The Damned are on the next cover of Vive Le Rock-in the meantime-heres Captain on the forthcoming tour-in a seperate interview-
THE DAMNED 35th Anniversary Tour
Captain Sensible speaks
THE DAMNED embark on their 35th Anniversary tour of the UK this week, during which they will be playing albums ‘Damned, Damned, Damned’ and ‘Black Album’ back to back and in their entirety. Captain Sensible of the band has explained exactly where the band are at now and has looked back at what made The Damned the band they are today in the following series of Q&A responses. Catch the legendary punk trailblazers at these dates –
November:
9th - Bristol, O2 Academy
10th - Birmingham, O2 Academy
11th - Cambridge, Corn Exchange
12th - London, Roundhouse
13th - Brighton, East Wing
14th - Norwich, UEA
15th - Nottingham, Rock City
17th - Newcastle, O2 Academy
18th - Leeds, O2 Academy
19th - Manchester, Academy
20th - Edinburgh, HMV Picture House
CAPTAIN SENSIBLE ANSWERS QUESTIONS ON THE SUBJECT OF THE 35TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR AND SURROUNDING TOPICS –
Q: Why have you chosen to perform “Damned, Damned, Damned” and “The Black Album” in their entirety?
A: For 35 years in this band of oddballs and eccentrics you deserve a medal.... and there were times when we lived life close to the edge. We are celebrating survival here (as a band AND as live human beings) as much as the music, but when it came to a setlist these two groundbreaking albums were the obvious choice.
Q: Has there been any problem rehearsing the songs or getting the tour together?
A: Ha ha, funny you should say that because as soon as we started rehearsing the Black Album material we realised what a job we had on our hands. In 3 years since New Rose kick started the UK punk scene we'd come a long way as songwriters and the likes of Curtain Call and Twisted Nerve still present quite a challenge..... especially if you want to stay faithful to the original.
As for the tour schedule, and being a bit more mature these days we are never going to hit the road for months on end like the glory years so apologies if we're not playing everywhere people want us to.
Q: How does gigging them now differ from when you were originally promoting the albums?
A: On the 80s Black Album tour I seem to remember we dressed these three raunchy punkettes as dancing nuns for the original tour. Gyrating suggestively and occasionally flashing the audience - it gave the performances a theatrical edge that none of our contemporaries could compete with..... they were VERY naughty ladies - it was a VERY fun time for the band.
In Curtain Call's autobiographical lyric Dave sings about a "reckless gambling pace" which is fair enough because we'd bet on absolutely anything..... from whether we could record a song in one take to the exact time the wheels of the plane would hit the ground. Some of the band made a few bob on this wheeze when we flew.
And we used to drink all day too back then, especially when travelling so gigs at that time could be quite variable depending on the state of the band when they turned up at the venue. These days it's quality rather than quantity on the beverage front so performances are consistently much improved overall. And I enjoy the shows more knowing I'm playing the right chords. A couple of posh ales usually suffices
Plus I awake in the morning without a stinking hangover these days...... why didn't somebody tell me?