First Love Never Dies... (The Damned in general)

Member Name: Blurbubble

Product:	The Damned in general
Date:	22/10/01 (102 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Distinctive style, variety, longevity.

Disadvantages: Dogged by the Gothic and punk tags?

..and my first and all time love is original punk band The Damned! I've been a devotee for about 22 years and have seen them live over 30 times during that long relationship - I never tire of them.

Starting back in the heady punk days of 1976 they released the first punk single (no, it wasn't the Sex Pistols!), "New Rose" in late 1976 and it has remained my all-time favourite track for many many years for it's pure burst of in-your-face energy, melody, power and style.

The classic Damned line-up of Dave Vanian (vocals), Captain Sensible (guitar), Rat Scabies (drums) and Brian James (bass) has changed many times over their career and seen numerous band members come and go with each era of their music. As I speak the only original members remaining are Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible.

Over the years they have matured and changed style but never quite left their roots behind and still have a loyal, devoted (and aging!) following as well as picking up younger generations along the way. Their live act is a real thriller for all.

Indeed their latest album, "Grave Disorder" sees more of a return to their punk roots but does not fore-go the inclusion of melody, good song construction and those wonderful Vanian vocals.

Their lyrics have always been interesting, thoughtful and/or amusing and cover every emotion in the spectrum - humour, anger, love, pity, you name it - it's all in their somewhere.

Their many classic studio albums include (in chronological order) "Damned Damned Damned", "Music for Pleasure", "Machine Gun Etiquette", "The Black album", "Strawberries", "Phantasmagoria", "Anything" and "Grave Disorder". As well as these there are also too many "Best of" compilations to mention as well as the numerous live albums. Indeed The Damned have changed record labels so many times it can be so
mewhat hard to keep a track of all the compilations and live albums be they official or otherwise!

My favourite album is "Machine Gun Etiquette" (1979) featuring some of their better known songs such as "Smash it up", "Love Song" and "I just can't be Happy Today" - a true classic album of the punk genre.

For some reason in the mid to late 1980s they picked up the gothic crowd which I never quite understood other than it being down to Vanian's classic gothic vampire look! To me they were, are and will always be an old punk band! However, to anyone unfamiliar with their work, don't be put off by the punk tag if that's not your thing, their material spans much more than that, especially in later albums. With clever use of keyboards, backing vocals and layering they create some melodic masterpieces.

Do give them a listen, you might just discover a new love!

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