First got into them after Strawberries and went backwards through everything I could get my hands on to tape and return and in some instances actually buy when I could afford it. Wild memories of finding an original sealed copy of The Black Album in the Midland of Education shop for £1:99, the album itself would have been 4 years old at that point and had been re-released as a single album with a different sleeve and was already a collectible.
The first album released in real time, after I’d gotten into them was Phantasmagoria, the first album without Captain Sensible, it aimed for the mainstream and to an extent achieved this, I always thought it was a poorer album than all that preceded it, I have recently however begun to really love it. The 80’s alternative feel of it, it’s just different and with time it has matured well as opposed to my this isn’t The Damned reaction when it came out.
They were the 4th band / gig I saw live if I remember correctly, The Smiths, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, a CND rally event in London (The Communards, Gill Scott Heron, The Style Council), then The Damned, this would have been 1985.
Love the whole Sensible’s a wanker thing at gigs, for it does appear that he is indeed a wanker, good fun, but yeah, great guitarist mind. The Damned still put on a good live show, real shame Rat Scabies isn’t part of it, I’ve always really rated him as a drummer.
For me, everything, up to (and now) including Phantasmagoria is essential Damned, I didn’t know Bryn Merrick had passed away until relatively recently. The footage here captures them at the time I first saw them, well a year after, and as a band that mid 80’s version of The Damned is so cool to look back at now, even if at the time I was pining for the OG line up.
Great band, hugely influential for me, would be interested to hear what other think.
- I’m keen to revisit the goth albums as I’m more into that kind of stuff these days than I was when I was just a silly punk, haha!
