History
Slaughter and the Dogs were founded in 1975 by Wayne Barrett, Mick Rossi, Brian Grantham, Howard Bates and Mike Day. The band name was created by Barrett and is a mix of Slaughter on 10th Avenue and Diamond Dogs. 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. This concert, more than any other single event, spawned Manchester's punk scene, [3] which was concentrated around the Electric Circus Club. [4] Mike Day left the group after this gig.
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. [5] 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. [6] 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. [7]
Slaughter and the Dogs split in 1978 and then reformed late 1979 (including Mick Rossi and new drummer Phil Rowland, formerly of Eater). [8] when Barrett left to pursue other avenues, they recruited Eddie Garrity on vocal duties,were signed to DJM records, and went on to release several singles and an album ‘Bite Back’ under the abbreviated name of Slaughter. [9]
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. [10] [11] Cleopatra issued a live album, Tokyo Dogs, in 2017. [12]
On 9 February 2017, Slaughter and the Dogs embarked on a seven-week European tour, playing 33 shows in 10 countries. [13]
On 5 August 2018, Slaughter and the Dogs headlined the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool, England. [14] and then embarked on a two-week UK tour. [15] 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. This again was done without the knowledge or agreement any of the other existing band members members. It was not and had never been in Barrett’s remit to do so . He was only a member of the band , NOT the sole owner or creator. [14] In 2022, Barrett formed his own 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.
In 2022 the 1980 lineup of Rossi, Bates, Rowland and Garrity performed their second album in Manchester then went on to perform in August of 2023 at Rebellion Festival , Blackpool
In 2024 Bates won a trademark case in the U.K. against Barrett who registered the name ‘Slaughter and The Dogs’ in his sole name in 2018, without the knowledge or agreement of any of the other founding members, Rossi, Bates and Grantham. Barrett has done the same in Europe and the U.S.A. with actions against his sole registration in these territories awaiting commencement. Barrett who lives in France now performs as the sole original founding member of his current line up in Europe.
Rossi, Bates and Grantham perform together as ‘Slaughter and The Dogs’ and will be appearing in 2025 at Club Rebellion April 6th in Manchester and at the worlds largest Punk Rock festival, ‘Rebellion’ in Blackpool in early August 2025.
