Curtain call...

and lights grow dim.
Tragedy, love all lie within".

"Curtain Call" is definitely one of my favourite songs by The Damned and it's from their fourth album "The Black Album" (1980, Chiswick Records) and, at 17 minutes long, it takes up all of the 3rd side of this double album.

The album was produced by The Damned for the most part but the song "The History of the World - Part 1" was produced by Hans Zimmer, the future Academy Award ("The Lion King"), Grammy ("Crimson Tide") and Golden Globe ("The Lion King", "Gladiator") composer of many, many film scores!

Strangely when Big Beat acquired Chiswick's back catalogue they reissued this album as a single LP lacking my favourite song and the live performances of their earlier songs that they had recorded, in front of their fan club, at Shepperton Studios that were on the 4th side. The live tracks were subsequently released as a separate album with four more songs that weren't on "The Black Album" as "Live Shepperton 1980"

The first reissue of the CD, however, reinstated "Curtain Call" but not the live tracks.

Finally in 2005, the entire double album was remastered and reissued on CD along with nine extra tracks including two versions of their cover of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit"!

The line-up for the album is: Dave Vanian - Vocals; Captain Sensible - Guitars & Vocals; Paul Gray (ex-Eddie & The Hot Rods) - Bass; and Rat Scabies - Drums.

Today this album arrived in the mail as part of my recent urge to stock up on albums by The Damned to replace old vinyl, ancient CDs or merely to get ones that I've never owned before. In the case of this album it was to finally get my mitts on it, as I had not listened to this album for many years as it was my brother who had it back then.

Overall it's not my favourite album by The Damned (which is "Phantasmagoria") but it's got a heck of a lot of good tracks on it. Indeed it's worth it for all 17 minutes and 14 seconds of "Curtain Call"!

Then suddenly, like a fly in a cup of tea...

..I'm stirred and no longer free to fly away."



Cheesy lyrics but I love The Damned's album Phantasmagoria and I'm over the moon to finally have a remastered version of it. Album hasn't been available to buy brand new on CD in years so it's great that it's finally available again albeit as a Japanese import.

It comes with replicas of the original vinyl album outer and inner sleeves and the label is used to make it look like a miniature version of the special edition white vinyl album plus it has a fold out lyrics sheet (in Japanese and English)

Favourite track is "Sanctum Sanctorum" which has a lovely atmospheric intro.

Their follow-up album "Anything" is also available and like "Phantasmagoria" has been unavailable on CD for years (apart from people asking £lots for a secondhand copy of it). Can't wait to get that either.