HELLO THERE!
This year is all about major planning because 2026 is going to be full on.
The events about to be announced are very exciting and add to this my hubby needing a level of care while he recovers from his heart op makes 2025 like no other year in my life.
And I need to add to the equation of my life two wayward furry bunnies, who are expert escape artists, now the size of a medium dogs who are putting my knees and back to the test while i chase them around the garden trying to catch them! My greatest joy is seeing Robert fall deeper in love with them everyday, as they all bond. These bunnies are taking care of my hubby too. They are his comfort creatures.
There are two (possibly three!) major announcements to come this summer…..plus a few bonus surprises all leading to 12 months of solid music commitments.
Two weeks ago I had a major photo shoot, we used our house and offices as they look like a film set in places. The result is glamorous age appropriate shots!
Dear Wonderful Saffron texted me to say how excited she is for me about the 2026 spring tour and is coming to support me as a friend at Brighton on the 23rd July, Saffron is also close to Marc Almond and The Human League, it will be a fun day for us all.
ROBERT IS DOING WELL….. but i am feeling it. My wonderful Osteopath mentioned he sees people going through grief who are in my condition. Basically the fear of losing Robert set a lot off in my body, my abdomen went into spasm, so I am having regular physio to get back to pre the shock of Roberts heart attack….all is good, I pride myself on my inner sensitivity, in a crazy world it’s needed, but it means I get hit hard when the blows make contact. I’m flagging this up because grief can manifest physically in the body. When my mother passed my grief was so severe I lost muscle power in my legs for about 4yrs…….grief needs respect, it’s powerful.
I am incredibly optimistic about this year and 2026 but there are challenges for all of us.
In the past two weeks I’ve had 5 festivals cancelled. Robert told me in the UK 79 festivals were pulled last week. I have experienced a wave of cancellations before, around 2015, when basic living costs went up. There are buffers in place within contracts, a deposit helps cover initial outlay, full fee a month before the show guarantees everyone in the crew and band are paid but these latest cancellations took no notice of contractual obligations and just pulled a week before the first show leaving one management company £625k down on what headline artists where owed.
I’ve paid my team personally, it’s not their fault and they earn by being on stage.
Live music keeps you on your toes and I take pride I share my life and work with my audience. In May I went to see Martin Fry’s – A LEXICON OF LIFE SHOW and I went to see Paul Young – FROM NO PARLEZ TO THE SECRET OF ASSOCIATION SHOW. Next year I have 49 shows which reflect the same format, though my tour doesn’t start until March 2026 I’ve been planning the SHOW since March this year.
It was really wonderful to see Martin Fry, the show was slick, insightful, personal, with him doing super acoustic versions of his classics. Paul Young was a great fun show, the audience loved every minute of it.
What I like about this concept is it is different, exceptional in places and focusses on the emotional journey of the artist behind the camera.
I will be telling stories that are brand-new, the kind of stories that I have never written about publicly because my last autobiography finished around 2003 and now there’s 22 years of experience to throw light on, there’s a lot of stories to tell, of course there will be new stories from behind the scenes that happened during the late 70s into the 1980s and 90s and I want my evening to be insightful, inspirational with a lot of laughter. Tickets are on sale now.
There’s something that’s happening in tandem with this Tour that I can’t announce yet but we’ve been working on it for the past few months and again it’s involving stuff no one ever seen before. I am really keen to explain and give examples of everything that I have inspired and influenced in my history, I believe that’s quite a lot!
REWIND Dublin was GORGEOUS! A really great fun day.
It was fantastic seeing MATT GOSS again, he is a lovely, true gentleman.
Keith and Brian of Boyzlife always make me smile, I was last with them in Dubai in February, they are like two naughty school boys…..imagine two Tibetan Mastiff puppies let loose in a park, that for me will always sum up Keith and Brian……they are the youngest of the Rewind line up and have incredible charm…….and “puppy-ness.”
The venue Saint Annes Park was in glorious sunlight all day and the Dublin hospitality was boundless. Two local bands opened the show, they were stunning, I loved Jerry Fish…..I’ve been telling Robert to give them a listen, they had a great sound and eccentricity. Luckily for me I had a lot of time with Martin Fry discussing my 2026 tour, he has been invaluable and I am grateful.
Now at the airport our flight is delayed by two and half hours. Thank goodness our flight out was on time. In the terminal Ryanair are pushing back all their flights by the hour, then two hours, then more! I have it in my contract never to fly Ryanair but I made an exception today so I could be straight home to Robert.
Next year I’m going to be away from home a lot which needs master Fripp to look after the rabbits. He loves these bunnies, it’s taken him since February to be brave enough to catch them when they escape, about two weeks ago he really made the effort to and he was so happy when he managed to take control of them and bring them in!
He could never pick up my last rabbit WillyFred because my husband is dyslexic with his hands. He’s left-handed and could never work out how to put one hand between the front paws and the other under the bunny’s backside. With these great big bunnies I lift them in a reverse way because they are so big, you have to lift them with the bum in front and their head under your arm so they are in reverse, and miraculously Robert can do this.
Fripp the bunny has a wonderful way of communicating, it’s taken a long time to decipher what he is trying to tell us, that if he has a wet mouth and he nips you he’s actually saying you’re my friend but if he nips you with a dry mouth he’s saying don’t do that.
The other day Fripp the Bunny was having a lovely massage from us both and at the end of it Fripp put Robert‘s finger in his mouth and gently squeeze his jaw together and ROBERT exclaimed “He bit me!” and I said, “No, ROBERT, he was saying thank you.”. Robert just loves this. I don’t think he’s ever had time to understand or get to know an animal the way he can now that he is at home.
SEE YOU SOON EVERYONE!
BE PROUD, BE LOUD, BE HEARD!
LOTS OF LOVE
TOYAH
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