Slaughter And The Dogs

Formed during the initial onslaught of U.K. punk in 1976, Manchester's Slaughter & the Dogs were the first group to release a single (the overlooked classic "Cranked Up Really High") on trailblazing hometown independent label Rabid Records. Clearly influenced by the more raucous end of glam rock -the band's name was drawn from the albums 'Slaughter on 10th Avenue' by Mick Ronson and 'Diamond Dogs' by David Bowie- the group's lineup consisted of vocalist Wayne Barrett, guitarist Mick Rossi, bassist Howard Bates, and drummer Mad Muffet.

 
Gigs at the noted London punk mecca the Roxy Club led to the band's inclusion in filmmaker Don Letts' documentary of that scene, "The Punk Rock Movie", and they eventually received a contract from Decca Records. Further top-notch singles followed in "Where Have All the Bootboys Gone" and "You're Ready Now," and they recorded their debut album, 'Do It Dog Style', in 1978. However, disagreements with Decca and the departure of vocalist Barrett, a key to the group's sound, combined to sabotage a promising career. Guitarist Billy Duffy was added, and future Smiths leader Morrissey was briefly considered as a vocalist before the group decided to continue with Rossi singing. This arrangement lasted only briefly, though, and Rossi, Bates, and Duffy re-christened themselves, first as Slaughter and then as the Studio Sweethearts. After this unit's breakup in the summer of 1979, there was a Slaughter reunion late in the year with Barrett making a token appearance before being replaced by former Nosebleeds singer Ed Banger (born Eddie Garrity). This aggregation released the album 'Bite Back' (under the name Slaughter) in 1980 to no avail and broke up permanently in 1981. 

Duffy went on to co-found Theatre of Hate and later found success in The Cult. In 1991, Wayne Barrett and Mick Rossi began writing songs together again, and the two cut an album called 'Shocking', credited to Slaughter & the Dogs. In 1996, Barrett and Rossi assembled a new edition of Slaughter & the Dogs to perform at Blackpool's vintage punk festival Holidays in the Sun, with Nigel Mead on bass and Noel Kay on drums. (Their set was later released on the album 'Cranked Up Really High in Blackpool 1996'.) Jean Pierre Thollet would later replace Mead on bass, and the group would record a studio album in 2001, 'Beware Of…' In 2016, the original lineup of Slaughter & the Dogs reunited for a brief tour, while Barrett and Rossi announced they were at work on a new studio album. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

The Drones

The Drones were a British punk band, specifically from Manchester, comprised of guitarist Gus "Gangrene" Callendar, bassist Steve "Whisper" Cundall, vocalist/guitarist M.J. Drone (Mike Howells), and drummer Peter "Perfect" Howells. They began as an R&B-influenced pub band named Rockslide but made the transition to punk after its first waves struck. Having gigged in their first incarnation since early 1975, the band made the change of name and style after acquiring Howells in October of 1976. Local popularity of The Drones rivaled that of the Buzzcocks, but outside of Manchester was another story entirely -as an example, unappreciative XTC fans at a Roxy show in Covent's Garden took to rioting during their opening set. The Drones set up the O.H.M.S. label to release the six-song 7" 'Temptations of a White Collar Worker' in July of 1977; the EP was produced by Manchester scenester, future NME scribe, Art of Noise member, and author Paul Morley, who managed the band for a brief period. The group landed on the Valer Records label for their second release, the rather successful 'Bone Idol' single, which was issued only a couple months after their debut. The LP 'Further Temptations' was released in November, containing both sides of 'Bone Idol' and re-recorded versions of two songs from their first 7". Morley had acrimoniously extracted himself from the group just in time to review the record; much of the shared venom had to do with Morley's support of the group's competition, including a young band called Stiff Kittens -the band that would later become Joy Division. After their first LP, The Drones signed with Island offshoot Fabulous. The sessions were never completed and the band split in 1979. A couple decades later, they reunited for 2000's 'Sorted', released on Captain Oi! [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

 

