# Stray Dags

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The **Stray Dags**, nicknamed **The Dags**, were an Australian all-female [post-punk](/source/Post-punk) Australian band. Formed in [Sydney](/source/Sydney) in 1979, the band were very successful in the independent music scene, and toured Australian capital cities as well as playing frequently in Sydney. They released one single, "Self Attack" / "Confessions" (1981), and one self-produced album, *Lemons Alive!*, through their production company Ewe Wave Music.

## History

The Stray Dags, a musical group which formed in [Sydney](/source/Sydney) in 1979, are variously described as "a lesbian rock band"[1] and "feminist post-punk band with [reggae](/source/Reggae) and [ska](/source/Ska) influences".[2] The name is a play on the phrase "[stray dogs](/source/Stray_dogs)", with the substituted word, *[dag](/source/Dag_(slang))* being Australian slang deriving from "[daglock](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/daglock)",[a] [3] often used affectionately as a term describing someone dressed untidily, shabbily, or unfashionably,[4] but also used derogatorily, as a fool.[5]

The founding members of the band were Tina Harris, Mystery Carnage, and Ludo McFerran, who got together and started at the [Women's Warehouse](/source/Women's_Warehouse). They could borrow equipment and there were regular cabarets.[5]

The Dags' first live performance was at the Toucan Cafe in the inner-Sydney suburb of [Glebe](/source/Glebe,_New_South_Wales), when the cafe held a week of women's music. They only played three songs, two of which were written by Ludo McFerran.[5] The songs included "Jenny the Jillaroo" and "Elsie Blues", the later about the about the [Elsie Women's Refuge](/source/Elsie_Women's_Refuge),[2] which was the first [women's refuge](/source/Women's_refuge) in Australia, established in 1974 by [Anne Summers](/source/Anne_Summers) and [Bessie Guthrie](/source/Bessie_Guthrie).[6]

The band had a weekly gig at the [Sussex Hotel](/source/Sussex_Hotel) on Thursday nights, and performed at monthly "rent dances" to support the Women's Warehouse at the [Haymarket](/source/Haymarket,_New_South_Wales). They also toured to the capital cities of [Brisbane](/source/Brisbane), [Adelaide](/source/Adelaide), [Canberra](/source/Canberra), and [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne).[2] Many of their gigs were played at gay and lesbian dances that were "one of the main forms of LGBT organisation" at the time.[3] In Adelaide, they played four gigs over June one year, including at [Norwood Town Hall](/source/Norwood_Town_Hall) and [Uni Bar](/source/University_of_Adelaide), with supporting bands.[7]

On Saturday 9 August 1980 they appeared at [Glebe Town Hall](/source/Glebe_Town_Hall) in Sydney, along with [Wimmins Circus](/source/Wimmins_Circus) and [Hens' Teeth](/source/Hens'_Teeth_(band)).[8]

In January 1982 The Dags performed at "Frock Rock", a women's music event that was part of the [Sydney Festival](/source/Sydney_Festival). The event was staged at both [Sydney Town Hall](/source/Sydney_Town_Hall) and [Petersham Town Hall](/source/Petersham_Town_Hall), and included musicians from Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne.[2]

On 18 September 1982, they performed at [Melbourne State College](/source/Melbourne_State_College), along with Right Furniture.[9]

1984 saw their music used in the film *[On Guard](/source/On_Guard_(1984_film))*, in which Carnage also co-starred.[10]

The Stray Dags disbanded in 1984.[1][2]

## Description

Members of the Stray Dags were:[2]

- Tina Harris (vocals/guitar)
- Chris Burke (drums) (died 2016)
- Celeste Howden (bass)
- Mystery Carnage (vocals/percussion)
- Ludo McFerran ([saxophone](/source/Saxophone))

A fan described the band's sound as being an "original, quirky blend of blues reggae funk pop and disco... [with a] great sense of self-parody and wry humour";[11] however, some of their songs, such as "Tension" and "Heterosexual Jungle" are intentionally angry.[5]

## Songs and releases

The Stray Dags' most well-known track (although not to mainstream audiences) was "Self Attack".[12] The song, described by a fan as "an upbeat disco tune with a driving bass line", was released as a vinyl [45rpm single](/source/45rpm_single) in 1981,[11][13] with "Confessions" on the B Side. [14] The lyrics of "Self Attack" have been interpreted as "a feminist commentary on how women 'attack' their body surgically via [plastic surgery](/source/Plastic_surgery), and also, for those in the know, a somewhat indirect and sly dig toward radical feminists into self-defence".[12]

Their only album, *Lemons Alive!*, was released in 1983 and reached the top spot on the independent music chart.[12][2] Tracks on *Lemons Alive!* are:[15][11][2][5]

A-side:

- Cradle Song
- Tension
- Love Songs
- Let's Have A Party
- Avon Calling

B-side:

