Damned Damned Damned

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Damned Damned Damned
Damned - Damned damned damned album cover.jpg
Studio album by The Damned
Released 18 February 1977
Recorded September and December 1976 – January 1977
Studio Pathway Studios, London, England
Genre Punk rock
Length 31:32
Label Stiff
Producer Nick Lowe
The Damned chronology
Damned Damned Damned
(1977)		 Music for Pleasure
(1977)Music for Pleasure1977
Singles from Damned Damned Damned
  1. "New Rose"
    Released: 22 October 1976
  2. "Neat Neat Neat"
    Released: 18 February 1977

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 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] The German pressing of the LP was originally released on pale blue vinyl. It was not released in the US until 1989.

On 3 April 2007, Castle Music released a three-disc box set version of the album. Disc two included 26 demos, B-sides, non-LP single tracks and radio recordings, which amounted to nearly everything the band recorded during their first year of operations. Disc three featured a lo-fi recording of one of The Damned's first public gigs, a set recorded in London during the 100 Club Punk Special festival in the summer of 1976. The third disc was later released on its own as Live at the 100 Club.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 5/5 stars[1]
AllMusic 5/5 stars (30th Anniversary Expanded Edition)[4]
PopMatters 9/10 stars (30th Anniversary Expanded Edition)[5]

The British press has mostly praised the album, at least in retrospective reviews. The BBC 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 looked kindly upon the album. Ned Raggett of AllMusic gave the album 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 Media 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"....[6]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Brian James, except where noted. 

No. Title Length
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"   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" (cover of "1970" by The Stooges) 4:26

All songs written and composed by Brian James, except where noted. 

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. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Damned Damned Damned (1977; Vinyl album, Sanctuary Records, Get Back Records, 2002).
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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