the damned

Top 10 not in any order:

1)  White Stripes –Vault #33 Icky Thump X
Third Man Records Vault only release, 10 year anniversary edition. Includes a wacko coloured vinyl re-press of the double album plus two bonus albums containing all the non-album b-sides and the full demos housed in a way out box. The demos are furious ! Only released for a few months via Third Man Records.

2) Shy Impostors CD (maxi EP/mini album CD)
Unleashed by those God-loving folks at Citadel Records. Seven demos recorded 1980 and now finally after a loving re-mix by Jason Blackwell sound truly fab. The songs, vocals and rough as guts musicianship by these proto legends are gold. Melodic and dirty.

3)  Buffalo Revisited gig at Brewtality Festival in Melbourne
Is it truly an honour for me after being a Buffalo fan since 1974 to be playing with their mighty vocalist Dave Tice with some fellow Buffalo maniacs (Troy and Marcus). And to be playing those great songs (a mind melt to learn btw). We hit our cosmic groove at the Brewtality Festival in Melbourne; more to come for sure.

Brian James recorded this in 1990. That’s post-The Lords of the New Church, when his co-founding of The Damned was a shrinking image in his own career rear vision mirror. It was his debut solo album when it came out on French label New Rose, yet it barely rates a mention in summaries of his back catalogue.

Cue: UK label Easy Action to right that wrong and drop a big, fat vinyl re-issue.

If Brian James had only played on all (and written most) of “Damned Damned Damned” and then pulled a Jim Morrison by growing a beard and a beer gut and bunking off to live in obscurity in Africa, he’d still be remembered as one of British punk’s great progenitors. The guy was equally integral to The Damned's second album, “Music for Pleasure”, too but the band disowns that one for its lame production.

Brian James
De Rellas
100 Club, London
Friday, August 23, 2019

While the Damned are busy touring Oz, Brian James, the band's co-founder and architect of their "Damned, Damned, Damned" album, is playing a solo band show at the 100 Club.

Now there’s too much academic analysis over who invented punk. Some people refer to The Sonics from mid ‘60s America as the first punks, or The Ramones; some (well from Australia. anyway) will plump for Birdman or The Saints. Who issued the first single is beyond debate. The Damned's “New Rose” was the first punk single. 

What do you get when you mix two veterans of the SoCal punk rawk scene with a couple of its UK equivalent’s most storied names? This here disc, guv’nor, and a fine slice of rockin’ psych-tinged pop it is. 

Sometimes worlds collide in the best way possible and here’s a prime I’ll-have-one-thin-and-crispy-with-the-lot-and-don’t-forget-the-anchovies example. Genres are less a restrictive tag than a challenge for these guys. 

Alfie Agnew (a real-life maths professor) and Sean Elliott (he’d be the madman) are the US-based principals in Professor and The Madman. The pair played together in D.I., a long-running off-shoot of the Adolescents and Social Distortion, the former being from where Agnew came. 

Rat Scabies, of the (stillborn but legendary) London SS, The Mutants and of course The Damned, was co-opted as a recording member after guest-playing “Smash It Up” with Agnew and Elliott at a US show. The hook-up with Paul Gray - surely the best bassist The Damned ever had (and he’s back with them now), whose prior form includes Eddie & The Hotrods and UFO - came via Facebook. 

The podcasts are coming thick and fast now. Episode 32 of Drunk and Disorderly is live, with music from Donald Trump, The Damned, Flamin ‘ Groovies, Sator, The Hellacopters, The Godfathers, The Volcanics, Dion Lunadon, James McCann and The New Vindictives, Leadfinger, P76, X, The Hip Priests and The Dream Syndicate.

Legendary British rock and roll group The Godfathers will release a new double A side single - "I’m Not Your Slave" b/w "Wild And Free" - on June 17 to celebrate the 35th anniversary since the band’s formation. 

Both tracks were recorded immediately prior to the Coronavirus lockdown in the UK and although composed late last year, strike a chord with current events. Sole surviving original member Peter Coyne describes them as “truly exciting, state of the art rock and roll”.

Following an acrimonious split with the last line-up, frontman Coyne is joined by guitarist Richie Simpson and drummer Billy Duncanson (both previously in Heavy Drapes and Baby’s Got A Gun), bass player Jon Priestley from iconic punk band The Damned and guitarist Wayne Vermaak. 

The Godfathers - famed for their primal rock sound with songs like "Birth School Work Death", "I Want Everything" and "Unreal World", a mob inspired image and explosive live concerts - will resume touring in 2021 to promote a new studio album.

