Slaughter & The Dogs

Slaughter and the Dogs
Background information
Origin Wythenshawe, Manchester, England
Genres Punk rock, oi!, glam punk, hard rock
Years active 1975–1979, 1979–1981, 1996–present
Labels Rabid Records, Decca, TJM Records, DJM, Thrush Records, Damaged Goods, Link Records, Receiver Records, Captain Oi! Records, Taang!, Dodgy Items, Castle Music, TKO Records, Amsterdamned
Associated acts One the Juggler, The Cult, The Nosebleeds
Website Official site
Members Wayne Barrett-McGrath
Mick Rossi
Past members Howard Bates
Brian Grantham (Mad Muffet)
Phil Rowland
Nigel Mead
Noel Kay
Jean Pierre Thollet

Slaughter & the Dogs are an English punk rock band that formed in 1975 in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England. They were one of the first UK punk bands to sign with a major label, Decca Records.

History

The name "Slaughter & the Dogs" was created by singer Wayne Barrett in 1975 by combining the names of Diamond Dogs and Slaughter on 10th Avenue, two of his favourite albums. They 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, the Buzzcocks, John Cooper Clarke, the Distractions, John Dowie, the Drones, the Durutti Column, the Fall, the Freshies, Joy Division, Magazine, 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 has been cited 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, the band released the popular "Where Have All the Boot Boys Gone?" single in late 1977, followed by "Dame to Blame" and "Quick Joey Small". Their debut album, Do It Dog Style, was issued in May 1978.

Barrett dismantled the band after the March 1979 four-song EP "It’s Alright". A single, "I Believe", was released in June 1979 under the name Studio Sweethearts.

A reformed Slaughter & the Dogs was rejoined by Barrett later in 1979 for one more single, the band's first on DJM Records. "You're Ready Now" was a cover version of Frankie Valli's 1966 solo single.

At the end of 1979, Ed Garrity (of Ed Banger and The Nosebleeds) replaced Barrett as frontman, and the band changed their name to Slaughter (not to be confused with other bands with the same name).

Barrett and Rossi reformed the band to headline the legendary Holidays in the Sun Festival in 1996 with the addition of bass player Nigel Mead and drummer Noel Kay. Bassist Jean Pierre Thollet later replaced Mead. Barrett and Rossi continue to record and tour as Slaughter & The Dogs.

In 2015, the band announced a one-off 40th anniversary show, "Back to the Start", featuring the original lineup of Barrett, Rossi, Bates and Grantham. Held at the Ruby Lounge in Manchester on 9 October 2015, it was filmed for later DVD release.[9]

Reviews

Discography

Studio albums (as Slaughter & The Dogs)

Studio albums (as Slaughter)

Singles

Live albums

Compilations

Appearances on various artist compilations (selective)

Listing of those various artist compilation albums mentioned in the text of the main article:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Joynson, V. (2001) Up Yours! A Guide to UK Punk, New Wave & Early Post Punk, Borderline Productions, Wolverhampton, p. 344;
  2. ↑ Paul Morley's article "A northern soul", Observer Music Monthly, Sunday May 21, 2006;
  3. ↑ Where Slaughter & the Dogs also appeared. One of the band's performances at The Roxy is included in Don Letts' Punk Rock Movie (1978).
  4. ↑ Jean Encoule (2001) 'Manchester, So Much To Answer For', Trakmarx, Issue No.1;
  5. ↑ "Rob Gretton bio". IanCurtis.org. Archived from the original on 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
  6. ↑ Mojo (October 2001). "100 Punk Scorchers", Issue 95, London;
  7. ↑ Johnny Normal, trakMARX, Issue 13;
  8. 1 2 Thompson, D. (2000) Punk, Collector’s Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada, p. 61 - 62;
  9. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/events/772363282883816/
  10. ↑ Ralph Heibutzki’s review of ‘Do It Dog Style’;
  11. ↑ Strong, M.C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, Edinburgh, p. 147;
  12. ↑ Steve Gardner (1996) “Hiljaiset Levyt: 100 Best Punk singles”;
  13. ↑ 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
  14. ↑ Larkin, C. (2002) 70s Music, Virgin Books, London, p. 404;
  15. ↑ Thompson, D. (2000) Punk, Collector’s Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada, p. 98;
  16. ↑ Track listing

External links

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