IT is no secret that The Damned are one of my favourite bands – ever since I first saw them on The Young Ones – and I first saw them in Newcastle in the 1980s on the Anything tour (in fact I did try to write a review of that gig in the vain attempt to get a job with Sounds magazine). So it was too tempting to grab the chance of reviewing them several times in recent years and Captain Sensible gave my wife a full on snog at one of their gigs in Scarborough (but that is another story). But it all started with a delayed interview with singer David Vanian because he had to take his cat to the vets which is as far removed from rock ‘n’ roll as you can imagine…

THERE has been a lot of ……. under the bridge since Dave Vanian (real name Letts) made his singing debut with The Damned, cutting a distinctive figure in his Dracula-like garb.

The date was July 6, 1976 – the venue was London’s 100 Club and the headline band were called The Sex Pistols.

Almost 30 years later Vanian is back with the punk legends at the Baths Hall, Scunthorpe, this Saturday, when the town’s own No Faith support them on their Pop Be Damned tour.

Colleague Ian Duncan interviewed the master of goth punk, despite a delay over rushing his cat to the vet for emergency treatment.

He told Ian: “The tour’s been good; we’ve only done three shows, one was at a Pontin’s Holiday camp.

“I have no memories of playing Scunthorpe. No doubt it’ll all come flooding back when we get there.

Recalling the glamour of touring Vanian said: “There’s one venue where the dressing room was a toilet. It was tiny, only two cubicles, you couldn’t get the whole band in at once.

“We’ve had a lot of bad times in our career. People agree that we should have been big, but we didn’t make any money.”

Only Vanian and Captain Sensible (Ray Burns) remain from the 1976 line-up, but he feels that the current band is the best in a long time.

He said: “We are better now than we were 15 years ago. A lot of people have come out to help us.”

Vanian is in fact married to the bassist Patricia Morrison. What’s it like having his wife in the band?

He said: “It’s not really an issue. She holds the band together, she’s the glue that’s kept it going. If other members have a problem. it is usually Patricia that they go running to sort things out.”

Of their future plans, he revealed: “We’ve already started bits and pieces for the next album. We had some left over from the Grave Disorder sessions.”

From the Scunthorpe Telegraph on Thursday, April 24, 2003.

Welcome blast from the 70s

COLLEAGUE Ian Duncan also enjoyed Saturday’s show by The Damned and he writes: support acts included former Scunthorpe 80s band Big Red Gun, now known as No Faith, who had reformed for one night only. They put in a performance as sharp as their suits.

Also from Scunthorpe Mitchell flouted the no cover versions policy by doing songs from bands as diverse as Motorhead and The Pistols.

The Damned emerged out of the swirling smoke and we were immediately transported back to 1976.

Dave Vanian is still the man in black, but he has left the goth-frilliness and big hair behind, adopting a more sleek 1950s sartorial style.

The look is completed with a neckerchief as chequered as the bands career. He is a gothIc lounge lizard who still possesses that deeply resonant voice.

Captain Sensible, sporting his trademark kilt and red beret, exchanges banter with the crowd, dealing with hecklers like a veteran stand-up comic.

Patricia Morrison just gets on with the job of playing bass while clearly enjoying the show at the same time.

With Pinch on drums and Montv Oxymoron on keyboards the band have a full sound and it is good to see a band having such a good time on stage.

There was a good mix of old and new stuff – from New Rose and Eloise to songs from their current CD Grave Disorder.

The still have an air of menace which is most welcome in this age of processed pap offered up from the music industry’s production line.

Neat Neat Neat lurches into their version of Break On Through by The Doors and the improvisation works well as the crowd goes wild filling the mosh pit.

They finally asked for requests from the audience and Smash It Up rounds off the night wonderfully.

From The Scunthorpe Telegraph on Thursday, May 1, 2003.

Salute to a damned fine gig!

The Damned at Vivaz last Friday. Photo and words by Ian Duncan.

IT IS hardly surprising there was a capacity crowd to see the Damned’s return to Scarborough for the first time in 30 years but Vivaz owner Paul Murray initially doubted it would sell out.

He bet promoter Jon Connor he would bear his backside in Debenhams window if there was a huge demand for tickets – and there was photographic evidence of the forfeit hanging on the wall for all to see.

The gig sold out, with about 430 people paying the steepest ticket price in the venue’s history – £13.50.

The Damned were almost upstaged by support band Snatch, a popular Scarborough trio with phenomenal energy, who breathed punky new life into distinctly non-punk classics such as Mrs Robinson.

You could feel the collective anticipation from the crowd just before the Damned took the stage to the strains of the Monkees classic Daydream Believer.

But as they ripped into the opening track, Love Song, I am immediately transported 30 years back in time to the golden age of punk.

Original members, vocalist Dave Vanian and guitarist Captain Sensible, were solidly backed by Stu West on bass, Monty Oxymoron on keyboards and drummer Pinch.

It was good to hear favourites such as Neat Neat Neat, Fan Club, Smash It Up and Jet Boy, Jet Girl nestling nicely with more recent material like Shadow of Love and Eloise.

