Cuddly Toys were a new wave band from London that grew out of the glam rock-influenced punk rock band Raped.
The punk band Raped formed in 1976 with a line-up of Sean Purcell (vocals), Faebhean Kwest (guitar), Tony Baggett (bass), and a Japanese trans woman Paddy Phield (real name: Takeshi Tsujino) (drums). They released the Pretty Paedophiles EP and the "Cheap Night Out" single in 1978 on Parole Records. Their last gig as 'Raped' was in Belfast with the punk band Rudi at Christmas 1978. In January 1979 they changed their name to 'Cuddly Toys'.
The band's first release was the single "Madman", a song written by David Bowie and Marc Bolan, which reached No. 19 in the UK Indie Chart in 1980. Bolan offered to manage the band but died before doing so. They were eventually managed by Kendo Nagasaki.
On the first recording sessions as Cuddly Toys (that later were to appear on the album "Guillotine Theatre"), they were augmented by Alig Fodder (later formed Family Fodder) and Nicky Brockway (piano). Billy Surgeoner then joined the band for further album sessions as well as live appearances, playing keyboard synthesisers.
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Links to Peel[]
Peel played tracks from the band when they were known as Raped in the late 70's on his radio programmes. He continued playing the group's material when they changed their name to Cuddly Toys in the early 80's on his shows.
Shows Played[]
- 05 January 1978: Escalator Hater (7" EP - Pretty Paedophiles) Parole
- 12 September 1978: 'Cheap Night Out (7")' (Parole)
- 19 October 1978: 'Cheap Night Out (7")' (Parole)
- 03 July 1980: Madman (7") Fresh
- 02 February 1981: Astral Joe (7") Fresh
- 08 February 1981 (BFBS): Astral Joe (7") Fresh
- 09 February 1981: Astral Joe (7”) Fresh
- 12 February 1981: Astral Joe (7”) Fresh