TOY DOLLS – DIG THAT GROOVE BABY LP – Nr MINT A1/B1 UK 1983 PUNK Oi!

Toy Dolls – Dig That Groove Baby
(Volume Records  1983  VOLP1)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Sleeve in Excellent+/Nr MINT- condition
– some wear to edges and a little rubbing near the top

Toy Dolls are an English punk rock band formed in 1979. Departing from the angry lyrics and music often associated with punk rock, The Toy Dolls worked within the aesthetics of punk to express a sense of fun, with songs such as “Yul Brynner Was a Skinhead”, “My Girlfriend’s Dad’s a Vicar” and “James Bond Lives Down Our Street”. There is often alliteration in their song titles (e.g. “Peter Practice’s Practice Place”, “Fisticuffs in Frederick Street”, “Neville Is a Nerd”). They are probably best known however for their sole UK hit, a punk-rock cover of “Nellie the Elephant”.

Their albums usually include a cover version of a well-known hit song, usually sped up to the usual punk rock tempo. Covers have included: “Blue Suede Shoes”, “Toccata in Dm“, “No Particular Place to Go”, “Sabre Dance”, “Livin’ La Vida Loca“, “Lazy Sunday Afternoon“, “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”, “She’s So Modern” and “The Final Countdown”. They have also recorded parodies of popular songs, such as “The Kids in Tyne and Wear (Kids in America)” and “The Devil Went Down to Scunthorpe (The Devil Went Down to Georgia)”. Their albums often start with a short intro with a catchy guitar riff, and end with an outro, which is usually a slightly longer variation of the intro riff. Kazoos are also prominent in many of their songs.

Most of the band members have nicknames, and are rarely seen without their cartoonish rectangular sunglasses (although they appeared bare-eyed on the One More Megabyte album cover).

Dig That Groove Baby is the first full-length album by the Punk band Toy Dolls, released in 1983. It is considered by many fans to be the best work by the band and contains future live staples such as “Nellie the Elephant” and “Firey Jack”. The song “Dig That Groove Baby” is included in the 2002 video game Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4.

Track listing

All writing by Michael “Olga” Algar, except where noted.

1. “Theme Tune” – 0:20
2. “Dig That Groove Baby” – 3:00
3. “Dougy Giro” – 3:16
4. “Spiders In The Dressing Room” – 1:56
5. “Glenda And The Test Tube Baby” – 3:15 (Referring to a storyline in Crossroads)
6. “Up The Garden Path” – 2:43
7. “Nellie The Elephant” (Ralph Butler, Peter Hart) – 3:27
8. “Poor Davey” – 3:22
9. “Stay Mellow” – 2:18
10. “Queen Alexandra Road Is Where She Said She’d Be, But Was She There To Meet Me… No Chance” – 2:17
11. “Worse Things Happen At Sea” – 2:39
12. “Blue Suede Shoes” (Carl Perkins) – 2:16
13. “Fiery Jack” – 2:53
14. “Theme Tune” – 0:20

Personnel

• Michael “Olga” Algar – vocals, guitar
• Phillip “Flip” Dugdale – bass
• Robert “Happy Bob” Kent – drums