The Damned Show Preview: at House of Blues Los Angeles and Anaheim – October 30 and 31, 2011

UK Punk legends The Damned recently announced a U.S. tour that will find the band performing in southern California just in time for Halloween! The Damned will be out on the road celebrating 35 years as a band and are set to play Damned Damned Damned and The Black album in their entirety.


The Damned formed in 1976 and immediately cemented themselves into rock history as the first Punk band to release a single, a full-length album, and tour the United States all within one year of existing! Lead vocalist Dave Vanian’s Dracula like appearance combined with the bands often tongue in cheek lyrical approach set them apart from the more social and politically charged bands from the UK, which helped to further establish themselves as a unique force. A number of singles and albums were released with much critical praise before the end of the decade making the Damned one of the busiest punk bands just a few years into the genres existence. They were the first Punks to cross genre collaborate as Lemmy of Motorhead often joined the band onstage to perform through out 1979.

By 1980 The Damned’s influence was felt all over the Punk scene as hardcore single handedly birthed itself from The Damned’s 3rd album Machine Gun Etiquette. Not to keep things too simple, elements of pop, psychedelic rock gothic atmosphere, drum loops and loads of keyboard instrumentation found their way into the bands sound further establishing The Damned as the most versatile and experimental punk band around. The Damned continued to find commercial success through out the 80’s with The Black Album, Strawberries, Phantasmagoria and Anything. Singles such as History of the World, Shadow of Love, Grimly Fiendish and Alone Again Or saw the band get support radio stations such as KROQ while promo videos for the above got airplay on formats such as MTV.

It was during the 90s that the Damned were placed on hiatus while members branched out into different projects while Dave Vanian fronted a successful solo rockabilly act known as The Phantom Chords. The new millennium saw a reformed Damned signed to Nitro records and on the Vans Warped Tour recruiting a new generation of fans all summer long. Since then the band have released Grave Disorder and So, Who’s Paranoid?, both of which have been great albums able that hold up next to early Damned favorites.

With the bands 35th year of existence being celebrated this fall, one can expect all the best Damned hits and favorites to be played through out the bands set. Original members Dave Vanian and Capt. Sensible will once again be joined by Pinch, Monty Oxymoron, and Stu West who have all been with the band since their return over a decade ago.

Halloween is always the best time to catch awesome bands, though the holiday is a bit more spooky this year as The Damned will be in town hosting the raddest rock and roll party around. Make sure to get tickets soon as these concerts will sell out, and you don’t want to miss out on such a classic celebration!

 

-Louie B.-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

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