No one could've seen it coming: the man who brought you King Crimson and the woman who brought you "Thunder in the Mountains" becoming viral sensations by teaming up on YouTube to deliver a series of covers ranging from Green Day to Motorhead and the Beastie Boys. It's a bit silly, to be sure, but each of the videos also provides a minute or two of pure, unadulterated joy by virtue of just how much fun the couple of Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp - married since 1986 - are having in the process.
For their performance of "Lick It Up" by KISS, Fripp has a fake tongue hanging out of his mouth. For "Ace of Spades," Toyah is dressed as a French maid for no apparent reason. And then there's the versions of Kaiser Chiefs' "I Predict a Riot," Smashing Pumpkins' "Bullet with Butterfly Wings," Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name"... The list goes on and on, and they're all a treat for one reason or other, whether it's to see what Toyah's wearing or how Robert has got his hair done up.
Last year, they took their act on the road for a bit, and now they're doing it again this holiday season for "Toyah and Robert's Christmas Party 2024."
When asked by Q about the YouTube videos that have brought him an unexpected degree of fame outside of his usual circles, Fripp seemed bemused by the attention but agreed that they were a great deal of fun. He also didn't hesitate to concede that it was actually Toyah who handled all matters in regards to taking them out on the road.
"We've done individual dates, like festivals," Fripp told Q last year. "We've done Isle of Wight, we've done Glastonbury, we've done the Cropredy Festival, for example, and a few other shows. But those are the three major festivals we've done. And we've just come back from a one-month tour around England which completed a week ago last Sunday at the Birmingham Town Hall, where - 50 years earlier - King Crimson had played with John Wetton, Bill Bruford, David Cross, and myself. So the Toyah and Robert tour was surprisingly successful. We had lots of fun, and we're currently discussing work next year. Toyah has plans for this. She sings it, she drives it, I support it!"
As has now been confirmed, Toyah's plans are coming to fruition.
“It is inevitable that our kitchen high jinx hits the road, because, as Sunday Lunch has proven, the whole world loves classic rock and wants to let their hair down at Christmas!" said Toyah in the press release announcing the tour. "Who better to do that with than two rock legends, who can really rock out and make you laugh at the same time!”
The dates for the tour are as follows:
DECEMBER
16 – Edinburgh, Queens Hall
17 – Sunderland, The Fire Station
19 – Bath, Komedia
20 – London, Indigo At The O2
22 – Wolverhampton, Wulfrun Hall
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