I have arthritis in my left knee and a knackered back but think I am doing not bad for fifty-four years of age. However, I play on the floor with my grandkids and the next day walk about the house like a tin man. In December I saw The Damned, four of them in their sixties and Captain Sensible now seventy, they stormed the Barrowlands for over two hours and to be honest blew me away. If I am still around at seventy, I’ll be chuffed to get out of a chair without wincing.
I have been on a bit of a Damned fest since the concert, I had always listened to them and enjoyed them, but Machine Gun Etiquette has now become an essential album for me.
The band had split up after their second album and had reformed without main songwriter Brian James for this record with Sensible moving to guitar and Algy Ward coming in briefly on bass.
Love Song opened with Albert Tatlock (one for the youngsters again) speaking before the band all storm in thirty seconds in and all decide to go hell for leather for two minutes, still fresh all these years later. The title track there is no let up and Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon help with handclaps, who said the punk bands did not get on?
I Just Can’t Be Happy Today is a step back in pace with a deep vocal from Vanian and a whirling organ halfway through and backing vocals from the band enhancing the track, it didn’t even crack the top forty, disgraceful. An epic piano brings in Melody Lee and Rat Scabies is all over this, what a drummer, still is.
Although I am from Glasgow, I have been an atheist all my life and have never had any interest in the religious nonsense of my city so Anti-Pope is certainly enjoyable and These Hands should have been used in The Greatest Showman, why was it not?
Plan 9 Channel 7 is epic from start to finish, over five minutes of storming guitar and drums and Vanian leading us all into the chorus, again lets not kid ourselves these four men are a unit firing all on cylinders and the cover of MC5’s Looking At You shows us that Sensible was not just helping out stepping into Brian James shoes, he could play.
Noise, Noise, Noise and Liar show the bands, although progressing, could still be as punk as they wished and then we have the finale of Smash It Up (Pts 1 & 2) where we are led by the band and the first kick at one minute is divine before they go for it with an underpinned and nagging organ throughout, glorious.
I am calling it.
10/10
GIVE IT A STREAM: Plan 9 Channel 7
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