#toyah interview

[toyahinterviews]

BBC THREE COUNTIES RADIO WITH BABS MICHEL 24.6.2023

BABS: Have you thought about going to see Milton Keynes International Festival? If you haven't, I'm going to give you the best reason that you need to go. I have to be still, my 11 year old self, because the first time I saw this absolute queen on Top Of The Pops it just blew my mind. She was singing “It’s A Mystery”. It was 1981, I think,  it was miss Toyah Willcox! Welcome to the show, Toyah! TOYAH: Thank you so much. It was 1981. I remember it well, I think it was March or February     BABS: When I was watching the television, but just couldn't get over your whole look, your image, your voice, the power in it. It was like nothing else and it was just liberating for a little 10 year old girl watching. "I want to be her. If I can be anything can I be her, please?" What was it like for you? TOYAH: It was fabulous for me. Going back to 1981 it was unheard of for a female to have brightly coloured hair. It was unheard of to have that absolutely independent image. So when I appeared on the scene on Tops Of The Pops, it had an a groundbreaking effect. Overnight I suddenly was the biggest name in Europe. I just didn't expect it. It changed my life forever   That one appearance on Top Of The Pops meant I couldn't pop down to the newsagents anymore. When I was being driven down High Streets doing radio tours, every window on the High Streets all over the UK had a poster of me, which was extraordinary BABS: Oh, my goodness. I mean the fact that you have sustained for all of this time, Toyah, being at the top of your game. If people don't realise I want to just play them a little bit of the Isle of Wight Festival last weekend. Just have a listen to this at home Plays of clip of Toyah and Robert performing “Rebel Yell” 18.6.2023. Watch it HERE

BABS: Oh, miss Toyah! You have them in the palm of your hand! (Toyah laughs) I watched it and I was just like oh, my God! How is she still so brilliant at this?! 

TOYAH: (laughs) I just loved the Isle of Wight. It was extraordinary. It was really one of the highlights of the year but we're going to have a highlight at Milton Keynes on the 28th of July. We're going to make sure in that beautiful The Stables Spiegeltent that we deliver exactly the same performance for that audience BABS: I think if people haven't seen you, they've got to come. It's very reasonably priced, £38 mark, which for festivals really good value, especially because you're going to be there. And I've got to ask is Robert playing as well, your husband? TOYAH: This is a "Toyah and Robert Show" BABS: Aaah! OK. If people have not seen you and Robert doing “Sunday Lunch” ... it's the best thing ever. Can I say my boyfriend particularly likes you in the gold leaf thing (below) (they both laugh) That was one of his highlights. I want to know how hard that was to do? Toyah  has basically covered her top part in just gold leaf. How it's staying on ... I don't even know! TOYAH: I'm very good with gold leaf. I do a lot of crafting and I do quite a bit of artwork where I use gold leaf so it's not that hard to keep on. A bit of olive oil and gold leaf does the trick (they both laugh) BABS: Some of the comments on your “Sunday Lunch” channel are just the best. Some of the men comment on there how lucky they think Robert is … They're amazing those comments and you look amazing! Absolutely amazing! TOYAH: You're very kind. I turned 65 this year BABS: No! TOYAH: I’m just starting to feel ... hmm ... it’s showing now BABS: (laughs) What?! TOYAH: I made the most of lockdown and did these really wacky films while I could (laughs) “Sunday Lunch” has really taken off globally. It’s huge and it's had on YouTube alone over 77 million hits. I think totaling up with Facebook and Tik Tok it goes up to 111 million. It's a very large identity now. We've always presented fun. The idea is that every year is the best year of your life   Robert and I, as a team, really want to do is say that life is a journey and it's a very positive journey. Every year we have is an honour and we try to make it the best year of our lives. My husband is 77, we've both got aches and pains, but we're loving what we do. We love music and we just don't see why we should be any different to who and what we were in the punk movement (they both laugh)  

BABS: That's what I love about it. It's so unapologetically fabulous. It's in your face. It's sexy. It's funny. Just the two of you together. Here's the most brilliant straight man to you, isn’t he? TOYAH: He's stunning. He's a very clever straight man because he steals the scene every time. His little face when I get up to things (Babs is cracking up laughing) I think he's one of the cutest human beings in the world   Sometimes he's just looking at me disapprovingly, which just makes him even more lovable. Other times he's afraid or he's laughing his head off. He just cannot stop being the cutest man in the world 

BABS: Oh, this makes me so happy! You're saying you're giving it the bird (the middle finger) to what people think you should be like, at whatever age. You're saying actually, no, this is who we are. We're going to do this for as long as we can and we do not care. And the numbers don't lie, do they? Because you've really connected with people TOYAH: I think a lot of people just wanted to see this. I know so many people of my age personally. We don't feel our age and we're not ready to just stop because of our age. So we're challenging the perception of age   If anyone doesn't know who my husband Robert Fripp is he was the guitarist on David Bowie's “Heroes”. He's worked with Brian Eno. He's one of the world's top guitarists. He's produced Peter Gabriel. He worked with Blondie, Talking Heads. He's just worked with everyone in the world and is hugely respected   What we're doing on the "Toyah and Robert Show" is bringing classic, timeless rock into the auditorium. The whole idea is that this is classic rock - the way Beethoven, Mozart, Chekhov did. They're all classics, they don't age, they remain in their space eternally. Tthis is what this show is about BABS: There's a little bit of noise about what is this show going be like? Fripp and Willcox. It’s going to have a kind of meatiness about it. When I watched you on the Isle of Wight clip I just went yeah, 100% I'm going to Milton Keynes to watch that! Absolutely! TOYAH: (laughs) It's a rock show. We call it a "Rock Party". The whole idea is we really want people to feel free to dance, to join in or just listen. We want the audience to identify with the energy and the music that we're presenting. I's a large band. It's three guitarists, including Robert and each guitarist is a world class guitarist so it is a rock show BABS: Wow! What's not to love? You've got all of that and then you've got you. What other songs are you going to be covering? You’re going to obviously do some of your own songs?   

