THE DAMNED – WEMBLEY ARENA – 11TH APRIL 2026
It seems incredible to think that The Damned are celebrating their 50th anniversary tonight. At one point early in their career, it seemed unlikely that they’d last 50 months. Yet here they are, at the head of a bill that feels more like a small festival.
Proceedings kick off with The Courettes. I was worried that the two of them would be lost on such a large stage, but not a bit of it. They are as explosive as ever, and when Flavia Couri isn’t singing, she seems to cover every inch of the space available to her. Unfortunately, due to the astonishingly early start time of 6:10pm, the crowd is a bit sparse, with many having just got to the bar, or indeed still en route to the venue. Well, that’s their loss, as The Courettes are one of the most storming rock ‘n’ roll duos you’ll ever see. Drummer Martin Couri may look like Ringo Starr circa 1964, but he plays like Keith Moon. He is absolutely awesome.
They have a fairly short set tonight, but cram in as many bangers as possible. “Want! You Like A Cigarette” and “Boom! Dynamite” make the Arena feel like a small club, whilst “Shake!” does precisely that to the building’s foundations. The Courettes don’t just sound cool, they look cool too, right down to Flavia’s vintage handbag sitting atop her amp. One song is dedicated to “all the misfits and freaks”. Well, there’s plenty of us here, and The Courettes have got us fired up and ready for the rest of the evening.
There is a very tight schedule tonight, with only 15 minutes before the mighty Peter Hook and the Light take the stage. All credit to the crew, because the schedule is adhered to throughout the evening. The band walk on to “Trans-Europe Express” and Hooky dedicates tonight’s set to Ian Curtis — “may God rest his soul”. This is particularly apt because with the exception of New Order’s “Ceremony”, the entirety of tonight’s set is made up of Joy Division material.
As well as Hooky, the band have Jack Bates on bass. When Hooky is singing, he doesn’t play that much, as he’s concentrating on the vocals. However, he does, as a rule, tend to play the more interesting parts, whilst Jack handles the ‘meat and potatoes’.
It’s difficult to pick out highlights, as just about everything is a highlight. To say that the crowd are rapt doesn’t even begin to cover it. “She’s Lost Control”, however, is absolutely masterful. Jack plays the riff, which is a shame as I’d have liked to hear Hooky take it, but you can’t have everything. “Shadowplay” has an ace guitar solo from David Potts, whilst “Transmission” is nigh on transcendental. Hooky plays the bass intro to “Ceremony”, and David Potts dedicates set closer “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (what else?) to The Damned’s late original guitarist Brian James. This set has really been something special. I’m left wondering how Marc Almond can possibly follow it.
What Marc Almond and the Loveless do is follow it with some rock ‘n’ roll. This is absolutely not what I was expecting — I was expecting torch songs. However, that’s down to my own ignorance. Marc and the band have already released one album, “Meet The Loveless”, which came out two years ago. Along with guitarist Neal X from Sigue Sigue Sputnik, they also have the rhythm section from Iggy Pop’s band. Louder Than War have described them as “Britain’s best garage rock band”, and on tonight’s showing, I have to agree. ‘Taken aback’ doesn’t come close — ‘gobsmacked’ is more like it.
Neal X’s playing is phenomenal from opener “Wild In The Streets” (a Garland Jeffreys song) onwards. The sax player (name unknown) is also very impressive. “Putty In Your Hands” is a Shirelles cover that was also recorded by The Yardbirds, and Marc indulges in some suitably 1960s-style dancing. “You’re Gonna Miss Me”, originally by the Thirteenth Floor Elevators, is done full justice here. It feels like a trip through Marc Almond’s record collection, but there are original songs too. “Teenage Wildlife” has an awesome wah-wah guitar solo, whilst “Dark Sign” is a ballad that really showcases Marc’s vocals. “Nothing At All” has a cracking guitar solo — succinct, with not a single note wasted.
However, if jaws were dropping, they hit the floor with the next song: a cover of Alice Cooper’s “Under My Wheels”, complete with a snippet of “Suffragette City”. Absolutely brilliant. Marc Almond covering Alice Cooper — who’d have thought it?
