37 track collection of the single sides from Sunderland Punk trio The Toy Dolls, including three versions of their UK hit single Nellie The Elephant. Ian Canty writes…
As far as I am concerned, the best way to experience The Toy Dolls is via the single. Over the course of an album, their brand of humour can wear a pretty thin to be honest, so all things considered this collection does make a lot of sense. The Sunderland band has been led by Michael “Olga” Algar from 1979 to the present day and they have developed a considerable fanbase over that time. This new set, that compiles all there single tracks bar the live Wipe Out, would presumably be of interest to them.
Logically enough we begin with the band’s 1980 debut 45 Tommy Kowey’s Car/She Goes To Finos on the G.B.H. label. It’s a good single and catchy too. The flipside is at a notably slower tempo than than later versions. Tommy Kowey’s Car was recut for their follow up EP and 50s oldie Teenager In Love is combined with one of the band’s early anthems I’ve Got Asthma, the latter of which somehow ended up on the Strength Thru Oi! album. Of the four tracks, She’s A Worky Ticket is a suitably manic R&B Punker and possibly the pick of this extended play.
She’s A Worky Ticket, along with Everybody Jitterbug, made up their next release, a one-off for EMI Records/Zonophone that someone in their A&R department must have thought had some hit potential. It wasn’t to be as Toy Dolls’ brief commercial breakthrough would have to wait a couple more years. This fleeting success would be obtained by a fresh version of their next 45, 1982’s Nellie The Elephant. For this disc The Toy Dolls’ moved imprints again, this time to Volume. The title track of their debut album, the addictive Dig That Groove Baby, sat on the B side.
New material then loomed into earshot on 1983’s Cheerio And Toodle Pip/H.O!. This was an up-tempo and purposeful release and one that featured the first appearance in the band of Bonny Baz, aka Baz Warne now of The Stranglers. These early items find the band less mannered than later on and are all the better for it. I’ve no idea what the next 45 Alfie From The Bronx is about, but it’s a reasonable effort and comes with the Jilted John-style Hanky Panky on the reverse.
Unfortunately the next single We’re Mad is all their worst instincts rolled into one and this makes for a long near-five minutes. I did like the Punked up version of Rupert The Bear which was one of two flipsides though. This first disc ends with the Nellie The Elephant/Fisticuffs In Frederick Street single that reached the UK Top 5 in 1984 and to be fair offered a measure of daft fun as an alternative to the more po-faced waxings of the time.
Moving onto disc two we begin with another recording of She Goes To Finos, a record that just managed to keep them out of being true one hit wonders by making number 93 in the UK charts. On the B side was Spiders In The Dressing Room, an old number from Dig That Groove Baby and added to the 12 inch version of the single was Come Back Jacky, a fairly energetic offering. Next James Bond (Lives Down Our Street) only charted in the Indies though, perhaps because it wasn’t really as strong an idea or melody to make it as a 45. The two tracks on the reverse aren’t that impressive either.
1986’s Geordie’s Gone To Jail however was an improvement with a good “mob chorus” refrain and is also included in a Japanese version. The buzzsaw Yul Brynner Was A Skinhead had a very limited release as a giveaway with the Beat Of The Street magazine and a re-recording of I’ve Got Asthma was the B side of the seemingly lost live version of Wipeout. After a creditable run of tracks, Turtle Crazy is just plain awful, a desperate attempt to cash-in on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles craze. The band’s nadir really and a passable cover of The Small Faces’ Lazy Sunday Afternoon doesn’t do quite enough to redress the balance.
Sod The Neighbours, bar some guitar showing off, ups the ante a little though and Cloughie Is A Bootboy at least quite well observed. Unfortunately a naff go at the Ricky Martin hit Livin’ la Vida Loca takes things immediately back down again and a couple of so so flipsides ends this set.
Of this set the first disc is by far the superior and on the whole enjoyable. Disc two begins fairly well, before really tailing off with the advent of Turtle Crazy. The earlier recordings retain a freshness that the latter tracks simply don’t have, probably because nearer to their inception Toys Dolls didn’t lean hard into Olga’s “We’re Mad” character/worldview quite so much. Toy Dolls – The Singles is really one for confirmed fans looking for the rarer tracks featured. Perhaps anyone else who likes breakneck, daft Punk Rock might quite enjoy it, right up to the middle of disc two when the quality level really drops off.
You can obtain Toy Dolls – The Singles by clicking here
The Oppressed – Complete Oi! Studio Recordings 1981 – 2018
Captain Oi! Records
4CD/DL
Released 20 October 2023
4CD set that anthologises the work of Welsh Oi band The Oppressed, including their debut album Oi! Oi! Music and the Victims/Work Together single. Ian Canty writes…
In retrospect, my adoption of Skinhead apparel in the early 1980s appears decidedly rum. I was never one for gangs, didn’t lust after bovver as I certainly didn’t see myself as some kind of hard case. I think it was Two Tone that first pushed me down the line though and even prior to that I was wearing Fred Perry shirts as I liked the design. As the Ska revival petered out, I preferred to mix and match Punk, Mod and Skin fashions. I never felt entirely at home with one look, but the ultra-smart Crombie coats, Ben Sherman shirts, Harringtons, Loafers, plus a smart suit for evening wear eventually swayed me. It was like an easier to manage version of Mod really, which being on a budget was just the ticket for me and it was attractive that the music on offered was wider in range i.e. Soul and Reggae as well as Punk.
I already had a love of Reggae from my very first musical memories, with Dave And Ansel Collins’ Double Barrel and Israelites by Desmond Dekker making a huge impact on me. It has to be said that at the time I latched on fully to the style the public repute of Skinheads, while never being very positive, was near its nadir. The image of glue-sniffing, racist bullyboys was firmly set in the eyes of the media and the general public – they were the ultimate spoilers of anyone else’s good times, always ready with their fists when the odds were stacked in their favour.
Not all Skinheads were like that of course – I expect a fair few just dug the music and clothes like me and were as embarrassed as me by the antics of these boneheads. I suppose my ingrained stubborn streak made me want to rally against this stereotype, to prove it was possible to wear this gear and still be something of a good egg. It turns out I wasn’t the only one thinking like this.
Of all the Oi! bands Cardiff’s The Oppressed made a real difference, highlighting forward a strong anti-racist stance when it was really important. They also put their money where their mouths were, as lead singer Roddy Moreno started Oi! Records, which featured the early waxings of Anarcho Oi! legends Oi Polloi among others. Prior to Roddy’s involvement, The Oppressed formed in 1981 with a line up of Martin Brennan on vox, the Paynes Ronnie and Ducky on bass and guitar respectively and drummer Gary Tier. It is this aggregation of the band that is first heard on The Oppressed – Complete Oi! Studio Recordings 1981 – 2018, with five lo-fi demo tracks that were later issued on the Fatal Blow LP in 1984.
This early version of The Oppressed appear fast, lively and Punky on Fatal Blow itself and Way Of Life. White Flag by the original band was later recut for the Oi! Oi! That’s Yet Lot LP by an amended line up, with Dom Moreno on bass and Roddy providing extra guitar. That version turns up as tune number 12 on this disc.
By the time of the six selections drawn from the Oi! The Tape cassette, Roddy had moved to vocals on Brennan’s departure and Lee Jenkins had come in on drums. Roddy’s voice brings a more authoritative edge and Riot and Leave Me Alone draw much benefit from this. This section finds The Oppressed fully formed as a band, with real purpose and drive. The anthemic Government and the fairly weak It Ain’t Right are the only tracks not re-recorded for the Oi! Oi! Music album from 1984, which we shall get to soon.
1983’s Never Say Die EP was The Oppressed’s first vinyl of their own, kicking off with a buzzing Urban Soldiers. All three tracks were again pressed into service for the Oi! Oi! Music LP, which makes up the rest of the first disc of this set. This starts with their calling card We’re The Oppressed and though the sound is a bit basic at times despite a good guitar sound and the oddity of employing an electronic drum kit, there are plenty of nicely hard-edged shoutalong diamonds here to savour.
Among the fresh material are the very sparky Violent Society, the bouncy bass-line of Gun Law and Don’t Look Back, which comes over as suitably full-blooded. They also cover Chaos by The 4 Skins and Symarip’s Skinhead Girl, a portent of the version bonanza that characterised much of their later career. But overall Oi! Oi! Music is satisfying and provides a good measure of fun too.
Predating the LP and opening up the second disc here is the excellent Victims/Work Together single, which in my view showed The Oppressed at their very best. Work Together’s none-more-raw sound and message of unity is particularly inspiring. Going back to the release timeline, we have three cover versions taken from a 1984 demo that made up the other side of the Fatal Blow album. These are the final recordings of The Oppressed’s first run and in effect Fatal Blow bookended their career. Their take on The Cockney Rejects’ Bad Man is my pick here. But even though they are all fair attempts, the fact that no self-penned material featured was a sign the band were nearing the end.
The Oppressed returned about a decade on to release the Anti-Fascist Oi EP. This was when the band was a family concern for the Morenos, consisting of a three piece of Roddy, Dom and Adrian on the drums. Here they repurposed other bands’ material for the anti-racist cause. Substitute by The Who works well in this amended form and The Rejects’ Flares And Slippers adapted into a new guise as Nazi Skinhead. The Ops acquit themselves pretty well with a certain amount of brio on this EP after the 10 years lay off.
A second Oppressed album, the all covers We Can Do Anything, followed. Again it is a pity no new material was on offer, since whilst the band always put a lot into their covers, their own work was superior. Sham 69, The 4 Skins, Cockney Rejects and The Last Resort all provide four of the songs each and these recordings are all reasonably faithful to the originals. While enjoyable enough, this collection is hardly essential. Llanrumney Chorus is the odd track out here, which is mainly a mob acapella repurposing of Those Were The Days.
