Slaughter & The Dogs
Slaughter and The Dogs |
|
Background information |
Origin |
Wythenshawe, Manchester, England |
Genres |
Punk rock, Oi! |
Years active |
1976–1978
1979–1981
Mid 1990s–present |
Labels |
Rabid Records, Decca Records, DJM Records, Thrush, Captain Oi, Amsterdamned, Receiver, TKO |
Associated acts |
Slaughter |
Website |
Official site |
Members |
Wayne Barrett
Mick Rossi
J. P. Thollet
Noel Kay
1996 to present |
Past members |
Howard Bates
Brian Grantham (Mad Muffet)
Eddie Garrity (Ed Banger)
Phil Rowland
Steve Morrissey
Billy Duffy
Nigel Mead |
Slaughter & The Dogs is an English punk rock band that formed in the late 1970s in Manchester, England. They were one of the first UK punk bands to sign for a major label, Decca Records.
Career
Formed in Wythenshawe, Manchester, Slaughter & The Dogs were one of the first punk rock bands in North West England. They supported The Sex Pistols at their now-legendary gig at Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall on 20 July 1976.[1] This concert, more than any other single event, spawned Manchester’s punk scene.[2] That scene was concentrated around the Electric Circus club and gave encouragement to several bands, including Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias, Buzzcocks, John Cooper Clarke, The Distractions, John Dowie, The Drones, The Durutti Column, The Fall, The Freshies, Joy Division, Magazine, Ed Banger and The Nosebleeds, The Passage, as well as Slaughter & The Dogs. As one cultural commentator observed, "London had The Roxy,[3] Manchester had the Electric Circus".[4]
The band befriended Rob Gretton, later to manage Joy Division, and with his financial help became the first band to release a single on Manchester’s independent record label Rabid Records.[5] In 2001, this debut single, "Cranked Up Really High" (originally released in June 1977), was included in Mojo magazine’s list of the top 100 punk rock singles of all time.[6] It also appeared on Streets, which the trakMARX website describes as an "essential" compilation album of early UK punk bands from a variety of independent record labels.[7] In 2006, "Cranked Up Really High" re-appeared on the Paul Morley compiled three-disc box set, North By North West: Liverpool & Manchester from Punk to Post-punk and beyond (Korova), an overview of the punk, new wave and post-punk scene in those two cities.
The band were frequent visitors to London, and became one of the pioneering punk bands that played live in the first few months of The Roxy. They played their first concert in January of the same year, supported by The Adverts.[8] They headlined twice in February and once in March of some year, supported by Johnny Moped. In April of some year they were supported by The Lurkers.[8] Their live renditions of "Runaway" and "Boston Babies" were included on the Harvest Records compilation album Live at the Roxy WC2.
After signing to Decca Records, the band released the "Where Have All The Boot Boys Gone?" in 1978. The same year, singer Wayne Barrett left the band and they began rehearsing with new vocalist Steve Morrissey. Morrissey recorded four songs with them, but did not become a permanent part of the band.[9] For a time, the band also included Billy Duffy who later achieved fame with The Cult. Slaughter & The Dog's first single on DJM Records was a cover version of "You're Ready Now", which took it origins from Frankie Valli's solo chart single of 1966.
The band shortened their name to Slaughter in the early 1980s, and drastically changed both their look and sound. They are not to be confused with other bands with the same name.
The band reformed to headline 'Holidays in the Sun' in 1996 with bass player Nigel Mead and drummer Noel Kay. The new line up with the French rhythm section of J. P. Thollet (bass) and Noel Kay (drums) continues to record, tour and headline music festivals.
