Released the following year, Hair of the Dog established Nazareth as an internationally popular hard rock band. Featuring their revamped version of the Everly Brothers' "Love Hurts," the album sold over a million copies in the U.S. Until the end of the '70s, the band continued successfully as a quartet, releasing a series of Top 100 albums. In 1979, they added former Sensational Alex Harvey Band guitarist Zal Cleminson to their lineup; he left after recording two albums — 1979's No Mean City and 1980's Malice in Wonderland — and was replaced by former Spirit keyboardist John Locke. Following the 1981 live album 'Snaz, guitarist Bill Rankin also joined the group; Locke left soon after his addition and Rankin switched to keyboards.

By this time, their commercial appeal had dwindled across both the U.K. and the U.S. By the mid-'80s, Nazareth was left without a record contract, so the band was put on hiatus for a few years. They returned in 1992 with No Jive, which failed to gain an audience in America and Europe. In 1999, Nazareth resurfaced yet again with Boogaloo.