Page 107 - Classic Rock (January 2020)

REVIEWS

The Damned

London Palladium

Britain’s first punks pull out all the stops, dive into the dressing-up box, slap on the slap and

deliver a truly spectacular show. Oh, and they play some great and classic songs too.

There’s a horse-drawn funeral cortege slowly processing theatrical show. Originally the idea was much more expansive, it
along Argyll Street towards the London Palladium. It’s being was going to contain elements of theatre.”
followed by a veritable horde of vampires. Hundreds of them. There The Night Of A Thousand Vampires doesn’t give any impression
are top hats as far as the eye can see, a significant acreage of capes, of being a compromise. Vanian “wearing quite a lot of different
phalanxes of fangs and more tourniquet-tight corsetry than even hats” has worked closely with both The Circus Of Horrors
Soho is accustomed to. Baffled tourists gape at the unexpected and Hammer House Of Horror to deliver the most immersive Dave Vanian
prevalence of freshly drained Victorian virgins and make-up-caked experience possible.
walking dead. “Is London always like this?” “And who’s in the The CoH provide an apposite warm-up slot with a supporting
casket?” There’s a floral tribute; white wreaths fashioned into nine extravaganza which is, just as Vanian describes: “An old-fashioned,
letters that provide a solution: THE DAMNED. un-PC dangerous circus”. Swords are swallowed, ‘freaks’ caper,
“Well,” observes Dave Vanian, driving force behind the burlesque and circus skills collide in a flaming orgy of murderous
audaciously ambitious Night Of A Thousand Vampires, of which camp and pierced everything. Later the CoH’s performers interact
this mock ceremony is only the initial instalment, “they’ve been with The Damned in a succession of set-pieces during the band’s
trying to bury us for years.” extensive two-part performance.
While The Damned have had more than their fair share of Hammer allowed Vanian unlimited access to beautiful film stills
detractors since their formation in the white-hot crucible of 1976’s from Christopher Lee’s Dracula and beyond, which (when back-
UK punk rock explosion (forever fending off accusations of being projected behind the band) add a touch of old-school cinematic
a mere pantomime approximation of the genre from those with class to proceedings. There’s also a string section, additional
neither sense of humour nor perspective), the veteran combo’s star musicians, actors, an unfamiliar set-list, ornate stage set, costumes,
is very much in the ascendent. Again. hair, make-up and miscellaneous special effects to contend with.
Pinch
You probably don’t need a recapitulation of how we all got here, It’s no surprise, then, that the hectic sound-check (which marks the
but life’s a bitch, so here goes. string section’s first full rehearsal with the band) goes on for so long
The Damned were the first punks to vinyl, with the timeless that Vanian ultimately misses his own funeral.
seven-inch New Rose. Their debut album followed in short order, As the doors open and the ghouls begin to mass around the
and they played their first farewell gig in April ‘78. They returned Palladium’s bars, the band – completed by Black Album veteran Paul
the following year without main songwriting guitarist Brian James. Gray (bass), Monty Oxymoron (keyboards) and drummer Andrew
Captain Sensible switched from four strings to six, Smash It Up ‘Pinch’ Pinching – disappear into dressing rooms, to be transformed
followed Love Song, and the rest is history (including a Sensible- into cosmetically created creatures of the night. This is far from just
free mid-80s when they enjoyed their second batch of Goth- another night on the road. Especially for Pinch, who announced it
defining hits, most prominently Eloise). Anyway, while the world was to be his last performance with the band, after two full decades
at large dropped an E, put on an anorak and looked the other way, in the stool, just a couple of days ago.
30 more years passed until, even with the good Captain firmly “Twenty years he’s had to put up with us,” considers Captain,
re-established under the red beret of destiny, The Damned looked still reeling from Pinching’s shock announcement. “He’s a little bit
to be ‘Sensible’s-A-Wanker’-ing their way towards the end-of-the- younger, so he’s probably not ready to be part of me and Dave’s
pier legacy punk circuit. gentleman’s club of the road. I mean, we used to complain if the Paul Gray
“We were spiralling down,” Vanian admits, “and I wanted to booze wasn’t right, now we complain if the tea bags aren’t the
make one last really good Damned album.” And, having crowd- right brand.”
funded through PledgeMusic, that’s exactly what they did. And they’re not just losing a drummer. “He does so much,”
2018’s Evil Spirits, recorded with Bowie/Bolan producer Tony says Sensible. “Not just stick-twiddling. He’s in charge of lots of
Visconti in New York City, gave the band their first UK Top 10 aspects of the live show.” During the chaotic sound-check, Pinch
album. It took them to the Royal Albert Hall, Madison Square (perched high above the Palladium stage atop a makeshift tomb
Garden and, oh yes, the London Palladium. But it’s not the first which one imagines was probably mapped out on a napkin à la
time that Vanian and Sensible have been to this venerable venue Tap) doubles as ever-so-slightly tetchy musical director, pointing
of variety. They’ve both attended shows here as punters. In the out that classically trained string sections need actual written cues
60s, Dave was treated by his parents to a performance of The rather than a distracted “after the next bit”. And that somebody
Black And White Minstrel Show. (mentioning no names) is playing
And Captain? “In 1974 I went to climactic show closer Black Is The
see The-Glam-Rock-Star-Whose- Night in a completely alien key. Oh
Name-We-Dare-Not-Mention.” yes, he’ll be missed. Captain Sensible
Moving swiftly on… After seats are taken and
Organising The Night Of expensively secured views of the
A Thousand Vampires (so named stage blocked by ornate hats and
after it was decided to attempt hairdos, the Circus Of Horrors take
to break the Guinness World to the stage for half an hour. Thirty
Record for the most confirmed eye-boggling minutes during which
vampires – or at least people one discovers there can be a lot
dressed as vampires – extant in more to hoop-spinning than Grace
a single location) turned out to Jones would have you believe, and
be a mammoth task, and much of that limbo-dancing is apparently
the responsibility fell on Vanian: still a thing.
“Obviously, Halloween is my As topper-ed Monty ramps up
favourite holiday, so I wanted to do the atmosphere with solo piano
more than just a normal gig; a more piece Beauty Of The Beast, The Monty Oxymoron
Using his head: Damned
veteran Paul Gray.
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