North East punk legends The Toy Dolls have had to reschedule their long-awaited 40th anniversary dates in the UK for a third time because of continued Covid-19 complications.
The four shows in South Shields, Edinburgh, Manchester and London were originally due to take place in April 2020, but had to be rearranged as the worldwide coronavirus pandemic took hold.
Initially rescheduled for January 2021, they had to be moved again when the UK entered a post-Christmas lockdown, and were reposted for September 2021.
Now, with the world at last undergoing vaccination against the virus, the band have reluctantly decided to shift the shows for a third – and hopefully final time. They will now take place in September 2022 – almost two and a half years after originally scheduled.
The band, formed in Sunderland in 1979, became cult favourites by taking the punk approach to songwriting and adding huge dollops of humour. Frontman Olga is the only original member, though the current line-up (with Tommy Goober on bass and The Amazing Mr. Duncan on drums) has been in place since 2006. They released their 13th studio album, Episode XIII (reviewed here), on Secret Records in 2019.
A post on The Toy Dolls Official Facebook page said: “As things stand, even with the prime minister announcing the end of UK lockdown, the band and crew are based all over Europe, all with their own vaccination rollout plans and travel/quarantine restrictions.
“We can’t afford to risk having to change the September UK shows at the last minute, so we have decided to play it EXTRA safe and postpone the shows exactly ONE year later. There are also many of you travelling in from all corners of the world. We just can’t risk it in this volatile climate.
“Also remember, these words come from the mouth of Boris Johnson! And we are already hearing that even if restrictions are lifted there are talks of social distancing and mask wearing etc with a greatly reduced seated audience! We are not going for that. A gig’s a gig, with a mosh pit, beers, singing and all the rest of it.
“Anyways, South Shields is sold out already, Edinburgh and London almost too, how could we play to a reduced audience? BUT, the main thing, in a nutshell, is we live all over Europe with all kindsa restrictions and we are in the midst of a pandemic! That’s it!”
All tickets are valid for the rescheduled dates. South Shields has sold out and limited tickets remain for London and Edinburgh.
Unfortunately, the Angelic Upstarts are unavailable for the rescheduled London date, but ’70s punk legends UK Subs will now be very special guests for the evening. Also, the sold-out Manchester Club Academy show has been upgraded to Academy 2, so extra tickets are now available HERE.
The band added: “We know this is all a nightmare, and highly disappointing. This has not been an easy decision to make, believe me! We wanna get gigging!”