The single is available in limited edition, seven-inch vinyl single and limited edition CD that features the two numbers, plus demo versions of both songs unavailable in any other format. Pre-orders here.

Iconic punks The Damned are returning to Australia and New Zealand for a series of highly anticipated shows in June.

Forged in the hot fire of first wave, The Damned are the greatest surviving British punk band, still firing on all cylinders. They are often regarded alongside The Clash and Sex Pistols as a seminal force in driving the genre’s popularity.

The Damned - arguably the greatest surviving British punk band, bar none - are back to inflict their brand of insanity on Australia in August for three shows only.

Still firing on all cylinders and breaking all the rules, this most spiritually chaotic of all punk groups have never been away, never surrendered their ideals, always forged onwards. When Lemmy of Motörhead famously referred to them as “the only real punk band” you know they are the real deal.

Their live show is still as riotous as ever. As The Independent said: “They have become, if possible, more eccentric and outrageous as they grow older, with many of their live traits coming across as delightfully raucous.” Tickets go on sale Thursday 18 April at 9am here. 

TOUR DATES:
Thursday 22 August – Factory Theatre, Sydney 18+
Friday 23 August – The Triffid, Brisbane 18+
Saturday 24 August – Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne 18+
  
 

The Damned are the unassailable living gods of Punk Rock; and for the have assembled the absolute classic line-up of the band for their farewell Australian tour in 2024.

Drummer Rat Scabies has rebuilt bridges and will rejoin the ranks, which these days comprises vocalist Dave Vanian, guitarist Captain Sensible and bassist Paul Gray.

The word from the Rat: “It seemed like the right time. We wanted to do this while we are all still upright, breathing and capable of doing it at a high level and challenge ourselves and each other for the fans. 

“We will play the best of ‘Machine Gun Etiquette’, ‘The Black Album’ and ‘Strawberries’ albums and chuck in all the other classics. Paul’s playing great (just did the Professor and the Madmen album thing with him), as is Captain and Dave’s singing great too so it’s going to be amazing to be back."

You know the history: “New Rose” is recognised as the first single by a punk band, coming out five weeks before the Sex Pistols’“Anarchy In the UK”… the first British punk band to tour the United States…pathfinders for Goth Rock. 

The Damned havce been regular Australian tourists but the band is billing this as their last tour here. They'll be doing it on the back of a 2023 album, "Darkadelic" that comes 46 year after their debut LP.

Pre-sale tickets are on sale here at from December 5 

The Damned Australian Tour
2024
MAR
20 - The Tivoli, Brisbane
21 - Enmore Theatre, Sydney
22 - Northcote Theatre, Melbourne
24 - Hindley St Music Hall, Adelaide
26 - Astor Theatre, Perth

The Damned: A Night Of A Thousand Vampires (Live in London) 2CD & Blu Ray
One of my all-time favourite bands. The Damned can do no wrong. Been blasting this a lot over the summer.

Evil Roomers: "Then Again/Revibe" 2CD
Comprising of an Evil Roomers rehearsal tape plus an additional disc of reworked and overdubbed recordings. Listening to this it is clear that the late Ian Krahe provided X with quite a lot of music that lives on in many of their signature songs.

Albert Bouchard: "Re-Imaginos" CD
Originally released in 2020, I only managed to grab a copy this year. Former Blue Oyster Cult (BOC) drummer Albert Bouchard re-imagines their much-maligned “Imaginos” concept album, originally a Bouchard solo project, released back in the mid-80s. “Re-Imaginos” features all new recordings and a double-album’s worth of material as initially intended. His talent as a writer and arranger is fully evident here, and the understated acoustic based backing lets the songs stand on their own without distraction. It is easy to see how the quality of BOC releases following his departure dropped in quality, his absence highlighting the importance of his artistic contributions to the original band. Guests include Ross “The Boss” Friedman and former BOC bassist Joseph Bouchard.

THE DAMNED

PAT TODD AND THE RANKOUTSIDERS

REV. PAUL S. CUNNINGHAM

Rev. Paul S. Cunningham's YouTube channel

BILLY MOTHERFUCKING IDOL & STEVE STEVENS
I just love those guys with all my little black heart, exactly what I set out to do with my own little rebel rock amigo,s before they got seduced by the dark side of the force! They still write killer songs from the heart and can rock with anyone. Hope to meet 'em before I die!

