The Damned & The Phantom Chords in concert

Here are a couple of extracts from my concert memories book 

"Drum Solos, Bottles and Bands" which I self-published in 2012. 

It is available in paperback and as an ebook

The Damned - Brixton Academy - 2 July 1989

In 1989 original Damned members Brian James and Captain Sensible rejoined the band for a farewell tour which included a gig in July at London's Brixton Academy supported by The Milk Monitors, Horse and Claytown Troup. The set was pretty much the same as the one recorded for a reunion concert the previous year at The Town & Country Club and released as Final Damnation.

The original line-up took to the stage first and played most of their debut album Damned Damned Damned including the hits 'New Rose' and 'Neat Neat Neat'. Brian James then left the stage, the Captain switched from bass to lead guitar, Bryn Merrick took over on bass and Roman Jugg played keyboards. We then got some of the old favourites from albums Machine Gun Etiquette and The Black Album along with three cover versions: The Beatles song 'Day Tripper', 'Looking At You' by the MC5 and The Rolling Stones track, 'The Last Time'.

I can't remember during which song it occurred but at one point I collided with a large bloke in front of me and got a bloody nose. I headed off to the gents and fortunately the bleeding stopped soon after so I was able to enjoy the rest of the gig. As he was prone to do, Captain Sensible came back on for the encore wearing little more than his beret and shades. At least he could cover his modesty with his guitar unlike Iggy Pop and Perry Farrell who have been known to let it all hang out on stage.

The Phantom Chords - T&C 2 - 15 May 1990

Later in 1989 Vanian, Jugg and Merrick formed a new band called The Phantom Chords and in May the following year I saw them play at the T&C 2 supported by Ugly As Sin. I got to the venue early so found a nearby pub and had a beer. Whilst supping my pint a girl came up and asked if I wanted a ticket for the gig. I'd already bought mine but we chatted briefly about what we might hear that evening from Vanian and co. As The Damned had covered songs by MC5, The Stooges and The Doors my new friend wondered if we might get extended versions of LA Woman and the like. As it turned out this was wishful thinking and instead we got a mix of old rockabilly covers and some new songs. I can't say it was a very memorable gig but there was the novelty of seeing members of The Damned up close in a small venue. The band released one single on Polydor and recorded some other songs but it wasn't until 1995 that an album was released. Prior to that Dave Vanian had been persuaded by Rat Scabies to join a new line-up of The Damned so The Phantom Chords were moved onto the back burner.