In October 1979 the enduring punk band Toy Dolls assembled in Sunderland, England, featuring vocalist Pete Zulu—born Peter Robson—alongside guitarist Olga, whose real name is Michael Algar, bassist Flip, born Philip Dugdale, and drummer Mr. Colin Scott. Zulu departed within weeks after only a few performances, initiating an unbroken sequence of personnel shifts that would persist for years; his successor Hud managed just a single concert before Olga took over lead vocals, leaving the unit to proceed as a three-piece. By the release of their first single, “Tommy Kowey’s Car,” in mid-1980, Mr. Scott had also departed, prompting a string of temporary drummers until Teddy Toy Doll, also known as Graham Edmundson, joined late that year. Further tracks on various compilations, among them “She’s a Worky Ticket” and “Deirdre’s a Slag,” the latter a pointed jab at Coronation Street actress Deirdre Barlow, underscored the group’s penchant for absurdity; once Teddy Toy Doll exited, Happy Bob—born Robert Kent and previously a member of Olga’s earlier project Showbiz Kids—assumed the drum stool, resulting in the self-released, self-titled EP of September 1981.
The following spring brought the EMI single “Everybody Jitterbug,” after which Toy Dolls finally delivered their first album, Dig That Groove Baby, in 1983. Following a tour alongside the Angelic Upstarts, both Flip and Happy Bob departed, rendering Olga the lone founding member still present; although further lineup fluctuations continued, a 1984 re-recording of the earlier track “Nellie the Elephant,” now performed with bassist Bonny Baz, born Barry Warne, and drummer Dicky, born Malcolm Dick, climbed to the U.K. Top Five. A Far Out Disc appeared in 1985 and Idle Gossip followed in 1986; marking ten years together in 1989, the band issued Ten Years of Toys. Remarkably, a second decade of recordings ensued, marked by minimal evolution in their musical style yet constant alterations to the roster. On the occasion of the group’s twentieth anniversary, Cleopatra Records issued the retrospective collection The Wonderful World of the Toy Dolls.
