Another...

A neat and tidy venue in the centre of Liverpool was the setting for the latest outing by the finest punk band to walk the earth (without zimmers). Being Easter Sunday we were trying to second guess what Captain Sensible would be wearing; "its’s got to be a bunny outfit". How wrong we were. Why he chose a caveman outfit we don’t know - especially as there was no sign of the Teen Angels.

Moxy took to the stage to open up on keyboards with the highly surprising piano opening of Melody Lee. He was quickly joined by Pinch, Sensible, Vanian and Stuart (replacing Patricia Morrison on bass) and the song developed into the punk classic it was and still is. Next up was I Fall and the scene was set for a mixture of the 1st and 3rd Lps with a smattering from Grave Disorder and one or two others.

Plan 9 Channel 7 was soon served up followed by a few from the 2001 LP - including Amen. Leaning through the archway to the right of Sensible was an admiring gent who continually plied the guitarist with vodka and lager. Vanian was quick to pick up on this potential "gay romance"

"Anyone see us on the Young Ones?" asked Sensible - to which we all knew the up and coming track. "Tough, Stuart doesn’t know that one." But then after a bit of cajoling the new bassist agreed to give it a go and they stormed through a superb rendition of Nasty. If the opening song and Nasty had been surprise choices the following from Damned Damned Damned was a real turn up - Fan Club.

"Do you lot wanna see Rat come back?" asked Sensible to a resounding "Yeah" from the crowd. "Well he can’t, he’s deaf and he can’t play the drums anymore!". Pinch took offence and offered his resignation. Vanian and Sensible in true comic fashion offered the sticks to a member of the audience. Expecting no takers obviously! But getting a middle-aged bloke in denim with straight hair called. "Spike"! He agreed to play New Rose, before changing his mind and opting for Love Song. With Pinch in the wings waiting in awe of his new replacement the opening bass riff was cracked out and soon accompanied by Spike’s drum roll opening. By the time Sensible had fired up the first few chords the song had descended into a farce and broke down. "Shall we give him another go?" the crowd responsed positively and Spike had a second chance - Which he promply fucked up too! "Spike is a wanker" rang around the Academy and the smug Pinch was re-instated.

Sensible dedicated See Her Tonite to Brian James and did not let the former guitarist down with a top notch version. It was finally time for me to make my way to the front when Antipope kicked off. Chaotic as ever with plenty of 'fiddling about’. Sensible then managed to offend every Liverpudlian in the place slagging off John Leonard - the lasagne-selling butcher from down the road, as well as massacring Day Tripper. They then played a song about Lennon and followed it up with Ignite and then the best song of the night from the Black Album - The History Of The World Part 1. Oxy got it going before everything else kicked in and the frontline was pogoing furiously - funny, cos its not a track you would consider as being that way inclined.

Neat Neat Neat was next on the set-list and before long Sensible was giving it some in a guitar solo frenzy that threatened to last all night until Vanian snapped him out of it with the opening lyrics of The Doors’ Break On Through - to which the band responded and knocked out a few verses and choruses of the 60s classic. Neat Neat Neat resumed and they then left the stage to a rapturous applause.

As ever the encore would feature arguably their top 3 songs ever - but this time Sensible was completely pissed and in trouble of ballsing the whole thing up. He got through New Rose and then Love Song before trouble eruped between Vanian and Sensible’s admirer. "We wanna hear some punk" screamed the guy down Vanian’s mike - to which Sensible rattled off Pretty Vacant. This in turn dragged new blood down to the front of the audience and further mayhem of an orderly kind! Quite simply unplanned and unrehearsed as Vanian struggled through the lyrics but welcome and enjoyed by the masses.

It was time for the finale and Sensible played the first notes of Smash It Up (part 1) in a psychedelic manner - fucking around with various peddles and basically chilling out! Stuart on bass was trying to be the consummate pro and keep up with the pissed up Sensible - but not a task he’d have enjoyed. Still they made it to the end of Part 1 and into Part 2 and the entire place rocked, jumped, pogoed and went into 1979 overdrive to the riffs and lyrics of The Damned’s flagship song. It all ended bizarrely - and then ended again, before the Captain showed us his arse and promptly left the stage to huge applause.

With a bit of luck the drunken old fool was bitten to death by an okapi backstage!
The Damned - play ‘em all night.

Thanks to Mark & Lewis Cook for the photos on this page