Slaughter and the Dogs: A Disc of Manchester Punkers

To me, Slaughter and the Dogs were just another punk band that cropped up on various compilations over time. The few songs that would get included over and over weren’t bad – and I kinda liked “Cranked Up Really High.” There just wasn’t anything that was so gripping being issued by Slaughter and the Dogs that it made me think I needed to own an album. I mighta been wrong, but it kinda doesn’t matter at this point. And even if it did, the band still had enough mid-range offerings as to make any (of their two) full lengths an exercise in selective listening.

Made up of four Manchester dudes – singer Wayne Barrett, guitarist Mick Rossi, bassist Howard Bates, and drummer Mad Muffet – Slaughter and the Dogs actually performed alongside the Pistols during that infamous ’76 show. How they wrangled that seems pretty surprising, but despite that, the band would go on to release the first independent single on the Rabid Records imprint, only being beaten to the market place by the Damned and the Pistols by a few months as the first punk single to be issued in the United Kingdom. The date of that release is no longer a huge issue, but the fact that Slaughter and the Dogs made use of glam in a more pronounced manner then their brethren is notable.

Supposedly composing their band’s name based upon the collective love of Bowie’s Diamond Dogs and Mick Ronson’s Slaughter on 10th Avenue, early Slaughter and the Dogs performances found the band being attired in clothing befitting the Dolls or some other earlier band. They certainly didn’t look like punkers and some of their music reflected that. “It's Alright,” for example has a pretty in depth wah-wah guitar solo alongside the songs bluesy progression and mid tempo pacing. The track isn’t all that stunning along side something like the Damned’s “Stab Your Back,” but again harkens back to the Dolls’ combining a ‘60s rock thing with an updated attitude and posturing.

Again separating the band from it’s cohort of punk acts is its cover of “White Light/White Heat.” And while the Dils would basically re-work a different Velvet’s song to the same affect, Slaughter and the Dogs, in their rendition, whilst still punky, was simply revved up rock music and even finds Barrett singing for real. Not a bone of contention, the band, which was still given over to stage antics that would have been as welcomed on the stage at a goth show, could simply be thought to be a cut above the bands that surrounded it.

Regardless of any perceived musical advantage that Slaughter and the Dogs may have had, Barrett soon left the group after the recording of the 1978 album, Do It Dog Style. Eventually hand picking a replacement, the band soon dissolved only to come back during the ‘80s under the guise of Slaughter and copping a bit of metal attitude. But that’s what happened to glam enthusiasts. It just goes to show ya that too much Bowie does in bands.