Fangbase - Reviews

Fairfield Halls, Croydon

Tuesday 17th December 2002

I had a feeling that this was going to be a good 'un and so it proved to be and a fitting climax to this tour. Mind you, I did get slightly alarmed to find scores of grannies and little kids in party frocks wandering around outside when I arrived. Had I got the date wrong? No - they were off to the panto in the theatre next door.

Stopped off at the merch stall to buy a "Croydon" T shirt (only available on the night) from Jed and had a quick chat with Pinch who was lending a hand on the stall.

Beforehand I said to a bloke at work I was going and he said words to the effect of "An old punk band won't fill a venue that size". How wrong he was - full and standing it was. Old punk band my foot - they put all other bands to shame.

Before The Damned we were treated to not one but two great support acts - Eddie and The Hot Rods followed by The Blockheads. Both of these bands could easily headline in their own right and they both put on a fine old show.

Highlight of the Hot Rods set was their last song - a supercharged Get Out Of Denver. Off they went and on came The Blockheads who did a short set of four or five great songs followed by the unusual sight of a support act doing an encore. Their performance attracted at least two Damned members (Captain and Monty) to watch from the wings. Monty came on at the end to thank them for a great set. I've never seen a bass player put so much effort into his playing as Norman Watt-Roy with his jacket drenched through with sweat . Such was the calibre of their performance I seriously thought The Damned would have trouble following them. But on they came and did their stuff with even more style than usual.

The MC bit was handled by none other than the Mayor of Croydon - complete with mayoral chain.

Things started with Monty coming onstage alone clad in a maroon velvet frock coat, the spotlight following him to a concert sized grand piano no less. Mr. Oxymoron then flawlessly played the intro to Beauty Of The Beast with Dave doing the atmospheric vocal bit off stage. What a start! The rest of the band then came on stage with Patricia wearing a suitably festive white long sleeved bodice trimmed with white fur collar and cuffs. You know who's kilt and Don't Bomb Iraq T Shirt were constants.

The Captain seemed to be genuinely pleased to be onstage at his former place of employment - as he said "A dream come true", arriving on stage with a large broom. "Good evening" said DV on his arrival "right to the back" seeing the size of the crowd.

Off we went with the now traditional Street Of Dreams opening up the set proper, followed by Nasty. "Westlife are going to cover that" advised the Captain. Up next was I Fall - Captain revealing that was scheduled to be the first single rather than New Rose. "Beat The Pistols by three months" said the Captain and then advising Malcolm MacLaren where to stick it.

I think it was Disco Man next, with Dave nipping off to the wings to collect a vital prop. "Being The Damned we've spared no expense on the visual effects" said DV, producing a cricket ball sized rotating glitter ball which he perched on Pinch's kit. Quick burst of Stayin' Alive before a rip through Disco Man. What a great song that is - no sign of showing its age.

Sensible then reminisced about his toilet cleaner days and bemoaned that fact that standards had fallen since his time. "You're saying that things have got worse since you left?" asked DV. I Just Can't Be Happy Today followed with Monty's usual perfect keyboards. Things were warming up now and off came Patricia's top (to Pinch's Stripper type accompaniment on the drums) revealing a maroon velvet thingy underneath. Dave's rather natty drape jacket with black and white fur trimming came off about now too, showing off his bright red waistcoat to advantage. That came off too a bit later - I didn't know he wore braces! (suspenders for US fans).

The rest of the set comprised the songs that have become a feature of the recent set. Song.com was particularly good, with Dave adding a line or two from (I think) Surfing Safari. Thrill Kill wasn't bad either, Captain managing to play the guitar part while having beer poured into his mouth by roadie!

Thought the sound was really good and clear but maybe not quite as loud as some I've heard - at any rate my ears didn't ring the following day.

The main set careered to a close with Neat Neat Neat and then it was encore time. First up was the Captain with a rendition of Croydon, which I hadn't heard for years (backed by three ladies going by the name of Teasing Lulu) and it sounded pretty good too.

The other encore numbers were Love Song (guitar behind head time), Eloise and something called Smash It Up. God I love that song, especially live! This rendition was given a festive edge by DV intoning "Merry Christmas by the way" during the momentary pause between the twangy bit ending and the opening shout of Smash It Up. A large box of tinsel made its way into the crowd around about here - it was going everywhere.

The cataclysmic end to Smash It Up saw (a) Pinch kick the drums flying, with a bit of the kit sailing right over Dave's head (luckily he was bending down to get some tinsel at this point), (b) the line of toilet brushes that had been hanging over the stage all night come down perilously close to Patricia's head and (c) armfuls of the aforesaid brushes being hurled off stage by Sensible, along with his beret. "There's something you wouldn't see Phil Collins or Paul Weller do" said Sensible and do you know I think he's right.

With that they were gone. What a bloody great night. What a bloody great band too - I honestly think there's no other band I'd go and rather see. What can I do to keep me occupied until the live work starts again?

I'm off to treat myself to a tattoo for Christmas.

Froggy