Ferocious Dog are an English

folk punk Folk punk (known in its early days as rogue folk) is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was popularized in the early 1980s by the Pogues in England, and by Violent Femmes in the United States. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in t ...

band from

Warsop Warsop is a civil parish in Mansfield District, Nottinghamshire, England, on the outskirts of the remnants of Sherwood Forest.OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: (1:25 000): At the 2021 census the population was 12,644 residents, includin ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, England. The band has headlined tours of the UK and Europe, performed in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, festivals such as Bearded Theory, Alchemy, Deerstock, Farmer Phil's Festival, Splendour and Beautiful Days, and toured in support of

New Model Army The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 t ...

, The Levellers and

The Wonder Stuff The Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock musical ensemble, band. Originally based in Stourbridge in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England, the band's first lineup released four albums and nearly 20 singles and EPs, enjoying ...

. In 2015 the band played in the Field of Avalon at

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

History

The band released a number of EPs before a first album on Weird Sounds in 2013, described by

Louder Than War ''Louder Than War'' is a music and culture website and magazine focusing on mainly alternative arts news, reviews, and features. The site is an editorially independent publication that was started by the English musician and journalist John R ...

as "''startlingly good, and so it should be, it’s been many years in the making''". The album has been reviewed positively in both folk and metal sources. On 11 February 2015, Ferocious Dog announced that they would be releasing a second album, ''From Without,'' this was funded by fans pre-ordering the album in advance. It was produced by Matt Terry and mastered by Al Scott. It was released in October 2015 after single releases of "Ruby Bridges" in June 2015 and "Slow Motion Suicide" in August 2015. Touring the new material started at The Bodega in Nottingham on 7 March 2015, the first live appearance with the new line-up including

Leslie Carter Leslie Barbara Ashton ( Carter; June 6, 1986 – January 31, 2012) was an American pop singer. In 2001, she debuted through DreamWorks Records with the single " Like Wow!". Originally set to release her debut studio album through the label, it ...

on guitar and Scott Walters on drums - it sold out in 22 minutes. This kicked off a busy year of touring and festivals, culminating in a sell-out home town gig at Rock City in Nottingham. Ferocious Dog are the first independent act to sell-out the venue in its 35-year history. The band encouraged those attending to bring items for a local food bank to the gig, completely swamping the room Rock City had put aside to store them in the process. The gig was filmed and recorded, and released as a CD and DVD. 2016 ended with a UK and European tour supporting The Levellers, including shows in the Netherland and Germany. Further shows in the Netherlands were played in February 2017.

Fans

Fans of Ferocious Dog are affectionately referred to as 'Hell Hounds' - taking their name from the Ferocious Dog song.

Lee Bonsall

Pivotal to the ethos of Ferocious Dog is the fate of Ken's son Lee. Lee served in Afghanistan from the age of 18, and upon rejoining civilian life took his own life in 2012 at the age of just 24, unable to overcome the

post traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

he was suffering stemming from one of his friends being killed by a sniper. Lee is commemorated in the songs "The Glass, Lee's Tune" and "A Verse for Lee" on their first album. This gave rise to the Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund which is a constant focus for fundraising and awareness building by the band. Lee's story was featured in the BBC documentary ''Broken by Battle''.

Discography

Albums

EPs and singles

*"Ferocious Dog" (2011) *"Hell Hounds" (2012) *"Revolution" (2012) *"Ruby Bridges" (2015) *"Slow Motion Suicide" (2015) *"American Dream" (2017) *"The Landscape Artist" (2018) *"Psychedelic Spin" with Dr. Peacock (2019)

Other media

*''Live at Rock City'' (CD/DVD) (2016) *''Live at the Rescue Rooms'' (CD/DVD) (2018)

Members

Current

* Ken Bonsall - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar (1988–present) * Jamie Burney - Violin (2022 –present) * Kyle Peters - Electric Guitar (2010 - 2014, 2022–present) * Luke Grainger - Percussion (2022–present) * Nick Wragg - Bassist (2022–present) * Sam Wood - Banjo, Mandolin, Bouzouki, Acoustic Guitar, Whistles, Accordion (2021–present)

Former

* Dan Booth - Violin (Founding member 1988–2022) * Dave Drury - Bass Guitar (1988 - 2014) * Paul Newbury - Drums (1988 - 2005) Deceased * Jimmy Carroll - Guitars, Banjo, Mandolin, Tin Whistle, Uilleann pipes (1988 - 2003) * Brad Drury - Drums (2005 - 2014) * Paul Hallam - Mandolin (2010) * Daniel Hughes - Electric Guitar () * Ryan Holleywell - Electric Guitar () * 'Mushy' - Drums (2014 - 2015) * Scott Walters - Drums (2015–2017) * Ellis Waring - Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin, Bouzouki, Banjo (2010–2017) * John Leonard - Guitars, Banjo, Mandolin, Tin Whistle, Uilleann pipes (2017–2019) *

- Electric Guitar (2015–2019) * Johnny Edwards - Banjo, Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin, Accordion, Whistle, Harmonica, Mandola (2019 - 2021) *Ryan Brooks - Electric Guitar (2019 - 2022) * John Alexander - Bass Guitar (2014–2022) * Alex Smith - Drums (2017–2022)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website

BBC artists Ferocious Dog page
English punk rock groups English folk musical groups Folk punk groups