 | ||
Gonk is a term that has had varied meanings depending on the time period and cultural context. Most famously, a "gonk" was a somewhat egg-shaped or spherical novelty toy with furry appearances, sometimes having small arms and legs as well as goofy eyes, which achieved great popularity in the United Kingdom for a time in the 1960s. Celebrities such as Beatles musician Ringo Starr publicly showed theirs off at the time. Initially started as a joke-based personal project, the toys became well known for having a deliberately kitsch appearance due to their strident outfits, some of them dressed as Merseybeat performers with moptop haircuts, and for also being marketed as collectibles. Several of them ended up shipped as far away as nations such as Canada and the United States.
History
Londoner Robert Benson invented the original toys, the whole project originally being something of a joke. The vaguely egg-shaped novelty items, often with comical eyes, arms, and legs that went with outlandish outfits, achieved much popularity in the United Kingdom in the 1960s. Several celebrities such as film star Peter Sellers and musician Ringo Starr of The Beatles were publicly supportive. The toy's deliberately kitsch appearance attracted attention, with some having strident outfits such as Merseybeat rockers, and the gonks were marketed as collectibles. Soon, the toys got shipped as far away as nations such as Canada and the United States. Receiving praise from contemporary articles in publications such as the Evening Times and Newsweek, some of the more whimsical looking dolls attracted comparisons in the U.S. to the op art movement.
The company GUND began to sell gonks at a large scale in the U.S. before long, including inflatable vinyl versions. The toys had a reputation for being quirky looking, and homemade toy gonks were made in the same vein by groups such as U.S. Girl Scout troops. They were featured in the film title design of the 1965 science fiction film Gonks Go Beat, a movie created by the exploitation film impresario Robert Hartford-Davis that featured a Romeo and Juilet-like love story mixed in with many celebrity appearances by music figures such as Ginger Baker and Lulu. The movie has gained infamy over the years as one of the worst British films of all time.
In historical terms, gonks were one of the earliest toy crazes in the post-war period. They lost the Toy Retailers Association's 'Toy of the Year' title to the 'Action Man' dolls. Later crazes include the late-1990s Furby wave and the mid-2000s RoboSapien. In retrospect, years and years later after the peak in their popularity, some commentators such as film critic Graeme Clark have labeled gonks as "dated and goofy". Those writing in contrast, such as authors Gladys Greenaway and Kathryn Greenaway, have remarked, "Little children love them". The two wrote in the 1970s in praise of how gonks "can be made from almost any material and of any size."