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
Toy Dolls are an English punk rock band formed in 1979. Departing from the angry lyrics and music often associated with punk rock, the Toy Dolls worked within the aesthetics of punk to express a sense of fun, with songs such as "Yul Brynner Was a Skinhead", "My Girlfriend's Dad's a Vicar" and "James Bond Lives Down Our Street". There is often alliteration in their song titles (e.g., "Peter Practice's Practice Place", "Fisticuffs in Frederick Street", "Neville Is a Nerd", “Quick to Quit the Quentin”). They are probably best known however for their sole UK hit, a punk-rock cover of "Nellie the Elephant".[1]
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 Megabytealbum cover).
Career
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]
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 shop in Sunderland called "Hotrats." 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.
GBH are an English punk rock band which was formed in 1978 by vocalist Colin Abrahall, guitarist Colin "Jock" Blyth, bassist Sean McCarthy and drummer Andy "Wilf" Williams.
Lolita No.18 (ロリータ18号) is a Japanese all-girl punk rock band formed in 1989, known for their cartoony, high-pitched vocals.
Punk pathetique is a subgenre of British punk rock that involved humour and working-class cultural themes.
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.
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.
Idle Gossip is a full-length album by the punk band Toy Dolls.
Bare Faced Cheek is the fourth full-length album by the Punk band Toy Dolls.
Wakey Wakey is a full-length album by punk band 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 original album track list. Kids In Tyne & Wear is the reworking of Kim Wilde 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.
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".
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.
Barry "Baz" Warne is the current guitarist and vocalist of The Stranglers.
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.
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.
One More Megabyte is the ninth studio album by the English punk rock band Toy Dolls. After the release of Orcastrated (1995), the band's bassist John "K'Cee" Casey left the band and was replaced with Gary "Gary Fun" Dunn. The new line up of the band recorded One More Megabyte at Fairview Studios, Hull, in January 1997, with the band's lead singer and guitarist Michael "Olga" Algar producing the album. The album also contains backing vocals from members of other punk rock bands, including members of the Vibrators, The Lurkers, The Wildhearts, Sugar Snatch, and the Inmates.
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.
Anniversary Anthems is a studio album by the English punk rock band Toy Dolls, recorded in 2000.
Twenty Two Tunes Live From Tokyo is a live album punk band Toy Dolls recorded during a concert in Tokyo in 1990.
Michael "Olga" Algar is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who fronts the band Toy Dolls. 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.
Cabbage was an English post punk rock band, formed in 2015 in Mossley, Tameside, England. They are composed of co-frontmen Lee Broadbent and Joe Martin, guitarist Eoghan Clifford, bassist Patrick Neville and drummer Asa Morley.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
