Soldier Dolls

played outside of Wales once – and that was their final show! The Soldier Dolls formed in

1981(after a short period under the unfortunate moniker of Animation), and played their

first show in September of 1982 – a show they actually gatecrashed rather than were

invited to play at. This seemed something of a trademark for the band, seeing as decent

gigs were few and far between at the time.

“None of us could play a note... and I really mean that, we couldn’t even tune our guitars,”

laughs Fester, recalling those pre-Soldier Dolls endeavours. “We didn’t have a drum kit

and both myself and Evo wanted to be the drummer, so we had a pact… whoever got

their drums first would be the drummer and the other the singer! Thank god he got his kit

first (mine came a few months later), so I ended up singing; he’s a fantastic drummer.”

The original line-up of Andrew ‘Fester’ Mae – vocals, Dave ‘DKA’ Alderman – guitar,

‘Slow’ Bob Humphries – bass, and Dave ‘Evo’ Evans – drums, recorded two tapes, the

‘Ten Track Sampler’ and the ‘From The Cradle To The Grave’ demos, and it was

apparent even from these earliest studio efforts that the Soldier Dolls had a lot of

potential.

“That original line up was, in my opinion at least, twenty years ahead of its time,” reckons

Fester. “The music was a mix of hardcore, metal, and pure punk… which seems to be

much more popular now than it was back then. The bass player and drummer were really

into heavy metal, which helped give the band quite a different sound.”

“Musically we were much faster than a lot of other bands... before it was ‘trendy’ to play so

fast,” adds DKA. “And we had a big Yank influence as well, especially on my part as the

guitar player. We even had a sense of humour… when most people were turning into po-

faced fuckers!

“I actually probably prefer that earlier ‘mark 1’ period,” he admits, with the benefit of

hindsight. “It was tighter - maybe more bombastic - and was when we really captured the

real spirit of the band. We probably took ourselves too seriously afterwards…”

Soon after the second tape was in the can, Evo and Bob left for musical pastures anew,

taking with them much of the metallic edge enjoyed by the band’s first incarnation. They

were replaced by – respectively – Matt ‘Morph’ Gray (who eventually ended up playing

guitar in The Darling Buds!) and Jamie Richards.

This line-up was the one that appeared on the band’s two subsequent EPs and at the

majority of the shows they played.

“Another reason why Evo and Bob quit,” explains Fester, “Was that everywhere we

seemed to play, trouble seemed to follow. The skinhead movement was picking up pace

and violence came with it, like hand in glove. At one gig some guy in the crowd was

spitting at my then-girlfriend. I didn’t like it and I jumped off stage and gave him a slap. I

thought at the time it was quite justified… however, he was ‘in’ with all the skins and that

was the beginning of the end for tranquillity at our gigs.”

“Those gigs were disorganised, violent, rowdy affairs,” agrees DKA. “We played to

anyone and everyone who would listen: young kids, punks, skins, whoever. I remember

being 100 percent into playing every show possible; logistics and monetary matters

weren’t a concern back then - we just got up, got stuck in and sweated our balls off for

very little reward. Big deal!”

In 1984, the Soldier Dolls self-released their debut EP, ‘What Do They Know?’, on their

very own Scream Records, the label being ran by guitarist DKA. A three-song affair,

featuring the tracks ‘Gotham City Is Dead’ and ‘Be Like You’ alongside the anthemic title

track, it showcased the band’s high-speed gruff-vocal approach to decent effect, but they

weren’t particularly happy with how it turned out and only bothered with a bare minimum

of promotion.

Later that year, they recorded their second EP, which was unleashed by Scream late in

‘85. Partially funded this time around by Revolver/Cartel, who were handling distribution

duties, ‘A Taste Of Blood’ was to be the band’s defining moment, and was pressed on an

appropriately garish red wax. Their first release to be blessed with a solid, thick sound,

all four tracks tore along with a vengeance, but it was on ‘Iron Curtain’ that the Soldier

Dolls found an intensity so urgent it was breathtaking.

After hitting such a peak, the only way was down, and the band slowly disintegrated.

“That second line up - the one on the records - went fairly gradually,” confirms Fester. “I

think that Jamie, the bass player, really wanted to play guitar; he just got tired of playing

bass. So we became a 3-piece and I played bass. By that time I was writing all the

songs, and I was trying to get a more commercial feel happening,. DKA and Morph didn’t

like the way it was going, so, after playing in Bristol with The Folk Devils we called it a day.

That was late 1985.

“We all did other things later but for me it was never the same…”

In fact, DKA and Morph started up Slowjam, whilst Fester and Jamie played together in

Highway 4, but neither band hit quite the same spot as the raw, youthful angst they had

exorcised whilst in the Soldier Dolls.

Incidentally, the ex-Soldier Dolls members now reside abroad, having all emigrated to

the sunnier climes of Spain and France – and in the case of Fester, Canada – during

recent years.