Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2013 | Page 114

ENTERTAINMENT

Toyah is ready
to Jack it up!
Iconic punk rock singer Toyah Willcox
is to make a welcome return to the
Island, writes Peter White.
Toyah will perform at the ‘Jack Up
the 80s’ party at the Garlic Festival
site, Newchurch on August 10 and 11.
Toyah, whose career spans for than
30 years, has appeared many times
on the Island, and also fondly recalls
how she and her family spent summer
holidays here when she was a child.
It promises to be a weekend of pure
nostalgia with Toyah being joined
on stage on the Sunday by the likes
of Heaven 17, Hoosiers, Junior
Giscombe, Orange Street and Eddie
and The Hot Rods. The party kicks off
on the Saturday with Bad Manners,
The Lambrettas, Katrina and The
Waves, Dr and The Medics, Bootleg
Blondie and Matchbox.
Toyah said: “It will be all about
nostalgia, and the audience can look
forward to hit after hit. I have worked
on the Island before, and I am really
looking forward to coming back. We
also spent family holidays there, and
always looked forward to arriving
at Cowes. We had friends who had
sailing boats, and I have actually sailed
all around the Isle of Wight.”
Toyah is perhaps best remembered
for her outlandish hair and costumes,
and has enjoyed eight Top 40 singles
including ‘It's a Mystery’, ‘Thunder
in the Mountains’ and ‘I Want to Be
Free’. She has also released over 20
albums, and underlined her versatility
by writing two books, appearing in
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over 40 stage plays and 10 feature
films, as well as presenting numerous
television shows.
She continued: “I shall be doing
all the hits, as well as other that may
be not so well known, but ones that
even the younger audience seem to
appreciate and enjoy. I love singing; I
have been in the business a long
time, but I am still on the
road all the time and I
will continue to do it
as long as I can sing. I
am 55 now, and being
employed and working
is just as important to
me now as when I was
in my 20s.
“I love singing and
writing and music.
It is all I have ever
wanted to do, so it is
something that is still
very dear to my heart.
I have a lot of things
going on and I live for
today, but when I am
invited to take part in
festivals with a bit of
nostalgia I thoroughly
enjoy them, and I
can’t wait to appear
on the Island.”
Gates will open
each day at 10.0am.
The first act will be
on stage at 12 noon,
with the final act
on stage at 7:30pm.

Free parking is available on site, and
further details of ‘Jack Up The 80s’
can be seen on www.wightcrystal.org.
uk/jackupthe80s