The Damned - Apr 23 It’s a chilly Sunday night in Oxford and the legendary The Damned are in town. Last time I’d seen The Damned was at Hammersmith Apollo in October when the original line up thrashed their way through an exhilarating set celebrating the Brian James years. This time the current line up are back to perform a set heavily focused on their soon to be released ‘Darkadelic’ album. How would the current line up and the new material hold up against the euphoria surrounding the previous shows?

As we arrive, the new album is being played in the background – it was a bit too quiet to really comment so I’ll need to defer my judgement until I get my hands on a physical copy.

First up we have up post punk survivors, the Nightingales, one of those bands I should know a hell of a lot more about. Original singer Robert Lloyd has put together an impressive band who power their way through the angular riffs and mid song time changes with style. In particular watching drummer Fliss Kitson is a joy, as her hands seemingly dance across her kit rather than the usual pounding them into submission. I recognise ‘Crafty Fag’ from one those post punk compilation albums that enlighten my collection and quickly find myself singing along.

It was a different and highly entertaining set, enough for me to invest in their latest album, ‘The Last Laugh’ after the show.  

Nightingales - Apr 23 Elmer Bernstein’s ‘The Man with the Golden Arm’ welcomes The Damned to the stage and they launch into perennial set opener ‘Street of Dreams’. As always Dave Vanian is dressed to impress looking like a 1930s Gotham crime boss in a splendid two piece suit, tie and fedora. Paul Gray strides onto the stage with effortless cool as he plays his beefy Rickenbacker. Captain Sensible and Monty Oxymoron bring the fun to the show whilst new boy Will Taylor can be barely seen behind the huge cymbals on his drum kit.  Despite the fact that most of the band now have bus passes, this is still a band that knows how to look good on stage.

In a sign of things to come, new song ‘Invisible Man’ gets an early run through. I’ve heard this track a few times and it is slowly growing on me – in particular the band get to have a good psyche out in the mid section whilst Vanian cackles in the background. ‘The Black Album’ opening tracks ‘Wait for the Blackout’ and ‘Lively Arts’ have the crowd bouncing around like its 1980 again and then the Captain mentions that there is a new album out this month and we are going to get to hear now. And so begins a nine song run through the album.  

The Damned - Apr 23 ‘Bad Weather Girl’ opens the run and is pleasing enough whilst the following ‘You’re Gonna Realise’ is a fast little number. Of the new material, the epic ‘Waking the Dead’ and current single ‘Beware of the Clown’ fared best. The latter has a cracking chorus which will have you humming along within a couple of listens. The rest of the material sounded good but I need to listen to the tracks a few more times before they become more memorable.

As a long term fan, I loved hearing the new material but appreciate that the more casual punters may have been more engaged had a few more familiar songs been inserted into this section.

However, this is The Damned and they know how to build up to a finale. Going back to 1977 and 1979 respectively, ‘Born to Kill’ gets a welcome airing followed by ‘Love Song’ and ‘Second Time Around’. ‘Love Song’ sounds as gloriously irreverent as always. One of the highlights of the last album was ‘Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow’ and it still sounds brilliant once Captain remembers when to come in. Ending the set is ‘Neat Neat Neat’ and we are treated to the familiar extended middle section. By this stage, the front of stage security are having to deal with the ever bold crowd surfers who had been quiet until now. It’s a fitting end to the main set.

The Damned - Apr 23 The crowd is shouting for more and the band come out again to play the big hit ‘Eloise’. I’ve always loved this song and the band always do it justice especially giving Vanian the opportunity to test your vocal chords. The Captain and Paul start playing the instrumental ‘Smash It Up pt 1’ and the simmering room explodes when Dave screams Smash it Up and launches into the main song. There are a lot of old punks bouncing around like lunatics who will surely feel the after effects on their aging bodies the next day.

Coming back for a second encore we are treated to the last track to be previewed from the new album, ‘Girl I’ll Stop at Nothing’. It’s another fast number with one of those classic Damned choruses that will surely become a fan favourite, along with a typical guitar solo from the good Captain. Reminding us how important the band were at the start of their career, we are treated to a furious version of the epic ‘New Rose’ – still one of the greatest singles from the start of punk rock. Bowing out to a now jubilant crowd, The Damned have done their work for the night.

The Damned - Apr 23 I’ve rarely seen a bad show from The Damned, no matter which of the many line ups was performing, but the current one is still playing with as much fun and panache as they did in their heyday. Whilst other bands continue to trade wholly on the fruits of their youthful endeavours, The Damned are still releasing music that has a relevance to its audience. Given the number of youngsters in the audience, they are also clearly appealing to the younger generations brought up on their parents record collections as well.

As always, a solid night’s entertainment from a great band.

The Damned - Apr 23 The Damned - Apr 23