In kicking off Once Wizard's episode #1 Marek's mention of our hanging out with the Brit band the Damned in Chicago at the Exit club in 1982 raises questions. Who are (some may wonder) the Damned anyway? Well, curious listeners, the uninformed and ignorant want to know - lol. Lets do more than shine a light on a major influence of the times....
Lets get a brief tour of pre-punk history first and the formation of underground "alt" rock in the late 60s that led to the turbo-charged mid-70s New York and London music scenes.
Though it had been bubbling under for 18 months, the end of 1976 was when UK punk got its first seven inches. The Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy in the UK” may have generated the most outrage, but The Damned’s “New Rose” got there first.
While they may have fired the first shot, The Damned ran counter to many of the key tenets of punk. Their songs dealt with the personal rather than the political, they didn’t instantly disregard all music before 1976 and they could actually play their instruments. They were outcasts, set adrift by the punk powers that be, yet one of the most vital and interesting bands of the era. This is New British Canon and this is the story of “New Rose.”
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