Damned 35th Anniversary Tour review

Had the pleasure of seeing The Damned in Newcastle and Edinburgh on their recent 35th Anniversary Tour which featured all of Damned, Damned Damned (except Stab Your Back) and The Black Album in its entirety, including a full-length version of Curtain Call.

I’ve seen The Damned on numerous occasions since the 70s and many times in the past few years and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen them enjoy themselves so much on stage; they seemed re-energised and I suspect a lot of that has to do with the packed houses they were playing to. Attendances for the every night of the tour were up considerably as the audience flocked to see two of their finest albums performed.

The intro music was the theme music to 633 Squadron. In Edinburgh the curtain opened to revel the band wearing paper bags and they launched into Neat, Neat, Neat and performed the whole song wearing the. Hilarious!!

The first 28 minutes of the show was dedicated to Damned, Damned, Damned. Wonderful to hear One Of The Two and I Feel Alright. Must have been years since they were performed. Then there was a ten minute break and a costume change and then The Black Album.  Some of those songs like Twisted Nerve I don’t remember them performing when the album was released and others like 13th Floor Vendetta and Therapy were great to hear again.

The encores varied but included Eloise, Smash It Up, Love Song, Disco Man and Nasty.

The tour was certainly something very special. MAGNIFICENT!!