Formed in the mid 1970s in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester
Founder members Vocalist Wayne Barrett and Guitarist Mick Rossi first met at School
With the addition of Howard "Zip" Bates on Bass, and Brian "Mad Muffet" Grantham on Drums, Slaughter and the Dogs launched themselves on an unsuspecting public, rapidly building a large, loyal fan base in and around Manchester.
Renowned as a band that could really draw a crowd, they were invited to support the Sex Pistols at Manchesters Lesser Free Trade Hall, a gig that is now the stuff of legend.
"I Swear I Was There!" (Granada TV, 2001), filmed the gig to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the concert, and of course Punk itself. This gig catapulted the band from the Labour Clubs of the North to venues around the country that were taking a chance on this new musical revolution.
"Cranked Up Really High" was the bands first independent single
Q Magazine recently described the single as, "à raucous amphetamine rush of a terrace chant, comprising equal parts glam and punk." The record won them a deal with Decca, a residency at Londons Mecca of punk, The Roxy, and a part in the Don Letts legendary "Punk Rock Movie".
Two tracks, "Boston Babies" and "Runaway" were included on the brilliant compilation, "Live at the Roxy"
Throughout 1977 the band would release a string of classic singles; "Where Have All The Boot Boys Gone"/ "Youre A Bore", "Dame To Blame"/ "Johnny T" and "Quick Joey Small"/ "Come On Back", the last of which featured Rossi's hero Mick Ronson on guitar.
"Do It Dog Style" was released on 13th June 1978, along with the bewildering news that the band had in fact split up! The news only served to heighten the mystique surrounding the band, elevating this brilliant debut to a cult status immediately upon release. A four track single, under the title of "The Slaughter and the Dogs EP" kept a public hungry for more material happy for a time, while Rossi, now minus the (as it was to turn out) temporarily departed Barrett, considered his next move.
The Studio Sweethearts released their only single, "I Believe" in May 1979, the line up featuring Rossi (Vocals/Guitar), "Zip" Bates (Bass), guitarist Billy Duffy (Nosebleeds, Theatre Of Hate, The Cult), and ex-Eater drummer, Phil Rowland. Curiously the single was released in Germany under the Slaughter and the Dogs banner.
It appeared that the last had been heard of the band until it was announced on 26th July 1979 that Slaughter and the Dogs had reformed. With original vocalist Wayne Barrett back in the fold, Rossi and Bates retained the services of Phil Rowland from the Studio Sweethearts (Duffy moved on to Southern Death Cult). They re-launched themselves with a hometown gig at Manchesters The Factory (later issued as the album Live At The Factory)
The bands 8th single was called "Your Ready Now and was released before three sold out nights at the Legendry venue the London Marque
This sudden surge in popularity was not enough to persuade Wayne Barrett to stay with the band, and he decided in early 1980 to pursue a career allowing him to concentrate on song-writing back in France.
Rossi wanted to stay in the UK and produce and write for other artists
Both Barrett and Rossi kept busy schedules over the coming years, with Barrett performing and recording in France with great success with bands such as Scum.
Rossi went on to put together a number of different bands, featuring past members of the Sex Pistols, Gen-X and Chelsea, alongside session and production work with a wide variety of artists including ex-heavy Metal Kids vocalist, Gary Holton.
A move to LA via Dublin, saw Rossi settle on the West Coast of the USA, and for a time it seemed future projects under the slaughter & The Dogs banner were at best unlikely. Then in late 1995 English promoter Darren Russell tracked Rossi and Barrett down to invite the band to headline the closing night of the first Holidays In The Sun festival in Blackpool, England.
The band reconvened in Stockport at the Greenhouse Rehearsal Studios, only a couple of miles from where they first performed. The success of, and the reaction to, this one show was immense, and the band have been a must see at sell out punk festivals ever since.
Alongside these appearances in the UK, the band now had a settled line-up of Rossi, Barrett, J.P. Thollet on Bass and thé amazing drummer Noel Kay .
The successful European and Japanese tours (The Japanese dates selling out weeks in advance), before coming back to Manchester to record a brand new album in the summer of 2001.
Along side a blistering headline set to the thousands assembled for the 25th anniversary show in Morecambe, as part of the Holidays festival, the band recorded the excellent "Beware Of" album, before jetting off to San Francisco to play their first ever show in the United States.
The sell out shows at San Franciscos Justice League, and New Yorks legendary CBGBs were recorded for release for a live album, 'A Dog DAy Afternoon' via our good friends Mark Rainet and co at the mighty TKO.
A regular headline feature at punk festivals, the band did a whistlestop UK tour in December 2006 which produced the recently released 'Manchester 101' CD. A DVD featuring live footage, interviews, and the video to the Saturday Night till Sunday Morning single will follow shortly. In the meantime, Slaughter & The Dogs fans will be delighted to hear that the band are back in the UK for 2 shows in November.
ALL USA TOUR INQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT: BOOKING AGENT
JAMES HARDING @ 714 849 3342 OR 714 883 4729
Hello Slaughter and friends, Please take a moment to sign my Mick Ronson 'Rock and Roll Hall of Fame' petition to have Mick inducted, spread the word, "LET YOUR VOICE BE SEEN", cheers Colin.
The Origin; no one was famous here, not even the bands, we were all kids, and believed that egos were for old men. That is why it all worked, it was a laugh. There was us, and there was the rest of the world, and if it did not work, then, we would try something different.
