Cuddly Toys

Originally formed as Raped a late punk band fronted by Sean Purcell, Faebhean Kwest, Paddy Fields and Tony Baggett in 1977, they succeeded in generating a fair amount of negative media attention, by virtue of the offence caused by their name. Both Purcell and Kwest were original exponents of the punk era, partying and working with some of the biggest names in the music industry at the time. Their list of friends and associates reads like a who's who of the 70's - 80's music scene including legends such as Johnny Rotten, David Sylvian, Marc Bolan (who briefly signed on to managed them, before he died), David Bowie, Psychedelic Furs, Siouxsie & The Banshees and later even new romantic's Duran Duran, Culture Club and Adam & The Ants. Rebranded in 1978 as "Cuddly Toys", early releases (1979) "Madman" (originally a demo between Bolan and Bowie, the band were allowed to reclaim it and finish it) and "Guillotine Theatre" achieved some success in Japan but failed to make any impact on the UK charts. Their first notable success came with the 1981 album Trials and Crosses (Fresh Records) which blended late punk influences with 80's indie styles and gained them some high profile live appearances. True success never really came their way however and the band eventually broke up with Sean Purcell retaining the rights to the bands name. Despite attempting to resurrect the band in two later formats "The Cuddly Toys 2.0" and "The Cuddly Toys V.3" he failed to secure a major recording deal and finally admitted defeat. Having returned to his native Ireland Purcell eventually drifted back into music in the late 80's and early 90's writing and performing with Celtic influences, until tragedy struck in 1995 and following years of unexplained illnessess he was eventually diagnosed with a brain tumour. He died in 1996. Kwest continues to play and now performs as one half of "Radio Daze" playing early Gypsy Swing, acoustic jazz with music martner David Ahmed.