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.
Visions
Toyah Lyrics
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See two lonely planets collide
Feel the children of our future curl and gnarl
Observing us all the time
Say, my vision today
A daydream gone tomorrow,
Vision today is something to be followed
They scream "aborted!"
Before birth can bring crime
Their twisted hands stretch out and scratch my mind
I told my friends, but their reaction was so unkind
Just, vision today
A daydream gone tomorrow
My vision today is something to be followed.
I walk when it's dark, looking for a friend
Alone in the darkness, I see those things again
I see things I just cannot explain
My lonely mind explodes,
I see strange things no-one can conceive
My mind explodes in inner visions
Then deludes and deserts me
Malignant violence grows
Frequencies visit in the night
Frequencies tell me, tell me again, I forgot
Those words delude and desert me
Malignant violence grows within
My ego expands
Should I take these foolish people, gas them for their sin?
Remove their memories, reprogram them to re-begin?
It makes my lonely mind explode
Should I take these foolish people, gas them for their sin?
Remove their memories, reprogram them to re-begin?
It makes my ego grow
My lonely mind explodes (yet again)
I see strange things no-one can explain
Misty auras are my friends
My insight on destiny treads unseen
Again!
In the song "Vision" by Toyah, the singer talks about her visions and how her friends react to it. She describes her vision of two planets colliding and the children of the future curling and gnarling as they observe the present. She feels that her vision is something that needs to be followed, but her friends react unkindly to it. When she walks alone in the dark, she sees things that she cannot explain and her mind explodes with inner visions. She feels that she is being deluded and deserted. She thinks about taking extreme measures like gassing people for their sin to start over again, which makes her ego grow.
The song talks about the importance of visions that an individual can have, which are often not understood by others. The vision that Toyah has seen is of two planets colliding with each other and the destruction that occurs as a result. She feels that her vision is something that needs to be followed, but her friends are not supportive of it. The loneliness that the singer feels in the darkness, the strange things that she sees, and the violence that grows within her become a part of her vision. She is torn between her desire to start over again and the realization that her visions could be causing her to lose touch with reality.
The song expresses the feeling of isolation and alienation that an individual can feel when they are not understood by others. Toyah has created a powerful and thought-provoking work that can resonate with people who feel excluded and out of place. The song highlights the importance of listening and understanding others' visions and recognizing that even though they may seem strange and different, they still deserve attention and respect.
Line by Line Meaning
I had a vision of invasion
I saw an image of an attack
See two lonely planets collide
The worlds are merging in my mind
Feel the children of our future curl and gnarl
I feel future generations' pain and unrest
Observing us all the time
Always watching us
Say, my vision today
My vision might as well be today's reality
A daydream gone tomorrow,
It could all disappear in a flash
Vision today is something to be followed
We should act on our visions
They scream "aborted!"
The unborn are denied
Before birth can bring crime
We assume the worst before people are born
Their twisted hands stretch out and scratch my mind
My thoughts are disturbed by the injustice
I told my friends, but their reaction was so unkind
Nobody wants to hear about my pain
Just, vision today
Once again, my vision is our current state
A daydream gone tomorrow
It could all cease to exist
My vision today is something to be followed.
We can all learn from visions
I walk when it's dark, looking for a friend
I'm searching for comfort in the night
Alone in the darkness, I see those things again
My pain resurfaces in isolation
I see things I just cannot explain
I experience the unexplainable
My lonely mind explodes,
My isolation leads to unrest
I see strange things no-one can conceive
I see things nobody would understand
My mind explodes in inner visions
My thoughts take over
Then deludes and deserts me
My mind tricks and abandons me
Malignant violence grows
Harmful aggression increases
Frequencies visit in the night
My thoughts come alive in the darkness
Frequencies tell me, tell me again, I forgot
My thoughts repeat, I can't forget
Those words delude and desert me
My thoughts deceive and leave me
Malignant violence grows within
Hate grows inside of me
My ego expands
My self-importance grows
Should I take these foolish people, gas them for their sin?
Should I punish those who wrong me?
Remove their memories, reprogram them to re-begin?
Should I control their minds?
It makes my lonely mind explode
My thoughts become too much
It makes my ego grow
My self-importance becomes too much
My lonely mind explodes (yet again)
My isolation leads to explosion
I see strange things no-one can explain
Once again, I experience the unexplainable
Misty auras are my friends
I find solace in the unexplainable
My insight on destiny treads unseen
I have a unique perspective on the future
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kassner Associated Publishers Ltd
Written by: TOYAH WILCOX, JOEL HAROLD BOGEN, PETER BUSH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind