The Dogs D'Amour are an English

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band formed in London in 1983. Over the years the band has had various line-ups, the only constant being vocalist Tyla. Their music has been described as a mixture of

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

the Faces Faces are an English rock band formed in London in 1969. They were formed by members of Small Faces after lead singer and guitarist Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie. The remaining Small Faces; Ian McLagan (keyboards), Ronnie Lane (bass, ...

and

glam punk Glam punk is a music genre that began in the early to mid-1970s and incorporates elements of proto-punk and glam rock. The genre was pioneered by the New York Dolls, who influenced the formation of other New York City groups the Stilettos, the ...

. Their 1989 release, '' A Graveyard of Empty Bottles'', reached No. 16 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

while the single "Satellite Kid" reached No. 26 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1991, the band broke up onstage, before reforming briefly in the early 1990s for the release of their sixth studio album ''

More Unchartered Heights of Disgrace ''...More Unchartered Heights of Disgrace'' is the sixth studio album by rock band The Dogs D'Amour, released in 1993 following the band's reformation. Guitarist Darrell Bath plays on this album in place of Jo Almeida, who later rejoined. It ente ...

''. After this, however, the most famous incarnation of the band ceased to exist. There was another brief reunion in 2000 and an album, but, throughout the 2000s, Tyla has been touring and releasing albums under the band name, which is vastly different from their older material. In December 2012 the 'classic' line-up of Tyla, Jo 'Dog' Almeida, Steve James and Bam agreed to reform to play a series of benefit concerts for their long-time friend, and former bandmate, Paul Hornby, who was battling cancer. Hornby died on 7 July 2015. In January 2013, the band recorded an EP in Florida and announced live dates for the UK and Spain.

Style

The music of the Dogs D'Amour can be described as a mixture of

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

and

Faces The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect the ...

-style

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

and

Hanoi Rocks Hanoi Rocks were a Finnish Rock music, rock band formed in 1979. They were the first Finnish band to chart in the UK and they were also popular in Japan. By 1984, the band was considered to be on the verge of an international breakthrough when ...

-style

. Unlike popular bands of the time, who often had misogynistic themes, the Dogs D'Amour relied more on romantic themes and a poetic lyrical style. Tyla was also a fan of

Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German Americans, German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambien ...

, and many of his lyrics reflect Bukowski's prosaic style. The Dogs' sound was firmly rooted in American

music, and Jo Almeida's unique and distinctive slide guitar was reminiscent of blues masters like

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its li ...

and

Charlie Patton Charlie Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), more often spelled Charley Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of America ...

. The Dogs began to show a strong

country & western Country (also called country and western) is a music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is primarily focused on singing sto ...

side on 1989's ''Errol Flynn'' (released as ''King Of The Thieves'' in the United States), a few years before

alt-country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

came into vogue.

Biography

The origins of the band can be traced to The Bordello Boys, formed in late 1982 by Tyla. An American vocalist who was staying in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at the time, Ned Christie (real name Robert Stoddard), was brought into the project and he gave the band the name The Dogs D'Amour, and co-wrote many early songs with Tyla. Guitarist Nick Halls, bass guitarist Karl Watson and drummer Bam completed the line-up. The Dogs D'Amour played around fifty live shows during this era and recorded two separate recording session demos. On the strength of the demos, the band was signed to a record deal with Kumibeat Records from

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. However, shortly before the band was scheduled to record their first album, Christie left the band in late 1983 because of musical differences with guitarist Tyla. Another reason for the split was that Christie had recently started another band with Bam called On The Wire and had his own recording commitments scheduled with that band, around the same time that the Dogs D'Amour were due to record their own first album. The entire line-up with the exception of Tyla and Watson left the band during this time.

''The State We're In'': Tyla rebuilds the band

Tyla took over on lead vocals (while still playing guitar) to replace Ned Christie and recorded the band's first album, ''

The State We're In The Dogs D'Amour are an English bluesey hard rock band formed in London in 1983. Over the years the band has had various line-ups, the only constant being vocalist Tyla. Their music has been described as a mixture of the Rolling Stones, the ...

'', in early 1984. Dave Kusworth from The Jacobites and Paul Hornby from The Gunslingers were both brought in on guitar and drums to round out the complete band line-up. Hornby had been a founding member of another London band,

The Quireboys The Quireboys are an English rock band formed in 1984 in London, with strong ties to Newcastle. Originally known as The Choirboys, then The Queerboys, billed as The London Quireboys in the United States and Canada, settling at last with their ...

