Toy Love was a New Zealand
new wave and
punk rock band that originated in
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
and was active from 1978 to 1980. Members included
Chris Knox
Chris Knox (born 2 September 1952) is a New Zealand rock and roll musician, cartoonist and movie reviewer who emerged during the punk rock era with his bands The Enemy and Toy Love. After Toy Love disbanded in the early 1980s, he formed the g ...
,
Alec Bathgate
Alec Bathgate is a New Zealand musician who was a key member of The Enemy and Toy Love, as well as being one half of the Flying Nun Records act Tall Dwarfs, alongside Chris Knox. In addition to playing guitar in these bands, he also released t ...
and
Paul Kean
Toy Love was a New Zealand new wave and punk rock band that originated in Dunedin and was active from 1978 to 1980. Members included Chris Knox, Alec Bathgate and Paul Kean.
History
Chris Knox was the band's front man and other members w ...
.
History
Chris Knox
Chris Knox (born 2 September 1952) is a New Zealand rock and roll musician, cartoonist and movie reviewer who emerged during the punk rock era with his bands The Enemy and Toy Love. After Toy Love disbanded in the early 1980s, he formed the g ...
was the band's front man and other members were guitarist
Alec Bathgate
Alec Bathgate is a New Zealand musician who was a key member of The Enemy and Toy Love, as well as being one half of the Flying Nun Records act Tall Dwarfs, alongside Chris Knox. In addition to playing guitar in these bands, he also released t ...
, bass player
Paul Kean
Toy Love was a New Zealand new wave and punk rock band that originated in Dunedin and was active from 1978 to 1980. Members included Chris Knox, Alec Bathgate and Paul Kean.
History
Chris Knox was the band's front man and other members w ...
, drummer Mike Dooley, and keyboard player Jane Walker. The band developed out of the earlier punk band
The Enemy from
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
, and are often regarded as the progenitors of the
Dunedin sound
The Dunedin sound was a style of indie pop music created in the southern New Zealand university city of Dunedin in the early 1980s.
Characteristics
According to Matthew Bannister, Dunedin sound "was typically marked by the use of droning or j ...
movement. 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 album, which was self-titled ''Toy Love''. The band members were apparently appalled by the mixing of the tracks, which took the edge off the band's deliberately raw sound.
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
gave the album a 3/5 rating. In April 2005, the album was remastered and released along with a number of demos and unreleased tracks as a double CD entitled ''Cuts''. In 2012, a further compilation, simply titled ''Toy Love'', was released on double LP, containing all singles, b-sides, compilation tracks, demos and some live recordings (this has the same front cover artwork as ''Cuts'').
After Toy Love broke up, Bathgate and Knox remained together as the
Tall Dwarfs
Tall Dwarfs are a New Zealand rock band formed in 1981 by Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate, who helped pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music. The duo were former members of Toy Love.
The band lacked a drummer, but would use household objects and han ...
. Kean was later a member of
The Bats.
In 2012, Toy Love was inducted into the
New Zealand Music Hall of Fame
The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame , Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians.
The hall was created in 2007 by Recorded Music NZ (then known as the Recording Industry Associati ...
and given the Legacy Award at the
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...
New Zealand Music Awards
The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...
.
Jane Walker died in October 2018; her death was announced by
Flying Nun Records
Flying Nun Records is a New Zealand independent record label formed in Christchurch in 1981 by music store manager Roger Shepherd. Described by ''The Guardian'' as "one of the world's great independent labels", Flying Nun is notable for bringin ...
on Twitter.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Extended Plays
Singles
Awards
Aotearoa Music Awards
The
Aotearoa Music Awards
The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...
(previously known as ''New Zealand Music Awards'' (NZMA)) are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in
New Zealand music
The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including b ...
and have been presented annually since 1965.
!
, -
, 2012 , , Toy Love , ,
New Zealand Music Hall of Fame
The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame , Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians.
The hall was created in 2007 by Recorded Music NZ (then known as the Recording Industry Associati ...
, , , ,
, -
References
External links
Official Toy Love Flying Nun artist page
Musical groups established in 1978
Musical groups disestablished in 1980
Flying Nun Records artists
Dunedin Sound musical groups
New Zealand punk rock groups
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