The tortuous road to The Damned’s latest album Darkadelic – a career-encapsulating return-to-form that finds the revitalised quintet at the top of their game – begins on the stage of The London Palladium.
It’s October 2019. All Hallows’ Eve is imminent, and the gothically inclined punk veterans’ Hammer House Of Horror-approved Night Of A Thousand Vampires is upping the ante for live rock theatre. Freaks caper, aerialists twirl, jugulars gape, and Damned vocalist Dave Vanian enters a coffin as Dracula before re-emerging post-interval, head freshly shaved, as Nosferatu.
No one is more impressed than the rest of the band, when they finally see the show upon its release on DVD (last October).
“That gig was a revelation to me,” admits perma-bereted guitar maestro Captain Sensible. “I didn’t see any of the visuals until I saw the film. I had no idea all that stuff was going on, I was concentrating on playing my guitar in the bloody dark. I’m so glad I had a decent tone that night, because Jimmy Page was watching. When I spoke to him after, I said: ‘I’m ashamed to have to admit, Jimmy, that I may have stolen a few of your licks over the years.’ He laughed and said: ‘You wouldn’t be the first, Captain.’”
For Damned Disciples of long-standing, the Night Of A Thousand Vampires seemed to mark the culmination of a significant period of stability – within a band historically synonymous with anarchy and chaos. That Vanian and Captain had been comfortably back in harness since ’96 was remarkable enough, but that they’d managed to retain the services of the same drummer (Andrew ‘Pinch’ Pinching) for 20 years appeared to border on the miraculous.
この記事は Classic Rock の June 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Classic Rock の June 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
BORN TO RUM
Dragging traditional folk into the rock sphere while on the precipice of international stardom, The Pogues looked like a chaotically ramshackle and dysfunctional unit in the mid-80s with second album Rum, Sodomy & The Lash. In reality they were a resolutely determined hard-working band.
THE VAGABONDS RETURN
With the release of Thin Lizzy's new Acoustic Sessions, with Phil Lynott's 70sera vocals, guitarist Eric Bell and producer Richard Whittaker tell us about grassaddled sessions, unfinished business and why this project definitely isn't Al.
"I WANTED A GROUP WITH GRIT.EXCITEMENT AND EDGE"
Between two spells with Deep Purple, singer lan Gillan led two of his own bands, with great success. Here he looks back at Gillan, and how intra-band friction tore that group apart.
KILLERS, BEASTS, SLAVES, SONS. SOULS...
With Iron Maiden celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, we talk to all the members of the band and look back over the successes, trials, tribulations, thrills, spills and genre-defining records of the longest-running and arguably greatest heavy metal band of them all.
“LIKE HAVING A BRICK WALL COMING AT YOU!"
In 1974 King Crimson released Red, one of their most underrated albums at the time. On its 50th anniversary, Crimson alumni discuss the continued allure of an album
Ricky Warwick
The Almighty frontman on his new solo album, digging Northern soul, his good work ethic, quitting drinking...
Shaman's Harvest
They've come through life-changing adversity. They know how to party. They're finally coming over here...
Last Train
With album number three they're hoping to pull into stations outside their native France.
The Knack My Sharona
The LA band's stuttering rocker with the dirty m-m-mind, about someone who for co-writer Doug Fieger was \"love at fist sight\", was one of the biggest hits of 1979.
SONGS OF INNOCENCE, SONGS OF EXPERIENCE
Moving to a new studio, and with band members taking on new roles, with their new album The Manic Street Preachers continue to innovate and experiment.
