It was at the tender age of 13 that lead singer/guitarist Rob Milton, Joss Van Wilder (keys), and Lawrence Cole (bass/sax) formed the first incarnation of Dog Is Dead under the moniker Oh Henry! From there Cole invited his friend Lawrence Libor to join the band on drums and Rob White was installed on lead guitar. Their '80s pop-influenced sound saw them experiment with lush harmonies and the saxophone, which gave their indie pop blend an original sound. They soon began to play in local clubs, mostly the Bodega Social Club in Nottingham.

It was in 2009 when they recorded their first EP and self-released it under Your Childhood Records. The raw energy and passion that was displayed on these songs won them plaudits and support slots with Cajun Dance Party and One Night Only. Their star continued to soar in 2010 with festival appearances at Dot to Dot and Glastonbury along with radio airplay on BBC Radio 1 and BBC 6 Music for their singles “Glockenspiel Song” and “Young.” Their performance at Glastonbury won them over to the script writer of popular British TV show Skins, who used “Glockenspiel Song” in the closing scene of the fifth series in 2011. The band themselves played in a marquee and the cast eventually joined in with the chanting of “we are a mess/we are failures/and we love it” to end the series. Subsequently the band signed to Atlantic Records and released Your Childhood EP that year, which featured the songs the band had released already through their Your Childhood label. They then moved to replace original drummer Libor with Daniel Harvey before an extensive tour schedule that included headline slots and a host of U.K. festivals. Singles “River Jordan” and “Hands Down” arrived toward the end of the year.

In 2012, the band released their third single, Two Devils. The release was accompanied by a video with a darker tone than their previous work. A re-recorded version of “Glockenspiel Song” was issued in the summer before they announced the release of their debut album, All Our Favourite Stories, later that year. ~ Scott Kerr