The youth of the 1970s cried out for energy, freedom, expression - anything to excite. Enter theatrical frontman Dave Vanian, who “was remarkably normal for someone dressed as Count Dracula” - according to the late, great Motörhead frontman Lemmy.
To Vanian’s left, Captain Sensible, a tutu wearing bassist who enjoyed pissing into monitors. To his right, initial creative driving force guitarist Brian James, and a talented drummer fondly known as Rat Scabies. These teens would become the first English band to release a punk rock single. They are The Damned - the first punk rock band, and the first to be forgotten.
Anyone even slightly familiar with the migraine-inducing complexity of the intertwined, multiple-sided history of The Damned’s 37 years of music making, would be wise to think the idea of telling their story is a foolhardy task. Unless you are Wes Orshoski. Director of renowned documentary Lemmy, realised his second filmic pursuit in 2015; The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead.
“They didn’t have any problem with having fun”, we are told. With their intrinsic eccentricities, The Damned were on the road touring, heading for a new world of possibilities, unlike their rivals The Clash and Sex Pistols, whose attentions seemed firmly set in the moment and centred their efforts on affirming their discordance with society.
Why then aren’t The Damned just as synonymous with the punk rock movement history in England and America? They were the first UK band of their kind to get across the pond, one must remember. The Clash and Sex Pistols signed deals and got ambitious managers. The Damned managed The Damned.
Imagine that - in-band spats over royalties, creative license, drink problems, a myriad of vagrant members, “conveyor belt of bass players”, and large hadron collider scale personality junctures. Perhaps the question is answered. “We had everything we ever dreamed of; guitars, success”, reflects Rat. “The one thing we didn’t have was the will to play” - a tearful confession.
During just 90 minutes this documentary masterclass unfurls - offering itself as a platform for honesty, bitterness, battered morale and reflection. Rarely is a history of anything, let alone broken “beyond repair” inter-personal politics, presented in such a balanced and comprehensible manner, without seeming systematic or formulaic. This storyteller packs a punch with every second.
But the key question persists: why didn’t The Damned receive equal notoriety as their English punk counterparts? Sensible postulates an irony that they will get there dues where they are six feet under, hence the film's title. Less uncertain about the band’s lack of recognition is Rat; “Every time - the band managed to fuck it up.”
“Have you heard about the conspiracy? The Curse of The Damned?"
- We saw The Damned: Don't You Just Wish You Were Dead at London's Doc N' Roll Fest, which continues until 16 June. For tickets and more information, visit here.
This screening is part of Punk.London
