The Damned
Machine Gun Etiquette

THE REVIEW

While The Clash were finishing the recording of London Calling, the new lineup of The Damned was mixing Machine Gun Etiquette. The lineup had regrouped after the second album, which was considered by critics as a poor effort. Sid Vicious was rejected during auditions, the original guitarist was sent to pick nettles, and Captain Sensible started playing the guitar, leaving the bass to a young twenty-year-old, Algy Ward (who would later form the Tank). With such a premise, no one expected one of the most appreciated Punk albums on the planet. The album was released at the end of 1979. And while Joe Strummer and company were eyeing the US market, The Damned, with Dave Vanian's ever-evolving voice, continued to cultivate the British roots of Punk.

Due to its anarchic themes, several tracks were censored by radio stations, including ‘Smash It Up’ which would later be covered by the Offspring and become part of the Batman Forever soundtrack, and ‘Anti-Pope’ for its verbal attack on clerical power. This track went: I'm going to church tonight, like when I was eight, but I'm not going to pray, I'm going to steal the collection plate…..

The record's pace is relentless as the genre requires, yet it seems very melodic like the opening track ‘Love Song’ or ‘Noise, Noise, Noise’ with a chorus by Joe and Topper from the Clash. Despite its softer appearance, the '77 Punk energy is there. At the same time, there is an indescribable bit of darkness present. Online reviewers say this could be among the first works in the Goth-sound style, a genre followed by Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Bauhaus, and The Cure. Perhaps it's simply the voice of Dave Vanian, not much Punk but very “intimate.”

The cover has always fascinated me, even though it seems it was released in two different versions. I had the trippy one. A group photo in Times Square in New York with Captain Sensible dressed modestly: pink faux fur coat and pants also in fur, but yellow….!