- Intimidation
- Black + Blue
- Het Jungle
- Six Months
- Rude Girls

Their album was self-produced, by their outfit Ewe Wave Music, after finding women with production and sound engineering skills (Lesley Wood, Sharon Jakovsky, and Kathy Sport[15]) to assist.[5]

Both the single and the album were played by [2JJ](/source/2JJ) (now Triple J) and [community radio](/source/Community_radio) stations.[2]

The song "Self Attack" features on the soundtrack released in conjunction with the 2020 Australian documentary feature film directed by Catherine Dwyer about the history of the [Women's Liberation Movement](/source/Women's_liberation_movement_in_Oceania#Australia) of that era, along with songs by [Toxic Shock](/source/Toxic_Shock_(band)), [Judy Small](/source/Judy_Small), Hens' Teeth, Clitoris Band, [Robyn Archer](/source/Robyn_Archer), and others.[16][17]

## Recognition

The [National Film and Sound Archive of Australia](/source/National_Film_and_Sound_Archive_of_Australia) describes the Stray Dags as "one of the most successful band of the women's music scene in the early 1980s".[12]

A 1980 poster by Leonie Lane of the Lucifoil Poster Collective, created in the [Tin Sheds](/source/Tin_Sheds) (Sydney University Art Workshop) in 1980, is held by the [National Gallery of Australia](/source/National_Gallery_of_Australia). In the foreground is a flock of sheep, to one side a building with "Wimmins Warehouse" on it, and across the middle in large letters, "Stray Dags".[18]

Several posters relating to the Dags are held at the [Jessie Street National Women's Library](/source/Jessie_Street_National_Women's_Library) in Sydney.[19][9][20] One of these, designed by Anne Sheridan and Marla Guppy, reads "Stray Dags : my auntie went to Sydney Australia & all I got was a Stray Dags record. Ewe Wave music!"[20]

## Reunion

As a fundraiser for film project *Rock On With Your Frock On* on Saturday 28 November 2009, a one-off reunion of the band, performing as the headline act after a number of other bands, was held at Red Rattler Theatre in [Marrickville](/source/Marrickville), Sydney. The film, by Kathy Sport, was planned to be a documentary about Australian women musicians.[b] Members of the audience had travelled from Canberra, Adelaide, and Melbourne. The MC for the event, titled "Dagarama", was [Fran Kelly](/source/Fran_Kelly), and their performance was described by an attendee as "an energetic and electric hour-long set". Erica Lewis played drums for the night. The performance was filmed.[11]

## Footnotes

1. "the grotty bits of wool around a sheep's bottom which can spell disaster for a sheep.[5]

1. It seems that the film never got made (website now defunct),[21] but writer/ director Kathy Sport wrote a PhD thesis called "Women's music in Australia: space, place, bodies, performance" at [Macquarie University](/source/Macquarie_University) in 2015.[22]

## References

1. ["Stray Dags"](https://dictionaryofsydney.org/organisation/stray_dags). *[The Dictionary of Sydney](/source/The_Dictionary_of_Sydney)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20250524225537/https://dictionaryofsydney.org/organisation/stray_dags) 24 May 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

1. ["Stray Dags"](https://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/2021/02/stray-dags.html). *History of Australian Music from 1960 until 2000*. 22 February 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

1. Clews, Colin (13 February 2014). ["1980. Music: Stray Dags"](https://www.gayinthe80s.com/2014/02/1980-music-stray-dags/). *Gay in the 80s - A personal account of LGBT life in the 1980s in the UK, USA and Australia*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20250709012833/https://www.gayinthe80s.com/2014/02/1980-music-stray-dags/) 9 July 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

1. ["daggy, daggiest, daggier- WordWeb dictionary definition"](https://www.wordwebonline.com/en/DAGGY). *WordWeb Online Dictionary and Thesaurus*. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

1. McFerran, Ludo (30 November 1983). ["Ewe wave music from the Stray Dags"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article259567361). *[Tribune](/source/Tribune_(Australian_newspaper))*. No. 2311. p. 17. Retrieved 13 November 2025. – via National Library of Australia.

