Toy Dolls

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Toy Dolls
2017 Toy Dolls - by 2eight - 8SC7545.jpg
Toy Dolls in 2017
Background information
Origin Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England
Genres
Years active1979–present
Labels Secret Records
Members Michael Algar
Duncan Redmonds
Tom Blyth
Past members
List
  • Philip Dugdale
    Colin Scott
    Paul Hudson
    Dean Robson
    Trevor Brewis
    Graham Edmundson
    Robert Kent
    Frederick Robertson
    Nick Buck
    Barry Warne
    Alan "Dicka" Dixon
    Malcolm Dick
    Pete Robson
    Paul Smith
    Ernest Algar
    Kevin Scott
    Martin "Marty" Yule
    John Casey
    Gary Dunn
    Michael Rebbig
    Dave Nuttall
    Steve Mallinson
    Kevin Beston
    Richard "Dickie" Hammond
Website www.thetoydolls.com

The Toy Dolls are an English punk rock band formed in 1979. They are best known for their sole UK hit, a punk-rock cover of "Nellie the Elephant". [1] The Toy Dolls' songs express a sensed of fun, such as "Yul Brynner Was a Skinhead", "My Girlfriend's Dad's a Vicar" and "James Bond Lives Down Our Street", and songs titles often use alliteration, such as "Peter Practice's Practice Place", "Fisticuffs in Frederick Street", "Neville Is a Nerd", and "Quick to Quit the Quentin".

Contents

Their albums usually include a cover version of a well-known hit song, usually sped up to the usual punk rock tempo. Covers have included "Blue Suede Shoes", "Toccata in Dm", "No Particular Place to Go", "Sabre Dance", "Livin' La Vida Loca", "Lazy Sunday", "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", "She's So Modern" and "The Final Countdown". They have also recorded parodies of popular songs, such as "The Kids in Tyne and Wear (Kids in America)" and "The Devil Went Down to Scunthorpe (The Devil Went Down to Georgia)". Their albums often start with a short intro with a catchy guitar riff, and end with an outro, which is usually a slightly longer variation of the intro riff. Kazoos are also prominent in many of their songs.

Most of the band members have nicknames, and are rarely seen without their cartoonish rectangular sunglasses (although they appeared bare-eyed on the One More Megabyte album cover).

Career

Michael "Olga" Algar of The Toy Dolls on stage in 2005 ToyDolls-Olga Wiesbaden2005-04-01.jpg
Michael "Olga" Algar of The Toy Dolls on stage in 2005

The Toy Dolls formed as a quartet featuring vocalist Pete "Zulu" Robson; guitarist Michael "Olga" Algar (born 21 September 1962, South Shields, England); drummer Colin "Mr. Scott" Scott; and bassist Phillip "Flip" Dugdale. After just a few gigs, Zulu left to form his own band and was replaced by Paul "Hud" Hudson on vocals for one concert. After Hud's departure, the Toy Dolls became a trio, with guitarist Olga assuming permanent vocal duties.

Scott left the band in 1980 and was replaced by Dean James for four months over the summer of 1980. James later returned to the band from 1985 to 1988 as bassist. Flip left in 1983, marking the beginning of a revolving door of drummers and bassists that would characterise the Toy Dolls line-up over the years (with Olga as the mainstay and only original member). In 1984, Zulu returned to the line-up as bassist/backing vocalist, but departed again less than a year later.

They were initially grouped with the Oi! scene, and have also been classified as punk pathetique. One reason they are associated with Oi! is that they were championed by Garry Bushell, who was very involved with Oi! bands such as Angelic Upstarts (whom The Toy Dolls later supported on their first national tour). In 1980, a Sunderland businessman financed the Toy Dolls' debut single, "Tommy Kowey's Car" with "She Goes To Fino's" on the B-side. The single quickly sold out its initial pressing of 500 copies, but the band could not afford to press any more, making the single a collectors' item. Around the time the band signed to Volume, Olga moved to Newton Hall, in north Durham, which led to the song "Livin' on Newton Hall".