Reviews
- “A more consistent songwriting approach might have lengthened the Dogs' run, though their lack of airs ensured a winning team for a time. Any band cited by the disparate likes of New Order, The Stone Roses and Smiths frontman Morrissey surely deserves another look”.[10]
- “More often mentioned for the big name connections rather than their actual music, Slaughter & The Dogs nevertheless remain one of the key players in the early punk scene”.[11]
- “They did have a fairly glittery sounding approach to their brand of punk rock... They never achieved much popularity, which is probably mainly because they didn't sing with pronounced English accents as was the hip style then. But this has tons of energy and three really great tunes”.[12]
- “Opinion on Slaughter is divided; glam chancers or punk? Who cares! What can't be denied is their songs are full of style, speed and tunes which coincided with punk and the Pistols. They deserved more but that's music for you... Check 'em out on Don Letts 'Punk Movie' doing Cranked Up Really High”.[13]
- “Cranked Up Really High, Where Have All The Bootboys Gone and You’re Ready Now... (are) their enduring punk classics”.[14]
- “Slaughter played with a rare conviction and power, soul-stirring napalm guitars that laid the groundwork for an entire generation of future punk minimalists”.[15]
Discography
Studio albums
- Do It Dog Style (Decca Records, SKL 5292, May 1978)
- Bite Back (as 'Slaughter', DJM, DJF 20566, March 1980)
- Shocking (Receiver, May 1991)
- Beware Of... (Captain Oi, October 2001)
Selected live albums
- Live Slaughter Rabid Dog (Rabid, December 1978)
- Live at the Factory 1981 (May 1989)
- Where Have All the Boot Boys Gone? (Live) (March 1994)
- Barking Up the Right Tree (Amsterdamned, 1998)
Selected compilations
- The Way We Were (Thrush Records, 1983)
- Slaughterhouse Tapes (1989) – Studio outtakes, demos, and live recordings
- Cranked Up Really High (1995)
- Punk Rock Singles Collection (2000)
- Anthology (2001)
- Best of Slaughter & the Dogs (Taang Records, 2002)
- A Dog Day Afternoon (TKO Records, 2003)
Appearances on various artist compilations (selective)
Listing of those various artist compilation albums mentioned in the text of the main article:
- "Runaway" and "Boston Babies" are featured on the Live at the Roxy WC2 compilation album (24 June 1977: Harvest Records SHSP4069) # 24 UK Albums Chart
- "Cranked Up Really High" is featured on the Streets compilation album (End of 1977: Beggars Banquet BEGA1)
- "Where Have All The Bootboys Gone?" ("Cranked Up Really High" on some later CD pressings) is featured on the first Oi! compilation, Oi! The Album (EMI, 1980)
- "Cranked Up Really High" featured on the limited edition three disc box-set version of North By North West: Liverpool & Manchester from Punk to Post-Punk & Beyond 1976-1984 (2006: Korova)
Singles
- "Cranked Up Really High" / "The Bitch" (Rabid Records, June 1977) (both sides appear as bonus tracks on on the 2006 CD re-release of Do it Dog Style[16]
- "Where Have All The Boot Boys Gone?" / "You’re A Bore" (Decca Records, September 1977)
- "Dame to Blame" / "Johnny T" (Decca Records, November 1977)
- "Quick Joey Small" / "Come on Back" (Decca Records, February 1978)
- "It’s Alright" / "Edgar Allan Poe" / "Twist and Turn" / "UFO" (TJM, March 1979)
- "I Believe" / "It Isn't Me" (as 'The Studio Sweethearts', DJM, June 1979)
- "You're Ready Now" / "Runaway" (DJM, November 1979)
- "East Side of Town" / "One By One" (as 'Slaughter', DJM, February 1980)
- "I'm the One" / "What’s Wrong Boy?" (Live) / "Hell in New York" (as 'Slaughter', DJM, June 1980)
- "Half Alive E.P.: "Twist and Turn" / "Cranked Up Really High" / "Where Have All the Boot Boys Gone?" (Trush, February 1983)
- "Where Have All the Boot Boys Gone?" / "You’re A Bore" / "Johnny T" (Damaged Goods, 1988)
- "Saturday Night Till Sunday Morning" (TKO Records, 2001)
See also
References
- ^ Joynson, V. (2001) Up Yours! A Guide to UK Punk, New Wave & Early Post Punk, Borderline Productions, Wolverhampton, p. 344;
- ^ Paul Morley's article "A northern soul", Observer Music Monthly, Sunday May 21, 2006;
- ^ Where Slaughter & The Dogs also appeared. One of the band's performances at The Roxy is included in Don Letts' Punk Rock Movie (1978).
- ^ Jean Encoule (2001) 'Manchester, So Much To Answer For', Trakmarx, Issue No.1;
- ^ "Rob Gretton bio". IanCurtis.org. Archived from the original on 2008-04-20. http://web.archive.org/web/20080420173754/http://www.iancurtis.org/biography/RobGretton.html. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
- ^ Mojo (October 2001). "100 Punk Scorchers", Issue 95, London;
- ^ Johnny Normal, trakMARX, Issue 13;
- ^ a b Thompson, D. (2000) Punk, Collector’s Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada, p. 61 - 62;
- ^ MOJO Classic Magazine, Volume 1 Issue 13, Page 22;
- ^ Ralph Heibutzki’s review of ‘Do It Dog Style’;
- ^ Strong, M.C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, Edinburgh, p. 147;
- ^ Steve Gardner (1996) “Hiljaiset Levyt: 100 Best Punk singles”;
- ^ Slaughter & The Dogs page on www.punk77.co.uk: A history of UK Punk Rock from 1976-79 which features an A-Z of punk bands
- ^ Larkin, C. (2002) 70s Music, Virgin Books, London, p. 404;
- ^ Thompson, D. (2000) Punk, Collector’s Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada, p. 98;
- ^ Track listing
External links