The Killjoys

Birmingham, England-based punk band The Killjoys grew out of the artsier Lucy & the Lovers, achieving notoriety for the feisty 1977 single 'Johnny Won't Get to Heaven', released on Raw Records. Featuring Kevin Rowland and Heather Tonge on vocals, drummer Joe 45, bassist Gem, and guitarist Mark Phillips, the band's lone release earned the enthusiastic support of influential radio DJ John Peel, who had the band down to the BBC studios for two Peel Sessions. The band split before recording another single; Rowland went on to form the popular Dexy's Midnight Runners, and Gem banged some head in Girlschool. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

Menace

Rarely considered among the first-generation punk bands, Menace was nevertheless there or thereabouts from very early on, forming in late 1976 and becoming a regular feature on the live circuit throughout early 1977. Preempting Sham 69's identification with the skinhead clan, Menace lined up as Morgan Webster (vocals), Steve Tannett (guitar), Charley Casey (bass), and Noel Martin (drums) and quickly developed a serious no-nonsense approach, effortlessly encapsulated by their debut single, "Screwed Up," released on Miles Copeland's IRS label in August 1977. A second 45, "I Need Nuthin'," was recorded with John Cale at the helm, but was scrapped when the band moved to the Small Wonder label.

 
"G.L.C." in 1978, and two further singles in 1979, the 'Final Vinyl' EP and "Last Year's Youth," wrapped up Menace's career -ironically at a time when the burgeoning Oi! culture was beginning to latch onto them. It would be close to 20 years before Casey and Martin relaunched as The Collection, with vocalist John Lacey and guitarist Andrew Teedie. The band performed all new material, bar the classic "G.L.C."; it was the response to that song, from audiences who didn't actually recognize the bandmembers, that convinced them that Menace might be worth relaunching. The group played its official comeback at Holidays in the Sun in 1997. 

A pair of new Menace EPs, "Society Still Insane" and "C&A," appeared in 2000; 'Live in Bermondsey' and a new studio set, 'Crisis', followed. Their second album, 'Rogues Gallery', featuring new vocalist Oddy and guitarist Uncle Albert, was released in 2004. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Suburban Studs

Suburban Studs were one of those bands that popped up right at the start of the British punk explosion in the mid-1970s. Formed in Birmingham in 1976, they were part of the same rough, chaotic scene that produced the earliest shows by bands like Sex Pistols and The Clash. They never became a household name, but they were very much there in the trenches when punk was still new, loud, and unpredictable. 

The band originally formed under the name Zipper Kids before quickly switching to Suburban Studs after their first few gigs. The lineup centered around vocalist and guitarist Eddie Hunt, along with Keith Owen on guitar, Paul Morton on bass, and Steve Poole on drums. Early on they also featured saxophonist Steve Heart, which gave their sound a slightly unusual edge for a punk band at the time. 

Like a lot of early punk groups, Suburban Studs built their reputation mainly through constant live shows. They played the famous 100 Club during the early days of the scene and supported bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash while the whole movement was still finding its identity. They also ended up touring with heavier rock acts including AC/DC and Judas Priest, which made for some pretty interesting lineups. Their growing reputation even earned them a session with influential BBC radio DJ John Peel, whose show was famous for championing emerging underground bands. 

In terms of recordings, their output was small but very much of its time. They released two singles -“Questions” in 1977 and “I Hate School” in 1978- along with their only album, 'Slam', which also came out in 1977. The record captured the scrappy energy of the early UK punk scene, but it didn’t make much of a commercial impact. Like many bands from that first wave, Suburban Studs were big on attitude and live energy but didn’t quite translate that into chart success. 

Their time as an active band was surprisingly short. After roughly a year and a half of intense gigging and recording, the group gradually faded away as the punk scene began to evolve and splinter. Some members moved on to other projects, including Steve Heart, who later formed the punk band Neon Hearts.

