V.A. White Dopes on Punk: 50 Punk & New Wave Rarities [2005]

The world needs a '77-era punk version of Nuggets series, one that focuses on the lesser-knowns of the era rather than the same old names ad nauseum. However, rather then break new (old) ground by doing their own version of Killed By Death, re-issue mavens like Rhino Records make do with re-capitulations of the obvious like No Thanks.





Castle Music's 2005 collection White Dopes on Punk limits the obvious choices (Sham 69, Damned, Adverts, UK Subs, Eater, Slaughter & the Dogs do make it on) but mostly features more obscure bands. To be fair,  it's a bit of a mess. In the 51 [!] tracks herein you get KBD bands like Cyanide, Genocide, Powerpearls bands bands like the Distractions, Tin Openers and The Out, more Messthetics entries like John Cooper Clarke, Gyro not mention a few entries that are more so tangentially related to punk rock (Deaf School, The Fabulous Poodles, Dead Fingers) plus quite a few punxsploitation 'bands' like Jilted John, The Water Pistols and The Punkettes. All in all, it's a pretty glorious mess.

CD1:
01. The Damned - New Rose
02. The Adverts - One Chord Wonders (Live)
03. Sham 69 - (There's Gonna Be A) Borstal Breakout
04. Sister Ray - Suicide
05. John Cooper Clarke - Innocents
06. Eddie Mooney & The Grave - I Bought Three Eggs
07. The Distractions - It Doesn't Bother Me
08. Tin Openers - Set Me Free
09. The Out - Who Is Innocent?
10. Cyanide - I'm a Boy
11. Toy Dolls - Tommy Kowey's Car
12. Gyro - Central Detention Centre
13. Genocide - Renegade
14. Speed - She's All There
15. V2 - Man in a Box
16. Victim - Why Are Fire Engines Red?
17. I.Q. Zero - She's So Rare
18. Frantic Elevators - Voice in the Dark
19. Deaf School - All Queued Up
20. Dead Fingers Talk - Can't Think Straight
21. Slaughter & The Dogs - Cranked Up Really High
22. The Freshies - Yesterday / Tomorrow
23. Chelsea - Right to Work
24. The Teardrops - Seeing Double
25. Alberto y Los Trios Paranoias - Anarchy in the UK





CD2:
01. The Nosebleeds - Ain't Bin to No Music School
02. The Water Pistols - Gimme That Punk Junk
03. The Punkettes - Goin' Out Wiv a Punk
04. Eater - 15 (Live)
05. Cyanide - Do It
06. Steroid Kiddies - Seaside Teaser
07. Horrorcomic - I'm All Hung Up on Pierrepoint
08. Frantic Elevators - Hunchback of Notre Dame
09. U.K. Subs - I Live in a Car (Live)
10. Norman & The Hooligans - I'm a Punk
11. Matt Black & The Doodlebugs - Punky Xmas
12. Jilted John - Jilted John
13. Ed Banger - Kinnel Tommy
14. Pathetix - Love in Decay
15. Private Sector - Just Wanna Stay Free
16. Public Zone - Naive
17. The Fabulous Poodles - Convent Girls
18. Toy Dolls - She Goes to Finos
19. Lucy - Really Got Me Goin'
20. The Teardrops - Colours
21. Chris Sievey - Baiser
22. Direct Hits - Back to the Sixties
23. Public Skool - Walking the Rat
24. The Damned - Help
25. Ritchie Hale & the Stormers - Punkski
26. Alberto y Los Trios Paranoias - Fuck You

 
Give us you review of this set in the COMMENTS SECTION!

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The Toy Dolls: James Bond (Lives Down Our Street) 12", (1985)

For my second list TEN TERRIFIC TOY DOLLS TELLY-TUNES list, please go visit The Big Takeover!

This week MRML celebrated Sunderland, England's The Toy Dolls, a pop-punk-oi trio that have been rocking the world since 1979 under the leadership of singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/cartoonist/sole original member Olga, by building a list:


 Ten Terrific Toy Dolls Traits:

9. Whimsy

Say what you will about English culture; they can pull of being whimsical without being treacly, a combination of which trips up North Americans on a regular basis. Olga & co. whether musically  or lyrically, have maintained a sense of whimsy without being twee or precious.

10. Consistency
Not a bad album or single [or 12" - like this one!] in thirty years - sure some albums were better than others but Olga's Dolls can be consistent without being monotonous.



A         James Bond (Lives Down Our Street)        
B1         "Olga... I Cannot!"        
B2         Griefsville

Cheerio and Toodle-Pip Toy Dolls fans!!!
This be your last chance to add your own Terrific Toy Dolls Trait in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find   James Bond (Lives Down Our Street) 12" link).

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The Toy Dolls: The Abum After the Last One (2012)

This week MRML celebrates Sunderland, England's The Toy Dolls, a pop-punk-oi trio that have been rocking the world since 1979 under the leadership of singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/cartoonist/sole original member Olga, by building a list:

 Ten Terrific Toy Dolls Traits:

7.   Olga Plays Well with Others

Not only did Olga join The Dickies for a tour (I first heard of The Toy Dolls in the Toxic Shock catalog, which referred to them as "an English Dickies") but his latest version of the band is a veritable punk rock super-group with Duncan Redmonds of Snuff on drums and Tom Goober of Goober Patrol on bass.

 

8. Sheer Dedication

Rock n' roll trios' like Motorhead, D.O.A. and The Toy Dolls cannot be stopped no matter how many setbacks, changes of fashion, line-up shuffles, label switches or ticks of the clock occur.


The new album sounds terrific - let us know what you think of this brand new record!

Oi, Toy Dolls fans!!!
GIVE US YOUR TAKE ON THE TOY DOLLS LATEST ALBUM IN THE COMMENTS SECTION

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The Toy Dolls: On Stage in Stuttgart (1999)

*

Well I had fun getting it ready, by any measure (visits, downloads, comments) I over-reached with this lengthy Toy Dolls series. It's no one's fault but mine for over-estimating the enthusiasm of MRML readers for the band, so I shall wrap it up resonantly quickly and harbour no regrets.

*

This week MRML celebrates Sunderland, England's The Toy Dolls, a pop-punk-oi trio that have been rocking the world since 1979 under the leadership of singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/cartoonist/sole original member Olga, by building a list:


 Ten Terrific Toy Dolls Traits:

6. The band's influence
The Toy Dolls influence will be felt around the world for years to come. Two aspects of their legacy bear highlighting here:

a. Fat Mike, a declared fan, surely took notes from the band's career trajectory. The Toy Dolls never attempted to follow fashion, as most of their punk peers did. Instead they decided to stick absolutely to their style of punk, even as their musical prowess grew, and to tour relentlessly. This was to prove the exact formula for the bands on Fat Mike's label, Fat Wreck-Chords, which is still going strong today.

b. The band seems to have had a strong influence on a lot of the mid-west punk bands of  the nineties. I hear it in Screeching Weasel's lyrics which detail, with humanity and humour, the lives of those around them in songs like "Jeannie's Got a Problem With Her Uterus", in the singing style of Joey from The Vindictives and in just about everything about the ever-mad, Boris The Sprinkler.





Track listing

    Dig That Groove Theme Tune 2:19
    The Lambrusco Kid 2:54
    Idle Gossip 2:12
    Back In '79 2:48
    She's A Leech 2:25
    I've Got Asthma 2:22
    Sabre Dance (Khachaturian) 2:45
    She'll Be Back With Keith Someday 3:43
    Fisticuffs In Frederick Street 4:02
    Bless You My Son 2:00
    My Girlfriends Dads A Vicar 1:08
    Yul Brynner Was A Skinhead 2:56
    Wakey Wakey Theme Tune 0:22
    Stay Mellow 2:04
    Eine Kleine Nacht Musik (Mozart) 4:21
    Fiery Jack 2:42
    Alecs Gone 3:21
    I'm Gonna Be 500 Miles 2:45
    She Goes To Finos 2:57
    Dig That Groove Baby 4:17
    Raiders Of The Lost Ark (Williams) 1:07
    Cloughy Is A Bootboy 2:40
    Glenda And The Test Tube Baby 4:57
    Dougy Giro 3:16
    Nellie The Elephant (Butler, Hart) 6:01


Oi, Toy Dolls fans!!!
What do you see as the band's greatest influence on music?
Do you think we over-did it on the Toy Dolls stuff?
Let us know COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the On Stage in Stuttgart  link).

