The name Down Town takes me back to a takeaway in Bushey Herts in the late 70s ,it was one of the last places open on our way home from Watford and was run by one of the poshest blokes you could ever meet in the most unlikely setting ,flogging kebabs and burgers to a bunch of drunks who without fail would sing Downton to him at the top of our voices ,he was a diamond
What a great live band they were , I was shocked to see Kate was now 74 , love Planet Claire and Roam
I absolutely loved the B-52's but only got to see them live twice when they played two nights at the Town & Country Club (The Forum) in September 1989. Having said that both nights are comfortably in my top 10 gigs and quite possibly top 5 they were that good! Incidentally I always assumed Kate and Cindy were roughly the same age, it's only fairly recently that I discovered that Kate's 9 years older than Cindy!
I've sobered up...and decided against Birmingham. My knees and liver have advised me against it. I was looking for myself and Mrs B in some videos of Manchester and then I found this of Hammersmith... I only turn up in shot right at the end 2,06 (green mohican with THE DAMNED emblazoned across my back)...but from then on, I try my Damnedest to block the camera. I have to say that I'm not overly keen on seeing the back of my head that close up! Mrs B would like to point out that's her leather jacketed arm applauding in the final few seconds...which I am more than happy to do.
I went to see their final UK performance a year or 2 back (Covid's ****ed my memory) and regrettably, they weren't nearly as good as previous times that I'd seen them. They are in my Top 10 acts easily and on the right day, Top 5. Mrs B and I drove down the west coast of the US, from Seattle to San Diego with about 6 cassettes, one of which was Cosmic Thing and that album delights me every time I hear it.
I looked it up and was shocked that the last time I saw them was 2013 , some of the show is on YouTube
We saw them at The Roundhouse in '08 and it is one of my favourite ever gigs...the people we went with, the whole day was perfect and they were fantastic. Happy memories!
I love to travel and when in the USA which was the easiest I liked to listen to songs that mentioned the place I was in in the song lyrics , America by Simon and garfunkel on the New Jersey turnpike or Dr Woo by Steely Dan floating around Biscayne bay , one surprise was Nick Lowe's Indian Queens , I visualised a town in USA only to discover it was about a place in Cornwall
A couple of reviews from Louder Than War... https://louderthanwar.com/the-damned-10-takeaway-thoughts-on-the-classic-punk-bands-tour/ https://louderthanwar.com/the-damned-manchester-apollo-live-review/ John Robb was a couple of yards to my left throughout the Manchester gig and was clearly having a ****ing great time. It's easy to get carried away, but that Manchester performance was extraordinary...for any band...but from a bunch of 60 somethings, it's all the more so. As Captain said, "tonight we're going to show younger bands what '76 was all about and how it should done." I am biased, but they really pulled it off.
it's sad, I saw them a couple of years back and thought that they were all wearing well, but we're getting to that age now. Increasingly, it seems that hardly a month goes by without the sad passing of a member of a band from my teenage years. The Rats' first 2 albums were great...perhaps, not as great as Bob thinks they are, but lots of fun. Mates who didn't 'get' punk liked the singles, which were great. My personal favourites from those days... Thanks for the memories.
I was beginning to think that I'd dreamed that we went to Manchester to see The Damned reunion gig, despite Mrs B's Facebook going mad with messages from lovely people we met up there (including a couple of tattoo artists from New Jersey, who came over specifically to see the gigs). I knew where we stood...and we spent most of the evening standing very close to the bloke with THE MOST IDENTIFIABLE hair in the place - a 12" electric green mohawk. FFS, the 3 of us are taller than pretty much everybody else in the place and 2 of us have got electric lizard mohicans..and yet I couldn't find a trace of us in anything on Youtube....until now! Starting at 0.37, you can see 2 electric green mohicans, I'm the one nearer the camera with Mrs B in white t shirt and glasses stood between us... It's a pretty good video for sound. They were really tight that night and gave it everything. The live CD (limited edition, of course!) becomes a must have Christmas gift! Apparently, the band's going to be interviewed about the gigs, Night of a Thousand Vampires album/DVD release and forthcoming plans on Craig Charles' show tomorrow... please log in to view this image
On way over to London for Porcupine Tree gig at Wembley Arena tomorrow. Literally a flying visit, first feet on (former) home ground in 4.5 years! Not many people's music taste on here I know, but by all accounts the world tour has been amazing so far!
Don't protest anything and remember tolerance is out of style! Enjoy! Is it seated...if so where are you? I'm so used to being able to get as close to the stage as I want, that when I'm forced to sit a distance away, I can't get my head round it. Getting deafened, having people jump all over you, whilst throwing beer and who knows what else all over the place isn't everyone's idea of fun...but you definitely can get used to it.
Thanks mate! I left my press pass at home! lol Sitting fortunately.... With my back standing for 3 hours would be a stretch! B4 is the area. Front left, 10 rows in front of the mixing desk, so should be close enough for an old 'un!
A mate of mine who now lives in Toronto saw them in September and now tells me he can die a happy man , huge porcupine tree fan and Steven Wilson completist gave them a big thumbs up Enjoy mate
