60 Ft. Dolls

Biography

The Welsh band 60 Ft. Dolls smacked themselves into the mid-'90s post-grunge surge and enjoyed moderate success in the U.K. They never fully got off the ground enough to mold something more defining. Hailing from the working-class suburb of Newport, Wales, Richard Parfitt (vocals/guitar) and Mike Cole (bass) met on the dole, striking up a friendship over music. Both shared an interest for the Who, the Clash, and the Jam, as well as a fondness for Motown, so the two opted to musically tinker around. Six months of playing around was a little shaky, but with the addition of drummer Carl Beven in 1993, 60 Ft. Dolls was complete. Beven, who is the son of Rockin' Reverend Ray Beven, was a jazz and soul enthusiast and cited John Bonham and Keith Moon as influences. His style was a perfect mold to the punk-influenced trio, and together they built a rowdy following around Wales. "Happy Shopper" marked their debut single in 1994, and follow-ups such as "Pig Valentine" and "Stay" pushed them into the press. A year later, the 60 Ft. Dolls found themselves opening for Veruca Salt on the New Musical Express Brat Bus tour and a deal with DGC soon surfaced. The Big 3 was their proper studio full-length, issued on the U.K. label Indolent in 1996 and on DGC in the U.S. in 1997. Festival gigs across Europe consumed the 60 Ft. Dolls for the remainder of the year as well as small shows in North America. A second album Joya Magica was released in 1998 shortly before the 60 Ft. Dolls were dropped by Indolent. A year later, the band split. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide