The origins of the band can be traced to The Bordello Boys, formed in late 1982 by Tyla (born Timothy Taylor), formerly of Kitsch. An American vocalist who was staying in England 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 on two separate sessions, the second set of which was later released on the bootleg 7" EP, Blame It On Us whilst its lead track, Teenage (a cover of Kitsch's Teenager of the Week) was officially released on the 1983 glam-punk compilation, Trash On Delivery. On the strength of these tracks, the band was signed to a record deal with Kumibeat Records from Finland. However, shortly before the band was scheduled to record its first album, problems began to spring up and Christie left the band in late 1983 because of musical differences with guitarist Tyla. He subsequently joined L.A. Guns as guitarist and backing vocalist upon moving back to America and reverting to his real name.
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, in early 1984. Dave Kusworth and Paul Hornby were brought in on guitar and drums respectively. Hornby had been a founding member of another London band, The Quireboys, earlier in the year.
The following year, the band returned from Finland to England and supported Johnny Thunders 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 form Jacobites with Nikki Sudden.
The Dogs D'Amour then signed a contract with a Japanese 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 very brief and he gave way for 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 in 1988.
The band released its second album In The Dynamite Jet Saloon in 1988. Essentially, this is the album which first 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 top 100.
Unlike the four year gap between their first and second albums, the Dogs became more prolific, releasing their third studio album A Graveyard of Empty Bottles in 1989. This album proved to be the highest charting recording of their career, reaching #16 on the UK Albums Chart. During this year, the band toured with Mick Ronson and Ian Hunter.
Also in 1989, the Dogs released their fourth album, known as Errol Flynn in the United Kingdom, but King of the Thieves in the United States. Again, this album charted well in the Dogs' home country, reaching #22. It included what is their most successful single, and perhaps best-known song, "Satellite Kid".
Another album appeared in 1990 named Straight??!!, but around this time the Dogs had started to fall apart. Tyla had recently split with his wife and the band imploded, live onstage, in Los Angeles. Tyla slashed his own body with a broken glass bottle and brought an end to the band. He needed 30 stitches for the wound.
With the group disbanded, Bam Bam joined The Wildhearts and Tyla wrote a poetry book. A year later, the Dogs D'Amour reunited with a new line-up. Jo Almeida, however, decided not to return to the band as guitarist and so Darrell Bath of The Crybabys 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 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 1992 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 Pedersen of Vixen (Bam's wife). They released an album Happy Ever After that year, along with a special fan club only release Seconds. Bam and Pederson then left the band and now play in their own act entitled Bubble.
Following the short-lived reunion, frontman Tyla moved to Barcelona, Spain, and focused on his solo career, releasing a number of albums in the 2000s under his own name. He also released two albums under the name The Dogs D'Amour, When Bastards Go To Hell and Let Sleeping Dogs..., in 2004 and 2005 respectively, along with the live album Unleashed. These, however, are essentially solo albums under a different title, as for the most part they just feature Tyla playing all instruments and his then-wife Yella on backing vocals with none of the past Dogs D'Amour members except for a guest guitar solo from Darrell Bath on When Bastards Go To Hell's title track.
Tyla toured the United States and the United Kingdom under the name Tyla & the Dogs and released the album Bloody Hell Fire under this moniker. The United Kingdom tour saw The Yo-Yo's (the band of Danny McCormack of The Wildhearts) as his backing band. In April 2011, Tyla released In the Dynamite Jet Saloon MMX.
In November 2012, The Dogs D'Amour show in the classic, original line-up was announced in London's Borderline club on 22 February 2013 to help raising funds for their long-time friend, and also former drummer of the band, Paul Hornby. After a quick sell out they added another show in Borderline on 23 February along with some other dates in UK and Spain. Shortly after the 2013 reunion, Tyla put out a statement declaring 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." The line-up has since released several studio and live albums under this moniker.
Hurricane
The Dogs D'Amour Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Oh, there´s this guy I know
He´s an actor, he may be let go
He just sits in a bar
His beautiful wife she loves him so
And he loves her
I hope he never lets her go
As easy as I spill my drink
He´s an undiscovered saint
Just hides behind his war paint
Sleeps through a hurricane, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Hurricane
Sleeps through a hurricane, wow, wow
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
She whispers to him silently
That he´s drank too much again
And it would be, oh, so silly
To end it this way
He spills out stories to me
As easy as I spill my drinks
Oh, he´s an undiscovered saint
Just hides behind
Sleeps through a hurricane
Hurricane, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Sleeps through a hurricane
Hurricane, yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh
Of all the stories ever told
Of all the cats that have slept in all the beds they´ve got (???)
