‘Nasty’: The Damned reunion that only lasted for one performance
There is a reason why most great bands only last a handful of years before finally collapsing in on themselves. By the very nature of music and artistry, most groups are composed of strong, hard-headed characters who are in a near-constant ego battle. This was particularly true for the generation of bands that established themselves in the age of punk rock during the mid-1970s. Despite the political and social motivations of punk, much of the scene was punctuated by inter-band rivalries and a hefty level of arguments; The Damned were no different.
Originally formed in 1976, during the early days of London’s punk scene, The Damned made history by becoming the first British group to release a punk single in the form of ‘New Rose’. Although their success was soon eclipsed by groups like the Sex Pistols or The Clash, the Dave Vanian-fronted outfit was essential in fostering the early punk scene, as well as influencing the later establishment of goth rock and post-punk. The relationships within the band were never particularly harmonious, with each individual member often pulling in opposite directions.
Although The Damned never formally broke up and, in fact, continue to perform to this day, the punk pioneers witnessed numerous line-up changes, fallings out, and temporary hiatuses over the years. The first fractures in the band’s foundation came in 1978, when they briefly dissolved, to reappear a year later without founding guitarist Brian James. Then, as the band embraced the dark sounds of goth rock during the early 1980s, bassist Captain Sensible made the odd decision to start recording novelty pop songs on the side.
The success of these tracks, like ‘Happy Talk’, meant he had less and less time for The Damned, and the group quietly shrank into the shadows for a couple of years. That was until the advent of the revolutionary BBC sitcom The Young Ones. The programme, spearheaded by Rik Mayall, Ben Elton, and Lise Mayer, was to comedy what punk was to music: anarchic, countercultural, and a huge success with the youth of Britain. One of the things that made the programme such an enduring success was the inclusion of musical guests in each episode.
Reportedly, The Young Ones chose to feature different bands every week because, in the eyes of the BBC, the programme would then qualify as ‘light entertainment’ rather than ‘sitcom’ – as the BBC refused to fund any new sitcoms at the time. As a result, the programme featured incredible performances from the likes of Motorhead, Madness, Dexys Midnight Runners, and, during the second series in 1984, The Damned.
According to the assistant floor manager for The Young Ones, Ed Bye, The Damned were prepared to make amends with Captain Sensible for a chance to perform on the show. “I got a call from a secretary who said, ‘I’ve got a Mr. Scabies on the phone for you,’” Bye once shared. “He said that they would be prepared to reform The Damned, who had broken up, to record one song called ‘Nasty’ for the show.”
The song itself was an ode to horror films and ‘video nasties’, which fit in very well with the plot of that particular episode. Whatsmore, Alexei Sayle played a vampire (or South African driving instructor) in the episode, which drew parallels with the stage getup of Dave Vanian. So, the band recorded the song in the squalid house of The Young Ones, but the harmony within the group did not last for long.
“They recorded in the studio, which all went well, and after, we went out to have a curry at an Indian restaurant,” Bye shared in the documentary How The Young Ones Changed Comedy. “One of the band members, Captain Sensible, had his own song in the charts previously called ‘Happy Talk’, and he decided to sing it on the table in the middle of the Indian restaurant. The rest of the band didn’t really like him or [the song], so they started throwing onion bhajis at him, and he got all upset.”
Seemingly, this public food fight led to another dissolution of The Damned. “There was a huge fight in the Indian restaurant,” Bye said, “the whole band broke up, and that was the end of it.” Sensible would eventually rejoin the band four years later for a limited run of shows. However, The Damned’s appearance on The Young Ones probably marks the shortest musical reunion of all time, lasting for only the duration of one song.
