Toast Be Damned – Part 1

My first exposure to the Damned was when I was a teenager on late ‘80s Long Island and witnessed the band’s classic “Nasty”appearance on an old episode of The Young Ones on MTV. A couple of years later, after my friend Toast and I heard “Love Song” on the Burning Ambitions compilation, I walked into my hometown record shop and- in my never-ending mission to acquire more punk music- shelled out major bread for the Damned’s The Light at the End of the Tunnel double-vinyl LP compilation (don’t ask me where I got the money; most likely Christmas, my birthday, or from my weekend job as a houseboy). With 28 songs, The Light at the End of the Tunnel was a bit overwhelming but adequately served its purpose in introducing me to the world, spirit, and music of the Damned. And I was pleasantly surprised!

Toast, however, was not so enthusiastic. While we both shared a fondness for early punk bands like the Sex Pistols, Ramones, Clash, and Angry Samoans, Toast never came around to the Damned- and I spent the next thirty years a Damned fan without a friend with whom to share them. An English band whose music became more interesting with each recording, The Light at the End of the Tunnel includes all their ‘70s and ‘80s material, and while this made for a fine overview of the band, the random, non-chronological order of the songs also made for a confused listen- and perhaps this is what initially turned off Toast to the Damned. Yet this melange of sounds only endeared the Damned to me even more and revealed all the styles of which they were capable- and I felt like I had gotten my money’s worth.

It wasn’t until years later that I realized the Damned were not playing punk music (which they helped invent) but were in fact doing their version of ‘60s American garage rock and psychedelic music- the Stooges, Love, Jefferson Airplane- and they were having fun doing it! The band’s creative energy and anything goes attitude inspired me from the start and the Damned continued to be a big influence on me during my years as a garage band singer. In fact, the title of Twinkie Force’s biggest hit “New Goat in Town” was my tribute to “New Rose”- as well as a dig at our Damned-disparaging guitarist, Toast (although this was lost on my bandmates). Here are some of my favorite Damned songs. Enjoy!

01. The Damned – “New Rose” (1976)
02. The Damned – “Alone Again Or” (1986)
03. The Damned – “Democracy?” (2001)
04. The Damned – “Grimly Fiendish (The Bad Trip Mix)” (1985)
05. The Damned – “Nasty” (1984)
06. The Damned – “Eloise” (1986)
07. The Damned – “Love Song (Single Version)” (1979)
08. The Damned – “Under the Floor Again” (1982)
09. The Damned – “Life Goes On” (1982)
10. The Damned – “Stranger on the Town” (1982)

Listen to songs from the playlist on Spotify...

Recommended Links:

The Damned - Nasty (from the Young ones)

The Damned’s Dave Vanian on what 40 years of punk has taught him