, earlier in the year. The following year, the band returned from Finland to the UK and supported

Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of New York Dolls. He later formed the He ...

who was touring for the ''Que Sera, Sera'' album at the time. Original Dogs' drummer Bam came back to replace Hornby, and Jo "Dog" Almeida took over from Kusworth on guitar when he left to continue The Jacobites with

Nikki Sudden Adrian Nicholas Godfrey (19 July 195626 March 2006), known professionally as Nikki Sudden, was a prolific English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He co-founded the post-punk band Swell Maps with his brother, Epic Soundtracks, while attending ...

. The Dogs D'Amour then signed a contract with a

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese label Watanabe, but did not release any material with them. More changes came during this period when, bass guitarist Karl Watson left and was replaced by Mark Duncan. However, Duncan's stay in the band was only brief and he gave way for the Swiss bass guitarist Mark Drax for a tour in Paris, France.

The classic era: late 1980s, early 1990s

A more permanent bass guitarist was recruited by 1987. Steve James was part of what would be known as the "classic" Dogs line-up which also included Tyla, Jo "Dog" Almeida and Bam. This line-up signed a record deal with

China Records China Records was a record label founded 1 October 1984 by Derek Green. Its top-selling artists were Art of Noise, Morcheeba and the Levellers. In 1986 and 1987, China Records releases were manufactured and marketed worldwide by Chrysalis R ...

in 1988. The band released its second album '' In The Dynamite Jet Saloon'' in 1988. Essentially, this is the album that introduced the British general public to the band. It contained singles such as "The Kid From Kensington", "I Don't Want You To Go" and "How Come It Never Rains?", all of which reached the UK Singles Chart. Unlike the four-year gap between their first and second albums, the Dogs became more prolific, releasing their acoustic mini-LP '' A Graveyard of Empty Bottles'' in 1989. This album proved to be the highest charting recording of their career, reaching No. 16 on the

. During this year, the band toured with

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...

and Ian Hunter. With the group disbanded and in shambles in Los Angeles, Bam flew back to UK and joined

The Wildhearts The Wildhearts are an English Rock music, rock band, formed in 1989 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band's sound is a mixture of hard rock and melodic pop music, often described in the music press as combining influences as diverse as the Beatl ...

with Ginger, CJ and Danny. Meanwhile, Tyla wrote a book of poetry. A year later the Dogs D'Amour reunited with a new line-up. Jo Almeida decided not to return to the band as guitarist; Darrell Bath was brought in to replace him. In 1993, the band recorded a new album, '' ...More Unchartered Heights of Disgrace''. It charted well and received favourable reviews. One of the singles from the album was a cover of the

Small Faces Small Faces were an English Rock music, rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966 ...

song " All or Nothing". By 1994, the Dogs D'Amour had broken up again. The final act of this line-up was the recording of Tyla's solo album ''The Life And Times Of A Ballad Monger''. Although this album was released in the name of Tyla, it includes all of the Dogs D'Amour members from the 1993 line-up.

Activity in the 2000s

In 2000, The Dogs D'Amour reunited for a short time with a line-up of Tyla, Jo "Dog" Almeida, Bam, and

Share Ross Sharon June "Share" Ross (formerly Pedersen; born Sharon June Howe; March 21, 1963 in Glencoe, Minnesota) is an American musician. She was the bassist, and high-harmony vocalist of the female glam metal/hard rock band, Vixen, from whom she ha ...

(Bam's wife and a member of

Vixen Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

). They released an album '' Happy Ever After'' that year, along with a special fan club only release ''

Seconds The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

''. They did a tour of Europe and the UK, opening for Alice Cooper. Bam and Share then left the band and carried on touring and releasing music in their own act named Bubble. In April 2011, Tyla released ''In the Dynamite Jet Saloon MMX''. In November 2012, a Dogs D'Amour show with the classic line-up was announced at London's Borderline club on 22 February 2013, to help raise funds for their long-time friend and former drummer of the band, Paul Hornby. After tickets quickly sold out, the band added another show at the Borderline in London on 23 February, along with some other dates across the UK and in Spain. Shortly after the 2013 reunion, Tyla put out a statement declaring that he would not be appearing again under the name Dogs D'Amour. In 2018, Tyla formed a new version of the band minus Jo Dog, Steve James and Bam, calling it "Tyla's Dogs D'Amour." This version of the band has since released several studio and live albums.

