks) (1985)

"Killing Made Easy" (limited release with ''Family of Noise'') (2004)

Filmography

''Jubilee'' (1977) Mad

''The Corn is Green'' (1979) Bessie Watty

''The Tempest'' (1979) Miranda

''Quadrophenia'' (1979) Monkey

''The Ebony Tower'' (1984) Anne

''Anchoress'' (1993) Pauline Carpenter

''Julie and the Cadillacs'' (1999) Barbara Gifford

''The Most Fertile Man in Ireland'' (1999) Dr Johnson

''Three To Tango'' (2009) Michelle

TV appearances

''Quatermass'' (1979) Sal

''Shoestring'' (1979)

''Minder'' (1980)

''Tales of the Unexpected'' (1982) Marigold - ''Blue Marigold'' episode

''Dear Heart'' A BBC comedy sketch series Toyah appeared in, playing a number of characters, including Super Advice Person, Jules Says, and Gina & Tina (1982)

''The Ebony Tower'' (1983) Anne (The Freak) - with Laurence Olivier

''Pop Quiz Christmas Special'' (1984)

''French & Saunders'' (1988) Herself

''Boudicca'' (1988)

''Cluedo'' (1990) Miss Scarlet (An ITV Programme)

''First Night on TV'' (1992) (Toyah hosted this arts programme)

''Thirty Years in the TARDIS'' (Doctor Who Documentary. VHS release AKA "More Than 30 Years In The TARDIS) (1993) Herself

''The Ink Thief'' (1994) "Dog"

''Kavanagh QC'' (1995)

''The Good Sex Guide Late'' (1996)

''Presenting...Toyah on VH1'' (1997)

''Light Lunch" (1997)

''Boys From The Black Country - The Slade Story'' (1998) (Toyah presents this programme)

''Never Mind The Buzzcocks'' (various appearances 1998-2005)

''It's Slade'' (1999) (Toyah appears in this documentary)

''Barmy Aunt Boomerang'' (1999)

''Rock Legends'' (2002) (Herself)

''Open House Panto Special'' (2002)

''QueenMania" (2005) (Toyah performs the Queen song 'Don't Stop Me Now")

''Proud Parents''. Channel 4 (2006) Herself

''Secret Diary of a Call Girl'' (2007)

''In Your Dreams'' (2008) Herself

''Living With The Dead'' (2008)

''Celebrity Mastermind'' (2008)

''Psychic Therapy'' (2009) Herself

''Celeb Experiences'' (2009) Herself

''Hole In The Wall'' (2009) Herself

''Celebrity Brides Unveiled'' (2008) Herself

''Celebrity Life Skills'' (2009) Herself

'' The One Show (2009) Toyah discusses Marc Bolan and his influence on her

''Casualty'', BBC TV Series, Season 24 Episode 6, guest appearance, Hazel Tillier, (screened 10 October 2009)

''Celebrity Ready Steady Cook Christmas Special'' (2008) Herself

"Celebrity Ghost Story UK" - herself, telling the audience of her personal experiences with the paranormal, including a ghost maid, the devil, and a haunted house.

Toyah has also appeared in many shows looking back on popular culture, including the 'I'm a celebrity' series, and various 'Top 100 favourite' shows.

Music videos

''Toyah at the Rainbow'' (1981) (live recording from Rainbow Theatre)

''Good Morning Universe'' (1982) (live BBC recording from Theatre Royal, Drury Lane)

''Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!'' (1984) (companion to K-tel LP of same name; compilation of four pop videos and one live track)

''Wild Essence - Live in the 21st Century'' (2005) (live recording)

Other music compilations

''Urgh! A Music War'' (1981) (live performances by various artists, featuring Toyah's ''Danced'')

Notes

References

External links

The Official Toyah Willcox Web Site

Dreamscape: Toyah.Net

The Official Toyah MySpace

The Official Facebook

'Toyah' the 1980 documentary on YouTube

I was a Teenage Toyah Fan: Toyah.org

Category:English female singers Category:English New Wave musicians Category:English pop singers Category:Female New Wave singers Category:Female punk rock singers Category:English television actors Category:English stage actors Category:Participants in British reality television series Category:I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here! contestants Category:People from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:People from Pershore Category:1958 births Category:Living people

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