Last gig, Dublin Castle, 1998?
(From l to r, Alvin, Charlie + Knox)
URBAN DOG'S NEWS
24 April 2009.
Charlie Harper and Knox are just over halfway through making an Urban Dogs acoustic album. This album has both old (Urban Dogs standards like Warhead, Dragnet, etc.) plus quite a few new songs. It's being recorded at Stan's, guitarist with Demented Are Go. It's been in the making for maybe a year so might take a little while yet to complete due to Charlie's touring. Knox is currently off the road through heart problems but is available most of the time.
URBAN DOGS' BIOGRAPHY
Started in 1982 by CHARLIE HARPER of the UK SUBS to play the 100
CLUB because the UK SUBS wouldn't (they felt they shouldn't play
there more than once a year because of their "pop star
status"). The first main line-up of the band comprised of CHARLIE
HARPER (UK SUBS - vocals/harmonica), KNOX (VIBRATORS -guitar)
whom Charlie had met at a party, ALVIN GIBBS (UK SUBS - bass),
and MATTHEW BEST (drums). The band had a pretty amateur approach
to playing, taking the drums around in a car, and lugging the
gear in to the 100 CLUB (where the band played regularly enough
to almost be the house band) in front of often quite good crowds.
The band did various gigs and under the management of Richard
Bishop the band made an album for Fallout Records in 1983 called
"URBAN DOGS", recorded at Silo Studios, west London. The album
reached number 7 in the Indie charts in April 1983. The band
released two singles form the album, "NEW BARBARIANS" and "LIMO
LIFE" with the UK SUBS classic "WARHEAD" on the B-side). Other
tracks on the album included the New York Dolls' "HUMAN BEING",
Iggy Pop's "I WANNA BE YOUR DOG", plus Vibrators' covers "SEX
KICK" and "DRAGNET". Various tours and gigs followed, all in
England.
In 1985 the band recorded its second album "NO PEDIGREE" at
Electrorhythm Studios in north London for Flicknife Records.
Tracks on this album were "WANNA WORLD", "THE WORD", plus covers
of such songs as John Lennon's "COLD TURKEY", Marc Bolan's
"CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION", and Bobby Boris Pickett's "MONSTER
MASH". While the first album had been a full-on punk rock guitar
album, this was more of a studio album and even featured the
RHUBARB TARTS (REBECCA AND MELISSA) doing lead vocals on "COLD
TURKEY", and the sax playing of ANTHONY THISTLETHWAITE
(WATERBOYS).
The band's final appearance was in 1986 at the 100 CLUB
where they started out with MATT BELGRANO (punk model) on drums
(no good!), MAX SPLODGE tried to help out but collapsed after a
few songs! WATTIE from the EXPLOITED took over the drumstool and
the band encored with "TROOPS OF TOMORROW" and "WARHEAD". The
crowd went wild and it looked like the band was just beginning,
but MATTHEW had already left to join PSYCHIC TV, and ALVIN was
off to join IGGY POP.
Twelve years later, in April 1998, the original band
reformed to make its third album "WIPEOUT BEACH" for RAW POWER
UK RECORDS. Recorded and produced by DAVE GOODMAN (he did the
early SEX PISTOL demos) at his Mandala Studios in south
London, the album featured all new material with the exception of
two covers, the title track "Wipeout Beach", and "Hey Joe". The band did a record launch gig at
Camden's DUBLIN CASTLE in November 1998 (see photo above).
LATEST NEWS - The third album "Wipeout Beach" is about to be released on a Polish label, probably around end of march 2007, details here when we get them.
ALSO - Charlie and Knox have been doing the odd acoustic gig together which have been mainly featuring Urban Dogs' songs.