TOYAH: Yes. We can obviously cherry-pick because there is 50 years of brilliant rock and roll out there. We take people on a journey. We start with quite light-hearted songs like “Thunder In The Mountains”, which is a Toyah song. We do “Echo Beach”, which I put back in the charts in 1985 at n:o 21. We do Blondie, but we also do Black Sabbath and Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Marc Almond   So we really mix it up. What we've found is the way we placed the songs - the audience go crazy because we go from “It's A Mystery” into Black Sabbath. It's the most beautiful juxtaposition. It works and the audience just get it   BABS: I think it's going to be an amazing show. I must ask, just in general, when you're not doing all of this and you're not doing “Sunday Lunch”- are you still acting and presenting and just in other stuff? Because you're great at that too TOYAH: It's been very busy. Ironically, literally two months before the beginning of lockdown I had three movies coming out, which then came out during lockdown. I won best supporting actress for “The Ghost Of Borley Rectory”   In “Give Them Wings” I got the Richard Harris Award for Best Supporting Actress. So it's been very busy. And yes, both Robert and I are presenting. We're in the very beginning of pre-production of our own TV series

BABS: Brilliant! Will it be based on “Sunday Lunch” and will the gold be making an appearance? (laughs) TOYAH: No, it's all about music and the UK BABS: Oh, OK. Is that coming out later in the year, hopefully? TOYAH: Oh, gosh no, it won’t be made in time. This is for next year BABS: OK. It's just been an absolute joy to speak to you. I love “Sunday Lunch”. I've loved you since I was 10 years old TOYAH: Awww BABS: And now the fact that you're going to be on my doorstep next month is just brilliant. I can not wait, Toyah! Thank you so much for your time TOYAH: Thank you and have a wonderful few weeks in between then and now BABS: Thank you, Toyah! TOYAH: Bye!

LISTEN to the interview HERE

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Scottish actor Richard Madden born June 18th 1986 in Elderslie.

Richard was raised by his mother, Pat, a classroom assistant and his father, Richard, who worked for the fire service. He also has two sisters, Cara and Lauren.

His parents were “hippies”, he says, and their house was pretty open, with friends always piling in for big vegetarian meals. Madden spent a lot of time outside, in the woods behind their house. He has several injuries: he shows me where he shot his dad’s old air pistol and blew off part of his finger, then managed to wreck the same finger when he nailed a wooden plank to his skateboard, then crashed it, so apart from the Hippie parents it was much like most of our own days as bairns.

Despite growing up wanting to be an actor, Richard was very shy during his childhood. To overcome this, at age 11, he joined Paisley Arts Centre’s youth theatre program. In 1999 he was given the lead role as Sebastian Simpkins in BBC1’s children’s TV comedy series Barmy Aunt Boomerang, that’s him aged 12 in the first pic with co-star Toyah Wilcox.. By 2000, he’d made his feature film debut in the Iain Banks adaptation, Complicity.

After high school he was accepted to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland and in 2007, he graduated.

Less than two years later, Richard had a recurring role as Dean McKenzie on the 2009 BBC series Hope Springs. Soon after, he landed the role of Ripley in the 2010 movie Chatroom, a film about a group of teenagers who encourage each other’s bad behaviours after meeting online. In the same year, Richard played punk band Theatre of Hate singer Kirk Brandon in Worried About the Boy, a TV film about the life of British singer-songwriter Boy George.

In 2011 Richard landed his breakthrough role as Robb Stark in the HBO fantasy-drama series Game of Thrones. Also in 2011, he played gay paramedic Ashley Greenwick on the short-lived British comedy-drama Sirens. During hiatus from filming Game of Thrones in 2013, Richard was cast to star as Prince Charming in the 2015 Disney film Cinderella.

Richard won his first Screen Actors Guild award in 2014 for the Discovery Channel mini-series, Klondike. He played Bill Haskell, one of two adventurers who travel to Yukon, Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890s. He further enhanced his reputation as a good actor when he appeared in the BBC drama Bodyguard in 2018, the following year he played Lieutenant Joseph Blake in the film 2017 and was Elton John’s manager/lover in the biop of the star Rocketman.

In January 2019 Madden won a prestigious Golden Globe for his role as war veteran David Budd in the BBC show Bodyguard. He also appeared in the 2019 war movie 1917.

We last saw Richard in the movie, Eternals, which was okay, but nothing great, he is one of several actors being touted as the next James Bond,

Last year Richard starred in the Amazon Prime series Citadel, I've watcheit and was not really impressed with it,I think he does pull of the American accent well, but I noticed there have been people saying he doesnt, Madden revealed he spoke in the accent for two years straight to prepare for the series. The show has been earmarked for a second series. Richard is set to appear in the feature film Killer Heat next, it is in post production.

In July 2019, Madden received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. When asked about his personal life during a New York Times interview following speculation about his relationships and sexuality, Madden stated: “I just keep my personal life personal.”

Madden was recently named one of ‘Scotland’s Sexiest Men' following a new study that identifies the most attractive features for men, he has competition though, also in the running are Bathgate’s David Tennant and Glasgow’s James McAvoy,

Richard, quizzed on what he would like to do next he sad “I’d like to do something in comedy. It’s nice to not… I mean we go to work every day and we’re like, ‘You’re gonna die today,’” he said, adding that he wanted to “do something fun for a minute.”

[orgyupdates]

orgyofficial: New interview in The Spill Magazine with Jay, in regards to the upcoming tour & all things OrgyMusic

Link to interview [x] Interview behind the read more

A CONVERSATION WITH JAY GORDON OF ORGY I recently had an opportunity to chat with Jay Gordon, lead singer and founding member of Orgy about the vinyl releases of Candyass & Vapor Transmission, their co-headlining 2024 North American Tour with Cold, Horizon Theory and I Ya Toyah and some of Gordon’s thoughts on the current state of the industry.

In discussing the re-release of Orgy’s first two influential albums, Candyass & Vapor Transmission on vinyl, Gordon admitted that besides the approval he had no part in the mastering of the albums but added that “…at some point I’m definitely going to remaster my first two records”, which should excite the fanbase. When asked if the sales of these albums could determine future vinyl releases like Punk Statik Paranoia, Gordon doubted its release but didn’t rule out the possibility.

Moving on, I inquired about hitting the road for a 38 stop co-headlining tour, preparations, and challenges of touring. “Touring is always a good thing, whether it’s the 25th anniversary of Candyass or not. We’re just gonna play a lot of the first record which I’m excited about, but also not that excited about. You know? I want to move forward and play a lot of this newer stuff that we’re doing right now. But it’s cool. It’ll all come.” It is understandable, especially if it’s been in the past for a while. It may be one of those things that shouldn’t necessarily be dug up. Gordon added “It’s fun. Touring is always fun no matter what version of Orgy we’re doing.”

Gordon went on to say “Seeing the fans, knocking the dust off. Just seeing old faces, new faces and getting to play all that stuff for people. We’re gonna play a lot of the new material, too. We’re just gonna have to do it. And (in) a weird way, like where it feels more Candyass-ish than anything.”

Elaborating on the tour line up Gordon said, “It’s a co-headlining thing where it’s Cold one night, Orgy one night, that kind of thing. So, it’s cool. Scooter’s a cool guy. I love those guys. You know, they’re cool people.”

Gordon went on to state that Horizon Theory was brought on by Scooter that they are “some homies of his and he really likes them. They sound pretty good from what I’ve heard.”

When asked about their preparations for the tour Gordon replied, “We’re excited to get out there. I do my usual wind up for tour, you know, like hiking a lot, stuff like that. We’re gonna be ready. I think we’re pretty well rehearsed with a slight difference with a drummer change, but I think that it’s going to be conducive to a great Orgy. I’m more concerned with my kids while I’m gone and things like that. I’m a trooper. I’ll hang in there and handle it.”

