Slaughter And The Dogs

Slaughter & The Dogs

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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	Ed Banger and The Nosebleeds, One the Juggler
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.

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History[edit]

The name "Slaughter & the Dogs" was created by singer Wayne Barrett in 1975 by combining the names of Diamond Dogs andSlaughter 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[edit]

• "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[edit]

Studio albums (as Slaughter & The Dogs)[edit]

• Do It Dog Style (Decca Records, SKL 5292, May 1978)
• Shocking (Receiver Records, May 1991)
• Beware Of... (Captain Oi! Records, October 2001)

Studio albums (as Slaughter)[edit]

• Bite Back (DJM Records, March 1980)

Singles[edit]

• "Cranked Up Really High" / "The Bitch" (Rabid Records, June 1977) – both sides appear as bonus tracks on the 2006 CD rerelease 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 Records, March 1979)
• "You're Ready Now" / "Runaway" (DJM Records, November 1979)
• "I Believe" / "It Isn't Me" as Studio Sweethearts (DJM Records, June 1979)
• "East Side of Town" / "One by One" as Slaughter (DJM Records, February 1980)
• "I'm the One" / "What’s Wrong Boy?" (Live) / "Hell in New York" as Slaughter (DJM Records, June 1980)
• "Half Alive E.P. ("Twist and Turn" / "Cranked Up Really High" / "Where Have All the Boot Boys Gone?") (Thrush Records, 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)

Live albums[edit]

• Live Slaughter Rabid Dogs (Rabid Records, December 1978)
• Live at the Factory (Thrush Records, 1981)
• Where Have All the Boot Boys Gone? (Receiver Records, March 1994)
• Live in Blackpool 1996 (Dodgy Items, 1997)
• Barking Up the Right Tree (Amsterdamned, 1998)

Compilations[edit]

• The Way We Were (Thrush Records, 1983)
• The Slaughterhouse Tapes (Link Records, 1989) – Studio outtakes, demos, and live recordings
• Cranked Up Really High (Captain Oi! Records, 1995)
• The Punk Singles Collection (Captain Oi! Records, 2000)
• We Don't Care: Anthology (Castle Music, 2002)
• Best of Slaughter & the Dogs (Taang Records, 2002)
• A Dog Day Afternoon (TKO Records, 2003)

Appearances on various artist compilations (selective)[edit]

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

• "Runaway" and "Boston Babies" were featured on Live at the Roxy WC2 (Harvest Records, June 1977) No. 24 UK Albums Chart
• "Cranked Up Really High" was featured on Streets (Beggars Banquet Records, 1977)
• "Where Have All the Bootboys Gone?" ("Cranked Up Really High" on some later CD pressings) was featured on the first Oi! compilation, Oi! The Album (EMI, 1980)
• "Cranked Up Really High" was 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 (Korova, 2006)