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Damned Damned Damned

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Untitled

Damned Damned Damned is the debut studio album by English punk rock band the Damned. It was released on 18 February 1977 by Stiff Records. Produced by Nick Lowe, Damned Damned Damned was the first full-length album released by a UK punk group.[1][2]

Background and production

After the success of "New Rose" and a tour with the Sex Pistols, the Heartbreakers and the Clash, the band went into Pathway Studios to record the album Damned Damned Damned with producer Nick Lowe, who had previously recorded "New Rose" with them. Following 10 days of recording, the mix was completed on 15 January 1977, the day the master tapes were compiled.[3]

Album cover

The album cover features the four members of the band after they were hit by pies. Guitarist Brian James recalled: "That was organised by this photographer called Peter Kodick, Stiff had assigned him to do the thing. They thought it was a jolly wheeze to surprise us with a few cream cakes, little knowing that we would relish it, get into to it and enjoy the whole experience". After the photo session, Damned bassist Captain Sensible noted: "...I had more pie on my face than any of the other buggers and on the back of the sleeve I had my back to the picture, so I went down a photo booth and got some pictures, cut one out and said 'put that on there' so I would have something to show my relatives, because I didn't think we'd be invited to make another album".[3]

Stiff deliberately printed a limited number of initial copies of the LP with a photo of Eddie and the Hot Rods on the back of the album cover, rather than the Damned playing at The Roxy. An "erratum" sticker was also put on the back cover, and on the front of the LP - on top of the original shrink wrap - was a red "food-fight" sticker that said "Damned Damned", thus completing the LP title when read underneath the band's name. Stiff was known for such unusual promotional activity. As of 2009, a copy of this rare print which still had both stickers and the shrink wrap intact (slit-open or sealed) fetched between £200-500, depending on condition.[3]

The design of the LP was credited to Big Jobs Inc, a pseudonym of Barney Bubbles.

Release

Damned Damned Damned was issued by Stiff Records on 18 February 1977, which was also James' 22nd birthday.[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
PopMatters9/10[5]
Q[6]
Uncut[7]

In a contemporary review, NME praised the group's musical ability, opining that the Damned have "all the residual skills needed for the actual performance of exhausting modern music", stating that James was the most effective powerhouse guitarist since Pete Townshend and concluding that the album as a whole was "a highly professional production and is much more convincing than some other new wave bands I've heard on record."[8]

BBC's retrospective review praised the album's energy, pop satire and general humour, commenting, "Each track featured the hammering toms of Rat Scabies and Captain Sensible’s bass-as-guitar propelling Brian James’ exhilarating machine gun axe into your living room".[2]

The American press has also favored the album. Ned Raggett of AllMusic gave it their highest rating of 5 stars, calling it "a stone classic of rock & roll fire" and declaring that "Damned Damned Damned is and remains rock at its messy, wonderful best."[1] Pitchfork also positively assessed the album in a negative review of the Damned's 2001 album Grave Disorder, stating, "I won't lie to you: the Damned's new album isn't very good. In fact, the Damned have only ever recorded a few albums that were—for instance, their debut or 1979's Machine Gun Etiquette"....[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Brian James, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Neat Neat Neat"2:46
2."Fan Club"3:00
3."I Fall"2:08
4."Born to Kill"2:37
5."Stab Yor Back" (Rat Scabies)1:03
6."Feel the Pain"3:37
7."New Rose"2:44
8."Fish" (Brian James, Tony James)1:38
9."See Her Tonite"2:29
10."1 of the 2"3:10
11."So Messed Up"1:55
12."I Feel Alright" (Dave Alexander, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, Iggy Pop; cover of "1970" by The Stooges)4:26

All tracks are written by Brian James, except where noted

30th Anniversary Expanded Edition disc 2
No.TitleLength
1."I Fall"2:56
2."See Her Tonite"2:40
3."Feel the Pain"5:11
4."Help" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)1:43
5."Stab Yor Back" (Scabies)0:59
6."Neat Neat Neat"2:39
7."New Rose"2:40
8."So Messed Up"2:28
9."I Fall"2:10
10."Singalongascabies" (Scabies)1:00
11."Fan Club"3:03
12."Feel the Pain"3:33
13."Stretcher Case Baby" (Scabies)1:48
14."Sick of Being Sick"2:29
15."I Feel Alright" (Dave Alexander, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, Iggy Pop)4:49
16."Born to Kill"3:01
17."Sick of Being Sick"2:50
18."Neat Neat Neat"2:56
19."Fan Club"2:55
20."Stretcher Case Baby" (Scabies)2:26
21."Help" (Lennon, McCartney)1:32
22."Stab Yor Back" (Scabies)1:02
23."So Messed Up"2:35
24."New Rose"3:26
25."Stretcher Case Baby" (Scabies)2:14
26."Sick of Being Sick"1:59
30th Anniversary Expanded Edition disc 3
No.TitleLength
1."1 of the 2"3:41
2."New Rose"2:57
3."Alone"3:50
4."Help" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)1:47
5."Fan Club"3:01
6."I Feel Alright" (Dave Alexander, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, Iggy Pop)4:20
7."Feel the Pain"4:46
8."Fish"1:50
9."Circles" (Pete Townshend)4:42
10."See Her Tonite"2:51
11."I Fall"3:08
12."So Messed Up"2:38

Personnel

The band

Technical staff

Release history

Region Date
United Kingdom 18 February 1977 (1977-02-18)
United States 16 April 1977 (1977-04-16)[1]

Charts

Year Chart Peak Position
1977 UK Albums Chart 36

References

  1. ^ a b c d Ned Raggett. "allmusic Damned Damned Damned >> review". allmusic.com. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  2. ^ a b Jones, Chris (18 April 2007). "BBC – Music – Review of The Damned – Damned Damned Damned". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d Damned Damned Damned (1977; Vinyl album, Sanctuary Records, Get Back Records, 2002).
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-857-12595-8.
  5. ^ Keefe, Michael (26 June 2007). "Great Great Great". PopMatters. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
  6. ^ "The Damned: Damned Damned Damned". Q (190): 136. May 2002.
  7. ^ "The Damned: Damned Damned Damned". Uncut (63): 120. August 2002.
  8. ^ Welch, Chris (19 February 1977). "The Damned: Damned Damned Damned (Stiff SEEZ 1)". NME. Retrieved 1 November 2016. {{cite magazine}}: Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Joe Tangari. "Damned - Grave Disorder - Pitchfork Review". pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
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