When asked if any members of the original lineup were contacted for reunion on this tour, and if not, would he ever be up for it, Gordon was forthcoming in saying “…anything’s possible. I don’t ever say no to stuff. I just say right now. It is what it is. I respect everybody that was in the old band. People grow apart and just do their own things. I’m not closing the door on the opportunity.”

Touching on the state of the music industry, streaming, and the prevalence of singles over full length albums. Gordon explained, “I don’t think anybody really does much of that anymore. I mean, it’s cool when they do. I love seeing people that do full records. But you know what? There are so many directions that I change into or turn into or take. I think you’re going to see just blocks of songs. Just singles is the way go. I do love a band that puts out a good record. It’s just, we don’t really rehearse like that. I stay in the studio, and I make music and then I get people to come in and play on it. It’s always been that way since day one. A lot of contributions happen along the way.”

Despite the proliferation of streaming which seemed more conducive to his creative process and working style, Gordon went on to say, “I don’t know, bands have always had a hard time, and it just doesn’t seem to get any easier for us along the way. But, you know, the fans enjoy it. That’s all that really matters. And you just gotta suck it up and, you know, deal with it. Because honest to God, you know it’s never been about money. I mean, look at Spotify. They pay artists nothing. But Joe Rogan gets a $250 million contract, you know? Yeah, nothing against Joe Rogan, but like, man, it sure would have been nice if they would take some of that money and paid bands with it.”

I made mention to the fact that I am reading a book about the music industry and it’s fascinating to me. Gordon interrupted, “Fascinating until you’re in it and you’re just like, Holy fuck, right?” I continued, “That’s what I mean, it’s fascinating that the fact that it’s, it’s there’s so many…” “Caveats?!?” he exclaimed. “Yeah, caveats and idiosyncrasies and just weirdness that is so unnatural from even from an outsider’s perspective.” I finished. Gordon went on. “It’s quite barbaric in a lot of ways. Right? I mean, I’m not one of those, crybaby artists at all. I’m just saying, you know, artists get fucked over.” I replied, “Do you feel like there’s like the scales of power are shifting more in the artists favor in terms of the negotiations with labels and the industry.”

“I don’t see how, unless I live under a rock, which I don’t think I do. No, I don’t, I don’t see it tipping in the artists favor at all. We just make less and less money and somebody makes a lot of money. I’m optimistic that could happen again at some point, but I don’t see it happening any time soon.” Gordon explained.

Many fans are always in the artists corner regarding getting fair compensation. The vinyl and nu-metal resurgence and more people getting out to live shows ends up putting more money in artists pockets overall. But with the ticket scalping, bots, and more it’s difficult to see that as a fan. From the artist’s perspective, what’s the best way for fans to support a band or an artist these days? “That’s a tough question for me.” Gordon replied. “Merch definitely helps. That perpetuates a lot of, you know, what keeps us floating. We’re going to be coming out with a hell of a lot more of it, I can tell you that much, because that seems to be the only way you can, like, make it happen. That and going to the live shows.”

We’re seeing a wider variety of merchandising, licensing, and partnerships hitting the marketplace. All the best to you and Orgy.

Inquiring about if content from Entropy will be featured on any releases in the future, Gordon responded, “Entropy never really happened. There are songs that have ended up on Toxic and things like that, and then songs that are ending up in, you know, this era. So, in that respect, there’s some of the material around.”

“Thank you very much for having me and I really appreciate you. I just hope everybody comes out to the shows and we have a good, good time. I want this tour to be successful.”

[krispyweiss]

Robert Fripp Joins Only Fans

- “You’ll have to pay to see my bloody bollocks,” guitarist says

Robert Fripp has joined Only Fans.

The King Crimson leader took the decision after years of watching his wife, Toyah Willcox, traipse around in skimpy outfits that leave little to the imagination during the couple’s farcical “Sunday Lunch” videos.

“I don’t understand why Toyah keeps giving it away,” Fripp told Sound Bites in an exclusive interview after he posted a suggestive promotional video with only a guitar to protect his modesty.

“You’ll have to pay to see my bloody bollocks,” he said. “They’re three of a perfect pair.”

Fripp said he’ll do anything - from putting a lark’s tongue in aspic to frolicking with ladies of the road - for the right price.

4/1/24

[haro-hawayu]

Gundam Seed Freedom Movie

Okay, I did it, I went to watch the movie:

There were wayyy more people than I thought going to see it. Basically the entire back section was nearly fully, I think there were about 5ish seats left to pick. Also, not too many girls, there were a total of about 10 (I was the first one there so I noticed when they came in) including myself--the only other girl who came alone & not accompanying other(s) just so happened to sit next to me. She cried like 4+ times during the entire movie XD

Movie Thoughts (SPOILERS under the cut):

My initial thoughts coming out: Story was kinda meh-ish, but mecha-stuff was really cool. I think if this movie came out within the first 5 years after the end of Destiny OR if I rewatched SEED/GSD more recently, I would've enjoyed all the Easter eggs and such a great deal more.

After sitting down & re-checking stuff online (just to make sure I understood certain parts correctly), I think if I get to rewatch it again, I would've definitely enjoyed it more.

Off the top of my head likes/dislikes

Likes: the new theme songs, METEOR, Shin redemption, Athrun being cool again, flashback featuring old chars, Athrun piloting scenes, Cagalli piloting scenes, Athrun beating Kira, AsuCaga, ShinLuna, Yzak, Dearka, Miri, Hilda, Murrue, Mu, Millenium crew, the cool fights, Torii & Blue

Dislikes: Kira going through his old dilemma from all of SEED/end of GSD, the NTR stuff, the slightly over the top fanservice-y stuff, pacing at the beginning, the Black Knights

More in-depth thoughts on certain things:

Shin & ShinLuna: Shin was easily one of the characters I disliked the most in GSD, and I'm really glad that he's soooooo much more likeable in the movie. Why weren't you more like this in Destiny?!! He's also such a Kira fanboy (I just wished that Kira wasn't so... in need of a slapping 80% of the time) and it's really funny. Especially when he wanted to help Kira when him & Athrun were fighting and he got decked in the process!! He's like so dumb-cute and I really love that for him. I'm glad he had his moment to shine in the movie! I'm a little tickled seeing the ShinLuna interactions given that GSD was kinda how their VAs (Suzumura Kenichi & Sakamoto Maaya) got together and married. I wish/hope there's an interview where they have the couple talk about their roles and such, it would be so interesting. Better yet is if there's a video interview, I would totally eat that up.

