Music: The Damned release ‘Stiff Singles 1976-1977’ – 7” Box Set ahead of date at Rock City Nottingham

Exclusive pre-order through PledgeMusic HERE

Also available at The Damned’s January-February 2018 live shows

It was the summer of 1976 when Dave Vanian, Rat Scabies and Captain Sensible recruited guitarist and songwriter Brian James, played their first gig supporting the Sex Pistols at the 100 Club, quickly signed to Stiff Records and began writing the very first chapter of the punk rock history books.

Their debut 7” – New Rose – was written by Brian James and backed by a proto-thrash version of The Beatles’ Help. It was recorded by Stiff’s in-house producer, Nick Lowe and set the punk dream alight at exactly 9.00am when record shops opened for business on 22 October 1976, stealing a march on the Pistols by becoming what is widely acknowledged as the very first punk record ever released.

The band really came into their own with their second single – Neat Neat Neat – which had two cuts on the B-side, Stab Yor Back and Singalongascabies. Produced, like New Rose, by Nick Lowe, the vinyl had a message from one band member scratched in the run-out groove:“this is your captain speaking…” So what were Captain Sensible’s favourite acts on Stiff, one journalist asked him in 2007? “I wasn’t interested!”he insists. “It was mainly pub rock in the early days, which we despised and sneered at in our young and snotty way…”

After a special 7” – Stretcher Case Baby – cut to give away at gigs celebrating the band’s first anniversary, they went back into the studio, this time with Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason at the controls. Third single Problem Child was written by Brian James with Rat Scabies and featured new recruit Lu Edmonds on guitar. An incendiary two minutes of the band in their prime, it failed to crack the UK Top 40, but did make No. 27 in NME’s Alternative Singles Chart.

By the end of 1977, the Damned were ready to part with Stiff, just as Brian James and Lu Edmonds were ready to part with The Damned. Their last single was Don’t Cry Wolf, backed with another Nick Mason-produced track, One Way Love.

BMG now proudly present this limited-edition set comprising of 5 x 7″ vinyl singles including the famed first ever punk single, ‘New Rose,’ and all the other early hits from the impressively chaotic punk quartet. All singles have been recreated with their original artwork, including the ultra-rare, previously fan club only ‘Stretcher Case Baby’. These are all packed in a superb box, collaged with original press cuttings from back in the day. Also included is a Damned embroidered patch, exclusive to this box-set.

SINGLE ONE:

1. New Rose

2. Help

SINGLE TWO:

1. Neat Neat Neat

2. Stab Yor Back

3. Singalonga Scabies

SINGLE THREE:

1. Problem Child

2. You Take My Money

SINGLE FOUR:

1. Don’t Cry Wolf

2. One Way Love

SINGLE FIVE:

1. Stretcher Case Baby

2. Sick Of Being Sick

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Over forty years since their initial explosion across the fledgling London punk scene, and some ten years since the release of their last studio recordings, British punk legends The Damned are set to return in 2018 with both new material and an extensive UK tour.

Having last released new material in 2008 with their ‘So, Who’s Paranoid?’ album, 2018 will see the unveiling of a hugely-anticipated new album. Recorded in New York by famed producer Tony Visconti, whose list of past working-relationships reads like a who’s who of popular music (David Bowie, T-Rex, Morrissey, U2, The Stranglers, Iggy Pop and Thin Lizzy to name but a few!), the band have signed a new deal with Search And Destroy/Spinefarm Records and are set to stun the music world once again with their dizzying blend of high-energy punk rock, creative psychedelic pop and classic songwriting.

“Our new Tony Visconti produced album, as with all previous Damned records, very much has its own sound,” says Captain Sensible. “We’re looking forward to having an element of that mixed in with the old faves on this tour.”

The Damned – ‘Evil Spirits’ 2018 UK Tour Dates:

26 January Newcastle O2 Academy

27 January Dundee Caird Hall

28 January Glasgow O2 Academy

30 January Leeds O2 Academy

31 January Manchester Academy 1

1 February Birmingham O2 Academy

3 February Leicester O2 Academy

4 February Nottingham Rock City

6 February Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall

7 February Southend Cliffs Pavilion

9 February Cardiff Great Hall