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Smashing It Up: A Decade of Chaos with The Damned
From rank outsiders to pop stardom a decade later, The Damned blazed an anarchic trail through punk rock to achieve massive chart success. A beacon for the Sex Pistols and The Clash to follow, they flung down the musical gauntlet in 1976 with Britain’s first punk single ‘New Rose’.
Smashing It A Decade of Chaos with The Damned is their definitive biography, drawing on new, in-depth research and interviews with associates and band members – including founders Brian James, Chris Millar (Rat Scabies), Raymond Burns (Captain Sensible) and David Lett (David Vanian).
Conflict was managers and labels came and went; bridges were burnt; opportunities squandered; and Kieron Tyler reveals how – and why – the wayward, wild and wilful Damned are the punk band that survived, and why they truly led the British Punk movement and outshone their contemporaries.
Smashing It A Decade of Chaos with The Damned is their definitive biography, drawing on new, in-depth research and interviews with associates and band members – including founders Brian James, Chris Millar (Rat Scabies), Raymond Burns (Captain Sensible) and David Lett (David Vanian).
Conflict was managers and labels came and went; bridges were burnt; opportunities squandered; and Kieron Tyler reveals how – and why – the wayward, wild and wilful Damned are the punk band that survived, and why they truly led the British Punk movement and outshone their contemporaries.
298 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 15, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 9, 2020
Really loved my time with this book, and after finishing I’m incredibly nostalgic for a moment in time I wasn’t even a part of and I’d actually kill to be at a gig in 1977.
I liked how this book focused more on their early years as I don’t really rate anything after Phantasmagoria. It went into a lot more detail about the members of the band who left and at what time because it’s so confusing they were all just arguing all the time and leaving so it was helpful to have this explained properly. Loved all the photos included in it.
It took me a while to read because the tone of this is not gossipy at all, it’s very factual, kind of reads like a Wikipedia article at sometimes. But I liked the chapters dedicated to critical analysis of the albums. I don’t really know if it captured the excitement of the band though during the Smash it Up era when they went completely wild. The documentary makes use of the film format better and is able to show the live performances when this book fell a bit short on that.
Overall am glad to read and told me a lot of new things about the band which we were going on behind the scenes, especially in relation to its members and the connections with other punk names during the late 1970s.
I liked how this book focused more on their early years as I don’t really rate anything after Phantasmagoria. It went into a lot more detail about the members of the band who left and at what time because it’s so confusing they were all just arguing all the time and leaving so it was helpful to have this explained properly. Loved all the photos included in it.
It took me a while to read because the tone of this is not gossipy at all, it’s very factual, kind of reads like a Wikipedia article at sometimes. But I liked the chapters dedicated to critical analysis of the albums. I don’t really know if it captured the excitement of the band though during the Smash it Up era when they went completely wild. The documentary makes use of the film format better and is able to show the live performances when this book fell a bit short on that.
Overall am glad to read and told me a lot of new things about the band which we were going on behind the scenes, especially in relation to its members and the connections with other punk names during the late 1970s.
October 27, 2020
You wait for a book about the Damned for ages then two come at once. Having read and enjoyed the Barry Hutchinson history, i left a gap until reading this. Not as good as Barry's, feeling somewhat rushed as it ends re the more recent years but it is subtitled a decade of chaos so focusses on the first ten years. Cracking photographs and we'll worth buying if you love the Damned.
Ray Smillie
Ray Smillie
January 4, 2018
Extremely thorough biography of the damned, with a keenly objective voice. Tyler has done his research, that's for sure, and surely loves the band, though I wish, sometimes, that passion was apparent in the prose itself. Still, if you want to know the hows, whos, whens and whys of the Damned, this book will fill in most of the answers.
July 19, 2017
Kieron Tyler leaves the reader in little doubt that The Damned were a hugely under-rated band whose influence spread from the gestation of both punk and goth music to later US rockers such as The Replacements, Nirvana and Guns 'n' Roses. Despite their pioneering influence, The Damned has tended to be sidelined and belittled by the mainstream; Tyler's book is an excellent attempt to set the record straight. As he suggest, it may not give us the complete truth, but it brings us closer to the truth than we were before.
The book has been phenomenally well-researched. Tyler has relied heavily on interviews done with band members and others directly involved, either by himself or quoted directly from contemporaneous sources. This lends a feel of both immediacy and authenticity to the band's story.
And what a story it is. Tyler starts off by placing us firmly in the nascent punk rock scene in London, before the term even existed, documents how the four founding members came together, and the musical influences that led them to record the pioneering and then-shocking New Rose. He then takes us chronologically through the band's tumultuous career over several decades, a career that persists to this day.
Throughout, the reader is left wondering how these people managed to survive the largely self-inflicted damage that they personally and the band endured. It's astonishing to think that all four founding members survived in the industry for decades after arising from a milieu where bands only lasted for a few years at most, and which claimed the lives of many of its foremost practitioners. Given the level of self-destruction chronicled here, that is truly amazing.
I enjoyed this book hugely, and found myself constantly jumping onto the internet to listen again to the songs that Tyler was discussing, which often clarified the story he was telling and added to my enjoyment of the book. If I had a quibble it would be that Tyler's chronology sometimes gets confusing and he seems to repeat himself; for example, an account of the recording of Anything appears twice. Overall, however, Tyler definitely succeeds in his objective of restoring The Damned and its members to their rightful place in modern music history.
The book has been phenomenally well-researched. Tyler has relied heavily on interviews done with band members and others directly involved, either by himself or quoted directly from contemporaneous sources. This lends a feel of both immediacy and authenticity to the band's story.
And what a story it is. Tyler starts off by placing us firmly in the nascent punk rock scene in London, before the term even existed, documents how the four founding members came together, and the musical influences that led them to record the pioneering and then-shocking New Rose. He then takes us chronologically through the band's tumultuous career over several decades, a career that persists to this day.
Throughout, the reader is left wondering how these people managed to survive the largely self-inflicted damage that they personally and the band endured. It's astonishing to think that all four founding members survived in the industry for decades after arising from a milieu where bands only lasted for a few years at most, and which claimed the lives of many of its foremost practitioners. Given the level of self-destruction chronicled here, that is truly amazing.
I enjoyed this book hugely, and found myself constantly jumping onto the internet to listen again to the songs that Tyler was discussing, which often clarified the story he was telling and added to my enjoyment of the book. If I had a quibble it would be that Tyler's chronology sometimes gets confusing and he seems to repeat himself; for example, an account of the recording of Anything appears twice. Overall, however, Tyler definitely succeeds in his objective of restoring The Damned and its members to their rightful place in modern music history.
September 1, 2017
The book focuses on their formation and subsequent first decade, where along with the Clash and the Sex Pistols, were one of the first punk bands. The influence of the band stretches far and wide, be it them taking on support bands who later broke big themselves like Black Flag or having their classic song ‘New Rose’ being covered by Guns ‘N’ Roses. The classic line-up of Dave Vanian (the only ever present throughout the band’s many line-up changes), Captain Sensible, Rat Scabies and Brian James are all interviewed by the author and often tell a varying version of key events ion the band’s history as you’d expect. They have had a fair few musicians through their ranks including Algy Ward (who went on to form Tank), Paul Gray (later seen in UFO), Jon Moss (Culture Club) and Lemmy often appeared on stage with them.
You find out lots of facts including Captain’s love of cricket (his solo career and hit ‘Happy Talk’ are also covered in depth) and interesting insights to the various offshoots including the Phantom Chords and Naz Nomad and the Nightmares. Plus of course the band were very rock ‘n’ roll with Captain often finishing gigs in the nude, and along with Rat Scabies causing mayhem and damage in recording studios and venues. There are plenty of these tales in the book.
The band suffered from a series of label issues and changing management, yet despite setbacks still managed to record some classic songs and Kieron Tyler is a fan, which helps when he assess the songs and impacts of the albums throughout those first ten years. He is honest in his assessment and makes you want to listen to the songs again
Although the book is looking mainly at the band’s first ten years, Tyler goes onto cover the more recent history of the band although not in as much detail. Good news for Damned fans is a new album is due possibly by the end of year and they show no signs of stopping yet.
