I Was a Teenage Toyah Fan

by Chris Limb

From 1986 until its closure, Chris Limb ran the official Toyah Willcox Fan Club Tellurian as well as designing and selling merchandise during Toyah's extensive tours in the early nineties. This is not that story. This is the story of what happened before. It began on a dark winter's night at the tail end of 1979 when a nerdy 14 year old boy watched an episode of the BBC's detective show Shoestring and realised that there was more to life than Blake's Seven/Star Wars crossover fanzines...

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 2011

About the author

Chris's debut novel Comeback was published by Unbound on 21 January 2021.

They have also had a number of short stories published since 2013, blog on a semi-regular basis as well as occasionally reviewing books and audios for the British Fantasy Society.

Chris wrote a short pop memoir which was published in 2011 and went down well with its core-audience. It continues to sell at a steady rate to this day.

They also play bass guitar and perform random acts of web and graphic design for a diverse selection of clients and now live in Hastings.

Reviews

[S.P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a coming of age story, about a teenage boy who is inspired by a brightly haired Toyah Wilcox - one of those rare finds in those days, a female artist with something to say and who dared to be different.

There is a deep feeling of nostalgia and shared experience in the first few chapters as Chris Limb relives the time when he discovered the music that mattered to him. Most of us, I guess, go through this in our formative years, though the precise music may differ (Sorry Chris, really liked Toyah, but it was Kate Bush for me - oddly both introduced to me by the Kenny Everett Television Show...) but the process is the same; The music is discovered, the obsession grows and is explored. It is a very personal experience, and Chris writes it in way to make you relive your own experiences through his own.

The rest of the book, covers Chris’s time as a kind of groupie, following where there were Toyah interviews and appearances, and generally being where Toyah was. He became part of, what you could call hardcore Toyah fans who slept rough, hitchhiked and generally went to as many gigs and Toyah related appearances as they could. Toyah didn’t seem to mind much and even hung out with them and treated them like friends.

The story of personal development continues as Chris leaves school, goes to university, and the friends made around Toyah disperse, get married, move on.

So it is, at its end, a coming of age story, one that is familiar and condenses your own growing up into a 130 pages of an afternoon read. (Scary really).

Best line in the book is its last;

“Perhaps I’m not as fast and foolish as I was in the eighties, but my brain will have always have been wired by Toyah”.

A sentiment which sums up the book nicely and could equally be applied to anyone with similar experiences.

This book was received through Goodreads Giveaway

[Ness · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a follower of Toyah I was really interested to read this book & wasn't disappointed. Chris told his story but I for 1 felt as though I was with him on his travels to her gig's. Toyah comes across as a real people person who actually bothered about her fans.
I didn't want it to end & would loved to have read more about how Chris got on after taking over the fan club.

[The Bookish Wombat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Limb tells the story of his obsession with Toyah and how he went from adoring her from afar to interacting with her and running her fan club.

I'm around the same age as the author (a little older I think, but only a little!) so his description of the 1980s rang true with me. I remember only too well the pain and pleasure of seeing bands and performers I liked on TV but having no reliable way of finding out more about them or when I'd be able to see them again. The whole fan experience has changed immeasurably in the years since then, but in many ways the mystery of not knowing much about a band or performer added to it. These days over-familiarity can indeed breed contempt.

I'm also a bit of a Toyah fan too - not to the same extent as Chris, but her songs take me back to particular times and places. Hearing "It's A Mystery" zooms me right back to one particular special evening in December 1982 as if it was yesterday.

This is such an affectionate book and represents beautifully how a fan can be completely taken over by their admiration of a performer, and how this experience can change their life for the better. Toyah herself comes over very well as having a lot of time for her fans, even when they ask too much of her.

I really enjoyed reading the book and will definitely read it again.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked going back to the 80's in this book as the TV shows and musical references I remember well, too. So that was fascinating. I was never a particular Toyah fan but you don't need to be. It was nice to read that she paid attention to her fans and that Chris built up such a nice connection with her.
It covered the years from 1979 through to 1986 then stopped VERY abruptly, I have to say, as I'd like to have known what he ended up doing and if he continued to be a fan now in his mid-forties.
It was well-written too with no horrible spelling and grammar errors which makes a nice change these days.

[Cat Hellisen]

A wonderful glimpse into 80s culture, and of growing up a teenage fan. Limb captures that feeling of obsessive pop-culture wonderfully, making me remember my own years where I collected everything to do with a certain band, and covered my walls with adverts for their singles, ripped from the pages of the Melody Maker.

The style feels a little stilted when it first begins (Chris likes whilst far more than I do) but within a few pages it settles down, and I can see and hear him, and thanks to a recent trip to Brighton (where I in fact met Chris at WFC) and London, could picture the places perfectly.

A most enjoyable read.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an Awesome and very smart book I have ever read there are a 100,000,000,000,000,000,000

to describe this wonderful book!

[S.A. Partridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a teen completely obsessed with Suede's Brett Anderson, I could totally relate to this book. In fact, anyone who grew up in the eighties will instantly relate to this book.

I was a Teenage Toyah Fan is a strikingly honest and witty account of the affect the punk princess known as Toyah had on a fifteen year old boy.

It's a memoir about the relationship between fan and star, but its also a story of growing up feeling a little bit different from anyone else and the realisation and inevitable acceptance of that individuality.

Chris' detailed descriptions are just lovely. I was compelled to Youtube some videos of Toyah which became a fantastic visual and audio companion to the story.

And don't you just love that title?

[Kev · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read. I felt transported back to my teenage years and to a time in my life where I was exploring my own fantasies. Anyone growing up in the late 70s, early 80s will enjoy this book. The book also introduced me to a band called ‘Indians in Moscow’ of which I’m enjoying listening to.

[W Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw a lot of myself in the author's Toyah fandom as I was a teenager at the same time who also related strongly to her music. The main difference being that I lived in rural Australia so there wasn't any way I could get to Toyah gigs in the UK and I had to import/order most of the records. It's a good picture of the time and of a healthy, if slightly obsessive, fandom. Another angle of this is Toyah Willcox's friendly and welcoming behaviour towards her fans which was really refreshing and I think not all that common with many celebs. It's an interesting read, but I would have liked more insight into why the author loved her music so much, it's adressed of course, but on the page I felt the fandom overtook the music appreciation a little. I related on many levels to her music, even the sci-fi operas, so that's why that is important to me as a reader. It does also seem to end a little abruptly, but these quibbles aside it's a very enjoyable read.

[Steve Downes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as I got into Toyah at a young age back around 1981/1982 time.

Being too young to go and see her then or even before like Chris has, I particularly enjoyed his enthusiasm. His fondness of the times and of Toyah are obvious.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Toyah, the music of the era and anyone who's ever been a dedicated enough fan of a singer or band to follow them where ever they go.

Thanks Chris

[Andy Lopata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite fun as a reminder of teenage years but not particularly well written. The author tries too hard and some of the phrases are a clumsy attempt to earn a place in literary folklore.

As someone who loved Toyah as a kid, however, it was a relatively easy, undemanding read. I'm off to listen to Anthem now!

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be read, this message will be replaced with real review and rating when I have read it (copy received through Good Reads First Reads giveaways :D)

[Ipswichblade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for all Toyah fans

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this...took me back to the 80s and I loved it

[Lynne Jenner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good in so much that the memories of the time resonated, however, it wasn't very substantial.