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RED BOOKS) COURTESY OF IAN GLASPER
Despite two very strong singles, the Soldier Dolls remain one of the more internationally
obscure of the Welsh punk bands from the early Eighties, probably because they only
played outside of Wales once – and that was their final show! The Soldier Dolls formed in
1981(after a short period under the unfortunate moniker of Animation), and played their
first show in September of 1982 – a show they actually gatecrashed rather than were
invited to play at. This seemed something of a trademark for the band, seeing as decent
gigs were few and far between at the time.
“None of us could play a note... and I really mean that, we couldn’t even tune our guitars,”
laughs Fester, recalling those pre-Soldier Dolls endeavours. “We didn’t have a drum kit
and both myself and Evo wanted to be the drummer, so we had a pact… whoever got
their drums first would be the drummer and the other the singer! Thank god he got his kit
first (mine came a few months later), so I ended up singing; he’s a fantastic drummer.”
The original line-up of Andrew ‘Fester’ Mae – vocals, Dave ‘DKA’ Alderman – guitar,
‘Slow’ Bob Humphries – bass, and Dave ‘Evo’ Evans – drums, recorded two tapes, the
‘Ten Track Sampler’ and the ‘From The Cradle To The Grave’ demos, and it was
apparent even from these earliest studio efforts that the Soldier Dolls had a lot of
potential.
“That original line up was, in my opinion at least, twenty years ahead of its time,” reckons
Fester. “The music was a mix of hardcore, metal, and pure punk… which seems to be
much more popular now than it was back then. The bass player and drummer were really
into heavy metal, which helped give the band quite a different sound.”
“Musically we were much faster than a lot of other bands... before it was ‘trendy’ to play so
fast,” adds DKA. “And we had a big Yank influence as well, especially on my part as the
guitar player. We even had a sense of humour… when most people were turning into po-
faced fuckers!
“I actually probably prefer that earlier ‘mark 1’ period,” he admits, with the benefit of
hindsight. “It was tighter - maybe more bombastic - and was when we really captured the
real spirit of the band. We probably took ourselves too seriously afterwards…”
Soon after the second tape was in the can, Evo and Bob left for musical pastures anew,
taking with them much of the metallic edge enjoyed by the band’s first incarnation. They
were replaced by – respectively – Matt ‘Morph’ Gray (who eventually ended up playing
guitar in The Darling Buds!) and Jamie Richards.
This line-up was the one that appeared on the band’s two subsequent EPs and at the
majority of the shows they played.
“Another reason why Evo and Bob quit,” explains Fester, “Was that everywhere we
seemed to play, trouble seemed to follow. The skinhead movement was picking up pace
and violence came with it, like hand in glove. At one gig some guy in the crowd was
spitting at my then-girlfriend. I didn’t like it and I jumped off stage and gave him a slap. I
thought at the time it was quite justified… however, he was ‘in’ with all the skins and that
was the beginning of the end for tranquillity at our gigs.”
“Those gigs were disorganised, violent, rowdy affairs,” agrees DKA. “We played to
anyone and everyone who would listen: young kids, punks, skins, whoever. I remember
being 100 percent into playing every show possible; logistics and monetary matters
weren’t a concern back then - we just got up, got stuck in and sweated our balls off for
very little reward. Big deal!”
In 1984, the Soldier Dolls self-released their debut EP, ‘What Do They Know?’, on their
very own Scream Records, the label being ran by guitarist DKA. A three-song affair,
featuring the tracks ‘Gotham City Is Dead’ and ‘Be Like You’ alongside the anthemic title
track, it showcased the band’s high-speed gruff-vocal approach to decent effect, but they
weren’t particularly happy with how it turned out and only bothered with a bare minimum
of promotion.
Later that year, they recorded their second EP, which was unleashed by Scream late in
‘85. Partially funded this time around by Revolver/Cartel, who were handling distribution
duties, ‘A Taste Of Blood’ was to be the band’s defining moment, and was pressed on an
appropriately garish red wax. Their first release to be blessed with a solid, thick sound,
all four tracks tore along with a vengeance, but it was on ‘Iron Curtain’ that the Soldier
Dolls found an intensity so urgent it was breathtaking.
After hitting such a peak, the only way was down, and the band slowly disintegrated.
“That second line up - the one on the records - went fairly gradually,” confirms Fester. “I
think that Jamie, the bass player, really wanted to play guitar; he just got tired of playing
bass. So we became a 3-piece and I played bass. By that time I was writing all the
songs, and I was trying to get a more commercial feel happening,. DKA and Morph didn’t
like the way it was going, so, after playing in Bristol with The Folk Devils we called it a day.
That was late 1985.
“We all did other things later but for me it was never the same…”
In fact, DKA and Morph started up Slowjam, whilst Fester and Jamie played together in
Highway 4, but neither band hit quite the same spot as the raw, youthful angst they had
exorcised whilst in the Soldier Dolls.
Incidentally, the ex-Soldier Dolls members now reside abroad, having all emigrated to
the sunnier climes of Spain and France – and in the case of Fester, Canada – during
recent years.
SOLDIER DOLLS
‘Soldier Dolls’
Considering that their members are now spread across Wales, France,
Spain and Canada, and that this was rehearsed and recorded in less than
a week, the reformed Soldier Dolls really have no right to sound this damn
good. Picking up the baton right where they left off with their superb ‘A
Taste Of Blood’ single in 1985, ‘Soldier Dolls’ comes across like a more
melodic, less metal Broken Bones; so powerful and vital, the ‘retro’ tag is
simply blown out of the water by the killer tunes on offer. www.soldierdolls.
com [7.5] [IG]
http://www.welshpunk.f2s.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=n
ews;action=display;num=1121670421
Just received a copy of the much awaited Soldier Dolls CD
and it was definitely worth the wait.
15 pumping tracks that are proud to be in my record
collection. (we think he meant that he is proud to have in his
collection)
A Real blast from the past this one. Its been 20 odd years since I last heard from Cardiff's
very own Soldier Dolls, so I was more than pleasantly surprised to hear that not only had
they recently reformed but they'd also re-recorded the songs from every Demo they'd ever
recorded back in the day. 15 Tracks in all, including the likes of "Don't Wanna Die", "Gotham
City is Dead", "Rat Training", "No Life Left", and "State of Shock" amongst many others. Even
tho they're all old songs written in the early 80's the recent re-recording has given them a
new lease of life and they barely feel dated at all. All good stuff and well worth checking out if
you have the chance. www.soldierdolls.com
StreetCore Zine
44 Townend, Presteigne, Powys, LD82DE. Wales. UK.
http://www.freewebs.com/streetcore_magazine/index.htm
Its been over two decades since the SOLDIER DOLLS called it a day but you
wouldn't think that these guys had been dormant for that long because this
new album spits and kicks hysterically they must have built up some serious
antagonism in these inactive years. They have the highly British 1980s
sound of G.B.H, THE EXPLOITED, SUBHUMANS etc but mixed in with an
almost
melodic 80s US hardcore edge so in that respect its almost as if they're
carrying on from exactly where they left off but this sounds fresher than
most shit coming out these days there are a bunch of old tracks re-recorded
on here but they don't sound dated, the production has definitely
rejuvenated them but the songs themselves can just stand up to any
contemporary sound. These days Britain hasn't got much mush to shout about
punk rock-wise unfortunately, with this fickle and indecisive youth so
hearing old bands like the SOLDIER DOLLS and the SKEPTIX etc releasing
stuff again after a latent period is just fantastic.
WWW.NOFRONTTEETH.CO.UK
Soldier Dolls is a band hailing from Wales and was formed in the early 80s.
I was expecting some boring old UK punk from this band, but holy shit! Just
like the Rum runner album longshot records found a way to come up with
another big surprise.
To make it short. If you're into Poison idea, get this one asap!! Every song,
every time I'm hearing the vocals I just get goosebumps and time stops.
The label mentions Broken Bones, GBH and Black Flag influences. Well
they forgot about Poison idea. Andy's voice reminds me of Jerry A. so much
that it gets frightening. And to top it off, the songs are typical US
hardcore/punk 80s stuff that makes me want to fuckin kill everybody.
Brainwashed, Headpains, Gotham city is dead, idle talk, it all sounds killer!!
I honestly don't know why the band hasn't found someone to change their
artwork and to make a better website it looks very unprofessional and
doesnt match their music. This record consists of old classics and new
songs and makes this album one of 2006s biggest surprises.
I'm not gonna waste much words on this change the image guys, keep the
music! Hell, this is what I want to hear more these days! A glorious
comeback!
86/100
