One of the bands that truly deserved their own documentary, The DAMNED seemed to always draw the short end of the stick when compared to the other two bands in England’s “big 3”, SEX PISTOLS and CLASH. While the Pistols are legends even though they have a very shaky discography and Clash crashed and burned in an ugly breakup, the Damned stuck to their guns releasing several landmark recordings and are still going strong with original members singer Dave Vanian and guitarist Captain Sensible. While you can order a Pistols’ God Save The Queen Visa card and hear “Lost In The Supermarket” by Clash playing over the loudspeakers in actual supermarkets, the Damned have had no such luck even though they paved the way for so many. They released the first punk single, the first punk long player and were the first British punk band to play in the US. Their visit to Los Angeles and the influence they had on the scene is still being felt from Hollywood to Long Beach and Orange Counties.
Since they weren’t what you would call a “one-stick band” their story is sprawling and some might be disappointed that not enough screen time is spent on their favorite eras. Sadly Algy Ward is not interviewed for the Machine Gun Etiquette segment and on a completely different kind of sad note bass players Paul Grey and Bryn Merrick are both interviewed relating how they were under treatment by the same cancer specialist. With Vanian and the Captain on one side and founding members Brian James and Rat Scabies on the other the doc tells the band’s story while keeping one eye focused on the fortunes of the opposing camps. While Vanian and the Captain retain the rights to the name and play to packed crowds of punk fans of all ages all over the world, Scabies and James perform a handful of shows to celebrate the anniversary of Damned, Damned, Damned with less impressive results admitting they wouldn’t make enough money to make it worthwhile to tour the US.
Clocking in at almost two hours, the filmmakers do an admirable job of telling the story of the creative and chaotic force known as the Damned. True to their band images Scabies is the soul of the film as his driving beat kept the band’s trademark energy constant throughout the many style changes, the Captain is the most fun to watch, James is to the point and direct while Vanian, even though there are a couple of great interview segments remains mysterious and elusive. As mentioned Grey and Merrick have their moments as well as short clips from Lu and Roman Jugg as well as the newest members. The package is a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with excellent cover graphics and a nice booklet with an essay by director Wes Orshoski and great color and b/w photos.
