The Damned continued to fuel the ardent fires of old fans and new long after the flames of The Sex Pistols and The Clash had been extinguished. Final Damnation is a testament to their longevity and popularity, reeking as it does of fannish glee. It's essentially a document about the legendary reunion concert at London's Town and Country Club in June, 1988, a 17-song set of "chaos music". Captain Sensible walks on in shorts and a veil to wind up the audience ("We're not doing it for the money"). Rat's already spraying water on the drumskins and Dave Vanien (nee Letts)... is ready to "woah" his way into "See Her Tonight". They were the first UK punk band; they had the UK's first punk single ("New Rose", which is also played here); somehow they ended up being a look/sound blend of punk, Goth and rockabilly. And that has to be at the heart of what makes the world's fastest cover of The Beatles' "Help" so amazing. Other song highlights include "Fish", the audience singalong to "Wait for the Blackout" and the finale of "The Last Time". On the DVD: there's a downside to this disc, sadly, in the form of an annoying Video Jockey who has plenty of interesting things to say, but says it over the songs! Rubbing it in even more is a duplication of his commentary in what's labelled as a Biography. For the juicy info the disc's real gems are the 16-minute "Damned Story", crammed with chat from the concert event, and the 18-minute 2001 interview with Brian James. This is the sort of condensed candid critique by which all bands ought to be measured. A photo gallery slideshow rounds out the package. --Paul Tonks [show more]
We will publish your review of The Damned - Final Damnation - The Reunion Concert - Live At The Town And Country [1988] on DVD within a few days as long as it meets our guidelines.
None of your personal details will be passed on to any other third party.
The original line up of The Damned reunite for the final time (until the next time) in this 'farewell' concert at the London Town and Country Club in June 1988.
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy