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The Toy Dolls: Live in Lyon, 1990 (FM Broadcast)

This week MRML celebrates Sunderland, England's The Toy Dolls, a pop-punk-oi trio that have been rocking the world since 1979 under the leadership of singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/cartoonist/sole original member Olga, by building a list:


 Ten Terrific Toy Dolls Traits:

5. Olga's Guitar Wig-Outs

While he can peel off some some pretty classic glam-rockin' solos, Olga's guitars theatrics pinch from a dizzying array of forms - folk (the traditional "Jimmy Olga Crack Corn"), jazz (the standard "When the Saints Go Marching In"), rockabilly (Chuck Berry's "No Particular Place To Go"), bluegrass (Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith's "Dueling Banjos"), classical (J.S. Bach's "Toccata in D Minor") and country (The Charlie Daniels Band's "The Devil Went Down to Georgia Scunthorpe"). While some fans, possibly including yours truly, have groused about all that showy fret work, it has really helped build the band's very particular sound - so bully for Olga!

For further proof of Olga's guitar skullduggery,check out this rip-snortin' set done on French radio in 1990.


01- Intro
02- Dig that Groove
03- Cloughy is a Bootboy
04- Lambrusco kid
05- I've got Asthma
06- Peter Practise Pad
07- Deirdre's a Slag
08- Bless you my Son
09- My Girlfriends Dad's a Vicar
10- Ashbrooke Launderette
11- Spiders in the Dressing Room
12- Instrumental
13- She goes to Finos
14- Tommy Koweys car
15- Back in '79
16- Fisticuffs in Frederick street
17- Sabre Dance
18- Harry Cross
19-Glenda and the Test Tube Baby
20- Blue Suede shoes
21- When the Saints go Marching in
22-Nellie the elephant 






Oi, Toy Dolls fans!!!
Tell us what you think of all Olga's six-string showmanship in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the Live in Lyon link).

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The Toy Dolls: Turtle Crazy 7" (1990)

This week MRML celebrates Sunderland, England's The Toy Dolls, a pop-punk-oi trio that have been rocking the world since 1979 under the leadership of singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/cartoonist/sole original member Olga, by building a list:


 Ten Terrific Toy Dolls Traits:

4. Kid-Friendly

While they won't be getting their own show on TV like The Aquabats, their sugar-rush tempos, bratty-kid vocals and the goofy word-play in their lyrics (plus their predilection for performing kids songs like, "Nellie the Elephant"and "Rupert the Bear") make The Toy Dolls an easy sell to the ankle-biter set.

So, here's the single of another tot-friendly track, "Turtle Crazy", which is not a cover tune but an original about Olga's brother's obsession with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which ably demonstrates The Toy Dolls' appeal to, as they themselves put it, "Babies and grand-dads and great-babies and great grand-dads!"


 

A		Turtle Crazy
B		Turtle Crazy (Join In Mix)

Oi, Toy Dolls fans!
Thanks for the words, yesterday!!
If you want the list (and the rarities) to continue tell us your own favourite things about the band in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the Turtle Crazy 7"  link).

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The Toy Dolls: Twenty-Two Tunes from Tokyo (1990)

This week MRML celebrates Sunderland, England's The Toy Dolls, a pop-punk-oi trio that have been rocking the world since 1979 under the leadership of singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/cartoonist/sole original member Olga, by building a list:


Ten Terrific Toy Dolls Traits:

3. International Appeal

The Toy Dolls are less likely to tour North America or even the UK then they are continental Europe, South America or Asia and hence they've spread their kind of musical madness over more of the planet than almost any punk band!