For Christmas 1982, they released their punk rendition of "Nellie the Elephant", a classic children's song, which hit No. 1 in the UK Indie Chart. In 1983, they released their debut album Dig That Groove Baby. In 1984, their re-issue of "Nellie the Elephant" reached No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart and stayed in the chart for 14 weeks. [2] Their 1985 album, A Far Out Disc , reached No. 71 in the UK Albums Chart. [2]

Since then, the band has continued to release albums and to tour widely, mainly across continental Europe, South America and Japan. After a gap of fourteen years since their last gig in Britain, 2007 saw a string of UK dates taking in cities from Glasgow to London, including a "homecoming" for a show at Durham University.

The band released a best-of album, Ten Years of Toys . 1993 saw the popular live song "I'm a Telly Addict" on the album Absurd-Ditties . In 1997, the band released One More Megabyte , which featured references to computers, mainly in the lyrics of its title track, and in tracks like the outro track. A popular cover of Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca" made its way onto Anniversary Anthems in 2000. The band's 2004 album Our Last Album? fooled fans in the anticipation up to its release that it was the band's last album. The outro track on the album stated that it was not.

To celebrate the band's twenty-fifth anniversary in 2004, the official biography, The Toy Dolls: From Fulwell to Fukuoka, was published by Ardra Press.

In 2006, The Toy Dolls contributed their cover version of "Toccata in Dm" to the album project Artists for Charity – Guitarists 4 the Kids , produced by Slang Productions, to assist World Vision Canada in helping underprivileged kids in need. [3]

For their thirtieth anniversary in October 2009, the band received congratulatory messages from a selection of musicians, including Baz Warne from the Stranglers, TV Smith from the Adverts, Jake Burns from Stiff Little Fingers, and NOFX manager Kent Jamieson. [4]

The Toy Dolls live shows consist of synchronized choreography, timed moves, dances, jumps, and spinning guitars. [5]

The band's song "Nellie the Elephant" was used by Tesco in their toy advertisement in October 2014.

The Album After the Last One was released in 2012. The band has been on a "The Tour After the Last One" and started a range of Toy Dolls-themed real ales under the label "The Beer After the Last One". [6]

In 2018, the band played one show in Montebello, Quebec, for the city's annual Rockfest music festival, marking the first time in the band's 38-year history that they played a show in Canada.

Members

As of 2007, the band has had fourteen different drummers and twelve different bassists. Olga is the only remaining original member of the band. After Olga, drummer Martin Yule had the longest tenure in the band (1987–2000). Yule currently owns a record shop in Sunderland called "Hot Rats." Former drummer Dave "the Nut" Nuttall owns Jalapeño Drums, a custom drum company based in Lancaster, Lancashire. The current lead singer/guitarist with the Stranglers, Baz Warne, also had a stint with the band. Olga has played bass on tours with the US punk band the Dickies, and also with the Adicts. Gary Dunn, former bassist of The Toy Dolls (1997–1999), teaches music at Harton Academy, and former drummer, Trevor "The Frog" Brewis, teaches music at Middlesbrough College, though Olga moved away from the northeast of England a number of years ago, and now lives in London.

It has become a tradition to give a special nickname to every Toy Dolls member.

Current members

Toy Dolls alumni

Timeline

Toy Dolls

Discography

Studio albums

YearAlbum
1983 Dig That Groove Baby
1985 A Far Out Disc
1986 Idle Gossip
1987 Bare Faced Cheek
1989 Ten Years of Toys
1989 Wakey Wakey
1991 Fat Bob's Feet
1993 Absurd-Ditties
1995 Orcastrated
1997 One More Megabyte
2000 Anniversary Anthems
2002We're mad! The Anthology
2004 Our Last Album?
2012The Album After the Last One
2015Olgacoustic
2019EPISODE XIII

Live albums

YearAlbum
1990 Twenty Two Tunes Live from Tokyo
1999 On Stage in Stuttgart
2006Treasured Tracks

Singles and EPs

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<i>Dig That Groove Baby</i> 1983 studio album by Toy Dolls

Dig That Groove Baby is the first full-length album by the punk band Toy Dolls, released in 1983. It is considered by many fans to be the best work by the band and contains future live staples such as "Nellie the Elephant" and "Fiery Jack". The song "Dig That Groove Baby" is included in the 2002 video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4.

