Yellow Dog

Yellow Dog was an English art-pop band behind the 1977/78 Virgin albums Yellow Dog and Beware of the Dog, followed by the 1981 Escape release Strangers in Paradox. They featured four ex-members of Fox with guitarist-singer Kenny Young in Noosha Fox’s vacated role and Gerry Conway (Eclection/Fotheringay) in the drum seat.

Members: Kenny Young (guitar, vocals), Herbie Armstrong (guitar, vocals), Gerry Conway (drums), Jim Gannon (guitar), Andy Roberts (guitar), Gary Taylor (bass)

Background

Yellow Dog took shape in England from recording sessions that guitarist-singers Kenny Young and Herbie Armstrong began while both remained active in Fox. The emerging lineup combined Fox bassist Gary Taylor and guitarist Jim Gannon with guitarist Andy Roberts and drummer Gerry Conway. Young and Armstrong supplied the songs and shared lead vocals.

Young was born Shalom Giskan on April 14, 1941, in Jerusalem and moved with his family to New York City at age six. He attended Rabbi Jacob Joseph School and Seward Park High School, then entered the Brill Building songwriting circuit in his early twenties. Young settled in Britain in the early 1970s, where he maintained a Cotswolds home studio and worked as a songwriter, producer, solo artist, and founder of Fox.

Armstrong was born Herbert Christopher Armstrong on May 14, 1944, in Bog Meadow, Belfast. He started with the Manhattan Showband and moved through the Golden Eagles into the Wheels, who recorded his “Bad Little Woman.” Armstrong and bassist-singer Rod Demick subsequently worked with Screaming Lord Sutch, issued two Page One singles as the James Brothers, and recorded the albums Little Willy Ramble and Lookin’ Through as Demick and Armstrong. He later joined Young and Noosha Fox in Fox as their guitarist and co-vocalist across three GTO albums.

Taylor came from The Herd and built a session résumé that included Amazing Blondel, Gerry Rafferty, Stealers Wheel, Laurie Styvers, and Michael d’Abo. Gannon entered the same circle from Pesky Gee and Black Widow. He guested on the Fox debut and joined for their subsequent two albums.

Roberts came from the Liverpool Scene and subsequently worked with Everyone, Plainsong, GRIMMS, and his own solo projects. He also recorded with a broad pool of British session players and joined Roy Harper for 1976 American dates. Conway drummed with Alexis Korner, Eclection, and Fotheringay. He later worked through the mid-1970s with Cat Stevens.

Young hired Roberts for an April 1975 session at Island Studios on Basing Street in London. Roberts subsequently joined sessions at Young’s studio in Brailes near Banbury, where Young and Armstrong worked with Taylor on songs that later appeared under the Fox and Yellow Dog names. Roberts brought Conway and Gannon into the sessions, which continued through summer.

Virgin signed Yellow Dog in spring 1977 and issued their April single “For Whatever It’s Worth,” an alternate of the song from the third Fox album Tails of Illusion (b/w “So Alive”). The group prepared the resulting recordings for the self-titled debut album, released the following month.

Discography:

• Yellow Dog (1977)
• Beware of the Dog (1978)
• Strangers in Paradox (1981)

Sources

• Andy Roberts — official Yellow Dog recollection. This is the key source for the chronology. Roberts places himself in Yellow Dog in 1975, dates his first Young session to roughly April, identifies the Brailes home studio, says he introduced Gerry Conway, names Armstrong, Taylor, and occasional participant Gannon, and states that Young and Armstrong allocated recordings between Fox and Yellow Dog only as the work developed. (Andy Roberts Music)
• Kenny Young interview, Spectropop. Young discusses his Brill Building work with Artie Resnick, early recordings and productions, the Reparata and the Delrons trip that led him to remain in London, Fox, and his long collaboration with Armstrong. (Spectropop)
• Beat Instrumental, July 1972 — Demick & Armstrong interview. Armstrong recounts the Belfast background, the Wheels, his move to England, and his long working partnership with Rod Demick. (World Radio History)
• Gary Taylor documentation. MusicBrainz identifies Taylor as a bassist associated with the Herd, Fox, and Stealers Wheel; Gerry Rafferty credits establish his early session work. (MusicBrainz)
• Andy Roberts career material. Roberts documents the Liverpool Scene breakup, Plainsong period, and subsequent solo activity. (Andy Roberts Music)
• Gerry Conway biography. Conway moved through Eclection and Fotheringay into the Cat Stevens band, where he remained through the mid-1970s. (Jethro Tull)
• Record Mirror, April 9, 1977. The trade paper reported the Virgin signing, the April 15 single, and the planned May 13 debut LP. (World Radio History)
• Music Week, June 4, 1977. The paper described Yellow Dog as the first pop signing to Virgin since the label launch and identified Young and Armstrong as the central songwriting partnership. (World Radio History)
• 45cat. Confirms the UK release of “For Whatever It’s Worth” b/w “So Alive” on April 15, 1977, as Virgin VS 177. (45cat)