Born on October 12: It's Dave "Damned" Vanian's birthday today...
David Vanian, real name David Lett and former singer of the Damned, was born in Newcastle in 1956. When he was just a few months old, his family moved to northwest London. He likes to tell the story of discovering music through rock pioneers such as Eddie Cochrane in a Hell's Angels venue not far from his home. He also claims that a concert by the New York Dolls, David Johansen and Johnny Thunders' band, simply cemented his life in 1973. He was then seventeen years old.
After working for a while as a gravedigger (which explains some of his later inclinations), he took the pseudonym Vanian, borrowing two syllables from the word Transylvanian. While being a champion of the English punk movement since 1977 with the emblematic album "Damned Damned Damned", Dave already cultivated a look that was more gothic than punk. Safety pins and zips on skinny pants were not really his thing. He was clearly the one that led his companions to record "Phantasmagoria" in 1985.
Darkadelic!
Like many artists of their generation (those that survived excesses of all kinds), the English band now likes to pick from its classics such as "Neat Neat Neat", "New Rose", "Smash It Up" or even "Machine Gun Etiquette", often highlighted in their concerts. Continuing with the original members Dave Vanian, guitarist Captain Sensible and drummer Rat Scabies (recently reinstated), the quintet recorded "Darkadelic" in 2023, a record that puts the guitars upfront and finally sounds very American. Captain Sensible explains that "Leader of The Gang" is about the sexual escapades of Gary Glitter, the fallen star of glam rock, while "Wake The Dead" was written -wait for it- to be played at the funerals of the band's fans that take their final bows. And it's mind-blowing!
(AK/ML - Photo: Etienne Tordoir)
Photo: Dave Vanian backstage at the Manhattan in Leuven (Belgium) on October 2, 1985 during the "Phantasmagoria" tour (© Etienne Tordoir)
Some upcoming concerts:
26 November: Melkweg - Amsterdam (Netherlands)
29 November: OM - Seraing/Liège (Belgium)
1 December: Elysée Montmartre - Paris (France)
Then in England and Scotland in December. All dates here: https://www.officialdamned.com/live