The Doll were a punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

/new wave

New Wave music

New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

 band from London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England, who had a top-thirty hit in 1978 with "Desire Me".

History

The Doll formed in October 1977 with a line-up of Marion Valentine (vocals, guitar), Adonis Yianni (keyboards), Christos Yianni (bass guitar), and Mario Watts (drums). They were signed by Beggars Banquet Records

Beggars Banquet Records

Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels...

, who included their track "Trash" on the Streets compilation and issued their debut single, "Don't Tango on my Heart", in January 1978. They hit the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 with their second single, "Desire Me", which spent eight weeks on the chart, peaking at number 28 in January 1979, and led to the band appearing on Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...

. Female singer Valentine became the unintended focus of attention from the press as a result, making her a 'punk sex symbol', leading to a split in the band.

Valentine and Christos Yianni recruited a new line-up including Dennis Haines (keyboards), Jamie West-Oram (lead guitar), and Paul Turner (drums). The new line-up recorded an album titled Listen to the Silence, and a handful of other singles, but failed to repeat their earlier success and split up in spring 1980.

West-Oram later enjoyed success with alternative band The Fixx

The Fixx

The Fixx is an English rock band formed in London in 1979. Their hits include "One Thing Leads to Another," "Red Skies," "Stand or Fall," "Saved by Zero," "Sign of Fire," "Are We Ourselves?," "Secret Separation," "Driven Out," "How Much Is Enough?," and "Deeper and Deeper," which was featured on...

.

Singles

• "Don't Tango on my Heart" (1978), Beggars Banquet
• "Desire Me" (1978), Beggars Banquet - UK #28
• "Cinderella with a Husky Voice" (1979), Beggars Banquet
• "You Used to be my Hero" (1980), Beggars Banquet
• "Burning up like a Fire" (1980), Beggars Banquet