The former 80s popster is one of the stars of Vampires Rock – a new stage show, which comes to the Futurist on Friday December 12 as part of a national tour – and is aiming to put the spirits back into Christmas.

And the hitmaker – who has three top ten singles and two top ten albums under her belt – says it's a show with a difference.

"It's not like anything I've ever been in before," Yoyah Wilcox told the Evening News. "I don't even really consider it a musical it's more like a rock concert, with four actors on stage. It's as loud as a gig and there are almost as many guitar breaks.

"I came into the part with no expectations and it was soon evident that it was going to be like nothing I'd ever done in the past.

"In a way it's like the rock theatre stuff that I grew up with – the sort of grand guignol stuff that Alice Cooper does on stage or the shows Bowie did for Ziggy Stardust. People really do go away from it saying 'wow'.

"It's really visual and very loud and that really appeals to me."

Of course Toyah, who got her big break acting in Quadrophenia and movies by Derek Jarman, before her stint as a post-punk hitmaker is no stranger to musical theatre, having taken the lead in Cabaret with Wayne Sleep and also playing the title role in Calamity Jane, but she says nothing had prepared her for the audience participation that is very much a part of Vampires Rocks.

"Sometimes you look out into the crowd and there are more vampires in the audience than there are on the stage! People really like to join in the fun and dress up and join in the songs – it's a great night out," she said.

Vampires Rock, which made its debut in 2004, tells the tale of Baron Von Rockula's search for a new bride. Of course, before he does so, he has to get rid of his current companion – the Devil Queen, who is played by Toyah!

"It's great to play an evil character," said Steve Steinman, who plays the Baron and also devised the show. "It's just mega – I don't think anyone really wants to play the goodie.

"Everybody loves vampires – every culture's got stories about them and the tales date back thousands of years. And they tie in really with rock and roll – if you think about Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, there's more than a touch of vampire about them!"

As well as the undead the show also disinters some of rock music's all time classics, including tracks by Meat Loaf, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Suzi Quatro, AC/DC and Guns N' Roses.

"I got the idea when I was doing the Meatloaf Story on stage," Steve said. "I just thought that there were all these classic anthems out there and tried to come up with a way to tie them together – and when I started thinking about vampires, that was that."