Important Information

HistoryThe 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 favorite 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.
This concert, more than any other single event, spawned Manchester’s punk scene.
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, Manchester had the Electric Circus".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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.Singer Wayne Barrett left the band after the March 1979 four-song EP "It’s Alright".
Two former members of The Nosebleeds briefly joined: vocalist Steven Morrissey (later of The Smiths) and guitarist Billy Duffy (who later achieved fame with Theatre of Hate and The Cult).
Morrissey recorded four (unreleased) songs with Slaughter & The Dogs, but did not become a permanent part of the band.
With Duffy on second guitar and Rossi on vocals, the group released a single, "I Believe", in June 1979 under the name Studio Sweethearts.A reformed Slaughter & The Dogs was rejoined by vocalist 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 shortened their name to Slaughter, drastically changing both their look and sound.
They are 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.
A newer lineup with bassist Jean Pierre Thollet 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".“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.""They did have a fairly glittery sounding approach to their brand of punk rock ...
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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.""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 ...
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Check 'em out on Don Letts 'Punk Movie' doing Cranked Up Really High.""Cranked Up Really High, Where Have All The Bootboys Gone and You’re Ready Now ...
[are\] their enduring punk classics.""Slaughter played with a rare conviction and power, soul-stirring napalm guitars that laid the groundwork for an entire generation of future punk minimalists."