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The Damned
Alternative Press - Editorial Intern on 6/4/09 @ 4:01 PM - altpress.comYEARS OF EXISTENCE: 1976-present
RECORD TO START WITH: Damned Damned Damned (1977, Stiff; 2002, Sanctuary)
AFTER THAT, CHECK OUT: Machine Gun Etiquette (1979, Chiswick)
GO DOWNLOAD: "Neat, Neat, Neat," "I Just Can't Be Happy Today," "Twisted Nerve," "Melody Lee," "Therapy," "Street Of Dreams," "1 Of The 2"
THE MUSIC, THE MESSAGE: Of the three bands that ushered in the punk movement in Britain, the Sex Pistols and the Clash may be touted more often, but the Damned lay claim to some major accomplishments: They released the first U.K. punk single (1976's "New Rose") and LP ('77's Damned Damned Damned), and were the first to play America-they were also the first to break up. The band, formed in 1976 by Rat Scabies (nee Chris Millar, a ferocious drummer) and Brian James (guitar), two former members of London SS recruited vocalist/supposed gravedigger Dave Vanian and bassist Ray Burns (aka Captain Sensible) for their new endeavor. The band played their first show supporting the Pistols on July 6, 1976.
The early Damned sound was all youthful vigor and exuberance; they played as fast as possible, perhaps due in part to their massive speed habit. Later in '77 they released their follow-up, the woefully unappreciated Music For Pleasure, featuring good tunes like the psychedelic "Alone" and the downright punk "Stretcher Case." After this release, Scabies left. The band soon dissolved in early '78 only to come back, sans James, moving Sensible to guitar and bringing in bassist Algy Ward. Their comeback LP, Machine Gun Etiquette, picked up where Damned Damned Damned left off with fiery numbers like "Love Song" and "Anti-Pope." Still, for all their unabashed punk leanings and witty lyrics, as early as the first LP, they hinted at the direction they'd take later in their career, with dark, macabre songs popping up (the frightening, carnival-gone-mad "These Hands"). The guys took this a step further on their ambitious 1980 double LP The Black Album, which oscillated between feral punk ("Drinking About My Baby," "Hit Or Miss") and over-the-top goth theatrics ("Twisted Nerve," the 17-minute opus "Curtain Call") whose style fit so nicely with Vanian's deep, campy-cool bellowing.
PUNK-ROCK RELEVANCE: The Damned smashingly transitioned from straight-up punk to a more goth-rock sound akin to the Cure, Bauhaus or Lords Of The New Church (Brian James' band after the Damned), all the while building on their immense musical ability. They lasted longer than their '76-era peers (though were off-and-on throughout the '90s) and put out way more albums, including 2002's Grave Disorder on Dexter Holland's Nitro Records.
CURRENT WHEREABOUTS: The band-now consisting of Vanian, Sensible, drummer Pinch, keyboardist Monty Oxy Moron and bassist Stu West-still play quite a bit in their native country, and they recently released a new album, So, Who's Paranoid?, on their own label, the English Channel. Although they haven't done a full U.S. tour since 2003's Fiend Fest tour with the Misfits and Agnostic Front, the band still pop in and out of the country for gigs, most recently for an East Coast stint earlier this month. -Janelle Jones
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