Toy Love
| Toy Love | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Genres | alternative |
| Years active | 1978–1980 |
| Past members |
Chris Knox Alec Bathgate Paul Kean Mike Dooley Jane Walker |
Toy Love was a New Zealand New Wave/punk rock band fronted by Chris Knox. Other members were guitarist Alec Bathgate, bass player Paul Kean, drummer Mike Dooley, and keyboard player Jane Walker. The band developed out of the earlier punk band The Enemy from Dunedin, New Zealand, and are often regarded as the progenitors of the Dunedin Sound movement.[1]
Toy Love were together for less than two years (1978–80) and spent a large part of that time in Australia. They released just one (self-titled) album, however the band members were apparently appalled by the mixing of the tracks which took the edge off the band's deliberately raw sound. Allmusic gave the album a 3/5 rating.[2] In April 2005, this album was remastered and released along with a bunch of demos and unreleased tracks as a double CD entitled Cuts.
After Toy Love broke up, Bathgate and Knox remained together as the Tall Dwarfs.
In 2012, the band was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame and given the Legacy Award at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards.[3]
Discography
| Date | Title | Label | Charted (NZ) | Catalog Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albums | ||||
| 1980 | Toy Love Live At The Cook Volume One | [bootleg] | — | — |
| Toy Love Live At The Cook Volume Two | [bootleg] | — | — | |
| Toy Love | WEA | 4 | — | |
| 2005 | Cuts | Flying Nun Records | 23 | FNCD473 |
| 2012 | Toy Love Live At The Gluepot | Real Groovy Records | — | RGLP001 |
| Toy Love | Real Groovy Records | 15 | RGLP002 | |
| EPs | ||||
| 1980 | Toy Love EP | Deluxe | — | 20630 |
| Singles | ||||
| 1979 | "Rebel" b/w "Squeeze" | Elektra | 29 | Z 10015 |
| 1980 | "Don't Ask Me" b/w "Sheep" | Deluxe | 10 | Z 10022 |
| "Bride Of Frankenstein" b/w "Amputee Song/Good Old Joe" | 22 | Z 10029 | ||
Featured appearances
The group have appeared on a few compilations and soundtracks in New Zealand. The following is a list of these albums that have featured tracks by Toy Love.
- (1979) - AK79 (Ripper Records) - "Squeeze" and "Toy Love Song"
- (1980) - Goats Milk Soap (Ripper Records) - "The Second To Last Song Toy Love Wrote With Ad Lib Lyrics"
- (1988) - It's Bigger Than Both Of Us - NZ singles 1979-1982 (Propeller Records) - "Rebel"
- (1993) - AK79 (Propeller Records) - "Squeeze", "Toy Love Song" and "Frogs"
- (2003) - Give It A Whirl (Propeller Records) - "Don't Ask Me"
References
- ↑ Stranded In Paradise, New Zealand Rock and Roll 1955 to the Modern Era, J. Dix, Penguin, 2005, ISBN 0-14-301953-8, Chapter 25
- ↑ "Toy Love Review", Allmusic, retrieved 11 May 2012.
- ↑ "Musicians get ready for NZ Music Awards". 3 News NZ. 1 November 2012.