I got the impression Pinch was not too pleased with the lighting and the band struggled at times with the sound system.

But, despite these problems, the audience lapped up the performance and there was a lot of pogoing going on.

During the encore one courageous soul clambered on stage to join in but, even with Dave Vanian’s encouragement, nerves must have got the better of him because he could only manage a plaintive Eloise – how disappointing.

Proceedings were nicely rounded off with I Feel Alright and, speaking with the band after the gig, I was assured they would be back and we will not have to wait 30 years this time. And I for one am damned pleased to hear it.

From the Scarborough Evening News on Wednesday, September 26, 2007.

‘A different class’

The Damned at Vivaz last Saturday. Review by John Ritchie and photo by Ian Duncan.

THE Sex Pistols will be remembered more readily as the definitive punk-rock band of the 1970s but for those of us of a certain age the Damned were by far the best.

I was 19 when Captain Sensible (Ray Burns), Dave Vanian and crew released their first album, Damned Damned Damned, and I think the two remaining original members of the set-up, formed more than 30 years ago, have just got better and better.

What I couldn’t understand as I turned into Huntriss Row was why there wasn’t a queue of people stretching down to Foreshore Road.

Let’s be clear about this. These guys are brilliant and while I’m the first to acknowledge the musical talent on offer today, Burns and Vanian are in a different class. That’s not to detract from the performances of Pinch on drums, Stu West on bass guitar and the absolutely bonkers Monty Oxymoron on keyboards.

Vanian’s voice is amazing. A couple of times during the night he reminded me of Jim Morrison, another singer most people who went to see the Pigeon Detectives last October in Vivaz won’t have heard of.

Without wishing to sound too much like a star-stuck teenage girl, I couldn’t believe I was standing just a few feet away from Captain Sensible.

“I love Scarborough,” he said. He called for the rebuilding of the south-bay pool, urging people to write to the Town Hall. “Let’s start a campaign,” he added. It was at that point that I decided I’d probably had too much to drink and looked for somewhere to sit down.

A couple of months ago I paid tribute to Scarborough entrepreneur Paul Murray for his part in helping to make the town such a great place to hear live music. That was after a Stiff Little Fingers gig.

I should have also included John Conner, the promoter behind bringing both of the bands to Scarborough. Both men should be congratulated for their efforts and rewarded by every single ticket on offer being sold. Rumours are that Stiff Little Fingers are due to make another visit to the town this October. Make sure you don’t miss them or the Damned if they ever decide to make a return trip.

From the Scarborough Evening News on Wednesday, August 6, 2008.

Still taking listeners by storm 40 years on

IT is hard to believe that it is 40 years since The Damned first took the country by storm during the long hot summer of 1976.

They were the first UK punk band to release a single, album and tour the United States — while the Sex Pistols were still too busy dreaming up their next headline grabbing publicity stunt, writes IAN DUNCAN, who caught their appearance at The Brickyard, Carlisle, on Friday.

However, it was not until around a decade later that I first saw them, as the musical guests on the anarchic comedy series The Young Ones — I was hooked by their dark melodic rock, and the gothic grandeur of the Phantasmagoria album sealed the deal.

It is quite a coup for a local band to land an opening support slot for the main act, but Carlisle’s very own Cosmic Cat rose to the occasion. Fronted by the charismatic vocalist Snoz they even managed to include an homage to The Damned by quoting a few lines from that very first single, New Rose, during one of their songs.

They have managed to achieve a cult following in North Cumbria, being a permanent fixture on the music scene for more than 20 years, and there are strong rumours of a second album on the horizon.

Dohnut (formerly known as eating disorder) brought their own brand of cyberpunk noise amid a riotous explosion of dayglow colours.

Packing an impressive arsenal of infectiously catchy tunes they soon had the crowd on their feet. As well as a new album due out in October they had a range of quality merchandise on offer — including tea towels.

But it was The Damned that everyone had turned out for. Over the past four decades there have been several line-up changes, but guitarist Captain Sensible and vocalist Dave Vanian have once again been reunited.

The good Captain joked that they were the oldest band on the bill that night as the band kicked off with an old favourite, Plan 9 Channel 7.

They quickly rattled through their back catalogue and it was good to hear the hits such as Love Song, Just Can’t Be Happy Today, Eloise, New Rose and Neat Neat Neat.

But this was not just a greatest hits tour and they offered lesser known tracks such as Dozen Girls, Generals and Nasty — the very track they performed on The Young Ones more than 30 years ago.

Sensible, who even has his own personalised amplifier stack, complete with his trademark red beret, is a truly underrated musician who delighted the crowd with his behind-the-head guitar theatrics.

And Vanian, dressed head to toe in black, has perfected the gothic lounge lizard-look backed up by his own uniquely eldritch vocals.

During the gig the Captain joked that the current line-up has been the longest lasting in the band’s history, but it was easy to see why — and it looks set to continue as they head towards their half century.

I left with the tune from Smash It Up still rattling around my head and I am sure I wasn’t the only one to be thoroughly entertained that night.

From The Cumberland & Westmorland herald on Saturday, August 13, 2016.