Skip to main content

The Damned

The Damned had at it's core Dave Vanian (David Lett), Captain Sensible (Raymond Burns) and Rat Scabies (Chris Millar) who had previously been o a band with future Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde.

Brian James (Brian Robertson) had been a member of the London SS, which included musicians who later found fame in The Clash and Generation X. 

Scabies knew James through a failed audition as drummer for London SS. When the two decided to start their own band, with James on guitar and Scabies on drums, they invited Sid Vicious and Dave Vanian to audition to be the singer. Only Vanian showed up, and got the part.

Sensible became the band's bassist, and the four called themselves The Damned.

The Damned were the first Punk group to release a single 'New Rose', release an Album 'Damned, Damned, Damned'  and the first to tour America.

In my opinion 'New Rose'', has stood the test of time and despite being the first punk single, it is still one of the finest of it's kind.




Other Damned classics are worthy of mention, as they were lead promoters of punk rock in 1977 & 78. Tracks like 'Neat, Neat, Neat' charted



The band split up for a period and then reformed, without Brian James, first as the Doomed and then as the Damned, in 1979 they released 'Smash it up!' followed by 'Love Song'. James was replaced by bassist Algy Ward





My final selection is their classic single 'Eloise', my favourite Damned single ever.


Labels:

Popular Posts

Dexy's Midnight Runners

Dexys Midnight Runners were an English pop band with soul influences from Birmingham, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They are best known in the UK for their songs " Come On Eileen " and " Geno ", both of which peaked at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, as well as six other top-20 singles. The original Dexys Midnight Runners were founded in 1978 in Birmingham, England by Kevin Rowland (vocals, guitar) and Kevin "Al" Archer (vocals, guitar). Both had been in the short-lived punk band the Killjoys. Rowland had previously written a Northern soul-style song that the two of them sang, " Tell Me When My Light Turns Green ", which became the first Dexys "song". The band's members were "Big" Jim Paterson (trombone), Geoff "JB" Blythe (saxophone, previously of Geno Washington's Ram Jam Band), Steve "Babyface" Spooner (alto saxophone), Pete Saunders (keyboard), Pete Williams (ba...
Read more

The Rezillos

The Rezillos were a punk/new wave band formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in th emid 1970s. Although they emerged at the same time as other bands in the punk rock movement, the Rezillos  took a more light-hearted approach to their songs. Their songs were heavily influenced by 1950s rock and roll, 1960s English beat music and garage rock, early 1970s glam rock, and recurring lyrical themes of science fiction and B movies; their influences mirrored those of US bands the Cramps and the B-52s, who were starting out at the same time.  The Rezillos' biggest hit in their home country was the UK Top 20 single " Top of the Pops " in 1978, but they are best known outside the UK for their cover version of " Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight ". Released in July 1978, the Rezillos' first studio album " Can't Stand the Rezillos " (and one of my favourite albums) is considered a classic of the first wave of British punk, but the group split up...
Read more

The Tourists

The Tourists were a British rock and pop band. They achieved brief success in the late 1970s before the band split in 1980. Two of its members, singer Annie Lennox and guitarist Dave Stewart, went on to international success as Eurythmics. As the Tourists they released a number of track as singles and had quite some success, I saw the band at Reading Uni, and they were a firm favourite at the time. The tracks I want to list here are a cross section of their output... ' The Loneliest man in the World ' and the Dusty Springfield cover " I Only Want to Be with You " both from 1979. And from 1980  " So Good to Be Back Home Again "
Read more