The Damned – Warwick University 1976

 

The Damned – Warwick University 1976

by Pete Clemons

The Damned were the first UK band of the punk era to release a record. They were also the first to split and subsequently reform. They were chaotic, they were charismatic. And they are still here, still touring and remain almost intact in fact. Experience has made them infinitely better almost 60 years on.

Almost as soon as it had begun punk rock was castigated by the Warwick University entertainment section as punk rock was trying to infiltrate into their scene. The fact this new phenomenon was given prominence by SOUNDS magazine had one promoter lambasted them when he read how a group called "The Damned", had created the splash headline 'DAMNED HEAD FOR THE CHARTS'.

He went on "SOUNDS has yet again taken upon itself to ram punk rock down the throat of the unsuspecting public. Now don't get me wrong, I'll sniff glue with the next degenerate, and there's no one I'd rather see in London today than a good punk rock band go through its paces, but for a music paper to come out with such fallacies is just not on".

Apparently the Damned's first single, for the obscure 'Stiff' label, sold 4,000 copies, when a sale of 25,000 was usually needed even to make the lower reaches of the Top Thirty.

A delegate from Warwick University even went down to London to watch The Damned during autumn 1976. And the verdict was...'boy, were they (expletive deleted). The barrage of sound that emanated from on-stage was greeted not even by what one could call polite applause by the attendance, the majority of which were all seasoned punksters'. Despite this The Damned were, soon after that London gig, visiting Warwick Uni.

The Pink Fairies were a part of the London underground scene of the early 1970s. They were known for promoting free music and performing impromptu gigs and stunts. The Fairies had released a single during 1976 on Stiff Records called 'Between the Lines C/W 'Spoiling For a Fight'. So pairing up with label mates The Damned was not as far fetched as it might seem.

Later during October 1976 appeared The Damned's first single, titled 'New Rose' c/w 'Help', was also released on Stiff Records. The single had been produced by Nick Lowe and regarded as the first ever 'punk' release by a UK band. New Rose failed to chart but became Stiff's biggest seller to date and helped the label secure a distribution deal with Island Records.

Before the gig The Damned asked the promotion team at Warwick if they were scared. The answer apparently was 'No, and also unimpressed .... Don't call us'.

Climax Blues Band had also been in the mix for that Autumn line up of entertainment. A song played during the CBB set was described as 'at least one billion times better than the Damned's Help'.

There is also anecdotal evidence that The Damned also appeared a week later at Canley Teacher Training College. It had been freshers week and the normal festival balls had been arranged. Sparrow, a five piece, new faces show winner from Feb 1976 were certainly on the bill. But I did read that The Damned also possibly appeared. But there was, by admission, the student had maybe got mixed up by the previous weeks events on campus.

Less than a year later had seen 'Punk', as a phenomenon, grow to far greater proportions than one can have envisaged the year before, even taking into account the undoubted impetus given by the press coverage devoted to the Pistols v Grundy T.V. incident.

As a result you never actually sure who actually is into the music. Punk had cast its net wide. Was it the latest thing to be 'into', or did repeated listening to it make a different impact to the initial one. But there was another, more important, reason.

To many, the music itself had improved in terms of its quality, content and impact. Presentation had been the last aspect a punk band would once have to worry about. Aside the likes of Television and The Stranglers who just happened to surface around the same time as the likes of The Clash, The Adverts and the Pistols.

But there were plenty of other bands who are producing attention grabbing yet really red hot sounds. There was The Jam, Buzzcocks, Generation X, Boomtown Rats to name a few – but the list goes on. I don't know how or why the change had evolved the way it did, but my word, it certainly got the adrenalin rushing!