PHASEFIVE

When it comes to finding a name for a band, anything goes, and a quick scan through any library of music and you’ll find an eclectic mix of names covering the entire spectrum stretching from eminently reasonable at one end, to beyond the realms of sanity at the other. A while ago, reading one of Tim Dowling’s weekly, laid-back, humorous articles in the Guardian, the reference to Police Dog Hogan had me speculating what on earth he was writing about until it became clear that this was the name of a band he plays banjo and guitar in. The band has been around since 2008, but had never even produced the smallest blip on my radar screen up to that moment. That has now been put right!

Trawling around the streaming services and YouTube, there was enough PDG material to touch the right buttons for me, and so it was to LaFayette in Kings Cross to experience the band in action just a week ago. And what a great experience that turned out to be. A thoroughly enjoyable evening; brilliant musicianship, an excellent set list, and a level of humour and audience engagement to package everything together.

So where did the name come from? Thank you ChatGPT for enlightening me: The name “Police Dog Hogan” has an amusing and memorable origin rooted in a story shared by one of the band members, Eddie Bishop. While waiting in a pub to catch a boat to Sawmills Studio in Cornwall, Bishop recounted a humorous legal case involving a police dog named Hogan. The story, as often retold by the band, described a police officer’s report detailing the dog’s involvement in a riot, complete with commands like “Dead, Hogan, dead!” when attempting to control the animal. The band found the tale so entertaining that they adopted the name for themselves.

Now I know!