1. The Riot… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least two acts/bands called The Riot Squad.
1. The Riot Squad were a pop group from London, initially managed and produced by Larry Page and later, for their reunion, by Joe Meek. Members included Graham Bonney (vocals), Ron Ryan (guitar), Len Tuckey (guitar), Mark Stevens (keyboards), Mike Martin (bass), Mitch Mitchell (drums), Rodger Crisp, Terry Clifford, Butch Davis, Derek "Del" Roll. Their only constant member was to be Bob Evans (saxophone), who, after the band split for the first time, "reunited" The Riot Squad with all new musicians.
In early 1967 they were joined by David Bowie, who at the time was recording material for his self-titled debut album. The band consisted of six members: Bowie (lead vocalist, guitar, tenor saxophone), Rod Davies (guitar), Croke Prebble (bass), Bob Evans (saxophone, flute), George Butcher (keyboards) and Derek Roll (drums). This incarnation recorded several as-yet unreleased tracks, including a cover of the The Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting for the Man" and a Velvets-influenced Bowie original called "Little Toy Soldier".
2. The Riot Squad was also a 'gabber' trance German techno band.
Toy Soldier
The Riot Squad Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And he lived in the play room
Once upon a time there was a toy soldier
With a whip lash in his hand
And every night little girl Sadie would take all her clothes off
And wind up the toy soldier and he'd raise his whip and say to her:
Little Sadie on your knees
Taste the whip in love not given lightly
Taste the whip and bleed for me"
Little Sadie loved her little toy soldier
And she run home from school each day
Little Sadie loved her little toy soldier
And she'd lock the door so she could play
Little Sadie got ambitious
And wound the clockwork soldier tighter
So he could whip her harder and harder
"On your knees little Sadie
Little Sadie on your knees
Taste the whip in love not given lightly
Taste the whip and bleed for me"
One day Sadie wound and wound
And wound and wound
And wound and wound
Til suddenly the little toy soldier's spring, went (boing) (screams)
And he beat her to death! (explosions) (nose blowing)
(Speaking Clock)
"At the first stroke it will be two twenty-one and twenty seconds"
The Riot Squad's song "Toy Soldier" tells a disturbing story of a young girl named Sadie and her beloved toy soldier. The song paints a picture of Sadie, who comes home from school each day to play with her toy soldier. The soldier, with a whip lash in his hand, is wound up by Sadie at night. He then commands her to get on her knees and "taste the whip," causing her to bleed for him. Sadie enjoys this interaction at first and even becomes ambitious enough to wind him even tighter than before so that he can whip her harder. However, one day, she winds him up until his spring snaps, causing the toy soldier to beat her to death.
The lyrics offer a thought-provoking critique on the abuse of power and exploitation of children. The song is a metaphor for the idea that children should not be exposed to the harsh realities of life too soon. Just like Sadie, many children are exposed to the harsh realities of life earlier than they should be. The lyricist warns that this premature exposure can result in fatal consequences. The Toy Soldier that Sadie plays with is a symbol of false power: it is just a toy, yet it has the power to destroy Sadie's life.
Interestingly, the song continues with a clock chiming the time after Sadie's death. This could indicate that society is indifferent to the plight of children, as we are more focused on the passage of time and routine daily activities instead of addressing and preventing the abuse of children.
Line by Line Meaning
Once upon a time there was a toy soldier
There was a toy soldier once upon a time.
And he lived in the play room
The toy soldier lived in the playroom.
Once upon a time there was a toy soldier
There was a toy soldier once upon a time.
With a whip lash in his hand
He had a whip lash in his hand.
And every night little girl Sadie would take all her clothes off
Every night Sadie would undress.
And wind up the toy soldier and he'd raise his whip and say to her:
She would wind up the toy soldier who would then raise his whip and talk to her.
"On your knees little Sadie
The toy soldier commanded Sadie.
Little Sadie on your knees
To get on her knees.
Taste the whip in love not given lightly
To experience the pain of the whip as an act of love.
Taste the whip and bleed for me"
To feel the pain of the whip until she bleeds.
Little Sadie loved her little toy soldier
Sadie loved the toy soldier.
And she run home from school each day
Every day she would run home from school.
Little Sadie loved her little toy soldier
Sadie loved the toy soldier.
And she'd lock the door so she could play
She would lock the door so she could play alone.
Little Sadie got ambitious
Sadie became more daring.
And wound the clockwork soldier tighter
She wound the toy soldier's clockwork mechanism tighter.
So he could whip her harder and harder
So the toy soldier could whip her more intensely.
"On your knees little Sadie
The toy soldier commanded Sadie.
Little Sadie on your knees
To get on her knees.
Taste the whip in love not given lightly
To experience the pain of the whip as an act of love.
Taste the whip and bleed for me"
To feel the pain of the whip until she bleeds.
One day Sadie wound and wound
One day Sadie kept winding the toy soldier.
And wound and wound
She continued to wind it.
And wound and wound
And wound it some more.
Til suddenly the little toy soldier's spring, went (boing) (screams)
Until the toy soldier's spring suddenly snapped.
And he beat her to death! (explosions) (nose blowing)
And the toy soldier beat Sadie to death.
(Speaking Clock)
The Speaking Clock started.
"At the first stroke it will be two twenty-one and twenty seconds"
The Speaking Clock announced the time.
Contributed by Ruby Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jon Boeing
The Riot Squad were a pop group from London, initially managed and produced by Larry Page and later, for their reunion, by Joe Meek.
In early 1967, they were joined by David Bowie, who at the time was recording material for his self-titled debut album. The band consisted of six members: Bowie (vocal, guitar, mouth-harp), Rod Davies (guitar), Brian "Croak" Prebble (Vocals), Bob Evans (tenor saxophone, flute), George Butcher (keyboards) and Derek Roll (drums). This incarnation recorded several tracks, including a cover of The Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting for the Man", and a Velvets-influenced Bowie original called "Little Toy Soldier," which lifts its chorus nearly verbatim from The Velvets' "Venus in Furs."[1] These and other songs featuring David Bowie were officially released in 2012 on "The Last Chapter: Mods & Sods".
TV-8-301
I never heard this song before, totally did not expect the quick escalation
David Edwards
When people ask my favorite Bowie era lol
Derek Abbott
I'm a Bowie fan but why would anyone listen to this song twice.
DAVID BYCROFT
The Laughing Gnome was not his greatest moment either
samfishertags
lifted straight from Velvet Underground
Jacques Hughes
Lyrics lifted from Venus in Furs by The Velvets and Sadie being an abbreviation of Sadomasochist. I'm not sure if Bowie at such a young age was au fait with sadomasochism, but he was heavily influenced on this EP by The Velvets. I wonder if this is why The Beatles had Sexy Sadie - was this also referencing sadomasochism. Apparently, Bowie released his version of Waiting For My Man before The Velvets album went to press? Not sure how Lou Reed would have taken this?
lawrence ralph
I think he was the first person in the u.k. , owning a promo copy of the album brought over from the states by his then manager kenneth pitt, before its official release.
Lukas Strautins
Jesus Christ, the innuendo isn't even trying to be subtle!
Chris Yonts
BOWEEEEEEEEEEE