Return Of The Damned: Near Misses & Getting Busy

Over a four-decade, ten-album career, legendary UK punk act The Damned have only made it out to Australian shores three times. There are a number of standout memories of those three trips for frontman and founding member Dave Vanian however, and one in particular really springs to his mind quickly when asked.

"One time we were there we nearly got killed, unfortunately," he recalls, laughing about it now. "We were doing one of our videos out in the desert and they chartered this little plane for us to fly in. The pilot fell asleep and we nearly crashed into a mountain! Luckily we managed to wake him up and he pulled up at the last minute and we survived.

"Maybe we didn't! Maybe this is hell? We all got closer to hell late last year didn't we [with Trump's election]? It's a strange time that's for sure."

"One time we were there we nearly got killed, unfortunately."

The band are soon to make their third trek to the dangerous land Down Under, and hungry Aussie punk fans can be assured that they are bringing a live set that covers a large chunk of their illustrious career. "We try to cover as much as we can," he says. "What we try to do is mix it up for ourselves, in other words, we don't have a set that we play over and over, we move things around otherwise it can get a bit boring for us too. But yeah it's a fair amount of material, so we'll pick and choose. We've been playing shows, but we'll do a different set for Australia."

In fact they are just about as busy as they have ever been in their entire career right now, with many live dates locked in across the planet in the first half of this year. Vanian is cautiously excited about the extended touring they have planned, and feels that this level of demand hints that the band is going through somewhat of a renaissance of popularity right now, 40 years down the track.

"With trepidation, I'd say," he laughs, when asked if he is looking forward to the extended bout of touring. "To be honest we haven't done that kind of touring for quite a long time. Dare I say it, for a band of our age it's a bit daunting.

"I think a lot of people are discovering the band for the first time, and a lot of people are rediscovering us, thinking we died years ago. And the nice thing about it is that people are realising we're actually a good band, people are waking up to the body of work we've done since the '70s."

It augurs very well for the band's future, as does the fact that they are very likely to release their 11th studio album this year, and their first since 2008's So, Who's Paranoid?. "I'd like to see it out by mid-year, or [Northern] autumn this year, and maybe even sooner. "But we're pushing the envelope on this record, and trying some things we haven't done before."