BOOTSEY X & THE LOVEMASTERS

THE CULT

THE GOLDEN RAT
I was pen pals with Hiroshi The Golden Arm way back in his Remains days, he is the Johnny Thunders Of Japan. The World Famous Mister Ratboy has been one of my guiding lights since we first met at a Thunders benefit when I was about 21. I love the guy. He taught me a lot.

HANGMEN
Bryan Small and Jimmy James from the Comatones are like, the coolest motherfuckers in the world. Comatones are my #1 soul brothers.

MIKE MONROE
So Lordsy, little bit goth, little bit new wave, right up my alley!

HOZAC BOOKS & RECORDS
This label or publishing imprint is a juggernaut of non stop cool as fuck rock 'n' roll action. Book after book, record after record, few people are delivering this much dynomite goodness in this ever darkening age.From Jeff Drake of The Joneses autobiography to Bebe Buell and James Calvin Wilsey books. i loved their essential history of Floridian underground music scene,"Punk Under the Sun". Every little thing they do is da nazz!

HoZac Books – HoZac Records

GUERILLA TEENS
The highlight of my own personal, long dead rock ‘n’ roll misadventures was when one of my many set-to-sel-destruct-before-our-fifteen-minutes, suicide and glam rock punk gangs opened for The Humpers on their "Positively Sick On Fourth Street" tour, way back in the day. They taught us lowlife hoodlums a thing or two about how to rock the shit out of a namby pamby poseur college bar. You know Scott “Deluxe” Drake from a long procession of badass punkroll bands like Suicide Kings and Vice Principals. His latest, the Guerilla Teens finds him in his second or third angry youth, he is as punk rock as it gets, and a fearless frontman, like few others.

CAITLIN JOHNSTONE
,,,is an amazing artist and my favorite contemporary writer, she comes from Australia - like so many of my favorite things like the Divinyls and Cosmic Psychos and Rowland S. Howard and Beasts Of Bourbon. An absolute treasure, poet, truth teller and flat out soulful, motherfucking public intellectual. FREE ASSANGE!

Caitlin Johnstone - YouTube

Assange Exposes The Empire’s True Face: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix – Caitlin Johnstone

GENE LOVES JEZEBEL
As a notorious local yokel new wave fag fronting some glammish garage bands in the long gone ‘80s, I took boatloads of shit from dumb redenck assholes for being way into Gene Loves Jezebel, Prince, the Cure, and Flesh for Lulu. They are still absolutely holy, in my book.

MY FAVE MODERN NEW WAVE SINGER
Laur, from Veglam, is so talented and I love all his bands! 

Bandcamp

Facebook

RICHARD DUGUAY
Most talented rocknroll motherfucker in decades. If you like Lou Reed, Thunders, Bowie, the Dolls, old Alice, or even Jim Morrison, this dude is the black cat. heroic! He's so good at everything! When I reunite the band and my ship comes in, I'ma get him to produce me. 

BLACK BOMBERS
Featuring ex-members of The Godfathers, Gunfire Dance and Dave Kusworth's bands! They kick a lot of ass.

ROLLING STONES
England's Newset Hitmakers! One of my most cherished old collaborators turned me on to this!

THE LOVELESS
Marc Almond, another childhood role model, joins forces with my guitar hero, Neal X from Sigue Sputnik. One of my best hairdays was in 1988 when a chick named Mickey McCarcken sent a limo to pick me and my old guitarist up to attend her graduation at one of the many high schools I was expelled from, primarily for "chronic dresscode violations" and where they pressed charges against me for, get this: "Malicious Destruction Of County Property Felony 4"...for drawing new wave logos in my history book and challenging the wrestlling coach's racist whitewash settler colonial narratives. He used to put me in the classroom closet as an expample to the squarse. Fuck you, Mister Heimer.

Oh yeah, the hair! I achieved maximum Neal X like glory with a blow drier and a whole can of Aqua Net that day, and got to sit in the bleachers with the love of my new wave youth, who was there to see the trendy soccer kid she had ditched me for while I was in juvenile detention. The Loveless are like Spiders From Mars in an age of Fascism, censorship, and genocide. i love 'em to tears.

SHANE MACGOWAN FOREVER

Top Ten for 2024 in order of event

The Breeders at Enmore Theatre
Starting off with "Saints", ending with "Divine Hammer" and everything you’d want to hear in between.

Grazza-Fest at The Great Club
We lost a beautiful man last year so we all got together to celebrate Graham Bowditch the best way we know how. With the music he loved. Held on the weekend of his annual BBQs, the bands were: The Strike-Outs, Hellebores, The Glycereens, Rocks, The Pink Fits, The Hard-Ons, and they all provided a great night of entertainment.

