Sohodolls are an English

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

band from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The group was formed in 2003 and, following various line-up changes, consists of Maya von Doll (vocals), Toni Sailor (guitar), Weston Doll (Steven Weston) (keyboards), Matt Lord (double bass) and Paul Stone (drums). The band—whose name is sometimes punctuated with a space as

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

Dolls—have described their sound as a cross between "decaying and desperate glamour" and "savagery and sex". Their debut album '' Ribbed Music for the Numb Generation'' was released through A&G Records in September 2007.

Biography

Sohodolls were formed in 2003 as an

all-female band An all-female band is a musical group in popular music that is exclusively composed of female musicians. This is distinct from a girl group, in which the female members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universally followed. While ...

signed to A&G Records, with their first line-up consisting of Sammi Doll (Sammie Rayson), Maya Von Doll (Maya von der Louw) and Pato (Pato Munich). Their debut single "Stripper" would be released in 2004, and was the only release with Sammi as vocals, as she would leave the group soon after. In 2004, Maya von Doll recruited guitarists Toni Sailor (Sailor Doll) and Gavin Jay after they attended a performance at the Rhythm Factory in London, setting the layer of the second line-up. In mid-2006, soon after releasing their second single "Pleasures of Soho", both Gavin Jay and Sammi Doll decided to part ways with the Sohodolls. Wanting to explore more additions to the group in instruments, Maya and Toni found Steven Weston (Weston Doll) who took over the role on keyboards/synths. They then hired Paul Stone and Matt Lord to play

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

and

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

, giving the group its third and current line-up. The band's first two singles, released on Poptones, Alan McGee's record label, caused enough of a stir to reach numbers seven and twelve on the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

. These were followed by another release of "Stripper", "No Regrets" and then "Right and Right Again", which won acclaim from ''The Fly'' to ''Clash'' and ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''. They began writing and recording their debut album in 2006 with producers Robert Harder (

Babyshambles Babyshambles were an English rock music, rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) during a hiatus from the Libertines. As of 2013 the band includes Mick Whitnall (lead guitar), Drew McCo ...

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) and Steve Lyon (

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). In October 2006, the band released a download-only single, "No Regrets". Throughout 2006, Sohodolls attracted more attention, touring with

She Wants Revenge She Wants Revenge is an American rock band, based in San Fernando Valley, California. Formed in 2004, the band is a duo of singer and guitarist Justin Warfield and multi-instrumentalist Adam Bravin. Their music has been influenced by post-punk, ...

during July, performing at ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

Russia''s annual Playmate of the Year party in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in August, ''

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s 15th-anniversary concert in September, and two UK tours as well as international dates in Los Angeles, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Istanbul. Their debut album, '' Ribbed Music for the Numb Generation'', was released in September 2007, preceded by the single download-only single "My Vampire" and fully released single "Right and Right Again". The album also contains five of the group's previous singles, including the two album-release singles & five newly recorded tracks made specifically for the album. it was also supported by an extensive 35-date headline tour of the UK. Their 2006 single "Stripper" was used in the American television series ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

'' when one of the main characters,

Blair Waldorf Blair Cornelia Waldorf (married name Bass) is one of the main characters of ''Gossip Girl'', introduced in the original series of novels and also appearing as the lead in the television adaptation; she also appears in the comic adaptation. Descri ...

(

Leighton Meester Leighton Marissa Meester (; born April 9, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and model. She is best known for her starring role as the devious socialite Blair Waldorf on ''Gossip Girl'' on The CW (2007–2012). She has also appeared in films ...

) stripped to it in episode "

Victor, Victrola "Victor, Victrola" is the seventh episode of the television series ''Gossip Girl''. The episode was written by K.J. Steinberg and directed by Tony Wharmby. It originally aired on November 7, 2007, on The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical art ...

", which aired on 7 November 2007 on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. The band was again featured in ''Gossip Girl'' when their song, "I'm Not Cool", played during the episode " In the Realm of the Basses" when Blair confronts Chuck in the Victrola club. Their music also appeared in the 2011 video game ''

Test Drive Unlimited 2 ''Test Drive Unlimited 2'' is a 2011 open world racing video game developed by Eden Games and published by Atari for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the sequel to the 2006 game ''Test Drive Unlimited'' and the nineteenth ent ...

'', with the Allister Whitehead club

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

of "Right and Right Again" rotating on the Hariba Radio in-game radio station and "Bang Bang Bang Bang" playing both on the RoadRock in-game radio station and also during the carwash scene. Von Doll's solo song "Play My Way" was featured in the third episode of the fifth season of ''Gossip Girl'', titled "The Jewel of Denial" and originally aired 10 October 2011. On the same day, the track was released digitally by Quid Records. On 28 February 2014, the band released a new EP, titled ''Mayday'', containing 3 new songs. In 2014, Maya von Doll started a new band called New Pharaohs. During late 2020, their songs "Bang Bang Bang Bang" and "Stripper" became popular songs on TikTok. Due to their newfound popularity Sohodolls released remasters for both songs, "Stripper" on 22 October 2020 and "Bang Bang Bang Bang" on 18 February 2021. After the release of the "Stripper" and "Bang Bang Bang Bang" remasters, Sohodolls released charity single "Period" on 4 March 2021, in partnership with Period Poverty to raise money to provide feminine products to girls and women in refugee camps or in otherwise deprived areas. On 30 April, Sohodolls released their song "Shut Your Pretty Mouth" on streaming services after the song's demo had leaked on YouTube, however, the song was not completely new, as it had been played in clubs in London sometime in 2009. On 28 October 2022, the band released their song "Bad."

Tour

As well as having toured the UK seven times the band have also played in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

(International Rock Festival at Pusan Beach),

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

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Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Piza,

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

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, Weinheim, Frankfurt, Freiburg and have toured widely in the UK, often playing towns off the beaten circuit. They have also toured with/supported

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, and

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...

. To promote the release of their debut album '' Ribbed Music for the Numb Generation'', Sohodolls embarked on their biggest tour to date. Starting at Hoxton Bar & Grill, London, on 4 September 2007, they headlined 34 venues across the UK.

Discography

Albums

* '' Ribbed Music for the Numb Generation'' (2007)

Extended plays

* ''Prince Harry EP'' (2005) * ''Mayday EP'' (2014)

Singles

Maya von Doll's solo singles

* "Play My Way" (2011) * "Open Checkbook" (2012) * "Is This Love" (featuring Robs & Duke) (2012)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sohodolls 2003 establishments in England English electronic rock musical groups English alternative rock groups English synth-pop groups English glam rock groups Musical groups established in 2003 Musical groups from London Electropunk musical groups