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.
Revive The World
Toyah Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Take a look at the tree through the window
(Spaceship home)
When it moves, it moves me too
(Maintenance is overworked)
When I breathe, I feel it's leaves
Leaving me to tingle in the cold sun
In the dawn of a starless night
I recharge with light and revive the world.
(Can you hear me)
I love her so
I will never never let her go
(Astronaut's report)
In the dawn of a starless night
I recharge with light and revive the world.
Ah-ah-ah-ah
Revive...
I will always be there in support of Earth
(Those among us)
Will we stop this crying, pushing, shoving, dying
(Pull together)
When you move, you move me too
(To serve a purpose)
Rest assured
Those among us will never let her go
In the dawn of a starless night
I recharge with light and revive the world.
(Trouble in the engine room)
She's silently turning
Waiting in timeless space
(Spaceship home)
In the dawn of a starless night
I recharge with light and revive the world.
"Revive the World" is a song that tells a story of a person who is on a spaceship journey to save the world. The lyrics paint a picture of this person looking out the window at a tree, feeling moved by it, but also feeling the cold sun, which suggests that something is wrong with the spaceship's air-conditioning. The lyrics "maintenance is overworked" and "air-conditioning tampered with" reinforce this idea.
As the journey continues, the person reports back to Earth, expressing their love for it and their commitment to never letting it go. They also express a sense of urgency, with the lyrics "will we stop this crying, pushing, shoving, dying, when you move, you move me too, to serve a purpose."
The chorus, "in the dawn of a starless night, I recharge with light and revive the world" speaks to the person's mission to save the world and suggests that they draw strength from the universe to do so. The repeated lyrics "trouble in the engine room" and "spaceship home" create a sense of tension and apprehension, highlighting the magnitude of the task at hand.
Overall, "Revive the World" can be interpreted as a call to action, urging people to work together to save the Earth and ensure its survival for generations to come.
Line by Line Meaning
Trouble in the engine room
The ship is experiencing some issues that need to be resolved.
Take a look at the tree through the window
Reflecting on the majesty of nature outside.
Spaceship home
The ship is where Toyah resides.
When it moves, it moves me too
How the surroundings can have an impact on one's emotional state.
Maintenance is overworked
Those responsible for maintaining the ship may be overworked.
When I breathe, I feel its leaves
Toyah feels connected to nature when she breathes.
Leaving me to tingle in the cold sun
The effect of the natural elements on a physical level.
Air-conditioning tampered with
The air-conditioning system on the ship seems to have been messed with.
In the dawn of a starless night I recharge with light and revive the world.
Finding the energy within to bring new life to the world in times of darkness.
Can you hear me
Asking if anyone is listening or paying attention.
I love her so, I will never never let her go
Expressing love and commitment to one's home or planet.
Astronaut's report
A report from Toyah or another astronaut about their experiences.
I will always be there in support of Earth
Commitment to always stand in support of one's home planet.
Those among us
Referring to fellow humans or life forms.
Will we stop this crying, pushing, shoving, dying
Questioning whether or not we can end conflict and pain among each other.
Pull together
Asking everyone to work together to overcome challenges.
To serve a purpose
The reason why everyone must work together and overcome obstacles.
Rest assured, those among us will never let her go
Promising to never let go of the home planet or the people who call it home.
She's silently turning
Referring to the ship as it orbits quietly in space.
Waiting in timeless space
The ship is waiting, unaffected by time, in the infinite emptiness of space.
Ah-ah-ah-ah Revive...
A call to action to bring life to the world.
Contributed by Austin G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.