Well researched and for once a band biography that includes author interviews with the various current and past members, rather than relying solely on archive interviews. Great read for fans of the band and music in general.
You find out lots of facts including Captain’s love of cricket (his solo career and hit ‘Happy Talk’ are also covered in depth) and interesting insights to the various offshoots including the Phantom Chords and Naz Nomad and the Nightmares. Plus of course the band were very rock ‘n’ roll with Captain often finishing gigs in the nude, and along with Rat Scabies causing mayhem and damage in recording studios and venues. There are plenty of these tales in the book.
The band suffered from a series of label issues and changing management, yet despite setbacks still managed to record some classic songs and Kieron Tyler is a fan, which helps when he assess the songs and impacts of the albums throughout those first ten years. He is honest in his assessment and makes you want to listen to the songs again
Although the book is looking mainly at the band’s first ten years, Tyler goes onto cover the more recent history of the band although not in as much detail. Good news for Damned fans is a new album is due possibly by the end of year and they show no signs of stopping yet.
Well researched and for once a band biography that includes author interviews with the various current and past members, rather than relying solely on archive interviews. Great read for fans of the band and music in general.
March 6, 2018
I got this ADC from Netgalley for review.
Before reading this book, I had no prior knowledge of The Damned other than their existence as one of the Crucial Three of "Punk," alongside the Sex Pistols and the Clash. I had no preconceived notions of the band or its importance in music history. This book made me interested in digging into their catalog, and checking out some other bands noted that I had not heard of.
This is a heavily researched, well sourced reference volume on the rise and fall of The Damned. Band members in and out of the band, internal strife, lots of bad behavior (why is there always smashing up studios and destruction of private property in these things? How cliches and unnecessary!).
Recommended for musos, hardcore fans of The Damned and its offshoots, and British music history scholars.
Before reading this book, I had no prior knowledge of The Damned other than their existence as one of the Crucial Three of "Punk," alongside the Sex Pistols and the Clash. I had no preconceived notions of the band or its importance in music history. This book made me interested in digging into their catalog, and checking out some other bands noted that I had not heard of.
This is a heavily researched, well sourced reference volume on the rise and fall of The Damned. Band members in and out of the band, internal strife, lots of bad behavior (why is there always smashing up studios and destruction of private property in these things? How cliches and unnecessary!).
Recommended for musos, hardcore fans of The Damned and its offshoots, and British music history scholars.
August 15, 2017
As expected, tales of sex, drugs and rock n roll, band break-ups, mismanagement and Captain Sensible's 'antics'.
I always thought that the Damned were all about fun and madness. Some of this comes across in the book, but the extensive text and writing style are very matter of fact and, as a result, the book loses the spontaneous nature of the early punk days and the band. Every detail is covered in the book, but I have to admit that I was glad to get to the end.....and I'm a Damned fan....pity, could have been a lot better.
I always thought that the Damned were all about fun and madness. Some of this comes across in the book, but the extensive text and writing style are very matter of fact and, as a result, the book loses the spontaneous nature of the early punk days and the band. Every detail is covered in the book, but I have to admit that I was glad to get to the end.....and I'm a Damned fan....pity, could have been a lot better.
August 22, 2024
Fantastic History Lesson!
Hard off to Tyler! I never thought it would be possible to trace and record the tangled web that is The Damned...but he has! Superb to casual and die-hard alike.
Hard off to Tyler! I never thought it would be possible to trace and record the tangled web that is The Damned...but he has! Superb to casual and die-hard alike.
July 31, 2018
Saw the documentary which was excellent, this book fills in all the gaps, loving it, better than some of the books I have been reading.
October 30, 2018
It's good, thorough and contains a lot of information. But...it's a bit academic with its album essays, literature reviews and a bit repetetive as well...I longed for a bit more smashing stuff.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews