The Damned, Dickies @ HMV Ritz, Manchester
(review n shite pix by neil crud)
We’ve been crying now for much too long, ain’t never gonna dance to a different song, I’m gonna scream and shout ’til my dying breath, I’m gonna smash it up ’til there’s nothing left.
Those lyrics are the personification of many a childhood and many of us have carried it on to today. I scanned this ram packed and sweaty venue (far more here than PiL a coupla months ago), and wondered how many actually have never danced to a different song?
Many will be here tonight as a treat; a step back in time, a chance to momentarily leave their drab existence behind and relive those wild days again while the wife is down the road at the GMex watching some nobodies doing karaoke. Nowt wrong with that, but how many here actually go out and seek new music? Y’see, I’ve sometimes been indirectly accused of living in the past and harping on about the good old days, and reviewing The Damned is nothing short of a nostalgic trip. Wrong and wrong – I love new music, just been loving the new Gallops album, and listening to Y Niwl in session (again) on Marc Riley’s 6music show. Also, The Damned have not rested on their back catalogue like some bands; they have released one of their finest albums in Grave Disorder and followed it up with (the not as finest) So Who’s Paranoid (although it does have some splendid moments), long after they were considered a ‘current’ band.
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