1. ["Elsie Women's Refuge (From 1974– )"](https://www.womenaustralia.info/entries/elsie-womens-refuge/). *[Australian Women's Register](/source/Australian_Women's_Register)*. 14 September 2023. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20250622231634/https://www.womenaustralia.info/entries/elsie-womens-refuge/) 22 June 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

1. ["Details for: Stray Dags over Adelaide"](https://catalogue.nationalwomenslibrary.org.au/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=21037&query_desc=kw%2Cwrdl%3A%20%22%22stray%20dags%22%22) (library catalogue entry + image). *Jessie Street National Women's Library catalogue*. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

1. ["Details for: Wimmins Circus August 7 Shopfront Theatre; August 9 Glebe Town Hall; 10 Women's Warehouse."](https://catalogue.nationalwomenslibrary.org.au/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=20669&query_desc=kw%2Cwrdl%3A%20%22%22stray%20dags%22%22) (library catalogue entry + image). *[Jessie Street National Women's Library](/source/Jessie_Street_National_Women's_Library) catalogue*. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

1. ["Women's dance: 'Stray Dags' and 'Right Furniture'."](https://catalogue.nationalwomenslibrary.org.au/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=20592) (library catalogue entry + image) (in Estonian). *Jessie Street National Women's Library catalogue*. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

1. Travis, Chris (2 March 1984), "Girls' Own thriller takes on the Brave New World", *The Sydney Morning Herald*

1. "Happy Punter" (December 2009). ["News: Raising funds for the film"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130910165427/http://frockrockfilm.com/news/). *frockrockfilm.com*. Archived from [the original](http://frockrockfilm.com/news/) on 10 September 2013.

1. Henderson, Nick (2017). ["Feminist rockers you've never heard about"](https://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/feminist-rockers-youve-never-heard-about). *[National Film and Sound Archive of Australia](/source/National_Film_and_Sound_Archive_of_Australia)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20250518004349/https://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/feminist-rockers-youve-never-heard-about) 18 May 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 November 2025. This article was first published in 2017. Some details were updated in 2023

1. Grose, Ken. ["Collection guide: N-T"](https://www.nfsa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-04/Australian%20Vinyl%20Record%20Catalogue_Part3_N-T.pdf). *Australian Popular Music Catalogue – Vinyl Records*. [National Film and Sound Archive](/source/National_Film_and_Sound_Archive). p. 450. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

1. ["Self Attack- Stray Dags"](https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/asset/96189-self-attack-stray-dags). *[National Film and Sound Archive of Australia](/source/National_Film_and_Sound_Archive_of_Australia)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20250522231840/https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/asset/96189-self-attack-stray-dags) 22 May 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

1. ["Stray Dags – Lemons Alive! – Vinyl (LP, Album), 1983 \[r4608372\]"](https://www.discogs.com/release/4608372-Stray-Dags-Lemons-Alive?srsltid=AfmBOooPEHaNLEHSbxalDQVVNm8kxP28OCj05dk4w5BJogsnsd-MJJMO). *Discogs*. 7 April 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

1. Martin, Josh (6 November 2020). ["'Brazen Hussies' compilation album released, featuring rare '70s-'80s Australian feminist music"](https://www.nme.com/news/music/brazen-hussies-compilation-album-released-featuring-rare-70s-80s-australian-feminist-music-2810092). *[NME](/source/NME)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20251112051615/https://www.nme.com/news/music/brazen-hussies-compilation-album-released-featuring-rare-70s-80s-australian-feminist-music-2810092) 12 November 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 November 2025.

1. ["Brazen Hussies"](https://chaptermusic.bandcamp.com/album/brazen-hussies-songs-from-the-film-and-more). *Chapter Music*. 6 November 2020. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240418011610/https://chaptermusic.bandcamp.com/album/brazen-hussies-songs-from-the-film-and-more) 18 April 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 November 2025.

1. ["Leonie Lane, b.1955"](https://searchthecollection.nga.gov.au/object/94941) (poster image). *[National Gallery of Australia](/source/National_Gallery_of_Australia)*. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

1. ["Results of search for '"stray dags"' › Jessie Street National Women's Library catalogue"](https://catalogue.nationalwomenslibrary.org.au/cgi-bin/koha/opac-search.pl?idx=&q=%22stray+dags%22&weight_search=1). *Jessie Street National Women's Library catalogue*. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

1. ["Stray Dags : my auntie went to Sydney Australia & all I got was a Stray Dags record. Ewe Wave music! / \[designed and printed by Anne Sheridan and Marla Guppy\] c. 1980"](https://catalogue.nationalwomenslibrary.org.au/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=21706) (library catalogue record + image) (in Estonian). *Jessie Street National Women's Library catalogue*. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

1. ["Rock On With Your Frock On"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110207175200/http://frockrockfilm.com/). *frockrockfilm.com*. 8 December 2009. Archived from [the original](http://frockrockfilm.com/) on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

1. Sport, Kathy. [*Women's music in Australia: space, place, bodies, performance*](https://figshare.mq.edu.au/articles/thesis/Women_s_music_in_Australia_space_place_bodies_performance/19435682/1). [Macquarie University](/source/Macquarie_University). [doi:10.25949/19435682.V1](https://doi.org/10.25949/19435682.V1). Retrieved 13 November 2025.

## External links

- [The Stray Dags](https://www.last.fm/music/The+Stray+Dags/+wiki) on [last.fm](/source/Last.fm)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Stray Dags](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stray_Dags) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stray_Dags?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.