Athrun & AsuCaga: Athrun in GSD was also an ache in my heart. I'm glad they made him cool again in this movie (lol except for that one scene where Shura saw THAT image in his mind, like it's so funny/crazy/wtheckkk). Man, how I wish that they threw more AsuCaga hints earlier in the movie!!! I was such a hardcore AsuCaga shipper too!! I remember feeling so burned and feeling so hopeless at the end of GSD when they parted ways. But seeing them together just soothes my soul. ALSO THE NECKLACES YO!!!! They're as good as together in my heart even though they didn't have a face-to-face interaction in the movie. Like c'mon, Cagalli is training Toyah to be her successor, and left him in charge while she flew out to space. Orb is in good hands in the future and Cagalli can totally pull a page out of Kira/Lacus' book and just elope with Athrun, maybe not frolicking on the beach at sunset with suits off haha. Upon google searching, apparently there's like a side-novel thingy that features more of them!! Please make an OVA out of this too TuT

Music: The music was great!! I listened to the new theme songs beforehand, so it felt great hearing them in the movie. I was hoping Meteor or Vestige would play during the movie, and they totally delivered when Meteor was playing! I was so so happy. Also thanks to the music, I'm back on Spotify (I left it for a good 1-1.5 months because of FF7 Rebirth OST was NOT available on Spotify).

Soap Opera Story: Someone described the movie being too soap-opera-y and I can't agree more. I think the whole NTR stuff (Orphee & Agnes, the pseudo-love triangles or messy relationship stuff) or the Freedom vs Destiny theme with a heavy dose of LOVE ME NOT HIM/HER on top (is this Macross?? why isn't Lacus singing?? XD) was just a bit too much. But then I have to remind myself that this is me 20 years later, but for them, it's only been 2 years... they're not even 20 years old yet canonically... they're still teenagers yo.

Macross jokes aside though, I kinda wish Lacus got to sing at some point. That would've been quite nice, though I did like that they added instrumentals for her songs in the movie.

Also, I went in this movie not knowing if Miri would appear, but she did and all is well.

[tellurian-in-aristasia]

In the mid 1990s, Miss Martindale was riding high and appearing on several different TV shows, not just the infamous BBC late night broadcast. As far as I am aware, only the the late night documentary and the Toyah Wilcox interview have been archived from this era. But perhaps one day some of the others will pop up. This particular entry, from the Wildfire News mailer, mentions that she was on Pyjama Party on March 9th 1996, which appears to be a late night talkshow/variety show. March 11th 1996 would see Miss Martindale on the U.K. Living channel, but it's unclear which show. Perhaps this was the Toyah Wilcox interview. Later in 1996, an Aristasian piece apparently would appear on Takeover TV.

[ghostcultmagazine]

Keefy had a chat with Director Toby Amies - to discuss his @kingcrimson documentary “In the Court of the Crimson King, King Crimson at 50” - which was released in October. Toby was granted unprecedented access to King Crimson on their last world tour, documented the story of the band, talked to former and current members, and had a lot of contact with @RobertFripp himself. We had a candid chat about the enigmatic prog legend and guitar wizard, their diehard fanbase, Toby's relationship with Robert, the popularity of Robert and @Toyah, and much more. Interview by Keefy (https://ift.tt/4HfYk5o), and video editing by Omar Cordy of OJC Photography (https://www.instagram.com/ojcpics​​​​). Theme music by Salted Wounds (https://ift.tt/9Epc6uP). Watch the trailer: Trailer: https://youtu.be/Kg3osMG5yK4 Buy the Blu-ray and DVD now: https://ift.tt/bpKDEGr Gear we use: (These are affiliate links and Ghost Cult makes a small profit from a sale) Set up A: Sony A7 III - https://amzn.to/3tQm422 Tamron 17-28 - https://amzn.to/3ePrlTd Tamron 28-75 - https://amzn.to/3fqCjgY Desview Mavo-P5 Monitor- https://amzn.to/33LlTub Manfrotto Befree Travel Tripod - https://amzn.to/3hxbL0e Set up B: Canon 80D - https://amzn.to/3ye8WqV Sigma MC-11 - https://amzn.to/3brZdU2 Sigma 18-35 - https://amzn.to/3tLlEd7 Tokina 11-16 - https://amzn.to/3bty9Uk Feelworld T7 Monitor - https://amzn.to/2Re9hta Audio: Sound Devices MixPre-3 - https://amzn.to/3tKkJd2 Gearlux XLR Mic Cable - 3 Pack - https://amzn.to/3w3zN6Y Deity D3 Microphone - https://ift.tt/ckzmtMV Usb Mic - https://amzn.to/3w8JHEG Lighting: YONGNUO YN600L - https://amzn.to/2QkNrn5 YONGNUO YN300 Air - https://amzn.to/2QjN5gu Dfuse Softbox - https://amzn.to/3uQq4AN Aputure MC - https://amzn.to/3oirFgx NanLite PavoTube II 6C - http://bit.ly/NanLitePavoTubeII Lightstands - https://amzn.to/3uSBl3x 5 in 1 Reflector - https://amzn.to/33KHdjo And our iconic Rope Light https://amzn.to/3ycdmyz For the full list of Ghost Cult gear: http://bit.ly/OJCPicsKit Get your band or DIY label a mention in our videos by visiting our pinned post on Twitter! https://twitter.com/GhostCultMag/status/1142861626590355456 or https://ift.tt/CBL8Al9 #tobyamies #kingcrimson #itcotck #robertfripp #robertandtoyah #toyahwillcox #kingcrimson50 #documentary #musicdocumentary #interview #interviews #ghostcultmag

[no-disco]

Sounds, 27th June 1981. Photos by Virginia Turbett

transcription under the cut

photos and article taked from sacreddm.net on the wayback machine

  Five months ago the prospect of doing an interview shut inside an airless, sterile studio would have made Depeche Mode run all the way home to Basildon. But then five months, as Wowington Woy would say, is a long time in the wacky world of wock and woll. One look at Vince Clarke sitting confidently behind the mixing desk and shorts-sporting Martin Gore’s welcoming smile and I knew things would be hunky dory.

  Dan “The Man” Miller quickly ordered Martin back in front of the mike to contribute his part to the now characteristic Mode quasi-barbershop harmonics on a new track which might be the new single, or possibly the start of the (gasp) album.

  “I just can’t get enough, I just can’t get enough,” sung Mart.

  But he had, and stopped for a cuppa and a chat.

  Les Moders, as I’ve hinted, are now 100% more confident, talkative, witty and brighter than all other known brands of washing powder. (Shurely shome mishtake?) Vince set his synth onto random programming to break the icky atmosphere and we commenced. How appropriate! With one record set straight – ie Depeche Mode aren’t shy, incommunicative, fragile young things at all, here’s the official mode of pronunciation: Depech-ay, if you please. “It’s probably grammatically wrong,” said Vince. “But we like it that way.” [1]

  Okay. Depecheeee Mode are laying down lotsa new tracks, having come to a halt after mucho gigging around London following the surprise success of “Dreaming Of Me” and even bigger surprise of “New Life”. Up until now Andy and Martin have had day jobs so the touring principle is only now an ongoing viability. Offers of the calibre of Classix and Toyah had been pouring in, but Vince reckoned it wasn’t the best thing for them to do at the time. Martin considered that the Classix tour may have tied them irrevocably to the futuromanticism tag which they’ve steadfastly been trying (unsuccessfully) to avoid.

  But of the bands who secured deals following the “Some Bizzare” LP, Depeche have fared the best: their simple, uncomplicated synthi-pop tunes are terribly hard to dislike, after all.

  “We had a sad day on Tuesday, though,” said David Gahan, crest suddenly fallen, “we expected “New Life” to go up a bit more. I think we all thought it wasn’t gonna do much at first, but inside… You can’t tell.”

  Funny, ’cos “New Life” is definitely even more instant than the debut… Vince: “It’s really up isn’t it.”

  David: “We learned a lot from “Dreaming”, came in here and just did a better job on the next one.”

  And that riveting little synth riff is still locked in my head, reminding me of God-knows-what. Just an old r&b riff, said Vince. No, it’s a good job they do have insistent hooks – David reckoned people have beaucoup de trouble remembering the name:

  “I bet they get to the shop and forget the name. They go on, hum the tune and say oh, can’t remember the name, I’ll have that Duran Duran one instead!”

  Andy Fletcher suggested Dep Mod as an abbreviation in fine Orch Man tradition. An imaginary lightbulb above Vince’s head suddenly fired him with a cracking good idea.

  “When your photographer comes,” he smirked, “can we have a picture taken in the back of Dan’s Renault? Just like Spandau Ballet? Only there’ll be five of us in the back, and we’ll all be squashed up like this…” (David imitates dead sardine)

  OK, wrench those tongues out of yer cheeks, boys. Mutemobile, indeed? It is true that they did well in the US Disco charts and have great appeal for Europe too… deals are currently being set up with several different majors to get Mode released in France, Germany et al. Many doubted the ability of Mute and Miller to break the Modes, but for an indie they’ve broken the required barriers.

  David: “We would much rather have had points than big advances, and we’ve got that with Daniel – he’s proved he can get us what we want, there’s nothing he can’t do – that we haven’t found out yet!”

  Andy: “Indies are at their height, they never used to get in the charts before.”

  David: “And radio stations are more likely to play indies.”

  Vince: “They have to pay less royalties!”

  David: “Radio One have been very good to us – 3 plays a day on this one. They said they’d stick with it, give it lots of airplay.”

  So from the insecure, nervous and unsure start, things have actually turned out as they’d hoped?

  Vince: “It has really. You learn things very quickly. With Mute we know everything that’s going on, we’re in contact with distributors, pluggers and promotion people every day.”

  Andy: “What we don’t know is what a major is like. We’re quite happy with our set up, but we don’t know if the distribution could be better.”

  Aah, but Rough Trade gets you into those little shops that the hordes of independent buyers frequent, you lucky boys.

  Andy then proceeded to go off at a tangent (this is not unusual), musing about how the band’s audiences had changed, become much younger. No-one else agreed.

  David: “We get a varied audience, you can’t say that at all!”

  Vince: “In clubs an’ that, the audience is already there, they haven’t come to see us.”

  David: “Don’t be silly! You can’t say everywhere we play has a fixed audience!”

  Andy: “You’re getting worse than Martin now… Martin hasn’t said one thing yet!”    Martin woke up. “I’m saving it up, it’s all going to come out in a minute, I’m just waiting for the right question.”

  We launched into a discussion about clubs, people not dressing up as much as they used to and the sight of Midge Ure sending lace-clad young girls into the water and into a frenzy at Crystal Pal last week.

  This caused much amusement.

  Andy: “That’s what Martin does!”

  Martin: “You’re asking for it, Fletch…”

  To avert a full-scale war, I mentioned my liking for the “Rio” mix of “Shout!”, B-Side of their first ever 12”. They love the rhythm, but the song? David loves it, Vince hates it, Martin says so-so. Humph. It’s the first dancefloor oriented thing they’ve done tho’, eh?

  Andy: “Apart from the things we did when we were Light Of The World…” Silence… laughter!

  They all paused to watch Daniel frowning in the control room, doubtless searching for that stray note out of tune. A conspiracy brewed. “What was that thing we wanted in Jaws about Daniel?” they whispered. “Nooooo – don’t put it in, he’d know it was us… if you say it, Andy, you’re the one – we all tried to stop you!” [2]

  Andy turned to me with a probing question. “Who told you about the folk group and church hall thing?” (Referring to a gossip item about their acoustic past). “We practised in a church hall, that’s all.” [3]

  And they’re recording in a deconsecrated church now! [4]

  David: “Yeah, we just love churches.”

  Martin: “You wait till you hear our new single – it’s a gospel song.”

  David: “It’s called “Have You Got The Sunshine Smile”.”

  Andy sung the words, gesticulating his finger at his smiling lips in Sunday School teacher style.

  David: “On the picture bag, there’s Andy’s face, and when you press his nose, a finger comes out and there’s Martin inside showing the actions. Martin doing the Mode!”

  And they chorused: “Have you got the sunshine HA-HA-HA HEE HEE.” I think this is what we in the trade call a joke…

  On entering studiospace, I’d noticed Darryl, Fan Club President and original Silicon Teen, scribbling away replies to D Mode fan mail. Are they getting lots?

  David: “Not really. We were just trying to impress you! We were s’posed to have this Postman come in just after you with a great big sack!”

  Andy: “Yeah, binfuls of used biros, hard skin on our fingers where we’ve been writing so much!”

  Well, I saw at least ten letters.

  David: “A lot of them are really young. This 13 year old boy wrote us a story using words from the singles and sent us some badge designs.”

  Vince: “We’re pop! Ultra pop!”

  Andy: “People write to us from up North but they haven’t seen us. We want to branch out from London, but first we must rehearse new material, we’ve been doing the same set for 4 months. The live show should be better, more danceable.”

  Daniel looked quizzical again. The boys told him to stop listening in.

  Andy: “He’s a great man. Look – the ultimate picture of Daniel Miller, father of electronic music…”

  Vince: “Grandfather, more like.”

  Daniel the scolding father retorted, “I can hear you.”

  A man from ITV arrived to discus Dep Mod’s appearance on a 20th Century Box prog on the Essex music scene, past and present. Depeche are to be filmed live at Croc’s in Rayleigh, and filmed au naturel around Basildon, all to be shown sometime in August.

  “You can film my usual Saturday morning routine,” joked David. “Have a sauna, go to a brothel, then a commando course… Nah, it’ll be Andy waking up at 5am, having ’is toast and going down the newsagents for his paper round. Boys next door!” He concluded, sensibly: “It doesn’t matter if we’re sitting on the loo – a minute on tele is better than a thousand radio plays.”

  Andy came over all pensive again, wondering why so many of their interviews spent more time talking about Daniel than the band.

  “There’s nothing really that people can say about us is there? All other bands go on about political things, we don’t talk about our views.”

  Dave: “We don’t have political views, I don’t think.”

  Andy: “There’s always an extrovert member of a band with strong views.” [5]

  Vince: “We don’t stand for anything united do we?”

  Andy: “We haven’t got a person who’s domineering.”

  David: “That’s good!”

  Andy: “On the other hand, that’s why our interviews are very empty, ’cause usually the loudmouth of a band goes on about what the Labour party are doing or something.”

  Martin: “Sexism always comes up too, especially with HM bands.”

  David: “They always talk about sex.”

  Vince: “It’s all that macho stuff.”

  Macho. Dep Mod certainly aren’t Macho. Now they were in a more reflective mood, I asked what their immediate hopes for the future were.

  Chorus: “Ultimate success!”

  David: “We’re happy as it is, we’d just like some money.”

  Vince: “We want to change our sound, get some new stuff together, get a good live show.”

  Vince: “We don’t want to get like Kraftwerk, we don’t want to use tapes any more. We’ve got a rhythm unit with a TV screen that plays Space Invaders as well!” [6]

  Andy: “We want to give the show more of an aura.”

  David: “Down the Bridgehouse?!”

  Now there’s a thought… anything else?

  David: “Yes, Andy would love to have a cult following, be underground. We have gigs in here when Vince is getting down on the mixer, and Andy sings! Things get on top of you in the studio – you have to do something to let it all go, so we come in here and scream and shout.”

  The lads played me a tape of impromptu raw electro-punk with Crass-style vocals by Andy, featuring a cover version of “Simple Simon Says”, “You’re Gonna Lose That Girl” and a sensitive rendition of a popular school hymn. There’s that religious influence again… But they need this relief valve from the precise orderliness required to produce their brand of neatly-packed pop songs – operating, generating new life for our pop kids.

  A lot of people know the name Depeche Mode now. Now you know who they are, what they are. Like their boss, they’re all heart – boys next door who turn into Ultra Popsters at the flick of a switch. Mode: strictly not avant-garde.

[thedepartmentofdiscoveries]

12th Sept 2022 interview.

Toyah Willcox of band Toyah for "Anthem" album, May 1981.

📷 Jay Myrdal.

👨‍🎨 Album Art: Steve Weston.

[toyahinterviews]

ABSOLUTE 80s WITH CHRIS MARTIN 22.6.2023

CHRIS MARTIN: You're joining us again for “My Absolute 80s”. I'm stoked beyond belief to say that Toyah is my guest this week. Toyah, welcome TOYAH: Thank you so much. It's really good to be here CHRIS: Is this a kimono you're wearing? It’s beautiful! TOYAH: It is really beautiful. I bought it about four years ago. I used to live in Menton on the border of France and Italy. It was on a street stall and it was so out of place four years ago and now it's totally in fashion. I'm really glad I have it CHRIS: Lovely silky green floral thing. You look absolutely fantastic. This show in front of us ... If you're joining us for the first time on "Absolute 80s" every song you hear - Toyah picked them. Every single one for the next hour     This is the joy of the show for me, getting a glimpse inside our favourite artist's musical tastes and also to talk about their lives in the 80s. Toyah, shall we begin with song number one? I'm going go for the rather chipper Depeche Mode. “Just Can't Get Enough”. It is a party starter, isn't it? TOYAH: It is a party starter but the thing about Depeche Mode is they always have quite a serious angle within their songs and within their videos. They're so amazing live. I've only ever watched DVDs of them live. I've never managed to get to see them actually live   I have so much respect for everything they've done, especially in the 80s. They were one of the first bands to hire their own stadiums and play in America. They didn't think anyone would come and the whole of America came. That really was the beginning of their megastardom. So I adore everything about Depeche Mode DEPECHE MODE Just Can't Get Enough   CHRIS: That was back in 1981. What's going on in your head? Where does that take you back to? TOYAH: Well, I ruled the world in 1981. The most successful female singer of the year and in 1982, because of that, I won Best Female Singer at what was the Brit Awards back then. It was an incredible year for me. All my dreams came true. I had my first Top Of The Pops     I was touring pretty much non-stop. I can remember doing a performance on Top Of The Pops, which always went out live, and having a little prop plane waiting at a private airport. Flying over to Belgium and doing a TV the next day and flying back   It was a remarkable time and it was a very different time. Culturally and technically. We didn't have mobile stones. We relied on everything working on dates being set in the calendar and just turning up. There was no way of taking a plane over to Munich to do a show that we could check in on the way. We just arrived there. We did these enormous festivals and came back. It was very exciting. Very, very young. We were full of energy. We ruled the world 

CHRIS: I love the stories of Live Aid where they had the countdown clocks - obviously there was so many acts to get through quickly. Everyone had to be regimented. “Don't start “Bat Out Of Hell” with three minutes to go whatever you do”

TOYAH: I beg for those countdown clocks because even on festivals today, they say "you've only got 45 minutes, you've got to be off". And if they haven't put a countdown clock on the stage you can't look at your watch while singing to 30 000 people. It's rude (Martin laughs). We rely so much on basic things CHRIS: I wonder if you could just go on the mic and say "anyone got the time? I have no idea where we are right now" TOYAH: Oh, I've done that! (Martin laughs) I often work with backing bands I've never worked with before. You run onstage. Everyone has learned your arrangements. You go, this is a “Echo Beach!” and they start playing “It’s A Mystery” and you think oh, my God! What setlist are they using?! I had that three weeks ago. I had to turn to the bass player and say "could you tell me what song you're doing next?" It does happen! CHRIS: Oh, my goodness me! OK, song number two. Let's stay in the early part of the decade. I'm enjoying this a lot already. Duran Duran, "The Reflex" TOYAH: Whooo (excited) DURAN DURAN The Reflex   CHRIS: Duran Duran. Were they one of those bands that you looked at their style and went "it doesn't matter what you release. You just look amazing. You're going to be successful"? TOYAH: We're all Birmingham people. I had a show called “Look! Here!” at Pebble Mill and gave Duran Duran their first TV appearance. I was a presenter on this show and became a very famous singer while I still had this series. So I gave Duran Duran their first TV appearance with “Planet Earth”. They were bloody beautiful back then! They were just so stunningly beautiful   But what none of us realised was they would take the leap from, what was the normal number one circuit in rock, your Hammersmith Apollo's, all of those big theatres - they would take the leap into stadiums. They did it and they just have never looked back and they deserve every moment of success. They're great songwriters, they are a really good team. That team has stayed together. And they're lovely people CHRIS: Next song we are up to Liverpool, Echo and The Bunnymen. Have you got particularly fond memories of the band or of Liverpool itself? TOYAH: I don't know the band. I've never met the band or worked or been on the bill with the band. But “The Killing Moon” is an absolute cultural classic. Again, I have so much respect for the longevity of this band. Their audience is totally dedicated and they're winning new audience all the time   Some of my most exciting experiences as a live performer have been at Liverpool. I remember once turning up to do an interview for Radio City and we couldn't get to the station because there were crowds everywhere. I actually wound down my window in the car and I said “we're trying to get to such and such street”, but we can't. What's going on?" and the whole crowd turned around and said “we're waiting for you!” (Chris laughs)     They closed the streets, there was thousands of them. I had to be led by firemen through this crowd into a building, up onto the balcony and I had to go out on the balcony and wave to everyone so that the streets might clear and the traffic could continue to move around Liverpool

ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN The Killing Moon   CHRIS: Toyah was just regaling us with stories of being mobbed in Liverpool. Echo and The Bunnymen. That song - it's an exercise in space, isn't it? TOYAH: People often talk about the simplicity of the right ingredients. The Rolling Stones has it. Every song that they've ever released is on the surface simplistic but actually it's brilliant. You've only got the necessary ingredients to make a Michelin star meal and “The Killing Moon” is one of those songs   It has everything that is needed and nothing more. But also what is very classic about it is the video. The video is something that helps you remember the song. It's about space and surrealism and it's absolutely perfect CHRIS: Speaking of space surrealism and a fantastic video - should we go to David Bowie's “Ashes to Ashes” next? TOYAH: When I first heard this, the sound design of the song is so amazing. And then Bowie was very clever on the video to use the biggest cult people in London at the time, which was Steve Strange and all of the new romantics that were important. Everyone on that video was an absolute trend leader in London at the time   It’s a beautiful video and this is what Bowie was very clever at. The song itself refers back to “Major Tom”, which was his first major hit. (The lyrics) “Ground Control to Major Tom”, (in) “Space Oddity” (1969) It was such a clever link. Clever song. I've been in love with it ever since. It's a song that takes me right back to the 80s more than any other song DAVID BOWIE Ashes To Ashes   CHRIS: There’s a sort of thread to the songs you’ve chosen. Pop but there's a darkness to them. Tthat is a real sweet spot for me in music where the darkness lies in pop. The minor chords, the threat   There is a brightness too though, to some of your choices. I think this next one is a bit of marketing genius from Prince. It was released about a week and a half before Valentine's Day. Did you know that? TOYAH: No, I had no idea at all! CHRIS: “Kiss”. Clever swine! TOYAH: I believe that he didn't like this song. I believe that he felt it was too obvious. But my theory is that sometimes the most obvious is the cleverest. And as you say this was released just before Valentine's Day The glorious thing about this song is everyone wants to dance to it. Whether you're a heavy metaller, or you're a new romantic - everyone wants to dance to this song. Prince may have believed it wasn't the best song he ever wrote but it's one of the most memorable he ever wrote   It's just so simple. “All I want is your kiss”. It’s one word, and it even has only one syllable. I'm a lyricist. How do you make a word like kiss work? It's on the downbeat, it's just kiss. It's simple. It's a brilliant piece of songwriting PRINCE Kiss     CHRIS: We’ve talked about what it’s like to be Toyah in respects of presenting and songwriting and the many facets to your life. I have to say your voice has been echoing through my house more than I expected this year. My little boy, who's four, has found “Brum”! (below) (Toyah laughs) I sat down with him thinking I’ve not watched this in years. Wait a minute! They know that voice!  

TOYAH: (puts on the narrative voice of “Brum”) “It’s a big day in the city! Brum brum brum!” (Chris laughs) I loved doing that series! It was created by Anne Wood and she went on to create “Teletubbies”. I was the narrator at the top of “Teletubbies” as well. I love doing voiceovers. I enjoy it so much! CHRIS: I enjoy it. I've never had any designs on being an actor in my life. But if someone says "be this type of person, be this character" - you can just have fun in 30 second bursts. Just pretending and playing. It is pure joy, isn't it? It's escapism TOYAH: I absolutely adore acting. It's something I could never ever walk away from. I love working with camera and the whole family of a crew. It's very rewarding and very intense, but you lose yourself in it     It's exactly the same experience for me in front of the microphone on stage. It's the only moment where no one can send me an email. No one can phone me. No one can ask me a favour. It's my time and I really love it CHRIS: As somebody, who was quite young in the 80s, I would love to hear your perspective on George Michael and him going solo after Wham! Obviously artists do this all the time. Did you look at him and think yeah, he's got every ounce of star quality. He cannot be anything other than an enormous success ... or was there any doubt? TOYAH: It's a very good question because  Wham! was a very beautiful boy band with Michael and Andrew. They were fantastic at what they did. I slightly regret that I never appreciated Wham! because I was a punk rocker - but I do now. We were encouraged to take the mickey out of each other. I reviewed Wham! on one of their last gigs for Radio One at Hammersmith Odeon. I was a great show. It was really a beautiful show     Halfway through it the curtains closed and George came out through the curtains and sang “Careless Whisper”. It blew me away. Because at that point you knew he was going to be a world superstar. That was my review. I said “Careless Whisper” is the song that's going to make him a solo artist. As time went on, as the 80s moved into the 90s he started to do the most extraordinary work. But he also started to become very uncomfortable with his fame     I was one of these people that wish that he could have appreciated how unique and how brilliant his songwriting and his voice was. I remember Frank Sinatra doing an open letter to him saying “George, take yourself seriously. You are utterly unique”. And now we don't have him anymore. I'm actually heartbroken because he was just so special     GEORGE MICHAEL Faith     CHRIS: He’s having a great pop career and then just to rock it with an acoustic ... That's just perfect. And looking like that when he did it as well!       TOYAH: He’s the most perfect man!     CHRIS: He is. To another front man. I know more than a couple of people who absolutely swoon over Michael Hutchence, INXS TOYAH: They were kind of the love child of Prince meets Keith Moon (Chris laughs) Everything was based on beat and rhythmic syllables around that beat and the extraordinary beauty of Michael Hutchence. I feel really protective towards his legacy because he is no longer here to talk for himself. But the songs and the band were utterly amazing. And by all accounts he was a beautiful human being. A wonderful human being that came under attack in public life for his extraordinary beauty   There’s a story that Helena Christiansen (his girlfriend at the time) tells about a taxi driver getting out of the taxi and punching his lights out for no reason at all. Now, what you have to remember with really famous beautiful men, they're a threat to every other man on the planet who wants to spread their seed     Michael Hutchence had to stick up for himself the whole time. He did it like a poet. He did it like (John) Keats, he did it with words. I think he's a remarkable human being from history that we must never forget INXS Need You Tonight

