Soldier Dolls has been played on NTS in shows including Yesterday's News, featured first on 20 May 2020. Songs played include Rising Crime.

Despite two very strong singles, the Soldier Dolls remain one of the more internationally obscure of the Welsh punk bands from the early Eighties, probably because they only 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.