Sputnik’s “Love Missile F1-11” is, unsurprisingly, sung by Neal X, and is followed by another surprise with The Sweet’s “Hell Raiser”, which utterly rocks. Naturally, the set draws to a close with a rocked-up version of “Tainted Love”, followed by the only actual Soft Cell song of the evening, “Heat”. This has been incredible. The Loveless have an album out entitled “Meet The Loveless”. I shall be buying it — and if you have anything approaching a love of rock ‘n’ roll, so should you.
There’s a half-hour wait for The Damned. The anticipation is almost palpable. There’s some debate about what they’ll open with. My partner reckons it will be “New Rose”. I think that’s more likely to be an encore. However, I’ve heard that the set is intended to represent every era of their career, so in all honesty, it could be anything.
The debate is brought to a crashing end as the band take the stage and, with no ado whatsoever, crash into “Street Of Dreams” from “Phantasmagoria”. The stage looks huge. I’ve never viewed The Damned as an arena band, but they look fairly comfortable on it. Dave Vanian, in particular, seems to pace every inch. Captain Sensible is his usual jovial self, opening with: “Greetings, pop pickers! Not ‘arf!!!” You’re showing your age, Captain.
At the end of “Wait For The Blackout”, Dave has broken his mic stand. They’re clearly not as sturdy as they were back in the day. It looks like there may be a delay while a replacement is found, but the Captain is having none of it, yelling at keyboard player Monty Oxymoron: “Oi! Beethoven! Come on!!!” As the opening notes of “The History Of The World Pt 1” ring out, Dave is still without a mic stand — but he copes just fine.
I’d forgotten just how intricate the guitar intro to “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” is. Captain Sensible is an extraordinarily good guitarist, as he demonstrates throughout the night. Underrated? Quite possibly. I also can’t help noticing that drummer Rat Scabies is starting to look disturbingly like Arthur Scargill. Maybe it’s my eyes — Specsavers keep sending me reminders…
The Captain tells us that “it’s about this time of the evening when I like to indulge in a little cool jazz”. Mild panic sets in, but thankfully, he’s referring to the intro to “Stranger On The Town”. Relief all round.
The Damned have always had a knack for covers, and their version of Paul & Barry Ryan’s “Eloise” is a fine example — faithful, but with far more muscle. There’s room for sensitivity, too, with Dave sitting on the edge of the stage during the quieter section. “Wake The Dead” from “Darkadelic” proves they’ve still got the songwriting chops as well.
There are plenty of classics too, including “I Just Can’t Be Happy Today”. I still remember them playing it on The Old Grey Whistle Test and smashing up the set — much to Annie Nightingale’s horror. Punk and the BBC were never the most comfortable pairing.
We all know the Captain can sing, and he proves it again on “Life Goes On”. He also takes time to declare Wembley Arena a “concrete shithole”… before adding that “tonight, it’s OUR concrete shithole”. Fair point.
The first part of the set ends with “Smash It Up pts 1 & 2”, followed by an intermission. The vintage TV adverts shown on the big screen deserve a review of their own — bizarre, hilarious, and packed with every outdated ‘ism’ imaginable.
The band return in different outfits, with more archival footage playing behind them. This second half leans more towards the classics, with “Love Song” going like a train, followed straight into “Machine Gun Etiquette”. Remarkably, they show no signs of slowing down.
“Fan Club” is dedicated to the late Brian James, Bryn Merrick and Algy Ward, while deeper cuts like “Disco Man” get an outing. For “Curtain Call”, Dave heads down into the pit to lead a sing-along. “Neat Neat Neat”, complete with snippets of “Baby Please Don’t Go” and “Who Do You Love”, looks like it might end the show — but there’s still one to come.
After a brief exit (just long enough for a wardrobe change), they return for a keyboard-led instrumental, a short drum solo from Rat, and finally “New Rose”, which is absolutely on fire.
The crowd erupts as the band take their bows, with Dave signing off by singing Gracie Fields’ “Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye”.
This has been a fantastic show with an astounding line-up, all four acts delivering superb sets. The Damned, however, have been incandescent. A full journey through 50 years of music — and still leaving you wanting more.
Utterly magnificent.
WORDS: MARK KELLY PHOTOS AS CREDITED
