The Book Of The Damned: The Official Biography- The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

by Carol Clerk

The revealing and hilarious tale of Punk's longest surviving band, written and produced with their full co-operation.
The story of how an unholy alliance between Rat Scabies and Captain Sensible was launched on an unsuspecting world, and how their adventures plumbed depths of delinquency seldom seen in the chequered history of Punk. It is a story of bad luck, bad behaviour, disappointment, despair and self-destruction. But it is also a story of courage, commitment, conviction, ambition and self-respect.
The story is told by those who know it best: The Damned themselves, their colleagues, their families, their friends, their enemies.
Fully illustrated and including a comprehensive discography.

Genres: Music, Punk

96 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1988

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Damned are my favorite Rock N Roll-ish type band, purely on the strength of their first five studio albums, the "Friday the 13th" EP and the "Thanks for the Night" single. After that, I lose quite a bit of interest, though I have dutifully purchased everything they've recorded. This book was released to coincide with the "Light at the End of the Tunnel" best of in 1988, and as such it ends around the time of the release of the "Anything" album. Given complete access to pretty much anyone who ever had anything to do with the band, except for singer Dave Vanian, Carol Clerk digs deep into the workings of the first British punk band to release a single, put out an LP, tour, etc. It's fascinating stuff, and if you're a major fan like myself you'll find it essential. I first read it when I was living in England not long after it came out, and decided to give it a third or fourth go recently on the occasion of the release of the band's latest album, "So Who's Paranoid." These days, the book goes for upwards of 3 big bills (!) on Amazon Z shops. It's not worth that, but if you can find it for a reasonable price don't hesitate. The excerpts from drummer Rat Scabies' diary around the time of Captain Sensible's departure are worth the price of admission alone.

[Paul Robbo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first official Damned biography written in 1987 by Carol Clerk gives a fairly brief overview of the ups and downs of The Damned through their first ten years. Mostly compiled from personal quotes and interviews you do get an insight into The Curse of The Damned by the people who lived through it.
This copy is a reprinting by The Flash man Society in 2024, but there are no updates really from the original text and there are still some typos in the text.
Having said that, the original book has been long out of print and pretty hard to find.

[Chris Whiteman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book! Great read, great music, great stories and a great band! SMASH IT UP!!