Biography
Toy Dolls, the enduring punk group from Sunderland, England, assembled in October 1979 with an original roster of vocalist Pete Zulu (born Peter Robson), guitarist Olga (Michael Algar), bassist Flip (Philip Dugdale), and drummer Mr. Colin Scott. Pete Zulu departed after just a few shows and within weeks of formation, prompting a rapid succession of personnel shifts; brief replacement Hud appeared for a single performance before Olga assumed frontman duties and the band continued as a trio. By mid-1980, when debut single “Tommy Kowey’s Car” surfaced, Mr. Colin Scott had also left, and a string of substitute drummers preceded Teddy Toy Doll (Graham Edmundson) joining late that year. Compilation appearances such as “She’s a Worky Ticket” and “Deirdre’s a Slag,” a pointed jab at Coronation Street performer Deirdre Barlow, reinforced the group’s taste for offbeat humor, after which Happy Bob (Robert Kent, previously of Showbiz Kids with Olga) replaced the outgoing Teddy Toy Doll and the self-released, self-titled EP arrived in September 1981.
“Everybody Jitterbug” emerged on EMI the following spring, and the long-promised debut album Dig That Groove Baby arrived in 1983. A supporting tour with the Angelic Upstarts triggered the exits of both Flip and Happy Bob, leaving Olga as the lone founding member; further lineup flux notwithstanding, the 1984 re-recording of “Nellie the Elephant” featuring bassist Bonny Baz (Barry Warne) and drummer Dicky (Malcolm Dick) climbed to the U.K. Top Five. A Far Out Disc followed in 1985 and Idle Gossip in 1986; the band marked its tenth anniversary in 1989 with Ten Years of Toys while maintaining its established sound across another decade of releases despite continued membership turnover. Cleopatra Records marked the twentieth anniversary by issuing the retrospective collection The Wonderful World of the Toy Dolls.
“Everybody Jitterbug” emerged on EMI the following spring, and the long-promised debut album Dig That Groove Baby arrived in 1983. A supporting tour with the Angelic Upstarts triggered the exits of both Flip and Happy Bob, leaving Olga as the lone founding member; further lineup flux notwithstanding, the 1984 re-recording of “Nellie the Elephant” featuring bassist Bonny Baz (Barry Warne) and drummer Dicky (Malcolm Dick) climbed to the U.K. Top Five. A Far Out Disc followed in 1985 and Idle Gossip in 1986; the band marked its tenth anniversary in 1989 with Ten Years of Toys while maintaining its established sound across another decade of releases despite continued membership turnover. Cleopatra Records marked the twentieth anniversary by issuing the retrospective collection The Wonderful World of the Toy Dolls.