She attended Edgbaston C of E College where she gained a GCE pass in music and trained as an actress at the Old Rep Drama School in her home town of Birmingham. Toyah's father ran successful joinery businesses.
She first became well-known during the punk rock era, her appearances in Derek Jarman's 1977 film Jubilee and 1979's Who album-inspired Quadrophenia launching her as a provocative and anti-establishment figure, an image she eventually abandoned.
Fronting a band known as Toyah, her singing career was slow to take off and the band released six singles in the UK before finally hitting the charts in 1981, with "It's A Mystery" and "I Want To Be Free". These singles were also successful on an international level. In 1982, she was voted Best Female Singer at the British Rock and Pop Awards — since restyled as The BRIT Awards, or "BRITs" — and in 1986 she married UK guitarist Robert Fripp. She was one of the first acts to score regularly in the UK Singles Chart with EPs. Also in 1986, Willcox sang lead on the Tony Banks track "Lion of Symmetry". In 1987 she made the top fifty with her version of "Echo Beach".
Since then, she has become a well-known (and more conventional) face on television and in the theatre. She has played straight roles, including in Quatermass (1979) and in Shakespeare plays, and appeared as a presenter of programmes such as Songs of Praise, Holiday (BBC), and Good Sex Guide Late. In 1999, she took the lead in the children's television series, Barmy Aunt Boomerang. She also provides the voiceover for the children's television programmes, the Teletubbies and Brum. More recently, she appeared in the reality television series I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! and I'm Famous and Frightened!.
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.
She has appeared on radio including the 2002 BBC Radio 4 series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
She continues to perform with her band, releasing a live DVD in 2005, and has a busy schedule with theatre commitments, including appearing on stage in London's West End performing the title role of Calamity Jane at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2003.
She is currently appearing in the musical 'Vampire's Rock' in theatres across the UK.
Brave New World
Toyah Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A loneliness that no-one knows,
When his love dies, yours grows and grows.
It's a cruel world
Shall I tell you what I'll do?
I'll forget you.
Another world to dream of.
New beginnings, new surroundings, new love,
It's a brave new world.
Remove the thorn from the lion's paw.
Hear my words, "Pain no more"!
I'm going places I've never seen before.
New faces, new words.
Send my kisses to the old world.
New beginnings, new surroundings, new love,
Another world to dream of.
New beginnings, new surroundings, new love,
It's a brave new world.
It's a brave new world
I'll forget you
I'll move on.
New beginnings, new surroundings, new love,
It's a brave new world.
New beginnings (it's time)
New surroundings (to move on)
New love, It's a brave new world.
New beginnings, new surroundings, new love,
It's a brave new world.
New beginnings, (it's time)
New surroundings, (to move on)
New love, It's a brave new world.
New beginnings, new surroundings, new love,
It's a brave new world.
New beginnings, (it's time)
New surroundings, (to move on)
New love, It's a brave new world.
New beginnings...
I'll forget you...
I'll move on, I'll forget you
The voice of discontent youth...
The song "Brave New World" by Toyah is a powerful piece of music that speaks to the pain and loneliness of lost love and the hope of new beginnings. The first verse talks about the deep loneliness that comes with losing a loved one. The singer observes that while the love of a person who has passed away only grows stronger, the world can be cruel and unforgiving. However, despite the pain, the singer resolves to move on and forget the pain of that love, and embrace the possibilities of a new world.
Throughout the song, Toyah sings about the potential of a "brave new world"; one that is filled with new beginnings, new love, and new surroundings. She speaks to the idea that it is possible to move on from a loss and to find happiness again. The lyrics "new faces, new words", and "new beginnings, new surroundings, new love" show the excitement and hope that can come with taking a new direction in life. The chorus repeats the words "it's a brave new world", reinforcing the idea of courage and strength in the face of change and adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
A loneliness that no-one knows,
Feeling lonely and isolated, in a way that is difficult for others to understand.
When his love dies, yours grows and grows.
Witnessing someone else's love end can make your own love feel stronger and more important.
It's a cruel world
The world can be brutal and harsh.
Shall I tell you what I'll do?
Do you want to know my plan?
I'll forget you.
I will purposefully stop thinking about you and let go of your hold on me.
New beginnings, new surroundings, new love,
Starting fresh with new people, places, and romances.
Another world to dream of.
An entirely different vision of what the future could hold.
Remove the thorn from the lion's paw.
Being a helper to those in need, like the tale of a lion with a thorn in its paw.
Hear my words, "Pain no more"!
Listen to me, your suffering will stop now!
I'm going places I've never seen before.
Exploring unfamiliar and uncharted territory.
New faces, new words.
Meeting people and hearing expressions that are fresh and exciting.
Send my kisses to the old world.
Wishing the best to the previous life and community we are leaving behind.
It's a brave new world
The future looks challenging yet exhilarating.
I'll move on.
I will keep progressing forward instead of dwelling on the past.
New beginnings (it's time)
It is the moment to start anew.
New surroundings (to move on)
Changing the environment to help with the emotional move forward.
New love, It's a brave new world.
Finding new romance marks an exciting chapter in life.
New beginnings...
Fresh starts...
The voice of discontent youth...
This song reflects the unease and unhappiness some young people feel about their place in the world.
Contributed by Kaitlyn G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@garolstipock
FOUND IT! I was so young when this song came out, I was too young to appreciate or treasure much musically, but some things linger.
They chorus stuck.. now decades later humming fragments in my head, I had neither any recollection of the artist nor the title and apparently I'd been making up the words of the chorus because my rendition was all wrong.. I've had a kind of hunt for this off and on for years... and it was when I had a chance viewing of Bowies 'ashes to ashes' that a spark hit me. That moment I think... I think I recalled the style of video was similar.. search afer search... months later (no lie..ages and ages of just digging without a clue) then one day...BOOM!
Mesmerized now more than I think I was earlier because of the quest involved. But truly, this is amazing... and good lord the nostalgic triggering it has started.
I remember those grey Thatcher years of my youth where the ray of hope and sunshine was the music. Oh, the music...
@michaelaiello9525
The feel of this video immediately recalls for me Bowie’s Ashes to Ashes. I’m new to the song, so I need to give it some time to listen free of associations.
@AB-zc8ps
I've found it at last... I worked on part of this video shoot down in Wandsworth studio, I did set dressing on all the strange angle buildings, all I can remember was she had recently been on Kenny Everett show and kept sitting down and crossing and uncrossing her legs saying..."" All done in the best possible Taste".. Mad as a bag of squirrels... still beautiful... been watching Sunday lunch.... love it
@culturalproduct
Sundays is great.
@traceyrobinson1260
Toyah .. a unique , gifted beauty whose creative identity blooms like an eternal 🌹
@johnlewis8878
I have been a fan since 1980 and I still love her art to sing and perform, I come from stratford upon avon but live now in Hamburg I would love the chance to see her again
@BlueEyes-gp8lg
That chorus just has a killer melody and the whole production/arrangement still sounds really good. Should have been a MUCH bigger hit.
@bookerlee4752
You were my Number One female artist of the 80s. I still love you now 😎
@SimonMordue
I feel like so many other female artists get the kudos that are equally deserved by Toyah. I am currently in the process of making a TV show that starts in the 80’s. I am going to use a couple of Toyah tracks, as they fit perfectly.
@mariontaylor3903
My Dad met her on the day she filmed this, he was working at Battersea Power Station, where she is on the white horse . She told him she had been in the sea earlier and he thought her lisp was sweet