Watch Toyah and Robert cover ‘Heroes’ by David Bowie at Glastonbury 2023
Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp performed a cover of David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ at their recent set at Glastonbury.
The married couple — who both have extensive music careers and came together to form a musical duo in 2020 — took to the stage on Sunday (June 25), and performed renditions of some of their favourite classic rock hits.
A highlight of the set came with their cover of a David Bowie classic, as they put their own spin on his 1977 fan favourite, ‘Heroes’.
For the performance, Willcox took the microphone and handled the vocals, while Fripp remained seated and played the guitar through the track. Check out the footage below.
Back in 1977, Fripp recorded the guitar for the hit Bowie track, as well as featuring on the singer’s two hit albums ‘Heroes’ and ‘Scary Monsters’. He also got into a dispute with Bowie’s estate back in 2019, when he claimed that he was given improper credit for his contributions to the artist’s discography.
The issue was related to the term ‘Featured Player’, which was not in use when he made albums, but if they were, the title would have granted Fripp more official credit for the tracks.
David Bowie died in New York City in January 2016, having been diagnosed with liver cancer 18 months earlier. His death came just two days after the release of his 26th studio album, ‘Blackstar’, which also coincided with his 69th birthday.
The Glastonbury set wasn’t the first time that the couple — now going by the name Toyah & Robert — have covered the track together. Back in 2022, they performed a rendition of the track in their kitchen as part of their hit Sunday Lunch series, which has been running for over three years.
Ahead of their performance, the couple caught up with NME backstage to discuss their reaction to the sudden momentum that the web series got, and reveal their plans to take the show to television.
“We’ve actually been picked up by a world agency and we have decided that we’re going to give them a set amount of years,” Willcox responded when asked how long the couple see Sunday Lunch continuing for. Fripp also stated that he would be happy to continue performing until his mid-80s.
“At the moment our social media numbers are growing. So as long as those audiences are there and that kind of pull is there, we’ll keep going,” she continued. “But I will not watch him do anything that makes his health suffer. At the moment though, he is utterly remarkable, his playing is remarkable.”
The couple also explained how Bowie was able to spot emerging talent from afar, and would likely be a fan of Wet Leg if he were still alive today.
“There’s so much talent around, and there’s always new talent discovering Bowie for the first time. I think there’s some absolutely genuine talent out there, [for instance] Wet Leg, they’re fabulous and they’re just creating their own genre and their own places in music history,” said Willcox.
Fripp agreed, adding: “David would know who was hot and who was about to appear before anyone else. … Bowie would always know.”
Following their slot, Toyah & Robert have numerous more festival appearances lined up. Their upcoming tour, ‘Toyah & Roberts Sunday Lunch Live!’ kicks off later this autumn. Find dates and remaining tickets here.
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Liberty Dunworth
NME
