Published on October 14th, 2020 | by Darren Paltrowitz
0The Damned’s Captain Sensible On The New “The Rockfield Files” EP, Playing Madison Square Garden, The Monkees & More
Although the members of the British band known as The Damned have been considered punk rock icons for over 40 years, 2018 finally brought the bnd its first Top 10 album on the UK charts. Evil Spirits was The Damned’s first full-length release from The Damned in 10 years. Right on the heels of the success of Evil Spirits is the 2020 EP The Rockfield Files, as released by the UMG-distributed Spinefarm label offshoot Search And Destroy. Tom Dalgety (Royal Blood, Rammstein, Ghost) oversaw production on this EP, as helmed just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales.
Looking back at the legacy of The Damned, among the high-profile artists that have paid tribute to The Damned over the years are Guns N’ Roses (who recorded “New Rose” for The Spaghetti Incident?) and The Offspring (who recorded “Smash It Up,” which appeared on the Batman Forever soundtrack). The Damned — which included vocalist David Vanian, guitarist Captain Sensible, keyboardist Monty Oxymoron, bassist Paul Gray and drummer Pinch as of the recording of The Rockfield Files — is notably performed at New York City’s Madison Square Garden as an opening act for the reformed Misfits. In turn, if things get back in order for the performing arts world (and greater world as a whole) soon, there is no reason that 2021 cannot be a banner year for the beloved punk icons.
In September 2020, I had the pleasure interviewing The Damned’s Captain Sensible via Zoom, as embedded below. We discussed The Rockfield Files, that aforementioned performance at MSG, The Monkees and plenty other unique topics. More on Mr. Sensible can be found online via www.officialdamned.com, facebook.com/OfficialDamned and twitter.com/thedamned.