Yesterday it was one year to the day that I attended the ‘Night of a 1000 Vampires’ at the London Palladium. There were actually over 2000 in the audience that night as it was a sell out show, and I’m pretty sure most were dressed up in vampire/gothic attire for the evening’s entertainment. Did they ever break the record??
The Damned have been one of my favourite bands, probably my favourite live band… since I bought a green vinyl copy of ‘Final Damnation’ back in 1989/1990. The original line up on the record for side one, yes Brian James, Captain Sensible, Dave Vanian & Rat Scabies. A superb performance and sound, I did have a copy on vhs of the concert WITHOUT the annoying voiceover…who’s bloody idea was that!!
I first saw them live in Sheffield in 91, the Sensible, Scabies, Vanian, Paul Gray line up, I still remember confusion in the queue…’Is Brian James playing??’ To be honest at the time I wasn’t bothered as long as Captain was there, preferably on the old 6 string. Still that is not saying I was not a fan of the original line-up, Damned Damned Damned & Brian James started it all! ‘Fan Club’ ‘Born to kill’ ‘Neat Neat Neat’ all killer no filler as they say… Music for Pleasure ….not so much, I really need to give it another listen. To be fair I played ‘Don’t cry wolf’ in a band I played bass in back around 93/94. (Mr Jolly…look em up…actually don’t..)
The Damned of late have had a renaissance these last few years, what with the 2016 sold our Royal Albert Hall concert where they played a career spanning set to celebrate 40 years in the business, playing for around 3 hours. I was there and it was a very special occasion, you could feel the love and appreciation in the room, I wasn’t the only person in there with tears in my eyes at certain points. You see The Damned mean so much to fans, call it a journey, a passage of time. Our old mates The Damned are close to many hearts.
Since then there has been record deals with Search & Destroy/Raw Power/Spinefarm records, sell out tours around the world, playing at Madison square gardens with the Misfits, gigs with The Hollywood Vampires & the 2018 Tony Visconti produced excellent ‘Evil Spirits’ album, a UK number 7 chart hit. 2019’s ‘Black is the Night: The definite Anthology, with the damned good new tune ‘Black is the Night’. Then more recently the news that The Damned had hit number 1 in the UK vinyl charts for their new EP ‘The Rockfield Files’ which again is fantastic, and drummer Pinch’s last hurrah! (His last gig being the Palladium show) which unsurprisingly brought forward the ‘Bring Rat back brigade’
Now I have always seen the Damned as a current band. Some of the best tours I have seen were the tours around the releases of ‘2001’s ‘Grave Disorder’ album (A real gem) and then 2008’s ‘So Who’s Paranoid’, then more recently the ‘Evil Spirits’ tour. The mix of old & new tunes and an invigorated band have always been my preference. Who is the guy who always shouts out ‘Smash it up! New Rose!’ right from the off…..give me ‘Look left’ & ‘Standing on the edge of tomorrow’ ‘Democracy’ ‘Thrill kill’ anytime.
I remember when I worked with Jamal (Ex Damned manager) & organised a couple of London Live TV interviews with singer Dave Vanian. I stressed in the brief the Damned’s current, happening band status, and to talk about past, PRESENT & future. I thought it vital to be different to the other TV stations that very occasionally have our old mates the Damned on, and clearly have no idea who or what they are dealing with, always just talking about the past….Not on my watch!
Anyway this brings me to the reason why I chose to write my second ever blog about the Damned…(At last! I hear you cry!) The reunion of the original four members for a one-off tour in July 2021. Yes Brian James, Captain Sensible, Rat Scabies & Dave Vanian have reunited as you all know…As it stands its 5 dates (2 in London at the Eventim Apollo) with ticket prices at around £75. I have only just bought a ticket, for the extra date (The Saturday in London) I was not sure at first, I hesitated…something didn’t feel right…. Since the announcement social media feeds have been full of ‘How much!?’ ‘What about Monty & Paul Gray!?’ ‘Rip off’ ‘That’s not punk!’ ‘It’s to fill their pension pots!’ etc etc
Assumptions, everyone making assumptions about why the band are doing it, even breaking down in great detail the estimated costs, and how much each member is set to make from the gigs… what comes next, where it leaves the current line up. Rat will re join after the reunion gigs etc etc The thing is no one really knows, unless you’re in the inner circle you shouldn’t really make assumptions, it is, as they say, what it is, and who cares if they’re doing it for the money, needs must!
The way I see it is…. when I saw the announcement presented by none other than Don Letts, something didn’t sit right with me….. Here I go making assumptions…. The atmosphere seemed tense, it seemed like the band were a little uncomfortable with the situation, maybe being out of the game for so long in terms of facing the media (Rat n James) had a hand in the awkwardness. Maybe it was the Covid restrictions and how they were all seated with the socially distanced rules in place…. Don Letts who I am no fan off (That’s another story) seemed like he knew this was going to be a tough gig, in a vain attempt to get some energy into the band, and to get them to, you know sell themselves with enthusiasm, resorted to shouting at them when met with a lacklustre response ‘Come on Captain, you’ve always got something to say!’ not this time….
Brian seemed distant, I’ve seen some comment on Dave selling parts of his personnel collection of Damned rarities etc Rat’s been skint for ages others have stated. Well what ever the reasons behind the original four getting back together for a ONE OFF tour, this is what many Damned fans have wanted for years. How much did you expect the tickets to cost?? Yes, I was initially shocked by the price, but on reflection, it is what it is, and I’m not missing out on what could be the last time we ever get to see the original line up. I’m just hoping they can pull it off, I was at a recent London Brain James gig and to say he wasn’t match fit is an understatement!