Next was 1995’s Fuck Fascism extended play. In stark contrast to their other reformation recordings thus far, this was made up of three tunes penned by The Oppressed. The title track’s mid-pace hoarseness is a real taste of what The Oppressed were all about. Sleeping With The Enemy, which would also crop up on the band’s third LP Music For Hooligans on disc three of this set, is also well accomplished and the band’s classic Work Together is dusted down successfully. Ending this second disc is another go at The 4 Skins’ Evil retitled Evil In Magaluf, retooled in just voice like Llanrumney Chorus. This came from the 5-4-3-2-1 extended play, with the Manfred Mann-written, Bootboy-enhanced title track also being part of Music For Hooligans LP.
MFH kicks of disc three with the freewheeling sound of CF3 and That’s Alright, which also benefits from some renewed vim. Living With Unemployment draws from The Newtown Neurotics subverting of The Members’ Solitary Confinement, with Skinhead Times being a flowing and addictive slice of Skin life. When I Was Young is a rueful, wise look back and they unexpectedly cover The Farm’s Baggy anti-war tune All Together Now.
No Justice feels musically like The Business’ early moves, where the lead guitar of Steve Floyd is given licence to solo and The Maytals’ Pressure Drop is Punked up a stage further than when The Clash did it in the late 70s. The title track is truly rousing and overall Music For Hooligans, although perhaps having still a few too many covers and previously issued material aboard, is a much more satisfying collection than We Can Do Anything.
Disc three continues with the Strength In Unity 7 inch, consisting of three covers and a tearaway recut of C.F.3., which is the highpoint of this quartet. Proving the dichotomy that whilst you can’t really go wrong with Holder/Lea numbers you can seldom better Slade’s initial efforts, comes The Noise EP. Of the three Slade hits versioned here, The Oppressed do the best job on a stomping take of Gudbuy T’ Jane. Two tracks from of joint record with US band The Fat Skins follow, with suitably anthemic The AFA Song being accompanied by a cover of Eddie And The Hot Rods’ 1977 hit Do Anything You Wanna Do. Finally on this disc we have Solidarity, The Oppressed’s contribution to We Are The People, the Angelic Upstarts tribute LP.
For my money The Oppressed really hit their stride during their second run with their three tracks from 2004’s Skinhead Unity LP. They start off the final disc of this set. United We Stand’s breakneck pacing, dirty guitar and catchy refrain immediately make a good impression, with Nobody’s Fool and Paedophile taking up the baton with aplomb. Next come the four numbers from The Insurgence 45, well only two really as I Don’t Wanna (not the Sham tune) and Blue Army are doubled up, with a Spanish language version of the former and an instrumental cut of the latter joining the original takes.
This was a decent showing and was followed by yet another extended play Football Violence, where the terrace bravado of the title track and a guitar heavy Remember stand out. S.H.A.R.P. As A Razor was a collection split with The Bois, with a cover of Los Fastidios’ Antifa Hooligans leading the way. The Oppressed also dip into The Maytals’ songbook again for Monkey Man and somewhat usually do a version of Brother Louie, originally recorded by Hot Chocolate.
A couple of pretty run of the mill Ramones covers in I Wanna Be Sedated and Blitzkrieg Bop were offered up for the 2 Generations split with Germany’s Wasted Youth, but better was their side of Skins ‘N’ Punks Volume 6, issued on the revitalised Oi! Records imprint. White Flag is recorded here with Roddy finally on lead vocals and Drunken Skinhead, a song by The Prowlers (who took up the other side of the vinyl LP), is a spin on the aged What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor? sea shanty. Earl Vince & The Valiants’ tune Someone’s Going To Get Their Head Kicked In gets versioned in shouty fashion and The Great Cardiff Rip Off is The Rejects’ tune revised in a Welsh setting.
Reiterating their hometown pride come the two self-penned numbers Cardiff Born and Bluebirds Unite and they finish their side of the LP with SHARP Anthem. Though Oi! emerged mainly from the East End of London, the way The Oppressed adapt it with a Welsh flavour is crucial to their appeal. The final four tracks are drawn from 2018’s FCK FSCSM (This Is Anti-Fascist Oi!), a multi-band album. A sparky Crucify The Police makes for a good intro and The Machine’s gutsy, hard rockin’ sound cuts the mustard. All things considered, this record showed The Oppressed in pretty fine form approaching their 40th anniversary.
Whilst listening to this set I was put in mind of The Clash’s oft-quoted, rather silly strapline “The Only Band That Matters”. The Oppressed did matter and mattered at a time when the actions they took were vital. I still love them for it. Not everything here is brilliant and there are a lot of covers, but their message and the best of the songs shine on through, undiminished by the years.
slicing through the static 