The Pub Dogs

The Pub Dogs, as their name might suggest, was a band made up of drinking buddies. In addition to Chris Wilson (6) on vocals and harp, from Chris’ Sole Twisters and Harem Scarem (2) days and Crown Of Thorns (4) was guitarist Barry Palmer (2) (who would later join Hunters & Collectors and then form Deadstar). From Chris' days playing with Paul Kelly And The Messengers was pedal steel guitarist Evil Graham Lee, also known and loved for his work in The Triffids and Blackeyed Susans. And from Graham's corner was singer, guitarist and mandolinist Mark C. Halstead, a man perhaps best known at that point as a member of Qld bluegrass outfit The Kingswoods, notorious for their 1983 cover of the Sex Pistols’ 'Pretty Vacant' entitled 'Purty Vacant', and his stint as twangmaster in Tex Perkins's early hillbilly punk band The Dum Dums (2). He would go onto make a fine country record for W. Minc Records - the label that Graham Lee ran with The Moodists' Steve Miller (5) - and become a regular performer (and customer) at Miller's pub, The Standard, in Fitzroy. A loose and short-lived combo that didn't really get beyond the bar, The Pub Dogs nonetheless made musical magic, and Scatter's Liver is a document of a time in Melbourne when the influence of American roots music was really starting to be felt north of the river.