There are two bands that have recorded under the name The Toy Dolls.
Read Full Bio ↴There are two bands that have recorded under the name The Toy Dolls.

1. The Toy Dolls are a British punk rock band. They formed in 1979, playing their first ever gig at Millview Social Club, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, UK, on 20 October 1979. After a couple of gigs, vocalist Pete Zulu left to form his own band. He was replaced by Paul "Hud" Hudson, who himself left after a single gig, leaving Toy Dolls as a trio with guitarist Michael "Olga" Algar to assume vocal duties. This was just the start of the revolving door of drummers and bassists that would characterize the Toy Dolls line-up over the years.

They quickly built up a local fan base and were initially grouped with the Oi! scene that was emerging at the time, although many would say that despite having the singalong choruses that are typical of Oi!, they are better classified as pop punk. Another reason they are associated with Oi! is that they were championed by Garry Bushell who was heavily involved with Oi! bands such as The Angelic Upstarts. In 1980 a local businessman financed their debut single, "Tommy Kowey's Car" with "She Goes to Finos" on the B-side. The single quickly sold out its initial 500 pressing but the band couldn't afford to press any more, making the single a collector's item.

In 1983, they released their debut album Dig That Groove Baby, by which time with Bushell's help they were beginning to attract national press attention, and in 1984 they burst into the charts with their punk rendition of "Nellie the Elephant", a classic children's song, which reached #4 in the UK charts and stayed in the Top 100 for no less than 12 weeks.

The Toy Dolls have since changed their lineup and record labels, establishing and cultivating fan bases in Europe, America and Japan, continuing to release new singles and albums.

More information at http://www.thetoydolls.com

2. The Toy Dolls were a female vocal group from the early 1960s that released one single in 1962, Little Tin Soldier / Fly Away.

Geordie
The Toy Dolls Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

He's not a thief or a burglar
He never robbed a bank
He didn't commit murder
All Geordie's bullets were blank

Set Geordie free, coz Geordie's not guilty

He's a good guy

The guy they never saw
The coppers were mistaken
Geordie never broke the law

Set Geordie free, he never shot nobody at all.

[Chorus:]
Geordie, ooooh he's the inocent party
.............. They've locked him away
.............. never shot nobody at all
.............. Geordie's gone to jail.

He never takes any drugs
(only penicilin) when he's got a headache
The fingerprint wasn't Geordie's
Geordie's never been a villan.

Set Geordie free, he never shot nobody at all.
[Chorus]..
[Guitar Bit]

Geordie's got a pistol
It's for self defence
But he didn't pull the trigger
He committed no offence.

Set Geordie free, he never shot nobody at all.
[Chorus]

Overall Meaning

The Toy Dolls's song Geordie's Gone to Jail tells the story of Geordie, who has been wrongly accused and imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. The lyrics assert that Geordie is innocent and that the police made a mistake in thinking he was guilty. The first verse establishes that Geordie is not a criminal in any way – he did not steal, rob or murder anyone, nor did he shoot anyone with real bullets. The chorus calls for his release, claiming that he is an innocent party who has been locked away for something he did not do.

The second verse presents Geordie's character as a good guy that nobody really knows. The police's assumptions about his criminal behavior are apparently unfounded, and Geordie has never done anything to break the law. The third verse reiterates Geordie's innocence by stating that he does not take drugs, and even the fingerprint used as evidence against him is not his. The bridge establishes that Geordie was carrying a pistol for self-defense, but he never used it to harm anybody.

The subtext of this song criticizes the U.K. legal system and its tendency to incarcerate people without solid evidence, especially those who belong to disenfranchised groups. The Toy Dolls use satire to convey this message, highlighting the absurdity of the situation Geordie finds himself in. Overall, Geordie's Gone to Jail is a satirical and humorous take on a serious issue, thereby reflecting The Toy Dolls's approach to punk rock music.

Line by Line Meaning

He's not a thief or a burglar
Geordie is not a person who steals things or breaks into houses.

He never robbed a bank
Geordie never took money from a bank illegally.

He didn't commit murder
Geordie did not kill anyone intentionally.

All Geordie's bullets were blank
The bullets Geordie fired did not have any gunpowder or bullets, which means that he didn't really shoot anybody.

Set Geordie free, coz Geordie's not guilty
Geordie is innocent, so he should be released from the jail.

He's a good guy
Geordie is a nice person.

The guy they never saw
People didn't really know him or notice him.

The coppers were mistaken
The police got it wrong.

Geordie never broke the law
Geordie never did anything illegal.

He never takes any drugs
Geordie doesn't use any drugs, except penicillin for headaches.

(only penicilin) when he's got a headache
He takes only penicillin when he has a headache.