| Cuddly Toys | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Raped |
| Origin | Ireland, London |
| Genres | New Wave |
| Years active | 1977–1987 |
| Labels | Parole, Teichiku, Orinoko Fresh |
| Past members | |
| Sean Purcell Faebhean Kwest Billy Surgeoner Tony Baggett Paddy Phield Kassy Andrews-Purcell Terry Noakes Robert Barker S. Paul Wilson David Kovacevic |
|
Cuddly Toys were a new wave band from London that grew out of the glam rock-influenced punk rock band The Raped.
Contents |
The Raped formed in 1976 with a line-up of Sean Purcell (vocals), Faebhean Kwest (guitar),Tony Baggett (bass), and Paddy Phield (drums).[1] They released the Pretty Paedophiles EP and the "Cheap Night Out" single in 1978 on Parole Records. Alig Fodder and Nicky Brockway (piano) sessioned on Guillotine Theatre. Billy Surgeoner joined the re-emerged new wave band Cuddly Toys while they were recording the album, playing all the keyboard synthesisers. The band's first release was the single "Madman," a song written by David Bowie and Marc Bolan shortly before Bolan's death, which reached #3 in the UK Indie Chart.[2][3] They next released the Guillotine Theatre album in 1979 on Japanese label Teichiku, issued in the UK in 1980 on Fresh Records, which reached #1 in the indie album chart and 8 in the main billboard charts[2] The album was described by Dave Thompson, in a review for Allmusic, as "one of the underrated classics of the late 1970s, as delivered by one of the most underrated bands".[4] The band continued until 1987, by which time the line-up had changed several times, their final release before splitting being a second album, Trials and Crosses.[1]
Fodder went on to form Family Fodder.[1] Sean Purcell released a single under his own name Goat and then reformed Cuddly Toys with Tony Baggett with a complete line up change, although Baggett left almost immediately being replaced by Paul Wison on bass. Sean who was half Irish died in Ireland in 1996 from a brain tumour.