Toys Went Berserk were an Australian rock band that formed in late 1985. They released three studio albums, Pieces (1987), The Smiler with a Knife (1989) and Sensory (1990), before disbanding in early 1992. They subsequently reformed in 1998, 2005 and 2016.

History

Toys Went Berserk were formed in Sydney in December 1985 by Lesley-Anne "Coo" Bennett on lead vocals and piano (ex-Lavender Disaster), Andy Jarvis on guitar (ex-Dusk Furrow), Mark Nicholson on drums (ex-Happy Hate Me Nots), Bill Quarry on bass guitar (ex-Box of Fish), and Steve Turbit on guitar. Bruce Griffiths told Steve Gardner of Noise for Heroes that the group, "sounded like a 'tough Blondie'." it was recorded at Sound Barrier studios in June with Jonathan Summers as audio engineer. This was followed by their debut single, "Guns at My Head" (October), Gardner felt, "[it] features the sort of clear and solid sound that he's becoming famous for. Yet the band had a lot of misgivings about using him at first; they are not at all interested in the Detroit sound, and they associated Younger with that through his Birdman past. And although the new lp certainly isn't a Detroit metal record, there's no question it has a tougher, more immediate sound." In late 2003 they returned to Perth to start their own record label, Trickster Music and released an album as Houdini Twins. It included most of their studio releases, plus selected demos and live recordings. and Catzilla. RTM released four CDs of swamp, rockabilly and garage rock n roll music, Swampwater Shuffle (2007), Hip-Shakin' Voodoo (2009), "Jungle Juice" (2011) and "Do the Crawl" (2013) and two vinyl singles, "I'm Bad" (2011) and "Go Go" (2013), and toured both Japan and the United Kingdom. Catzilla play garage rock n roll, featuring Bennett on vocals and keyboards and Jarvis on guitar. They released a vinyl EP, Going Wild (2016), a self-titled album in 2017 and have also toured Japan. They continue to write original music and perform live with various bands, including Bang Bang Betty & the H-Bombs and their duo The Pick Me Ups.

Discography

Albums

  • Pieces (1987)
  • The Smiler With A Knife (1989)
  • Sensory (1991)

Compilations

  • The Bitter & The Sweet – Best & Rarest (2005)

Singles

  • Don't Run Away / Guns At My Head (7", 1986)
  • No Warning / Inseparable (7", 1988)
  • Forever And A Day (7", 1988)
  • Have No More (12", 1989)
  • Brand New Life (7", 1990)
  • Wheels In Motion (7", 1990)
  • Worlds Away (CD, 2016)

References