<i>A Far Out Disc</i> 1985 studio album by Toy Dolls

A Far Out Disc is a full-length album by the punk band Toy Dolls. Song "Razzmatazz Intro." was the theme tune in several series of the British TV show Razzmatazz.

<i>Idle Gossip</i> 1986 studio album by Toy Dolls

Idle Gossip is a full-length album by the punk band Toy Dolls.

<i>Bare Faced Cheek</i> 1987 studio album by Toy Dolls

Bare Faced Cheek is the fourth full-length album by the Punk band Toy Dolls.

<i>Wakey Wakey</i> 1989 studio album by Toy Dolls

Wakey Wakey is a full-length album by punk band Toy Dolls.

<i>Fat Bobs Feet</i> 1991 studio album by Toy Dolls

Fat Bob's Feet is a full-length album by the Punk band Toy Dolls. It is one of the more popular pieces recorded by the band and included such punk favourites as Bitten by a Bed Bug, The Sphinx Stinks and bonus single A-side Turtles Crazy! that wasn't included in the original album track list. Kids In Tyne & Wear is a reworking of Kim Wilde's classic Kids in America, one most often covered songs by the punk rock bands. Fat Bob's Feet is a rare late The Toy Dolls album that doesn't contain any classic/symphony instrumental adaptation.

<i>Absurd-Ditties</i> 1993 studio album by Toy Dolls

Absurd-Ditties is the seventh full-length album by the punk rock band Toy Dolls, recorded in September 1992 and released in January 1993 by Receiver Records. It is considered by many, including vocalist and guitarist Olga, to be one of the band's best albums. The album title is a play on the word "absurdities", as a description of the album's "absurd ditties".

<i>Our Last Album?</i> 2004 studio album by Toy Dolls

Our Last Album? is a studio album by the punk band Toy Dolls. It is a loose concept album about the album being their last, until it is explained in "Our Last Outro?" that it isn't.

<i>Ten Years of Toys</i> 1989 compilation album by Toy Dolls

Ten Years Of Toys is a compilation album by English punk-rock group, Toy Dolls, released in 1989. The cover image was designed and photographed by Tony Gray.

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Orcastrated is a studio album by the English Punk rock band Toy Dolls, released in 1995. The band name is rendered as Toy Dollz on this album.

<i>One More Megabyte</i> 1997 studio album by The Toy Dolls

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<i>On Stage in Stuttgart</i> 1999 live album by Toy Dolls

On Stage in Stuttgart is a live album by the English Punk rock band Toy Dolls, recorded during their two concerts in 1999 in Stuttgart and Frankfurt, Germany.

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Michael "Olga" Algar is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who fronts the band Toy Dolls and now plays with the Cockney Rejects. Mainly a lead/rhythm guitarist, Olga is also a songwriter and record producer. Algar lived in the City of Sunderland during most of his life before moving to Tokyo, Japan, in 2000. He then moved to central London in 2002 where he has lived since.

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References

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  2. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 563. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  3. "Slang Productions – Guitarists 4 the Kids". Slangproductions.com. 11 September 2006. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  4. "The Toy Dolls Official Website". Thetoydolls.com. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  5. "YouTube" . Retrieved 28 January 2014 via YouTube.[ dead YouTube link ]
  6. "The Toy Dolls Official Website". Thetoydolls.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  7. 1 2 "nellie the elephant | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com.
  8. "germancharts.de - Toy Dolls - Nellie The Elephant". Germancharts.de.
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 311. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  10. List of UK Independent Singles Chart number ones of the 1980s