Slaughter and The Dogs - Rockin' and Glamorous

They were the favourite band of the young Stone Roses.

 Johnny Marr from The Smiths remembers them as

                  “rockin' and glamorous.” 

 

In fact mention Slaughter and The Dogs to anyone in the know about Manchester music and you will unleash the kind of praise reserved only for the most important artists.

Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown loved them so much he spray painted the artwork from Slaughter's first single onto his Vespa scooter. 

as seen on Ian's Vespa..

So news that the four original members have agreed to get together for the first time in 35 years to play a one-off gig in Manchester is causing quite a buzz across the city's in crowd.

Singer Wayne Barratt says it's long overdue “I’m really looking forward to playing with them again. We should have done it a long time ago."

It's all thanks to a tireless campaign by long time fan Moz Murray who has dreamt of this for many years. “TV documentaries and numerous books have told the story of how important this band really were to many that followed such as The Smiths, The Stone Roses and Oasis. Their first single Cranked Up Really High was released on Rabid Records which later became Factory Records. This is something Manchester should be proud of and support.”

When Wythenshawe lads Wayne Barratt, Brian 'mad muffett' Grantham, Howard 'zip' Bates and Mike Rossi got together in the mid 70s to play in local pubs there wasn't much of a local music scene. As Johnny Marr tells me, there was nobody else around at the time “Slaughter and The Dogs were the only group in south Manchester.”

He adds “They were of their environment and of their times, rockin’ and glamorous and from the street. They were the first ones out there trying to do it, dog style.”

At the same time as Slaughter were getting their act together playing other people's songs and starting to write a few of their own, another unknown act traveled from London to Manchester to play at the Lesser Free Trade Hall.

The Sex Pistols came to Manchester in the Summer of 1976 and Slaughter were put on the bill as support act alongside Buzzcocks.

It was quite a memorable event for the young Wythenshawe band, as original bass player Howard 'zip' Bates remembers “I was always a bit shy and we were younger than the guys in the other bands so it was quite and experience for me. One of our mates got hit with a bottle and there was one hell of a bloody fight at the end.

“In fact” he adds “it was a typical punk gig from the early days and there was none of this modern health and safety. Pete Shelley from the Buzzcocks had a problem with some of his equipment and we fixed it by wrapping silver paper around the fuse.”

Another Wythenshawe lad, Billy Duffy from The Cult, has added his support to the campaign from his home in California. He said “I hope this goes ahead as it’s the Mad Muffet and my old room mate Howard Bates in the original line up, it would have been be great to see them. Shame I’m here in the States.” 

If funding can be raised to cover costs the concert will be at The Ruby Lounge in Manchester on October 9th. Don't be surprised if a 'guest' or two turn up and join in on the night.. you have been warned..

Details of the fundraising campaign and tickets obtained for a pledge of only £25 each here :  http://tinyurl.com/SATD40