Still Bouncing: Toyah on 46 Years of Music, Strictly, and Her New Greatest Hits

It is 46 years since Toyah bounced onto the music scene as the lead of a band that took her name. With her distinctive vocals, captivating image, and lyrical prowess, it's hardly surprising that she continues to thrive 46 years later. After experiencing a significant surge during the Covid-19 lockdowns, Toyah ventured into Strictly and has been on the road multiple times in the past few years. As the touring continues, she has teamed up with Cherry Red for a fully comprehensive Greatest Hits collection – Chameleon – which not only celebrates the hits but also offers real insight. We caught up with Toyah to learn more...

J: Hello Toyah, How are you?

T: I'm good. How are you, Jeremy?

J: I'm very well, very well indeed, thank you. Thank you so much for joining us today. Now, the important thing we need to know is—are you ready to share some juice with us?

T: Okay? Oh, I just hope my mind is in gear—but you know, cross your fingers, Jeremy. Anything could happen!

J: Let’s see what happens. Here we go. We want to take you back to your childhood for now—what was your initial ambition? Did you always want to be a performer?

T: In the beginning, when I didn’t yet understand the difference between boys and girls, I wanted to be a muscle man—which amused everybody. Then I wanted to be an astronaut. But very quickly, by the time I was seven and had seen The Sound of Music about seven times, I knew I wanted to become a singer and an actress.

J: There we go! Did you have experience with performing in your early years, or was it more about performing to friends and family at home—that kind of thing?

I performed a lot for friends and family at home. I had a very pronounced speech impediment, which made people laugh. Back then, people weren’t subtle about how they treated others who sounded different—but I enjoyed the attention. I was a show-off, and I did many performances in school plays. I loved it. I was terrified, a very nervous performer, but I loved how it made me feel—the exhilaration. So yes, I was always really drawn to performing.

J: Amazing. Now, shifting gears a little—what was the last gift you gave someone, and who did you give it to?

T: Oh gosh, that’s a good one. Usually, I give gifts of food. I send people outlandish sweets—I have a habit of sending giant Toblerones and saying, “How fast can you eat that?” So the last gifts I sent were probably either giant Toblerones, boxes of handmade Turkish delight, or boxes of handmade fudge. Everyone I know has a sweet tooth, and I’m always sending sweets to people.

J: What’s your favourite sweet? I’m guessing you’ve got a sweet tooth too?

T: God, anything with sugar in it—but mainly liquorice allsorts.

J: Oh, old-school favourites!

T: I love them—really! Only Bassetts, though. They're the best.

J: Amazing. Who are you currently listening to? What artist is dominating your playlist?

T: I just can’t break free from Muse, Metallica, and the Rolling Stones. I love the energy. I love how they lift me. Even though I do listen to a lot of music analytically—to see how people are using their vocal cords. I apologise, Jeremy, if this is long-winded, but we’re living at a time when you can mechanically alter voices through AI, so I’m always listening to see if people can actually sing what they’re releasing—because I find that fascinating. Some of the timing and phrasing—you think, how do you even learn to sing like that? But still, I get so much joy from the Stones, Metallica, and Muse.

J: Have you seen them live? And if so, which was your favourite?

T: Oh, I’ve seen Muse live—so I can only say Muse. And it’s a bit of a sore point because my husband gets invited to everything musical and always says no. We were invited to the Rolling Stones, and he didn’t tell me—so I missed my chance. I feel like I missed my opportunity to see them. I saw Muse in 2003 at the London Docklands, and it was breathtaking. They put on such a show.



J: They're actually one of my favourite live acts ever. There’s something quite captivating about them on stage. It’s a big show with a real heart, and that’s a clever mix.

T: They write about people. They write about the power of people—and I love that. And I love that it’s still the three of them, and their confidence and drive are so inspiring for me.

J: Let’s talk about your career. Chameleon is coming out—it's a huge collection. Did you ever think, starting out, that this would be your catalogue? Did you imagine you’d still be here, talking about the music you’ve released over the years?

T: What I never anticipated was the resurgence of my music in this millennium. It started with the multi-artist bills, and we went straight into arenas—Wembley Arena, and so on. The rest is history. We've been playing arenas ever since. I couldn't have guessed it. I couldn’t have imagined that in my 60s, I’d have charted in the Top 30 for singles and albums five or six times in the past five years. I’m now 67, and I’m so grateful. I have a wonderful archivist, Craig Astley—I first met him when I was 28 and he was four! He’s dedicated himself to my archives and put Chameleon together. He even came up with the name. I had suggested Meteorite, but that’s now become a separate project.

He pulled it all together. I gave him absolutely everything I’ve ever done—even just rough videos of me playing guitar in this room for my co-writer Simon Darlow. We’ve even used those on Chameleon. So it includes some really insightful material—songs that really should have ended up on the main albums but were missed by A&R. They overlooked hits—and now we’ve put them on Chameleon. It's like, just listen to this.

J: That must feel so rewarding—finally being able to say, “These were the songs I wanted people to hear,” and now they get that chance.

T: Can you imagine—with the album Desire, I wrote and recorded a song called Mesmerised with Kate Bush’s engineer. It’s stunning. But it was taken off the album and replaced with Love’s Unkind. Excuse my language, but I’ll still be angry about that on my deathbed. I loathe Love’s Unkind. It’s not me—I have a punk rock soul. So yes, it’s very satisfying now to have my own voice and say, ‘This should’ve been the lead single'.

J: You have two upcoming tours, one at the end of this year and another in the upcoming year. How will Relief and Chameleon affect your approach to these upcoming shows?

T: It lets me be more diverse with my set list. I think you saw me in Wolverhampton on December 21st or 22nd—that was very much Toyah and Robert covering songs we love from Sunday Lunch. For me to go out solo as Toyah, there’s now a really long list of songs I know fans love. I can cherry-pick from each decade.

The Up Close and Personal storytelling tour starts in March and runs through to June next year. That’s something I want to share personally with the audience—how I wrote songs, what they mean to me, and what they mean to the audience. We can improvise slightly—if there's a song they really want to hear, we might play it. I want to tell stories that remind people that we are all stars and that our lives run in parallel. If you’ve got dreams and feel insecure about chasing them—do it. Do it while you can.

Then there are the Chameleon shows, like Union Chapel on October 28th and Warwick Arts Centre on October 30th. Those are specifically about Chameleon and revisiting certain songs. I want my shows to feel different from one another.

And then I’m on the road with Big Country—that’s purely rock. I don’t go out and do the same show every day.

J: When I came to see you, I was completely blown away. As a performer, it’s rare to create a connection with the whole room—but you did that. You were aware of the audience and responded to them, regardless of the song's length. It felt like a chemical reaction in the room, and that’s a rare skill.

T: I love connecting with the audience. They profoundly move me. Sometimes, right at the start, I can see people beginning to weep—because they’re being transported back. I want to acknowledge that a song means something to them. With songs like Sensational or Neon Womb—they connect. And I want to share in that.

The audience made me who I am. I always say, no two shows are ever the same. The audience changes the music—it’s been scientifically proven. It’s not just a perfunctory show where I perform and say, “Thanks, goodbye.” I want every room to feel unique in time.

I love playing festivals too, where you really have to work to connect. I’d love to have those big visual productions some other bands have—but I know what I do best is connect, 110%.

J: One last question—since you’ve achieved so much in music and beyond, is there any ambition you still want to fulfil? Something you still dream of doing?

T: A lot of what I’ve done over the past 50 years has come from saying “yes” to everything. When directors are casting, they have a list—and I’ve never been at the top. I’m fine with that. The people at the top are rarely available, so I get the job—and I get the award. I’m not proud or precious about it.

However, I would love to appear in either Star Wars or Star Trek. I don’t care if I’m a munchkin in the background—I just want to be in those films. I adore science fiction. I love aliens. I’d love to lose myself in that world. That would be phenomenal. It’s out there in the world now—so who knows?

I dipped my toe in. On my 60th birthday, I did a very special audition for Star Wars. It didn’t happen, but it went straight to the top. And it was so special that I don’t even care that I didn't get the part. I met everyone I wanted to meet.

Chameleon is out on September 5th.