On Oct. 22, 1976, The Damned released “New Rose,” becoming the first British punk band to release a single. Now, 50 years later, The Damned are smashing it up across the United States on a tour billed as the Final Damnation 50 Tour. Their Oct. 21 stop at the 9:30 Club came just one day before the single’s 50th anniversary.
For The Damned, it was another 21st-century US tour with their classic early-’80s lineup, welcoming drummer Rat Scabies back into the fold. At their heart, The Damned are four unique personalities who unite to create a sound so wonderful and powerful that it defies time and space. Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Paul Gray, and Rat — along with longtime keyboardist Monty Oxymoron — played some of their extraordinary music during their Final Damnation show at the 9:30 Club.
Over the course of their show at the 9:30 Club, The Damned’s taste for good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll was on display. Over the past 50 years, The Damned have expanded beyond the original boundaries of punk rock. They embraced everything from garage rock and psychedelia to gothic theatricality, developing one of the more adventurous catalogs to emerge from ’70s London.
On Oct. 21, The Damned opened their performance with “Street of Dreams” from 1985’s Phantasmagoria — a gothic rock number that demonstrated the darker musical direction that became an important part of The Damned’s identity during the 1980s. From the start, Dave Vanian displayed all of the qualities that make him one of the greatest frontmen of all time. With his dark glasses and gloves, he added a touch of mystery to his commanding stage presence. Vanian has always cultivated an air of gothic elegance, and 50 years into his career, he remains every bit the charismatic figure who helped distinguish The Damned from their punk contemporaries. His powerful baritone was marvelous, allowing the band to shift effortlessly from the drama of “Street of Dreams” through the tenderness of “Eloise” to the raw punk energy of “New Rose.”
Soon, the band waded into their amazing 1980 release, The Black Album, with the kind of tunes that I was there to hear — including “The History of the World (Part 1)” and “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
Watch The Damned perform “History of the World” live for Lock In Live on YouTube:
The Damned’s most recent album, Not Like Everybody Else, is a collection of covers released in January in tribute to their original guitarist, the late Brian James. The album speaks directly to The Damned’s love of psychedelic and garage rock of the ’60s, and they performed their cover of “You Must Be a Witch” by The Lollipop Shoppe about one-third of the way through the show. Soon afterward, they played their version of “Eloise” by Barry Ryan — their most famous ’60s throwback and a concert staple since they recorded it in 1986.
The usually playful Captain Sensible took a moment to recommend The Lollipop Shoppe to the audience, but he didn’t banter as much as usual. Although full of smiles and clearly having a good time, Sensible seemed more down to business as The Damned kept the show moving. His guitar playing was as sharp as ever, alternating between the melodic flourishes of the band’s later material and the snarling riffs of its punk classics. Captain and Dave shared some fine moments onstage together, and when he wasn’t at his microphone, Sensible often dropped back toward the drums to groove with Rat.
The middle of the performance continued moving between musical eras, with “Feel the Pain,” “Twisted Nerve,” and “I Just Can’t Be Happy Today” representing distinctly different sides of The Damned’s catalog. Eventually, the set turned more decisively toward the band’s punk roots. “Gun Fury (of Riot Forces)” and “Ignite,” both from Strawberries, led into “Neat Neat Neat,” another landmark from the group’s 1977 debut album, Damned Damned Damned. “Love Song,” from 1979’s Machine Gun Etiquette, closed the main set.
Paul Gray may be the most understated personality among The Damned’s four principal members, but his bass playing is anything but restrained. His awesome, melodic bass lines provided a powerful foundation throughout the evening, particularly on material from The Black Album and Strawberries, two records that helped expand The Damned’s musical horizons. Gray and Rat formed a formidable rhythm section, driving the songs forward while giving Captain Sensible plenty of room to explore on guitar.
For the encore, The Damned reached into some of their most celebrated material. The expansive “Curtain Call,” originally released on The Black Album, featured a melodic yet ferocious drum solo, giving Rat an opportunity to take center stage. Then came “New Rose,” the song that started it all.
Watch the official music video for “New Rose” by The Damned on YouTube:
The two-part “Smash It Up,” another highlight of Machine Gun Etiquette, allowed Rat to show off his drumming skills once again. Then, after a pause, the band concluded the evening with a cover of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit,” playing as if they did not want the night to end.
Opening for The Damned, Cyril Jordan, frontman of the Flamin’ Groovies and a true original, shared the story of writing “Teenage Head” before performing it at the 9:30 Club. Jordan recalled meeting producer Kim Fowley at a music festival, where Fowley antagonized people — including Linda Ronstadt — by incessantly asking them if they had any “teenage head.” Inspired by the foolishness, Jordan went home and wrote the song “Teenage Head.”
All in all, the Flamin’ Groovies performed a short but rollickin’ set of seven songs, including a cover of Randy Newman’s “Have You Seen My Baby?” — which also appears on the album Teenage Head (1971). Toward the end of the set, the band played the terrific “Jumpin’ in the Night,” a power pop classic. My old friend Chester Simpson photographed the cover of the 1979 album of the same name!
Still a damn good guitar player, Cyril had particularly good chemistry with drummer Tony T. Sales, who has been with the band since 2017. At center stage, Tony looked the part for the Groovies — a little mod and a little psychedelic, but very polished and dapper. Cyril and Tony were on the same page throughout the set, boosting the gain on that Flamin’ Groovies material to maximum effect.
The first opener of the night was the outstanding garage-rock duo The Courettes. Flavia Couri, originally from Brazil, and Martin Couri, originally from Denmark, have a commitment to ’60s-era rock ‘n’ roll aesthetics, and they play great music with fierce velocity.
The Courettes shimmied and shook through eight songs, opening with “The Boy I Love” from their 2015 debut album, Here Are the Courettes. They closed with “Fuck Yous and Heartbreaks,” a very new song by the husband-and-wife team, who sweetly brought their young son onto the stage for their curtain call and some photos with the bustling 9:30 Club crowd.
Full of punk energy and classic girl-group melodies, The Courettes are the kind of band that The Damned love to recruit for tours, and this was an excellent opportunity to learn about them. The Courettes promised to return next year, so stay tuned for their forthcoming album, Fuck Yous & Heartbreaks, due in 2027.
Here are some photos of The Damned performing live at the 9:30 Club on Oct. 21, 2026. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
Here are some photos of Flamin’ Groovies performing live at the 9:30 Club on Oct. 21, 2026. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
Here are some photos of The Courettes performing live at the 9:30 Club on Oct. 21, 2026. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
