TOYAH Willcox and her band put in a blistering performance at Hoylake's Jack Rabbit Slim's on Sunday.

Tight, funky and truly hard-rocking, they didn't put a step wrong in a high-octane show of strength that left the rammed venue exhausted and demanding more.

Memorable anthems from the 80s like Mystery and Neon Womb combined seamlessly with new material, such as the powerful Latex Messiah, to produce a perfectly crafted set.

Speaking after the end of her many encores - and following an autograph signing session which the star was happy to do for almost an hour - Toyah said: "The intimacy of a venue like Jack Rabbit's is great, we loved it. The night felt really good, the audience loved it and so did we.

"We've spent a lovely day in Wirral and people we met have been so nice to us.

"We will definitely come back if they'll have us."

Promoter Roy Shuttleworth, from Meols, said "It's great to have a star like Toyah playing in Hoylake. We will absolutely be inviting her to return."

From punk princess to high priestess of TV, Toyah is a gifted performer. Charismatic, outspoken and impossible to categorise, she is one of Britain's household names.

In a career spanning 30 years, Toyah has had 13 top 40 singles, recorded 20 albums, written two books, appeared in more than 40 stage plays, made ten feature films and presented such diverse television programmes as The Good Sex Guide Late, Watchdog and Songs Of Praise.

It all began for Toyah in her hometown Birmingham in 1977 when film director Derek Jarman offered her the role of "Mad" in seminal punk epic Jubilee. She continued to gain strong roles, appearing alongside Katherine Hepburn in the film, The Corn is Green, as well as playing 'Monkey' in the legendary Quadrophenia.

She teamed up with Jarman again to play Miranda in his innovative version of The Tempest, which won her a nomination as Best Newcomer at the 1980 Evening Standard Awards.

Over the next two decades, as well as consolidating her reputation as a singer songwriter (with albums Minx, Desire, and her least commercial album Prostitute) Toyah also forged ahead with a career as a stage performer. Notable credits include Trafford Tanzi (lead); Cabaret (Sally Bowles); Three Men and a Horse (winner of Olivier Award for best New Comedy); the UK tour of Arthur Smith's Live Bed Show; the title role in Calamity Jane (nominated for an Evening Standard Award for Best Musical) and most recently starring as the Devil Queen in the hugely successful rock show, Vampires Rock.

She is married to ex-King Crimson guitar genius Robert Fripp, who has guest-starred at some of her concerts recenty.

Toyah's forthcoming second album Sugar Rush, which sees a further development of the band’s songs and sound, will be released worldwide in winter 2010. The album features guest guitar on all tracks from Robert.