7" SINGLES: "NEW BARBARIANS"/"SPEED KILLS", "COCAINE" - Fallout, FALL 008, U.K. 1982. "LIMO LIFE"/"WARHEAD" - Fallout, FALL 011, U.K., 1983. CD SINGLES: "MILLENNIUM DOME" (+ "Wipeout Beach", "Rare Diseasse") - Raw Power, RP OO6, U.K., 1998. 12" L.Ps: URBAN DOGS - Fallout, Fall LP 012, U.K. 1983. Track list: side 1: "New Barbarians", "Limo Life", "New Baptism", I Need A Slave", "Speed Kills", "Dragnet", "War Babies", side 2: "Human Race", "I Wanna Be Your Dog", ""Sex Kick", "Cocaine", "Be Friends", "A Bridge Too Far", "Human Being". NO PEDIGREE - Flicknife, Sharp 032, U.K., 1985. Track list: side 1: "Wanna World", "Lost In A Dream", "Hard Drive", "Monster Mash", "Heavy Woman", "Slum Goddess", "Cold Turkey", side 2: "No Pity", "The Word", "Teenage Confusion", "Ghost", "Sex Slave", "Children Of The Revolution", "Pleasure And The Pain". CD ALBUMS: URBAN DOGS - Cleopatra, Cleo 1084-2, U.S.A., end 1994. URBAN DOGS/NO PEDIGREE - (slightly incomplete compilation), Dojo, LOMACD 42, U.K., 1996. WIPEOUT BEACH - Raw Power, RP003, U.K. 1998. Track list: "Junkie Hell", "Punk Rock City", "Millennium Dome", "Whip Me, Whip Me", "Police State", "Rare Disease", "State Of Grace", "Quarantine", "Destroy", "Don't Jump My Train", "Schitzophrenia", "Wipeout Beach", "Step The Mind Gap", "Hey Joe", "Baby Marley", "This Machine", "Punk Rock Ist Nicht Tot". NEW BARBARIANS - THE BEST OF - Charlie Harper and the Urban Dogs, Captain Oi!, .........., U.K. 1999(?) CASSETTE ALBUMS: URBAN DOGS - Fallout, FALL CLP 0122, U.K., 11/1992. Track list: same as LP. URBAN DOGS DISCOGRAPHY: (1/1/2000) 7" SINGLES: "NEW BARBARIANS"/"SPEED KILLS", "COCAINE" - Fallout, FALL 008, U.K. 1982. "LIMO LIFE"/"WARHEAD" - Fallout, FALL 011, U.K., 1983. CD SINGLES: "MILLENNIUM DOME" (+ "Wipeout Beach", "Rare Diseasse") - Raw Power, RP OO6, U.K., 1998. 12" L.Ps: URBAN DOGS - Fallout, Fall LP 012, U.K. 1983. Track list: side 1: "New Barbarians", "Limo Life", "New Baptism", I Need A Slave", "Speed Kills", "Dragnet", "War Babies", side 2: "Human Race", "I Wanna Be Your Dog", ""Sex Kick", "Cocaine", "Be Friends", "A Bridge Too Far", "Human Being". NO PEDIGREE - Flicknife, Sharp 032, U.K., 1985. Track list: side 1: "Wanna World", "Lost In A Dream", "Hard Drive", "Monster Mash", "Heavy Woman", "Slum Goddess", "Cold Turkey", side 2: "No Pity", "The Word", "Teenage Confusion", "Ghost", "Sex Slave", "Children Of The Revolution", "Pleasure And The Pain". CD ALBUMS: URBAN DOGS - Cleopatra, Cleo 1084-2, U.S.A., end 1994. URBAN DOGS/NO PEDIGREE - (slightly incomplete compilation), Dojo, LOMACD 42, U.K., 1996. WIPEOUT BEACH - Raw Power, RP003, U.K. 1998. Track list: "Junkie Hell", "Punk Rock City", "Millennium Dome", "Whip Me, Whip Me", "Police State", "Rare Disease", "State Of Grace", "Quarantine", "Destroy", "Don't Jump My Train", "Schitzophrenia", "Wipeout Beach", "Step The Mind Gap", "Hey Joe", "Baby Marley", "This Machine", "Punk Rock Ist Nicht Tot". NEW BARBARIANS - THE BEST OF - Charlie Harper and the Urban Dogs, Captain Oi!, .........., U.K. 1999(?) CASSETTE ALBUMS: URBAN DOGS - Fallout, FALL CLP 0122, U.K., 11/1992. Track list: same as LP.
(1/1/2000)
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Knox
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