The Toy Dolls started out in Sunderland in 1979 as a part of punk rock’s second wave. Michael "Olga" Algar originally formed the Toy Dolls as a four-piece with a singer, Peter Zulu Robson, Philip "Flip" Dugdale on bass & Mr Colin Scott on drums. Pete Zulu soon left and his replacement, Paul Hudson, lasted one gig after which Olga (Michael Algar) took on the singer/guitarist/frontman role.
Their debut as a three-piece was well received and the Toy Dolls soon turned into a big draw on the Tyne-Tees pub/club circuit. A local businessman financed their first single - a 500 copies pressing of “Tommy Kowey’s Car”. After a number of drummers Happy Bob (Robert Kent) settled into the gig. The band then recorded the self-financed "The Toy Dolls Ep".

One song from that 7” - "Everybody Jitterbug" - eventually got them signed to EMI’s Zonophone label in what was to prove a short and unhappy stay. The Toy Dolls then signed to York-based Volume Records who after putting out several singles eventually released three albums between 1985-86 : "Dig That Groove Baby" (1985), "A Far Out Disc" (1985) and "Idle Gossip" (1986). The real breakthrough came long before their debut album when in 1982 they landed the support slot on a nationwide tour by the Angelic Upstarts. It was around this time that the Toy Dolls recorded the first version of their future Top 5 funny hit "Nellie The Elephant". The Toy Dolls were offered a second tour with the Upstarts but Olga suddenly quit just two days before the tour started.

After this break, Michael Algar recruited Barry Warne (Bonnie Baz) on bass & Malcom Dick on drums. This lineup recorded three singles released between the summer of 1983 and 1984 : "Cheerio & Toodle Pip", "Alfie From the Bronx" and "We’re Mad". The end of 1984 saw the second version of the "Nellie The Elephant" single selling 535,000 copies and reaching number 4 in the UK charts. In 1987 the Toy Dolls signed to Nit for two albums : "Barefaced Cheek" and "Ten Years of Toys Dolls". Then long-serving drummer Martin "Marty" Yule joined. In 1989 the Toy Dolls were signed by Receiver who released "Wakey Wakey" (1989), "Twenty (Two) Tunes Live From Tokyo" (1990), "Fat Bob’s Feet" (1991), "Absurd-Ditties" (1993), "Orcastrated" (1995) and "One More Megabyte" (1997).

In 2000 The Toy Dolls marked twenty one years in the business by releasing "The Anniversary Album". The Toy Dolls then took a rest during which time Olga (Michael Algar) enjoyed a couple of world tours as bassist for the Dickies. In the nine months Olga spent touring with the band they played in Europe, Japan, the US and the UK. Then Michael "Olga" Algar toured with The Adicts in 2003 on the first half of their Like Clockwork tour. His stint with the band culminated with a performance at the Holidays In The Sun festival in the United Kingdom.
In 2004 Toy Dolls' "Our Last Album ?" was released on Secret Records to promote their sell-out European tour for which Dave the Nut (Dave Nuttall) on drums & Tom Goober (Thomas Woodford Blyth) on bass. In 2005, on August, The Toy Dolls played at the Biarritz Summer Rock Festival ("Les Extravagances" de Biarritz) in the french Basque Country. - Go to the discography page...