You may recall that the original lineup of The Damned -- Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible, who are still in the current lineup, and guitarist Brian James and drummer Rat Scabies who hadn't played with the band in decades -- were set to reunite for a few shows in 2021 to celebrate the 45th anniversary of The Damned's debut single, "New Rose," which was the first UK punk single. Those got postponed due to the pandemic but the short tour kicked off Friday at London's Eventim Apollo.
“It’s the gig they said would never happen!” cracked Captain Sensible at the show, joking about the well-known acrimony between Vanian/Sensible and James/Scabies. But happen it did. Walking out to the Doctor Who theme, the band stuck to material from their first two albums -- including classics like "Neat Neat Neat," "Problem Child," and "Born to Kill" -- plus covers they used to play around the time, including The Stooges' "1970" which they retitled "I Feel Alright" for their debut album and opened the London show with. "It was even more garage than I remember back in the day," Sensible said after the show. The encore opened with "New Rose," and then they finished with covers of Bo Diddly's "Pills" and The Rolling Stones' "The Last Time."