the Damned looking Forward To undercover Festival
THE DAMNED LOOKING FORWARD TO UNDERCOVER FESTIVAL
UNDERCOVER FESTIVAL III – 18 / 19 / 20 Sept 2015
3 ALTERNATIVE PACKED DAYS OF PUNK / SKA / DUB / REGGAE / POST PUNK + SO MUCH MORE
THE DAMNED LOOKING FORWARD TO UNDERCOVER FESTIVAL
Festival Organiser Mick Moriarty:
“Here at Undercover we are so pleased to be able to finally welcome THE DAMNED to Undercover as the headline act for SATURDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER making this one we are sure many will remember. The Damned for many are the original 1976 band on the alternative scene, and unlike many of their peers are as popular as ever today 39 years later, we are pleased that unlike other festivals that The Damned play at they are doing a full 90 minute set”.
Monty Oxy Moron the Keyboard player with THE DAMNED
“what a great line up – yeah we are really looking forward to this as a great way to end the festival season”.
The festival is one that pride itself on taking an independent and grassroots approach to things, and is always determined to be different from mainstream events.
As the name suggests, it’s an indoors event but with three days of alternative action from bands you’d be highly unlikely to see on many other festival line-ups.
Festival organiser, Mick Moriarty said: “We believe the usual run-of-the-mill festivals tend to book bands that in the main are broadly similar – and way too safe! We try for a line up and experience that is something different and appeals to a crowd not catered for elsewhere.
“Being a small independent grassroots festival is tough because media attention is always on the big boys. But we’ve got through to our third year and we’re going strong because what we have created really has struck a chord with people who like their music raw and full of the passion and energy that only acts like ours generate.”
Mick added “It’s been a bit of a trek getting the line up just right with a few obstacles thrown in our way but we feel this is the best line up so far at Undercover”
The festival grew out of a small tent tucked in the back corner of the sadly departed Guilfest and has now become a firm fixture in many people’s diaries, with dedicated fans coming back year on year.
In a financial climate where it always seems to be about the money, Undercover throws convention to the wind and just goes with what it believes in. There is a huge bill and day tickets can be bought from www.undercoverfest.com from just £25 or £75 for the weekend.
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FULL LINE UP
Friday 18th September
PETER AND THE TEST TUBE BABIES
XSLF (X STIFF LITTLE FINGERS)
SEX PISTOLS EXPERIENCE
THE TALKS
THE BAR STOOL PREACHERS
THE PLAGUE
NO LIP
GEISTFIGHT
RAGE DC
EMERGENCY BITTER
T & THE MUGS
ARGONAUT
DEMON SMILES
SWEET JONNY
AMETHYST KISS
Saturday 19th September
THE DAMNED
CHELSEA
SPIZZENERGI
MENACE
THE RACKETEERS
DRAGSTER
BROKEN 3 WAYS
KING PUNCH
POPES OF CHILLITOWN
UK RAMONES
FIGHTING EVIL IS COOL
HEARTS UNDER FIRE
HEADSTONE HORRORS
R.E.D
SKURVI
MONKISH
KILTER
HAZARD
STRENGTH IN BLUNDERS
MICK O’TOOLE
COMRADE X
JON LAMB
Sunday 20th September
UK SUBS (Joint headline)
PENETRATION (Joint headline)
TV SMITH (The Adverts)
THE RAMONAS
DEPARTMENT S
WITCHDOKTORS
THE DEFECTS
THE PIRANHAS
PUSSYCAT & THE DIRTY JOHNSONS
CRETIN 77
SKACIETY
PHOENIX CHROI
ARCHIVE45
SOUNDATION
SHOOTING FISH
XTRAVERTS
DEREK AND BOBS LIVE D&B TRANSMISSION
Times and stages to be announced
Line up may be subject to change at short notice
The Damned:
The Damned formed in 1976, and played their first gig at the 100 Club. They were the first of the London punk bands to release a single, ‘New Rose’, on the independent record label Stiff Records.
Brian James, left in 1978. The band splintered, but after a series of brief side projects and solo recordings, they reformed. Sensible had switched to guitar and keyboards. and the bassist position was filled by Algy Ward, formerly of The Saints. The band gained a deal with Chiswick Records, and went back to the studio to record another album.
The Damned released a series of singles leading up to 1979’s Machine Gun Etiquette, which featured a strong 1960s garage rock influence. They had established a dark, melodic style that was sometimes fast and loud, and other times relaxed with dominant keyboards.
From the beginning, Vanian affected a vampire-like appearance onstage, with chalk-white makeup and formal dress. With The Black Album, the band turned into a proto-goth ensemble. Ward had left at this point, and was replaced by Paul Gray. The band released the album Strawberries featuring new full-time keyboardist Roman Jugg in 1982. Sensible played a last concert with the band at Brockwell Park (from which a bootleg was issued, called Captain’s Last Stand), before he left to pursue a solo career, and Jugg took over the guitar slot.
With Sensible gone, Vanian’s Gothic influence took over unimpeded, and his smart crooning and spooky theatricality ended up more or less founding goth rock inadvertently.
The Phantasmagoria album followed. Phantasmagoria’s official follow-up, Anything (1986), was another critical and commercial flop, which ended the band’s record deal and original run. However, the non-album single “Eloise,” a cover of a 1968 hit by Barry Ryan, was a success.
The Damned received exposure to a new audience when two groups each covered a Damned song: Guns N’ Roses recorded “New Rose” for their “The Spaghetti Incident?” (1993), while The Offspring covered “Smash It Up” for the Batman Forever soundtrack (1995).
In 1993, a new line-up of The Damned appeared featuring Scabies, Vanian, guitarists Kris Dollimore (formerly of The Godfathers), and Alan Lee Shaw, and bassist Moose Harris in 1995. They toured regularly following the release of a new full-length album, Not of This Earth. The Damned split, yest again, partly as the result of legal battles.
Sensible rejoined Vanian in 1996 and yet another incarnation of The Damned appeared. This featured bassist Patricia Morrison, previously of The Sisters of Mercy. In 2001, the band released Grave Disorder and this has been followed by continual touring. Morrison and Vanian were eventually married and they have a daughter, Emily, born on February 9, 2004. While she has been replaced by ex-English Dog Stu West, her return to the band’s lineup in the future has not been ruled out. .
In 2006 The Damned released the new single “Little Miss Disaster”, and the live DVD MGE25 documenting the 25th anniversary of Machine Gun Etiquette.
2016 will be the 40th anniversary for THE DAMNED and they are planning something special….
Fast forward to 2015 and THE DAMNED are:
David Vanian – Vocals
Captain Sensible – Guitar
Monty Oxy Moron – Keyboard
Pinch – Drums
Stu West – Bass