 

The Nosebleeds

Punk band formed in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England in 1976 under the name of Wild Ram. Changed their name to Ed Banger And The Nosebleeds in early 1977 with the following line-up: Edmund 'Ed Banger' Garrity (vocals), Vincent 'Vini' Reilly (guitar), Phillip 'Toby' Tomanov (drums), and Pete Crooks (bass). In late 1977 Billy Duffy replaced Vini Reilly and Morrissey replaced Ed Banger and subsequently they shortened the group's name to The Nosebleeeds. Ed Banger ended up in a later incarnation of Slaughter And The Dogs while Vini Reilly formed Durutti Column. Pete Crooks and Toby Toman continued on as The Nosebleeds. 

 

However, in his autobiography Morrissey denied ever being a member of The Nosebleeds. He claims that Duffy recruited him after the break up of The Nosebleeds and they wrote songs together. For their live performances they hadn't decided on a band name. They roped in the rhythm section of The Nosebleeds and Paul Morley used this name for a live review. The Nosebleeds did two gigs; one at the Ritz (support to Magazine) on 15th April 1978 and a Rabid Records benefit at the Manchester Polytechnic on 8th May 1978 before dissolving in May 1978. After the group split up Morrissey went on to form The Smiths, Toby joined Blue Orchids, and Pete Crooks joined up with Vini Reilly in The Durutti Column. 

 

Eater

One of the first British punk bands, much of Eater's notoriety stemmed from their tender ages. These have been variously reported as anywhere between 13 and 17, with drummer Dee Generate (usually said to be 13 or 14 when the band formed) probably the youngest first-generation punk of all. At any rate, the London group recorded some singles, an EP, and an album (called, in a gimmick Public Image Ltd. would pick up years later, 'The Album'), all released on The Label. Playing stripped-down power-chord bile anthems in the mold of the Buzzcocks and (more distantly) the early Jam, Eater weren't nearly as talented or diverse as those early punk pioneers. But they did manage some spirited, if typical and rather generic, early punk that isn't as dispensable as some reference books would lead you to believe. Eater had imploded by the late '70s. Dee Generate's replacement, Phil Rowland, joined Slaughter and the Dogs, and singer Andy Blade recorded a single with ex-Damned guitarist Brian James in the mid-'80s, but that was basically it for the members of the band. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

Robert Görl

Robert Görl is a German drummer, electronic musician, and vocalist best known for being a co-founder of pioneering electro-punk/Neue Deutsche Welle act DAF. Initially formed as an industrial noise group, DAF eventually settled on the duo lineup of Görl and vocalist Gabi Delgado, and their stripped-down, sequencer-driven music and highly sexualized image helped lay the groundwork for EBM and industrial dance music. The duo reached their commercial peak with 1981's 'Alles Ist Gut' and split a year later, with both members releasing solo albums and occasionally reuniting over the following decades. Görl resurfaced as a techno producer in the 1990s, issuing acid-tinged efforts like 1996's 'Watch the Great Copycat' and collaborating with Pete Namlook and Karl O'Connor (Regis). After Delgado died in 2020, Görl revisited unused DAF material from the early '80s, and released 'Nur Noch Einer' in 2021.

 
Robert Görl was born in Munich in 1955. He was trained in jazz drumming and started a classical music education, but he became interested in punk rock and experimental music, and formed DAF (Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft) with vocalist Gabi Delgado in 1978. Initially based in Düsseldorf, the band included members of Der Plan (which Görl also played in), and their 1979 debut, 'Produkt Der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft', was a set of free-form improvisations. The half-live, half-studio 'Die Kleinen und Die Bösen' was Mute's first album release in 1980, appearing as the band relocated to London. The same year, Görl played on Robert Rental's single "Double Heart," also issued by Mute.

 
Reduced to just Görl and Delgado, DAF signed to Virgin and released their most successful and influential album, 'Alles Ist Gut', in 1981. 'Gold und Liebe' appeared the same year, and Görl drummed on the Eurythmics' single "Belinda." DAF broke up during the recording of 1982's 'Für Immer', and Görl released his solo debut, 'Night Full of Tension', on Mute in 1984. The album was sung by Görl entirely in English, unlike all of DAF's prior music, and Annie Lennox guested on two songs. DAF then reunited and recorded 1986's '1st Step to Heaven', a more stylized synth pop album that was also sung in English.