Twenty-Two Tunes from Tokyo is an out-of-print Receiver Records release that captures  the band's manic show at The Club Quattro, Tokyo, Japan on 27th December 1989 (from the Wakey, Wakey Tour).

Tracklist
1          Wakey Wakey Intro     1:46    
2          Dig That Groove Baby     2:34    
3          Cloughy Is A Bootboy     3:10    
4          Lambrusco Kid     2:53    
5          I've Got Asthma     2:11    
6          Peter Practices Practice Place     3:01    
7          Deidre's A Slag     3:22    
8          Ashbrooke Launderette     2:25    
9          Bless You My Son     2:05    
10         My Girlfriends Dad's A Vicar     1:18    
11         Spiders In The Dressing Room     2:56    
12         Popeye Medley     3:33    
13         She Goes To Finos     2:40    
14         Fisticuffs In Frederick Street     3:35    
15         Harry Cross     4:07    
16         Glenda & The Test Tube Baby     3:52    
17         Wakey Wakey Outro     1:53    
18         When The Saints     1:38    
19         Wipe Out     3:06    
20         Nellie The Elephant     3:38    
21         Sabre Dance     2:31    
22         Blue Suede Shoes     2:33    

Oi, Toy Dolls fans!!!
Been a bit quiet on the old COMMENT front, hasn't it?
If you want the list (and the rarities) to continue tell us your own favourite things about the band in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the Twenty-Two Tunes from Tokyo link).

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The Toy Dolls: Live in Munich (1986)

This week MRML celebrates Sunderland, England's The Toy Dolls, a pop-punk-oi trio that have been rocking the world since 1979 under the leadership of singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/cartoonist/sole original member Olga, by building a list:


 Ten Terrific Toy Dolls Traits:

 2. Olga's flair for lyrics that mine the humour and pathos of everyday British life.

Olga, acting as a sort of Ray Davies-meets-Benny-Hill-meets-the Ramones figure,  celebrates the ordinary people of his homeland in songs like "Carol Dodds is Pregnant", "Harry Cross (Edna's Gone)", "Davey's Took the Plunge" or even "The Death of Harry the Roofer with Vertigo".

For further proof of Olga's wicked eye for the ridiculous in his surroundings (and his ability to turn it all into one great big singalong) check out this set done live on German TV from the Idle Gossip era (1986).

01 Idle Gossip
02 The Lambrusco Kid
03 Spiders In The Dressing Room
04 (If You're In A Pop Group You'll End Up Paying A Fortune Practicing At) Peter Practice's Practice Place
05 Glenda And The Test Tube Baby
06 You Won't Be Merry On A North Sea Ferry
07 Blue Suede Shoes

Hallo, Toy Dolls fans!!!
If you want the list (and the rarities) to continue tell us your own thoughts on Olga's way with words in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the Live in Munich link).

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The Toy Dolls: Live at Studio 1 (1985)

For my list TEN TERRIFIC TOY DOLLS TELLY-TUNES list, please go visit The Big Takeover!

This week MRML celebrates Sunderland, England's The Toy Dolls, a pop-punk-oi trio that have been rocking the world since 1979 under the leadership of singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/cartoonist/sole original member Olga, by building a list:


 Ten Terrific Toy Dolls Traits:

 1. Those big hooks that get hammed home by the gang vocals.

 If there's on thing you can count on every Toy Dolls album it's hooky, catchy, silly songs with massive backing vocals. From "Nelly the Elephant" to "Geordie's Gone to Jail" to "I'm a Telly Addict" to "Christmas Credit Crunch" Olga & co. deliver the hits!


For proof check out this audio bootleg of a TV gig from 1985 (the videos themselves are over at the Big Takeover list) to see the band's live cheek!

 

Oi, Toy Dolls fans!!!
If you want the list (and the rarities) to continue tell us your own favourite things about the band in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the Live at Studio 1 link).

Support the band!

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