THE DAMNED @ AYLESBURY WATERSIDE THEATRE

The band returned to the Aylesbury venue for the first time since 1985 with their 1980 lineup of Dave Vanian (vocals), Captain Sensible (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Gray (bass) and Rat Scabies (drums) alongside Monty Oxymoron (keyboards, backing vocals) for a one-off show before their nationwide tour later this year. They performed some of the same songs from back then but with more from ‘The Black Album’, for which Gray joined the band, as well as the preceding studio album, ‘Machine Gun Etiquette’.

The band began on ‘Ignite’ from ‘Strawberries’ as well as playing ‘Gun Fury (of Riot Forces)’ and ‘Stranger on the Town’ from the same album; the latter benefitting from Gray’s cranky Rickenbacker bass. The band then performed the mellow ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ and ‘Life Goes On’, the latter of which Sensible sang the lyrics to. Vanian had trouble reaching the high notes in ‘Eloise’, however, ‘Shadow of Love’ from the same album, ‘Phantasmagoria’, was a standout track with its icy synth and minimalist drumming bridge where all instruments had their own definition. They finished their set on ‘Neat Neat Neat’, also featuring an experimental mid-section.

The Damned then returned for an encore beginning on ‘Curtain Call’, which saw a duet between organ keyboards and guitar that Sensible played through a pedal using a beer can to create distortion; it was then preceded by a drum solo by Scabies that became the band’s debut single, 1976’s ‘New Rose’. Although the set was mediocre at times and lacking in energy, the band’s personnel gelled in a way that harkened back to the old days and was to be expected after so many years.

08/08/24: The Damned @ Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, London.