TOYAH’S BLOG: MAY 2022

May 8, 2022

Hello There!

It has been an incredible past four weeks.

I’ve just won the RICHARD HARRIS FILM FESTIVAL “JUDGES SPECIAL MENTION AWARD” FOR MY PERFORMANCE IN ‘GIVE THEM WINGS.

The film is getting exceptional reviews at the film festivals, I completed it a month before the first lockdown, its great that finally its doing the festival circuit.

Give Them Wings

One of the loveliest experiences in April was The Guardian newsaper recreated our wedding for a feature over the summer.

My wedding dress was copied. I was even able to wear all the original make up I wore that brilliant day May 16th 1986, because I have the items in my archive store.

The emotion that gripped both Fripp and myself as we recreated our own wedding, outside our local Abbey was surprising. It was a humbling treat to be able to do this, to remember the wedding jitters but this time it was a lot more relaxed than all those years ago.

In 1986 we were both gripped in a fear caused by the gravity of our actions. I remember signing the wedding register thinking “am I mature enough for this marriage contract?”, unbeknownst to me at the time, my husband was gripped by an even larger fear!

Wedding day, 1986

Neither of us knew what we were letting ourselves in for because outside the church, on our secret wedding day, the press had got wind of the event and we were about to spend a week on the run from paparazzi.

In hindsight it was all strangely enjoyable if somewhat bizarre. Threats and bribes being shouted through the letter box of our home, car chases down country lanes all because my husband refused to be photographed….. how things change!

SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM has a new release date, 1 JULY 2022.  DEMON MUSIC needed the run up to get al the digital platforms in place. This works out well for the ELECTRIC LADIES June tour because we will in fact be promoting the release throughout and featuring the song in the new show.

The POSH POP BAND have just done our first show with Sarah Fisher standing in for Chloe Du Pree’s pregnancy leave. Sarah has worked with Hazel O’ Connor for decades and as Hazel is still in recovery Sarah will be with us on the June tour. Both Sarah and myself and Saffron will be performing tribute songs to Hazel.

I am getting wildly excited about this tour and the following festivals, it’s been a long time coming. After two years of constant re-scheduling FINALLY the world feels back to normal.

The Posh Poppers sound so fantastic that the experience for me is very similar to when I started out and everything was so new, back in 1978, my skin is tingling when we perform NEON WOMB and DANCED, it all feels reborn and right.

For the past 12 months I have been working flat out with only a break for the three days of Christmas. I’ve started to realise I need to re address my focus on DELIBERATE INTENT. This is a simple but vital positivity exercise about focussing on “what I want the future to hold”.

Once caught in the daily rounds of press promotion I start to forget about forging forward with future ideas and projects. Now the tours are in motion I can start to plan next year and there are some fun and fantastic things about to take place.

I remember the burning success of 1981 and how I was swallowed up by the publicity machine to the point I couldn’t visualise what was to come, its easy to be absorbed too much in the present moment when there needs to be some valuable future daydreaming to be done.

I am ready for some serious summer sunshine especially as I, like most women over 50 am having to wean myself off HRT because of a national shortage.

This won’t be the first time, when ever a women has major surgery she has to come off HRT for at least 6 to 8 weeks, as I did in 2010 for hip replacement which requires daily anti-coagulant injections for a month afterwards.

So for myself, turning 64 this month, this might be the time to have a break anyway as long as it doesn’t hinder my flexibility……. because for a 64year old I am pretty mobile!

The menopause coverage in the past weeks has been vital for women around the world. Not only to be seen and heard but for young women to prep their future with a positive outlook on this remarkable journey that hormones and time will take them on.

For me? I am happier now than I ever was as a super charged hormonally governed twenty something also I think I am better to be around!

STAY SAFE EVERYONE.
I WILL SEE YOU OUT THERE VERY SOON.
BE PROUD, BE LOUD, BE HEARD.
LOVE TOYAH

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P.S. The remastered Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! is out on Friday 13 May!