British punk outfit The Damned make their way back to Australia for a 50th farewell anniversary tour this month, promising to go out with a mighty bang, playing hits from their mid-‘70s punk days to the goth and alternative rock anthems of the years that followed.
They remain one of the most influential acts to emerge from the UK, and frontman Dave Vanian – for all his vampirish good looks and rich baritone vocal range – is sure to belt out the hits that shaped the band, including the first single “New Rose to Neat Neat Neat” and “Smash it Up.”
Earlier this year, The Damned went back in the studio to make their 13th album, Not Like Everybody Else, covering artists they admired in the ’60s and ‘70s. But unlike cover albums released by other artists in the past, theirs is steeped in a retelling of an era in which they grew up.
From “Gimme Danger” by The Stooges, Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play” and “When I Was Young” by Eric Burdon and The Animals – these songs were those they adored as teens growing up in England.
“We didn’t want to cover the obvious choices on this album,” reflects Dave Vanian of the album, made at Revolver Studio in Los Angeles, while speaking to Rolling Stone AU/NZ.
“We had been talking about doing this album for a while, and when our guitarist Brian James from the band passed away last year, we realised we wanted to base the album around his input of the music he grew up with. It focuses on those artists who were influential to him as a guitarist, and we’ve sort of loosely dedicated this to Brian more than anything else. The songs have all affected us in one way or another.”
For someone who wanted to be a graphic designer and not a lead singer, Vanian found himself joining The Damned in 1976 when he was invited to audition by founding members Brian James and Rat Scables. Turns out he was one of two vocalists asked to try out that day -but when the other didn’t turn up, Vanian got offered the gig.
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“I wasn’t a professional singer, and I didn’t know what the hell I was doing back then,” he says.
“I didn’t even want to be in the music; I wanted to be in graphic art and was an artist. I lied to them and said I had sung in some bands and ended up getting this audition. I did the job, and the rest is history. The other guy who didn’t turn up was Sid Vicious.”
On achieving a 50th milestone in the music industry, Vanian says it doesn’t feel as long as it sounds.
“I always wanted to be part of the music scene, but never expected it to take 50 years of my life,” he says.
“I don’t like to think about how long I have been doing something, though, because I’ve been in the band for half a century. When you say it like that, I do feel old.”
Rewind back to 1985, and the iconic Damned album art for Phantasmagoria features a young model, Susie Bick, who went on to marry Nick Cave. She shaved her eyebrows and wore a cape, inspired by Dr. Spock.
“Irish photographer Bob Carlos Clark was famous for doing montages and taking great photographs at the time, and I got to work with him over the years,” explains Vanian.
“I think he did a casting call for the album and Susie went for the shoot; I don’t think they’d met before, and I didn’t meet her at the time as this was done independently of the band but, yes, his photograph made the cover.”
Carlos, known for his fetish voyeuristic photographic style, captured Susie in a neo-goth glory that saw The Damned evolve their springboard of sound.
When The Damned first started making music, it was a chance to bond with like-minded music lovers – they never anticipated the success that would come their way. Vanian still remembers visiting NYC in 1976.
“We played three shows at Gramercy Park Hotel and two shows each night with the Dead Boys at CBGBs. I remember it like it was yesterday. New York was a lot, it was more dangerous, dirty and in decline. But it had a wonderful vibrancy and life to it at the same time – and for a 19-year-old guy like me to be in a city on a street corner you’d seen in films and TV shows – well that was amazing for someone who had never been out of England,” he says.
The band returned to NYC a year ago for a tribute show for CBGBs under the Brooklyn Bridge with Iggy Pop and Jack White. “That was one of my favourite gigs I’ve done for a few years because it felt like going back to the time when music was cool, we shared company with like-minded artists, and we’re all in it for the music and nothing else.”
“We never really were a punk band – it’s only that we had that same attitude as the punks at that time. We were just a band that went on in the same way as those 60s bands and evolved over time.”
Click here for more details on The Damned’s farewell tour and check out all of the dates below.
THE DAMNED – THE FINAL DAMNATION 50TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR
Tuesday, September 8th
Powerstation, Auckland
Thursday, September 10th
Sydney Opera House, Sydney
Friday, September 11th
The Tivoli, Brisbane
Sunday, September 13th
The Forum, Melbourne
