Saturday 28 September 2013

The Riot Squad (featuring David Bowie) – ‘The Toy Soldier’ 7” EP (Acid Jazz)



In March 1967, London group The Riot Squad were joined by David Bowie for approximately 12 weeks. Over the course of this short time the band rehearsed at The Swan in Tottenham and, over the course of six sessions, recorded the four titles included in this Acid Jazz vinyl EP release.

First up is ‘Toy Soldier’, a Bowie original about ‘Little Sadie’ who was a schoolgirl who liked to be whipped by her toy soldier, which is in keeping with Bowie’s writing around 1967 and is a quirky little number. ‘Silly Boy Blue’ is a raw recording of Bowie singing/playing acoustic guitar on a song that appeared on his debut LP later that year.

Side two of the EP begins with a cover of The Velvet Underground’s ‘I’m Waiting For My Man’ on which the band produce a pretty decent, if relatively straight, version. The final song on the EP is another Bowie original, the infamous ‘Silver Treetop School For Boys’, with its stripped back sound predominantly consisting of organ holding together the lead and backing vocals – a classic lost treasure.

Well done to Acid Jazz for finding and releasing yet another potentially lost gem in their ‘Rare Mod’ EP series.

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