Biography
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Years Active
1975 – 1983 (8 years)
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Founded In
London, England, United Kingdom
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Members
- David Macintosh (1975 – 1983)
- Jackie Leven (1975 – present)
- Jo Shaw (1975 – 1981)
- Robin Spreafico (1975 – 1979)
- Tony Waite (1979 – 1983)
Doll by Doll was a British London-based rock band formed by scotsman Jackie Leven (1950-2011) in 1975. At the time they gained little mainstream success, but have since become something of a cult band. Initially, the line up was: Jackie Leven – vocals and guitar, Jo Shaw – vocals and guitar, Robin Spreafico – vocals and bass, and David Macintosh – vocals and percussion. This line up only recorded one studio album "Remember" before Spreafico was replaced by Tony Waite (1958-2003). In this second configuration they released the albums "Gypsy Blood" and the eponymous third album, "Doll By Doll", before most of the band dispersed.
At the time of final album "Grand Passion", only Leven was left of the original line-up, joined by Helen Turner (vocals and keyboards) and Tom Norden (vocals, guitar and bass) - with a number of guest musicians, including David Gilmour (of Pink Floyd)(guitar), Mark Fletcher (bass) and Chris Clarke (drums) played with the group live. Doll By Doll finally fell apart in 1983, though Leven, Shaw and Macintosh plus ex-Sex Pistol Glen Matlock, released a single Big Tears under the name Concrete Bulletproof Invisible in 1988. After the end of the band, Leven became a prolific solo artist, releasing a series of albums featuring more folk-orientated material. Leven died on 14 November 2011 after a long battle with cancer.
In 2005 a live recording of the original band was released. Revenge of Memory, which featured all but one of the songs on the Remember album. The album was recorded at the Sheffield Limits Club in 1977.
The four Doll by Doll studio albums were all released for the first time on CD in March 2007 on the WEA/Rhino label. The orginal albums are:
Remember (Automatic, 1979)
Gypsy Blood (Automatic, 1979)
Doll By Doll (Magnet, 1980)
Grand Passion (Magnet, 1982)
Revenge of Memory (Live at The Sheffield Limits Club 1977) (Haunted Valley, 2005)
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