I’m assuming (There I go again) the band have been living pretty comfortably of late with their success of the last four or so years, but then 2020 and the bloody Covid malarkey hit! A whole year of no income for the Damned. Its affected us all, well most of us….mortgage worries, bills, school fees, losing jobs, when can we work again etc The Damned are no different, I say it again…a whole year and counting of no income, apart from royalty payments which these days I doubt will be much. The Damned make their dough from touring, its as simple as that. So, I suspect the reunion came about due in some ways to the current Covid situation, how to claw back some money fast, maybe receiving an advance on ticket sales. I have a sneaky suspicion that this was never on the cards for certain members of the current line up (You make your mind up Captain or Dave) however needs must etc
The Damned have never had a tune picked for a commercial, a true money spinner, whereas other bands have… Buzzcocks, The Cult, New York dolls etc etc and even when they have had a multimillion selling artist cover one of their tracks it was the Brain James written ‘New Rose’ by Guns n Roses back in 93 for the Spaghetti incident album. I’ll never forget my band at the time Mr Jolly supporting the UK Subs in 93, and Charlie Harper saying he didn’t care about Guns version of ‘Down on the farm’ but he was 20 grand better off, or was it 25 grand….
The Damned aren’t getting any younger, we are all getting older, we live in unprecedented times, we are adapting, and I do hope we get back to normal sharpish, none of this ‘new normal’ tosh! If you can afford a ticket go! If you want to that is, support the band that has given you so much over the last however many years. You won’t regret it! If you don’t want to pay that much, wait for the reunion shows to finish and the current band get back on the road. Many think ticket prices will be more expensive post covid for all gigs, I wouldn’t be surprised. Oh my mind has just gone back to the summer of 2019, the last time I saw the Damned, Brighton Concord. I was lucky enough to be the Lovely Jordan Mooney’s guest after I had done some PR work for her fabulous autobiography ‘Defying Gravity’ an excellent read, check it out! The band were on top form in a hot n sticky packed venue, just as it should be!
It’s the beginning of the end of an era if you ask me, but all great things come to an end, can the band ever surpass the heady heights of the palladium gig, Royal Albert Hall etc Can the original line up deliver, be match fit so to speak, I do hope so….I bought a ticket for the Saturday extra date, hoping any teething problems will have been ironed out by then… who knows if the gigs will even happen! Oh blimey! ‘Will Rat re-join the current line up after the reunion??’ well if he does I do hope the issues amongst the individuals are all sorted and they continue to be a current band playing with the energy that comes with the current line up, playing a mix of old & new. The Damned being a constant best of, nostalgia act isn’t what id want in their final approach run, I’d still go as I have for the last 30 years two, three times a year, that’s a lot of gigs. Just for the record I love Monty & Paul Gray (I even wear the Paul Gray t shirt) Long Live The Damned!
I for one would hope that the band members financials are soon sorted and this gives room for a not as lucrative Sensible Gray Cells tour & a Phantom Chords tour to accompany the muted box set release, I can but dream! Is it a dream…..
Think about this when pondering over whether or not to buy a ticket for the reunion shows, one day the Damned will be no more, sooner than you probably think… time waits for no man….it will be a sad day, but that’s life, and as the song goes ….life goes on…and on, and on ….
Tickets can be found here – http://www.officialdamned.com/live/
My first Damned gig was on the ‘Machine Gun’ tour with The Ruts in support (although for the life in me I don’t remember seeing more than three Ruts songs!) for me The Damned, my Damned at least began with ‘Machine Gun’, controversial as it might be I don’t have much time for the first two albums, and my favourite Damned album by a country mile was and indeed is ‘The Black Album’ (oddly funny in some ways in that one of my favourite group in the world ever have a ‘Black Album’ too…)
Over the years I’ve seen The Damned live loads of times, way more than I can either count or choose to remember! Different line-up, indifferent albums (some incredibly good) right across the country and the USA too! Their last studio album ‘Evil Spirits’ is a masterpiece, easy as that…. I do know where the voice-over came from on the DVD version of ‘The Final Damnation’ because I worked on it, Martin Baker (son of actor Stanley) was the Producer, he was given the gig to re-imagine the DVD version, trouble is it was being re-imagined on a shoe string budget, to the nth degree! So I lay no blame at Martin’s door.
The reunion press conference with Don Letts looked like pulling teeth, Dave and Rat kind of looked like they wanted to be there, Brian was elsewhere in is own head space, and somebody had obviously told The Captain upfront to keep it buttoned. Personally it matter very little to me, not my Damned…. For the record I would pay £75 all day long to see Dave, Captain, Paul & Rat perform ‘The Black Album’ in full, especially if I knew it was being filmed for Blu-Ray/DVD release…. Just my two penneth, but there you go!
Stanley Baker!! Of Zulu fame! wow…my inner Zulu war geekness is bubbling …
Brilliant, well written and puts eloquently into words what most of us are thinking. BJ at the 100 Club was a worry as I guess you experienced too, I do so hope he’s OK. An interesting point about the second London night, I am going to the first and I truly wonder if, being the Damned as we know and love them, they will get through that so good luck to all with tickets thereafter.
I remain very concerned as the the PG and Monty question, could this really be the end, I so hope not.
Glad you enjoyed, and I do hope you have a blast at the gig, and the band are on fire….not literally, well Rat’s drum kit maybe….. take care