Of all the bottles of gin, mother´s ruins on him
Bourbon, oh
I´m gonna make you a star someday
And then I´ll let you burn the wire
Bette Davis
Just like Marilyn Monroe
Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Sleeps through a hurricane, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh, hurricane, hurricane, hurricane, hurricane
Sleeps through a hurricane, yeah, yeah
Ah
Oh, hurricane
Hey, hey, hey
(Sleeps through a hurricane)
The Dogs D'Amour's "Hurricane" is a melancholic ballad that tells a story of an actor who is struggling with alcohol addiction. He spends most of his time drinking in bars while his beautiful wife worries about him. The singer, the singer of the song, observes the actor and listens to his stories, which he spills out as easily as the singer spills his drink. The actor is described as an undiscovered saint who hides behind his warpaint, and he sleeps through a hurricane. The hurricane is most likely a metaphor for the struggles and challenges the actor faces in his life, which he tries to ignore with alcohol.
The actor's wife whispers to him that he's had too much to drink again, and it's silly to end his life this way. The singer can see the love that the actor's wife has for him, and he hopes that the actor will never let her go. The song is a sad commentary on the harmful effects of addiction on relationships and the human psyche. The singer also mentions all the stories ever told, all the cats that have slept in all the beds they´ve got and all the liquor the actor has consumed. The singer promises to make the actor a star someday and let him burn the wire, but it's unclear if it's a genuine promise or an empty gesture.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey, hey, hey, hey
The song is starting with an attention-grabbing exclamation
Oh, there´s this guy I know
The singer is about to tell a story of a man he knows
He´s an actor, he may be let go
The man is an actor whose career might be ending soon
He just sits in a bar
The man is often found sitting at a bar
His beautiful wife she loves him so
Despite his flaws, his wife loves him deeply
And he loves her
The man also has deep feelings of love for his wife
I hope he never lets her go
The singer hopes the man never takes his wife for granted or loses her love
He spills out stories to me
The man shares his life stories with the singer
As easy as I spill my drink
The stories come out effortlessly and frequently, similar to the singer's ability to spill his drink
He's an undiscovered saint
Despite his imperfections, the man is a good-hearted and virtuous person
Just hides behind his war paint
The man may have a rough exterior, but deep down he is simply hiding his pain
Sleeps through a hurricane, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
The man has become numb to the chaos and turmoil in his life, sleeping soundly even during a storm
She whispers to him silently
His wife approaches him quietly to voice her concerns
That he´s drank too much again
The man struggles with alcohol and drinks excessively
And it would be, oh, so silly
His wife believes it would be foolish if his problem with alcohol led to his downfall
To end it this way
It would be unfortunate if the man's life ended because of his drinking
Of all the stories ever told
The singer reflects on all the tales he's heard in his lifetime
Of all the cats that have slept in all the beds they've got (???)
This line is likely nonsensical and serves as a metaphor for the many experiences and people the singer has encountered
Of all the bottles of gin, mother's ruins on him
The man drinks heavily and it's taking a toll on him, as known as the term 'mother's ruin'
Bourbon, oh
An exclamation in relation to the heavy drinking theme of the song
I'm gonna make you a star someday
The singer has aspirations for the man, hoping to help him achieve success
And then I'll let you burn the wire
The phrase 'burn the wire' likely means to live life to the fullest once the man has achieved success
Bette Davis
Referencing classic Hollywood actresses and their struggles, similar to the story of the man
Just like Marilyn Monroe
Similar to the previous line, this one highlights the struggles and pain that successful women in the acting industry may face
Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
The song is approaching its climax
Sleeps through a hurricane, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Repeating the chorus, emphasizing that the man is numb to the chaos around him
Oh, hurricane, hurricane, hurricane, hurricane
Repeating the word 'hurricane' as a symbol for the tumultuous life of the man
Sleeps through a hurricane, yeah, yeah
Final repetition of the chorus
Ah
Ending exclamation
Hey, hey, hey
Ending repetition of the opening
(Sleeps through a hurricane)
Closing repetition of the chorus
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: SEAN MICHAEL KENNETH TYLA, BRUCE IRVINE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind