THE DAMNED...THEN AND NOW!

PUNK BAND THE DAMNED FORMED IN 1976, AND THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS CANNOT BE IGNORED. IN THE LATE 70'S AND EARLY TO MID 80'S, PUNK TOOK THE MUSIC SCENE BY STORM...WELL, STARTING IN THE U.K,ANYWAY, THE DAMNED ARE SPECIAL AMONG THEIR PUNK PEERS, AS THEY WERE THE FIRST PUNK BAND TO EVER RELEASE A SINGLE,("NEW ROSE"),TO RELEASE AN ALBUM ("DAMNED,DAMNED,DAMNED") THE FIRST PUNK BAND TO HIT THE U.K. CHARTS, AND THE FIRST TO TOUR THE U.S.. THEY ARE CREDITED WITH STARTING THE GOTHIC GENRE.VOCALIST DAVE VANIAN, WITH HIS VAMPIRE-LIKE APPEARANCE,CAPTAIN SENSIBLE ON GUITAR, AND RAT SCABIES ON THE DRUMS. WHILE THE PERSONNEL WOULD CHANGE OVER THE YEARS, THE AFOREMENTIONED MEMBERS HELPED TO FOUND THE GROUP. THEIR SECOND GIG EVER WAS IN JULY,'76, OPENING FOR THE SEX PISTOLS AT THE 100 CLUB. IN '77, THEY TOURED WITH ROCKERS T.REX ON THAT BANDS FINAL TOUR. THEIR SECOND LP,"MUSIC FOR PLEASURE" WAS PRODUCED BY NICK MASON OF PINK FLOYD. THE BAND ORIGINALLY WANTED PINK FLOYD FOUNDER SYD BARRETT TO PRODUCE, BUT HE WOULD NOT COME OUT OF HIS SELF-IMPOSED SECLUSION TO DO THE RECORD, SO THEY GOT MASON. THE ALBUM FLOPPED,AND THE DAMNED BROKE UP. 1979 BROUGHT TWO NEW SINGLES, "LOVE SONG" , AND "SMASH IT UP", FOLLOWED BY THE ALBUM,"MACHINE GUN ETIQUETTE" . LATER, THEY WOULD RELEASE A COVER VERSION OF JEFFERSON AIRPLANE'S DRUG,BASED HIT, "WHITE RABBIT". THE 'B' SIDE CONTAINED A NEW SONG,"RABID". 1980 CAME WITH A NEW LINE UP AND NEW LP. "THE BLACK ALBUM" A DOUBLE LP HOSTING THE 17 MINUTE SONG,"CURTAIN CALL".
IN 1981,THEY RELEASED A 4-SONG EP, ENTITLED "FRIDAY THE 13TH". A CHANGE IN RECORD COMPANIES SAY THE 1982 RELEASE "STRAWBERRIES", THEIR ONLY ALBUM ON BRONZE RECORDS. THE BAND MADE AN APPEARANCE ON THE POPULAR U.K. SHOW,"THE Y OUNG ONES. WITHOUT CAPTAIN SENSIBLE, THEY PLAYED THE NOSTELL PRIORY IN AUGUST OF '84. IN 1985, THE DAMNED SIGNED THEIR FIRST MAJOR CONTRACT WITH MCA RECORDS.. THEY RELEASED "PHANTASMAGORIA" IN JULY OF '85. TWO SINGLES WERE DRAWN FROM THE ALBUM,"GRIMLY FIENDISH" , AND "THE SHADES OF LOVE" CEMENTING THEIR GLOOMY SOUND. HOWEVER, 1986'S "ANYTHING" LP FAILED. THE BAND WENT TO RECORD THE FOLLOW-UP TO "ANYTHING", BUT THEIR CONTRACT WITH MCA DISSOLVED,AND THE ALBUM WAS NEVER RELEASED. A LIVE LP,"FINAL DAMNATION" WAS RELEASED IN 1989, FOLLOWED BY A FAREWELL SHOW. THE DAMNED THEN BROKE UP. THE 1990'S SAW VARIOUS VERSION OF THE BAND, ALWAYS FRONTED BY DAVE VANIAN,. SOMETIMES THEY CHANGED THEIR NAME TO "THE DOOMED' AND OTHER MONIKERS TO AVOID LEGAL BATTLES.IN 1991, THOUGH OFFICIALL ON HIATUS, THEY RELESED 2 SINGLES, ONE BEING "FUN FACTORY" WHICH HAD BEEN RECORDED 9 YEARS EARLIER, BUT NEVER RELEASED. THE BAND REFORMED AGAIN IN 1993.1993 ALSO SAW THE RELEASE OF TWO COVER VERSIONS OF THE DAMNED'S SONGS. GUNS-N-ROSES RECORDED "NEW ROSE" AND RELEASED IT ON THEIR ALBUM, " THE SPAGHETTI INCIDENT", WHILE tHE OFFSPRING RECORDED "SMASH IT UP". IN LATE 1995, THEY RELEASED THE ALBUM "NOT OF THIS EARTH". THEY TOURED EXTENSIVELY PRIOR TO THE LP'S RELEASE. BY THE TIME THE ALBUM HIT STORES, THE DAMNED HAD BROKEN UP AGAIN.
1996 SAW YET ANOTHER VERSION OF THE DAMNED.
IN 2012, THE Y PLAYED SOUTH AMERICA FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THEIR CAREERS.