Recording with The Jane Does at Rancom St Studios
The studio is owned by Garth Porter from Sherbet and we had the opportunity to record a song ("Around the Bend)" there for an upcoming pop culture doco by Larry McGrath called "Yesterday’s Highway". We had Tim Carr as producer and he worked his magic with us.

Human League at Enmore Theatre
Managed to score a last-minute ticket to this one thanks to my bandmate Matt. Performing the classic "Dare" album in full plus a selection of their other songs. Given that it’s mostly done on synths they were able to replicate their sound perfectly.  

Private Function
Best Oz Punk band by far out of the current crop.

Old Chisel
Only way you get out is by dying, live show still strong.

1. THE MUNKS and THE STALLERS @THE MOSH PIT, SYDNEY
Opening act The Stallers pumped out a high-energy set , a mix of obscure garage covers and originals. Loved it , good guys , great players led by head gunslinger DARREN FALCONSTEIN who plays in many other bands like BAHNE SUPER-FLEX.  All the way from Ulladulla  THE MUNKS pumped out the Raw ROCKNROLL, a sense of humour , showmanship and quality playing. Probably my favourite Semi - local band I've seen in a long time. 

2. The JOHNNYS, @THE OLD BOATSHED, MANLY
I saw THE JOHNNYS  many times in the ‘80s, one time at Selinas supporting the HOODOO GURUS and THE JOHNNYS blew them away. It's  ow 2024 , 40 years later. SPENCER, unfortunately, isn't there but HOODY, SLIM and BILLY still blasting the stuff that hooked me as a teenager. 

3. The DAMNED @ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY
Some bands get old and bitter, these guys don't. The more I listen to THE DAMNED the more I appreciate and love them.  Punk, Goth, Pop - call them what you want, I call them  awesome. RAT SCABIES was a highlight,  I didn't realise how good a drummer he was.....possibly second only to CLEM BURKE.

Last Bite b/w You Take My Money -Black Bombers  (Easy Action Records) 

So, Black Bombers are on tour through UK, which to many of us may seem bizarre as the place is far more riddled with the stupidvirus than we are in Australia. However, almost everyone's been vaccinated and boosted, and the latest major variant, BA.2 doesn't wallow in the lungs like a family of grumpy hippos like the Delta and Co did. 

Now: there's only 300 copies of this single and I can't imagine there'd be that many left. Get on it while you can.

Why? well, first, the BBs are freaking awesome (as the young folk used to say) live and if you only have what they've released so far - a self-titled LP, a seven-inch “'Rush” b/w “Raw Ramp” (a Bolan cover), and the mini-LP “Volume 4”, then you know what you're in for, and any and every release from the BBs is greasy dark manna from Purgatory.

The Dammed
The Factory Theatre, Marrickville
Thursday, August 20 2019
Photos: Monique Simmons

Culturally, Britain was so different to the USA in so many ways in the ‘70s, and that had much to do with distance.  The US is a vast place with all sorts of cultures and entrainment influences. The south was different to the west coast and out was again different to the east. And that really showed in the disparate pockets of music that sprang up everywhere.

On the other hand, England was more centralised. Long before the ‘70s dawned, it had the ingrained tradtiion of music halls as its historical DNA.

Music halls were everywhere. At one time there were more than 200 theatres in London alone. They hosted events running for four hours and ranging from comedy, clowning, horror to serious drama. For more than a century, popular theatre was a staple for the working man and middle class alike. 

Well, you may ask, what has this got to do with The Damned appearing live in Sydney on a Thursday night? I say, everything. A Dammed gig is like a trip through classic British pantomime and theatre, full of drama and packed with wit and slapstick. 

Long term denizens of this scurvy establishment will need no introduction to the names Captain Sensible(nee Ray Burns) and Paul Gray.  If there was such a thing as punk rock royalty (and I’m against it on general principle), these guys would at least be Grand Dukes or Princes or some such.   

For those of you who are slumming it, Captain Sensible is the more fluorescent face of The Damned.  His beret and toilet mat jumper has besmirched the covers of a good many picture covers of hit singles, including a surprise run as a solo star. 

Paul Gray came to the world’s attention with fellow graduates of the class of ’76 Eddie and the HotRods.  Paul has also had three runs as bass player in the Damned and the kind of resume that would have you blushing with jealousy. He played on Johnny Thunders’ “So Alone” so don’t you go comparing resumes.  He’s Paul Gray and you’re not.