Members

Classic line-up

*Tyla - vocals, guitar *Bam - drums, vocals *Jo Dog - guitar, vocals *Steve James - bass, saxophone, acoustic guitars, harmonica and vocals

Former

Ned Christie Ned Christie (December 14, 1852 – November 3, 1892), also known as ''NeDe WaDe'' (ᏁᏕᏩᏕ), was a Cherokee statesman. Christie was a member of the executive council in the Cherokee Nation senate, and served as one of three advisers to Pr ...

- lead vocals *Adam Arling - bass guitar, backing vocals *Nathan Arling - drums * Tony Manno - guitar, backing vocals *Nick Halls - guitar *Karl Watson - bass guitar *Dave Kusworth - guitar, backing vocals *Paul Hornby - drums *Mark Drax - live bass guitar *Mark Duncan - live bass guitar *Dave Tregunna - studio bass guitar (recordings 1985 - 1986 only plus Live Bass 2011-2012) *Darrell Bath - guitar, backing vocals *

- bass, keyboards, vocals *Scotty Mulvey - Piano *

Mark Stanway Mark Stanway (born 27 July 1954) is an English musician. He was the keyboard player for the hard rock band Magnum from 1980 until the end of 2016. Career Stanway first appeared with Magnum on the 1980 recording of '' Chase the Dragon'' (re ...

- Keyboards *Justin Rabbetts (

Strange Nature Strange Nature were an English indie rock band, Formed in London and signed to Pete Waterman's PWL record label in the UK, Warner Music in Europe, and Warner Chappell Music for worldwide publishing. The band were popular in Europe during 19 ...

)- live drums for 1995/6 UK, France and Portugal tours *

Danny McCormack Danny McCormack (born 28 February 1972) is an English rock musician, best known for several tenures as the bassist and backing vocalist for The Wildhearts. Biography McCormack became the bass player for The Wildhearts at age 19 in 1991, enjoy ...

- live bass and backing vocals *Tom Spencer - live guitar, live bass * Rich Jones - live guitar and backing vocals * Neil Leyton - live guitar and backing vocals

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (Kumibeat - 1984) * '' In The Dynamite Jet Saloon'' (China - 1988) * ''

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...

'' (China - 1989) UK No. 22 * '' Straight??!! (China - 1990) UK No. 32 * '' ...More Unchartered Heights of Disgrace'' (China - 1993) UK No. 30 * '' Happy Ever After'' (Artful - 2000) * ''

'' (Basementboy - 2000) * '' When Bastards Go To Hell'' (Rock Treasures - 2004) * '' Let Sleeping Dogs...'' (King Outlaw - 2005) * ''In the Dynamite Jet Saloon MMX'' ( King Outlaw 2011) * ''Graveyard of Empty Bottles MMXII'' (King Outlaw 2011)

Live albums

* '' Unleashed'' (King Outlaw - 2006) * ''Swinging The Bottles - The BBC Radio Sessions'' (Cargo Records - 2017)

Compilations

*''(Un)authorized Bootleg Album'' (1988) *''Dogs Hits & Bootleg Album'' (1991) *''Skeletons: The Best Of...'' (1997) *''Heart Shaped Skulls (best of '88-'93)'' (2004) *''Dynamite China Years — Complete Recordings 1988-1993'' (2024)

EPs

*''

The Dogs D'Amour The Dogs D'Amour are an English bluesey hard rock band formed in London in 1983. Over the years the band has had various line-ups, the only constant being vocalist Tyla. Their music has been described as a mixture of the Rolling Stones, the ...

'' - (1988) * '' A Graveyard of Empty Bottles'' (China - 1989) UK No. 16 * ''Trail of Tears'' (China - 1989) *'' Blame It On Us'' - (1992) *''All or Nothing - The EP'' - (1993) *''Cyber Recordings'' - (2013)

Singles

This list of singles only contains ones which entered the charts. For information on all singles released please see specific album's articles.

References

External links

Tyla's Dogs D'AmourSleaze Roxx 2009 Tyla interview
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dogs D'Amour, The English rock music groups English glam metal musical groups Glam rock groups from London Musical groups established in 1983 China Records artists