 
Görl dropped out of music for a while, and studied Buddhism in Asia for several years following a serious car accident. He released the synth pop single "Electric Marilyn" in 1991, then embraced the harder, faster side of techno. Munich-based Disko B released several Görl EPs beginning in 1993, with CD compilation '(Psycho) Therapie' appearing in 1994, and the acid techno album 'Watch the Great Copycat' arriving in 1996. Görl collaborated with Pete Namlook as the duo Elektro, which veered from ambient to hard trance, and he additionally surfaced on Harthouse as part of the trio Heat. Görl's 'Sexdrops', co-produced by British techno artist Regis, was released in 1998, and the entirely self-produced 'Final Metal Pralinées' followed in 2000. DAF reunited and released the drum machine-driven 'Fünfzehn Neue D.A.F.-Lieder' in 2003. After splitting again, Görl issued the solo single "Seltsame Liebe" in 2006, and he performed as the drummer for electro-pop band Client. He released a darker, more experimental techno album called 'Dark Tool Symphony' in 2007. 

 
DAF re-formed for their 30th anniversary in 2008, and the single "Du Bist DAF" appeared in 2010. 2018 saw the release of the DAF remix album 'Reworx' and Görl's 'The Paris Tapes', an album of previously unheard instrumental demos recorded in the late '80s. Delgado died of a heart attack in 2020, soon after the duo decided to work on new DAF material, and Görl recorded the single "Ich Denk An Dich" with producer Sylvie Marks. He then reworked material from DAF's early London rehearsals, and made songs based on unused sequences. 'Nur Noch Einer', credited to Görl and DAF, was released by Grönland Records in 2021. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

Duet Emmo

One of the outside projects by guitarist Bruce Gilbert and vocalist Edvard Graham Lewis of London-based industrial bands, Dome and Wire, Duet Emmo was conceived with and produced by Daniel Miller, owner of independent, synth pop record label, Mute. The heavily electronic Duet Emmo experiment was canceled shortly after releasing a progressive rock album, 'Or So It Seems', featuring the 17-minute, texturally intense "Long Sledge," in 1982. Gilbert continued to record for Miller's label, releasing 'This Way' in 1984, 'The Shivering Man' in 1987, 'Insiding' in 1991, and 'Ab Ovo' in 1996. He later worked with Paul Kendall and Robert Hampson. Miller produced Wire's comeback album, 'Snakedrill', in 1986. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Trusty

Combining influences ranging from indie rock's original melodies to alternative rock's unique and dazzling references, Trusty's creations distinctly provided the most flammable aspects of the punk rock revival style. Forming in Little Rock, AR, in 1989, Trusty first appeared with a lineup consisting of James Brady (guitar, vocals), Bobby Matthews (guitar, vocals), Paul (bass), and drummer Bircho. During the succeeding months, the band released its first demo and shortly afterward 'Trusty', the group's first and eponymous debut album. In the following year, bassist Paul left, and was later replaced by Brad Long, formerly a member of Sobering Consequences. In 1992, the crew decided to relocate to Washington, D.C., releasing the single 'Cockatoo' shortly before suffering its second lineup change when drum wizard Bircho abandoned the band and Jim Schaffer filled in the position. 

 
'Goodbye Dr. Fate', Trusty's second full-length disc, showed up in 1993, months before the band embarked on its first major tour. Gaining a substantial fan base and capturing their better tunes on-stage, the quartet eventually dedicated the subsequent years to two nationwide tours. 'Fourth Wise Man', Trusty's second release for the Dischord Records label, hit the record stores in 1996, and in that same year the band made its debut tour in Europe. However, in July 1997, months before entering its third extensive U.S. tour, Trusty announced they were disbanding. In 1999, Brady and Schaffer, along with Norman Mayer Group's Kathy Cashel, decided to assemble a new crew dubbed The Blisters. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]