Toy Dolls

The group formed as a quartet featuring vocalist Pete "Zulu" Robson, guitarist Michael "Olga" Algar, drummer Colin "Mr. Scott" Scott and bassist Phillip "Flip" Dugdale. After a couple of concerts, Pete Zulu left to form his own band. Vocalist Paul "Hud" Hudson replaced Zulu for one concert, leaving The Toy Dolls as a trio, with guitarist Olga to assume 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 a 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 a bassist/vocalist, but departed again less than a year later.



Michael "Olga" Algar of Toy Dolls on stage in 2005They quickly built up a local fan base and were initially grouped with the Oi! scene that was emerging at the time. However, despite having the singalong choruses that are typical of Oi!, they can also be classified as pop punk or 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 local businessman financed Toy Dolls' debut single, "Tommy Kowey's Car" with "She Goes To Finos" 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. when the band signed to volume they moved to newton hall, durham which lead 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 16 in the UK Indie Singles Chart. In 1983, they released their debut album Dig That Groove Baby. By this time, with Bushell's help, they were beginning to attract national press attention. In 1984, their re-issue of "Nellie the Elephant" reached 4 in the UK Singles Chart and stayed in the Top 100 for 14 weeks. Their follow-up single "She Goes to Fino's" reached 93 during April 1985. The Toy Dolls have continued with ever-changing record labels and line-ups. They have established fan bases in Europe, North America and Asia.



As of 2007, the band has had 14 different drummers and 11 different bassists since their formation in 1979. Former drummer Marty Yule owns a shop in Sunderland called "Hotrats". After Olga, Yule was with the band longer than any other member (1987-1999). He was the longest running drummer in the band's history. Former drummer Dave "the Nut" Nuttall owns Jalapeno Drums (a custom drum company based in Lancaster, Lancashire). Olga has played bass on some tours by the US punk band The Dickies