Komedia, 21st December
It’s the Sunday before Christmas. Outside the Komedia, Brighton’s North Laine is filled with festive spirit but the Komedia is filled with a very different spirit indeed: the spirit of punk rock. Hardly surprising, because along with The Sex Pistols and The Clash, The Damned were a seminal band within the punk movement of the late seventies/early eighties and the first to tour America.
After a seemingly never-ending scurry of roadies on the stage endlessly setting up for the main act, the five-piece eventually made their way onto the darkened stage, seductively lit with red and white lighting. While there have been numerous variations in the line up of the band over the years, tonight we were in the presence of long running stalwarts: Dave Vanian (lead vocals) and Captain Sensible (lead guitarist). Joining them were Pinch (drums), Stu West (bassist) and Monty Oxymoron (keyboards). Vanian and Sensible particularly stood out, the lead singer in his typical gothic looking attire: a full black suit complete with black gloves, pencil thin moustache and white streak through his raven black hair. Captain Sensible opted for a much more alternative punk rock look, skinny black jeans, an elaborate waistcoat and red beret resting on a crop of bleach blonde hair. The difference in the images mirrored the amazing mixture of styles that The Damned’s music contain, often unrelenting punk, but with Dave Vanian’s rich, velvety vocals giving the music a different edge to that of the Clash and the Pistols.
Among the set list tonight was their 1976 debut single, “New Rose” along with new tracks and their popular cover of Love’s “Alone Again Or”. Vanian strode majestically back and forth along the stage during the performance while Captain Sensible pulled faces at the leaping audience, filling the room with infectious energy and between songs chatted to the audience about the commercialism of Christmas, America’s new President and the unethical production of diamonds. From the outset of the evening I was expecting big things. The Damned did not disappoint, talent was evident and they are clearly band that are comfortable and assured in what they were doing whether anyone else likes it or not. Now that’s what I call the true spirit of punk.
Words by Jen Blakeley
Photography by Mike Turnham