CHRIS: If you've just tuned in and you've thought this music tonight has been absolutely incredible ... well ... you can thank Toyah for every single song choice. Toyah has joined me for "My Absolute 80s" but also taken on  - there's some bravery in this, Toyah - taking on Grace Jones', “Slave To The Rhythm” (above) and executing it brilliantly, I must say TOYAH: Thank you. There is a history to this. My long-term writing partner wrote the original version of  “Slave To The Rhythm”. It was then picked up by Trevor Horn and his writing team. Trevor then recorded it with Grace Jones. In between all of that happening, I was the demo singer on the demo that went to Holly Johnson for Frankie Goes To Hollywood to do the song and Holly turned it down   So 40 odd years on Simon Darlow and I were in the studio. We've had massive success with the last album “Posh Pop” and we said let's do “Slave To The Rhythm”. We do realise that we're covering a song that is an absolute classic by Grace Jones and Trevor Horn. We’re fully aware of that, and full of respect for it     Our version is myself, Simon Darlow and the legendary guitarist Robert Fripp, who I'm married to. Robert Fripp has come on board and we've completely reinvented the album “In The Court Of The Crimson Queen”

TOYAH Slave To The Rhythm   CHRIS: Toyah, you've been watching my smile while we've been talking. It has been utter joy doing this with you. Thank you so much. We are finishing up with one final song. A little word on R.E.M’s “The One I Love” to wrap up TOYAH: I'm very lucky to call R.E.M friends. The drummer Bill Rieflin was a long-time friend of myself and Robert. I've made three albums with him. We used to follow him and R.E.M on the road. They’re great friends, Peter Buck and Michael Stipe. Absolutely gorgeous man. These are people in my heart R.E.M The One I Love   LISTEN to the interview HERE

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Scottish actor Richard Madden born June 18th 1986 in Elderslie.

Richard was raised by his mother, Pat, a classroom assistant and his father, Richard, who worked for the fire service. He also has two sisters, Cara and Lauren.

His parents were “hippies”, he says, and their house was pretty open, with friends always piling in for big vegetarian meals. Madden spent a lot of time outside, in the woods behind their house. He has several injuries: he shows me where he shot his dad’s old air pistol and blew off part of his finger, then managed to wreck the same finger when he nailed a wooden plank to his skateboard, then crashed it, so apart from the Hippie parents it was much like most of our own days as bairns.

Despite growing up wanting to be an actor, Richard was very shy during his childhood. To overcome this, at age 11, he joined Paisley Arts Centre’s youth theatre program. In 1999 he was given the lead role as Sebastian Simpkins in BBC1’s children’s TV comedy series Barmy Aunt Boomerang, that’s him aged 12 in the first pic with co-star Toyah Wilcox.. By 2000, he’d made his feature film debut in the Iain Banks adaptation, Complicity.

After high school he was accepted to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland and in 2007, he graduated.

Less than two years later, Richard had a recurring role as Dean McKenzie on the 2009 BBC series Hope Springs. Soon after, he landed the role of Ripley in the 2010 movie Chatroom, a film about a group of teenagers who encourage each other’s bad behaviours after meeting online. In the same year, Richard played punk band Theatre of Hate singer Kirk Brandon in Worried About the Boy, a TV film about the life of British singer-songwriter Boy George.

In 2011 Richard landed his breakthrough role as Robb Stark in the HBO fantasy-drama series Game of Thrones. Also in 2011, he played gay paramedic Ashley Greenwick on the short-lived British comedy-drama Sirens. During hiatus from filming Game of Thrones in 2013, Richard was cast to star as Prince Charming in the 2015 Disney film Cinderella.

Richard won his first Screen Actors Guild award in 2014 for the Discovery Channel mini-series, Klondike. He played Bill Haskell, one of two adventurers who travel to Yukon, Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890s. He further enhanced his reputation as a good actor when he appeared in the BBC drama Bodyguard in 2018, the following year he played Lieutenant Joseph Blake in the film 2017 and was Elton John’s manager/lover in the biop of the star Rocketman.

In January 2019 Madden won  a prestigious Golden Globe for his role as war veteran David Budd in the BBC show Bodyguard. He also appeared in the 2019 war movie 1917.

We last saw Richard in the movie,  Eternals, which was okay, but nothing great, he is one of several actors being touted as the next James Bond,

James is currently in the Amazon Prime series Citadel, I've watched the first three episodes and am not really impressed with it,I think he does pull of the American accent well, but I noticed there have been people saying he doesn't pull it off, Madden revealed he spoke in the accent for two years straight to prepare for the series. The show has been earmarked for a second series. Richard is set to appear in the feature film Killer Heat next.

In July 2019, Madden received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. When asked about his personal life during a New York Times interview following speculation about his relationships and sexuality, Madden stated: “I just keep my personal life personal.”

Madden was recently named one of ‘Scotland’s Sexiest Men'  following a new study that identifies the most attractive features for men, he has competition though,  also in the running are Bathgate’s David Tennant  and Glasgow’s James McAvoy,

[gabydom]

Robert Fripp, Toyah Willcox Interview: Quarantine Cover Videos - Rolling Stone

[brainless-moe-white-lotus]

Robert Fripp's Thot moments

(from the top: Brian Eno anecdote, making of cat food, interview with Fripp, Adrian Belew's blog and Toyah's blog)

[hedgehogglovepuppet]

For many young people, Britain in the late 1970s was a place without hope. Unemployment was high. The value of the pound was low and, despite the feminist activity of the early 1970s, the most many girls aspired to was to marry well and look good. Female role models were hard to find - especially in music. Then punk happened. Women could dress how they liked, behave how they wanted and develop their own sound without being manipulated by the mostly male gatekeepers of the record industry. Young women who didn’t fit the traditional mould of femininity found a new tribe in punk. A place where they could finally be themselves. But the movement attracted fear and aggression. And few made much money from the short-lived scene. Sue MacGregor brings together five female punk pioneers. Gaye Black, bass player in The Adverts, was described as the first female punk star. But the industry focus on her looks caused animosity in the band. Toyah Willcox, an aggressive tomboy, found her emotional rebellion in punk and appeared in Derek Jarman’s cult punk film Jubilee. Gina Birch of The Raincoats played her first gig in November 1977 a few weeks after forming her all-female band. Tessa Pollitt abandoned her A levels to join all girl punk band, The Slits. Vivien Goldman was in the The Flying Lizards and Features Editor of Sounds.

The Reunion: Women of Punk (45 mins ~ BBC Radio 4 ~ 2017)

[jaynedolluk]

Latest issue of Classic Pop has a couple of great interviews w/Toyah + Soft Cell (who mention Cindy Ecstasy who raps on Memorabilia + I loved her) plus a piece on top 20 Greatest Singles by 80s actors (Rupert Everett was criminally overlooked!) and a review of that new Prince book by Duane Tudahl.