On December the 3rd , the ultimate version of the first ever British Punk album Damned, Damned, Damned is released. Damned, Damned, Damned features the first UK punk single New Rose and 11 further tracks, that in just over 30 minutes rewrote the musical landscape. To The Damned. Punk Rock was all about the the music they played and the attitude required to play it
This anniversary edition contains not only the original album but also a disc of BBC sessions and rarities and the bands first gig supporting the Sex Pistols at the 100 Club, an exclusive 4th disc contains a rare hour long documentary on the making of the album and the events leading up to it, with comments from the band and contempories such as Chrissie Hynde and Glenn Matlock.
The box set is packed with rare photos (some never seen before) as well as a brand new essay from Mojo’s Kieron Tyler who for the first time interviews all 4 members of the band to provide a great background to the album all encased in a fanzine style book.
The Damned Song Book (in hard back) is available in this set for the first time since 1976 as well as 3 badges and a poster containing Pete Frames legendary family tree.
History
“I thought the Damned caught the true spirit of punk , as understood by punks, better than their rivals’ – John Peel
The Damned were, for a short while in 1976, well ahead of the game.Their appearance on the nascent Stiff label joined the dots between punk’s older brother: pub rock and the younger, hipper crowd. Not only did they use ex-Brinsley Schwartz bass player Nick Lowe as house producer, but the label printed a picture of Eddie And The Hot Rods on the rear. Each track feature’s the hammering toms of Rat Scabies and Captain Sensible’s bass-as-guitar propelling Brian James’ machine gun axe. If Dave Vanian’s frequently flat delivery sounded distinctly laissez faire then it all added to the thrill of a band bent on acts of auto-destruction.
The key moment has to be Vanian’s sarcastic lampooning of the Shangri-Las in his ‘Is she really going out with him?’ intro to “New Rose”. This was a band who wanted to exercise the fact that they’d fused their love of early Stooges, MC5 into witty, brief bursts of anti-pop.
Brian James’ songs somehow encapsulated the thrill and nihilism of youth (“I Feel Alright”, “Neat Neat Neat”, “I Fall”) while Rat Scabies’ one contribution injected a fine sense of nasty humour as well (“Stab Your Back”).
The album highlights a number of ‘firsts’. The first UK punk single (“New Rose”), the first punk band to land a major tour (supporting Marc Bolan) and, of course, the first proper punk LP (easily a year before the Pistols).
This is truly the last word on this classic punk album and here’s New Rose
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Damned, Damned Damned Track listing
Disc One
01 Neat, Neat, Neat.
02 Fan Club.
03 I Fall.
04 Born To Kill.
05 Stab Your Back.
06 Feel The Pain.
07 New Rose.
08 Fish.
09 See Her Tonite.
10 1 Of The Two
11 So Messed Up.
12 I Feel Alright.
Disc 2
01 I Fall. demo June 1976
02 See Her Tonite. demo June 1976
03 Feel The Pain. demo June 1976
04 Help. Stiif B-side Oct 1976
05 Stab Your Back. Peel Session 30/11/76
06 Neat, Neat, Neat. Peel Session 30/11/76
07 New Rose. Peel Session 30/11/76
08 So Messed Up. Peel Session 30/11/76
09 I Fall. Peel Session 30/11/76
10 Singalongascabies Stiff B-Side February 1977
11 Fan Club. Peel Session 5/5/77
12 Feel The Pain. Peel Session 5/5/77
13 Stretcher Case Baby. Peel Session 5/5/77
14 Sick Of Being Sick. Peel Session 5/5/77
15 I Feel Alright. In Concert 19/5/77
16 Born To Kill. In Concert 19/5/77
17 Sick Of Being Sick. In Concert 19/5/77
18 Neat, Neat, Neat. In Concert 19/5/77
19 Fan Club. In Concert 19/5/77
20 Stretcher Case Baby In Concert 19/5/77
21 Help. In Concert 19/5/77
22 Stab Your Back. In Concert 19/5/77
23 So Messed Up. In Concert 19/5/77
24 New Rose. In Concert 19/5/77
25 Stretcher Case Baby. Stiff Single July 1977
26 Sick Of Being Sick. Stiff Single July 1977
Disc 3
01 1 Of The 2. Live @ 100 Club
02 New Rose. Live @ 100 Club
03 Alone. Live @ 100 Club
04 Help. Live @ 100 Club
05 Fan Club. Live @ 100 Club
06 I Feel Alright. Live @ 100 Club
07 Feel The Pain. Live @ 100 Club
08 Fish. Live @ 100 Club
09 Circles. Live @ 100 Club
10 See Her Tonite. Live @ 100 Club
11 I Fall. Live @ 100 Club
12 So Messed Up. Live @ 100 Club
Disc 4
01 Is She Really Going Out With Him. Radio One Damned Documentary.
02 Rock On Interview. Radio One interview.
03 Interview with Capt.Sensible & Rat Scabies Radio One interview.
Links:
http://www.officialdamned.com/
