Dogs D'Amour

A History of The Dogs D'Amour
courtesy of

Magazine

The Dogs D'Amour's history goes back to 1983, and a line-up comprising Tyla (real name: Tim Taylor) on guitar, Nick Halls (guitar), Ned Christie (vocals - real name: Robert Stoddard), Karl Watson on bass, and Bam on drums. Soon after their first gig, Bam and Christie departed, leaving Tyla to take over on vocals. New recruits Paul Hornby (drums) and Dave Kusworth (guitar) joined the band, and they decamped from London to Finland, where they recorded and released their first LP, 'The State We're In', in 1984.

dogsd A year later, the band came back to England, Bam rejoined (replacing Hornby), and Jo Dog came in on guitar (ousting Kusworth). In 1987 the line-up started to stabilize with the addition of bassist Steve James, and a deal with China Records was struck, resulting in the band's first "proper" album,' (Un)Authorised Bootleg'. (It was really a collection of various odds and sods that the band had recorded at various times.)

1988 saw the release of In 'The Dynamite Jet Saloon' - the album that started to propel the Dogs into the mainstream ('How Come It Never Rains' won rave reviews for the band and made them a lot of fans) followed by the semi-acoustic mini-LP, 'A Graveyard Of Empty Bottles' in early '89. 'Errol Flynn' was released the same year too, and its singles 'Satellite Kid' and 'Trail Of Tears' were propelled chartwards, resulting in The Dogs D'Amour 'doing ' 'Top Of The Pops'. Sell out tours followed, and the Dogs started going places. However, with the release of 'Straight' in1990, their popularity tailed off. photo:The Dogs D'Amour circa 1990 (left to right - Jo, Tyla, Steve, Bam)

Shortly thereafter, the band relocated to the States, Tyla went bonkers, left his wife, carved a bloody great gash on his chest during a show at a gig in LA (the photos in 'Kerrang!' were horrendous - the silly sod could have killed himself), and the band disintegrated, leaving Steve James to pick up the pieces as best he could (he formed The Last Bandits with Adam Bomb) and allowing Bam to go off and become a Wildheart.

Tyla slowly put his life back together, and reformed the Dogs (hence Bam leaving The Wildhearts), playing packed shows in small clubs. This was the Dogs in their prime. They'd come back twice as good as they were before...The new album, 'More Unchartered Heights Of Disgrace', was also their best to date...The Dogs were the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world in 1993. And then they split up.

Tyla slowly put his life back together, and reformed the Dogs (hence Bam leaving The Wildhearts) in 1993, playing packed shows in small clubs. This was the Dogs in their prime. They'd come back twice as good as they were before, and I fell in love with them all over again. The shows were a riot, with people clambering over the stage, wrecked instruments, bloody great songs (some old, some new, some borrowed...) - it was 1964 revisited, basically! Dogsmania! The new album,' More Unchartered Heights Of Disgrace', was also their best to date. Ex-Crybaby Darrell Bath who replaced Jo Dog, is a livewire on stage, and a brilliant, improvisational, rock 'n' roll guitarist (his cockney vocals are also an aural delight). The Dogs were the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world in 1993. And then they split up. Their deal with China came to an end, and they couldn't get themselves another deal, which led to the band slowly drifting apart.

Bam... is currently living in Los Angeles with his wife, Share Pederson (ex-Vixen). Bam and Share were in a band together last year called Subcool, who released a five-track demo produced by Ric Browde (producer of the Dogs' Straight LP). The pair are currently in a band called Bubble, playing stuff that ranges from "power poppy punk, to straight ahead rock and roll."

Where are they now? Well... Jo Dog joined Andy McCoy's Shooting Gallery for a tour supporting Kiss (he never played on the album, though). He also guested on Gilby Clarke's excellent 'Pawn Shop Guitars' LP in 1994 (under his real name Jo Almieda), before getting together in LA with Bam in a band called Borracho. Bam was also in Mary Jane with Steve James for a while - a late Sixties / early Seventies Crowesy rock 'n' roll thang formed from the ashes of the excellent Bedlam Shake. Mary Jane then mutated into Slyder. Nothing has been heard of the band since 1995, and Steve's current whereabouts is a bit of a mystery.

Bam, however, is currently living in Los Angeles with his wife, Share Pederson (ex-Vixen). Bam and Share were in a band together last year called Subcool, who released a five-track demo produced by Ric Browde (producer of the Dogs' Straight LP).

The pair are currently in a band called

playing stuff that ranges from "power poppy punk, to straight ahead rock and roll." The band are currently gigging in LA, and have just released an EP entitled 'Picnic at the Insane Asylum'.