Slaughter & the Dogs

Slaughter and the Dogs were founded in 1975. The band name is a mix of Slaughter on 10th Avenue and Diamond Dogs; the band had previously been called Wayne Barrett and the Mime Troupe. They were one of the first punk rock bands in North West England, and they supported the Sex Pistols at their 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] which was concentrated around the Electric Circus Club.[3]

The band befriended Rob Gretton, who went on 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.[4] This debut single, "Cranked Up Really High", was released in June 1977 and was listed in Mojo's list of the top 100 punk rock singles of all time.[5] It was also included on Streets, which has been described as an "essential" compilation album of early UK punk bands from a variety of independent record labels.[6]

Wayne Barrett reformed Slaughter and the Dogs (including Mick Rossi and new drummer Phil Rowland, formerly of Eater).[7]

Slaughter and the Dogs released the Beware Of... studio album in October 2001 on Captain Oi! Records.[8]

In 2015, the band announced a one-off 40th anniversary show, "Back to the Start", featuring the original line-up of Barrett, Rossi, Bates and Grantham. Held at the Ruby Lounge in Manchester on 9 October 2015. In August 2016, the same original line up of Barrett, Rossi, Bates and Grantham performed together again at the Rebellion Music Festival in Blackpool, United Kingdom. In 2016, the band recorded the album Vicious in Los Angeles with a new rhythm section of Mark Reback (drums) and Dan Graziano (bass) and subsequently toured Japan in May 2016 and Europe in February and March 2017. It was released by Cleopatra Records on 16 September 2016 to rave reviews, including a 9-out-of-10 rating by Vive Le Rock magazine.[9][10] Cleopatra issued a live album, Tokyo Dogs, in 2017.[11]

On 9 February 2017, Slaughter and the Dogs embarked on a seven-week European tour, playing 33 shows in 10 countries.[12]

On 5 August 2018, Slaughter and the Dogs headlined the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool, England.[13] and then embarked on a two-week UK tour.[14]

In July 2019, Barrett announced on the band's Facebook page that he had fired the band, and that he intended to form a new line-up.[15] In 2022, Barrett recruited a new line up, including ex-bassist Jean-Pierre Thollet, Martin Pellicier on guitar, and Denis Deleaz on drums. The band has been on tour promoting their last album 'Il Tradimento Silencio' in Europe and the United States.

• "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".[16]
• "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."[17]
• "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."[18]
• "Cranked Up Really High, Where Have All the Bootboys Gone? and You're Ready Now ... [are] their enduring punk classics."[19]
• "Slaughter played with a rare conviction and power, soul-stirring napalm guitars that laid the groundwork for an entire generation of future punk minimalists."[20]

• List of British punk bands
• List of musicians in the first wave of punk music

• Slaughter & the Dogs at AllMusic
• Slaughter & the Dogs on punk77.co.uk
• Slaughter & the Dogs on Punkmodpop
• Interview with band member