The Damned roll into Wembley to celebrate 50 years of chaos, does their celebration live up to expectations? We went along to see.

AN EARLY START

It’s a surprisingly quiet Wembley that greets me as I walk down to the Arena this evening, probably the early start and the price of drinks in the Arena pushes people to arrive later. Bit of a shame as the line-up today warrants getting in for the whole show which is starts off with a bang as The Courettes take to the stage like they’ve got something to prove — and about half an hour to do it in!

The Courettes

From the first crunch of guitar, the sound is raw, fast, and gloriously loud, garage rock filling the cavernous arena. Considering there is only a drumkit and guitar being played, the sound is enormous!

Flávia Couri is pure motion at the front, guitar slung high and lots of shapes being struck, driving every song forward with sharp riffs and ferocious intent. Martin Couri is a force behind the kit, pounding out beats that are simple, relentless and perfectly matched to the band’s stripped‑back attack.

The songs come thick and fast, barely stopping to breathe. Each one lands with the same punch: mega fuzzed‑out guitar, pounding drums, with hooks that stick instantly. Despite the small (but growing) crowd, Wembley responds quickly, heads nodding, bodies moving, cheers growing louder with every song.

Despite the scale of the venue, The Courettes keep everything tight and direct and the sound is great too with the drums clear as a bell, slicing through the fuzzed up guitar with precision. This feels like a small club show stretched to arena size and both of the Couris seem to be enjoying themselves immensely on the stage.

By the time the final song crashes to a halt, the applause is loud and genuine. The Courettes leave the stage having done exactly what an opener should do – shake the room, raise the pulse, and make a whole lot of people wonder how soon they can see them again.

Peter Hook and the Light

Next up this evening is Pete Hook and the Light. Most of the crowd this evening will be familiar with the legends that Joy Division and New Order have become and will no doubt be looking forward to hearing a selection of those songs tonight. For myself, I’ve never been a massive fan of either band, if I’m honest, but am keen to see how these familiar songs sound live.

Hooky dedicates the whole set this evening to Ian Curtis and muses on how it all started, when he asked for a punk single and ended up buying New Rose and how he went home and ripped it all off! A nice nod to the Damned and fitting for their 50th anniversary.

As it happens, most of the set this evening is composed of Joy Division songs, starting with Dead Souls. Before starting Isolation Hooky notices something in the crowd and asks should we stop? It looks like someone may have fallen over or fainted, there is a pause before we get thumbs up from the crowd and everything starts again.

Disorder bounces along, Hooky stands front and centre, bass slung low in that iconic stance. The sound remains good and clear with drums that pierce though the guitars, the band beside him is tight and precise.

She’s Lost Control ignites the crowd and even I’m nodding along taking me back in time somewhat. Transmission follows in the same vein and is well received with loud cheers – people are bouncing, shouting the chorus, arms in the air. When they shift into New Order territory, for Ceremony the mood flips. Suddenly the arena is a dancefloor and it does feel a little like a fog lifting.

The inevitable final song of the set is Love Will Tear Us Apart which is also greeted like an old friend. No Blue Monday though which will have no doubt disappointed a few fans but overall pretty impressive. You’d be hard pressed to describe the Joy Division songs as uplifting and no change on that front tonight I’m afraid but still an impressive set and and interesting segue to the next act.

Marc Almond and The Loveless

Marc Almond steps out like he’s walking into a small club rather than Wembley Arena, and that’s the tone straight away: no big entrance, no theatrics, just him and The Loveless locking getting on with the business. The Loveless have a rough, garage‑band edge, and Almond leans into the mic with that steady, unmistakable voice. It feels unpolished, raw and uplifting, and provides quite a change of mood.

Essentially this a band putting their own spin a some classic songs with a few originals thrown in for good measure, having said that, tonight’s set is mainly composed of covers. Putty in your Hands, a cover of the Yardbirds original echoes around the hall, the crowd filling the standing area where there is little space to move around now.

The dubiously named Hot, Hard and Ready originally by Smokey hangs in the air long after the last flourish has finished! Almond sings it cleanly, no drama, and The Loveless provide a suitable foundation for it – there’s a looseness to the playing—not sloppy, just human which lends itself perfectly to the songs.

Almond paces the stage in small circles, nodding at the band when something lands right and looks like he is definitely making the most of this evening, lots of smiles all round. Neal X (ex Sigue Sigue Sputnik) knocks out the riffs with style, while bassist Ben Ellis can barely control his body, moving constantly in time with the music.

There’s also some very nice sax work to be heard too – this adds a layer of sophistication to the sound and definitely lifts some of the songs well out of the ordinary category. Love Missile F1-11 sees Neal X take to the mic. Hell Raiser, the classic Sweet song, has a chaotic start but settles down to allow some excellent sing-along opportunities.

To finish we get a couple of Soft Cell tracks. Tainted Love, which sounds surprisingly good in this rocked up version, and the set completes with Heat. A very enjoyable set which perfectly sets the scene for the Damned.

The Damned

So, after a brief pause to re-arrange the stage and clear unwanted items, it is time for the Damned. They’ve never been much for stage theming, preferring to just be themselves and let the music do the talking. However, this is Wembley so they have splashed out on 3 large led screens, one each side of the stage and one large screen at the back of the stage. During the gig we have live footage mixed in with archive recordings, making interesting viewing.

So, the lights go down and then we’re off. the Damned blast in Street of Dreams from the 1985 album Phantasmagoria. There’s cheers as Vanian takes to the stage and immediately he is a commanding figure, prowling from one side of the stage to the other.

The setlist tonight pulls from various incarnations and periods of The Damned, from the early material, through Machine Gun Etiquette, The Black Album, Phantasmagoria, Strawberries, and even Darkadelic. It really is almost a greatest hits type compilation, even with this there are still a ton of great songs missing though!

Wait for the Blackout and History of the World follow in quick succession. Sensible prompting the opening keyboard intro to History of the World with a playful Come on Beethoven directed at Monty! And the guys are in fine form, Vanian dressed in a suit complete with fedora and eye mask, Sensible in his usual attire, beret etc, Paul Gray also sporting a beret otherwise looking pretty normal. The line-up is completed by Monty on keys at the back of the stage and the welcome return of Rat Scabies on the drums. 

The sound is also pretty good and they sound squeaky tight. Each track is greeted with cheers as we move through classics like Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, Stranger on the Town and Eloise which Vanian introduces saying they were denied a number one spot by Sue Pollard! 

Just Can’t Be Happy Today is greeted with cheers and much singing along. This is one song that always makes it into the set for good reason, it really is classic Damned. Sensible takes over vocal duties for Life Goes On and this gives the crowd a little bit of time to catch their breath. The first half the performance concludes with Smash It Up, Sensible bemoaning what a ‘concrete shithole’ Wembley is! 

The final chords still ringing in my ears sees them leave the stage with Vanian announcing ‘and now time for a short interlude!’ This consists of various TV ads from the 70’s (presumably 1976?) being broadcast on the large centre screen. Many of these I remember but some don’t even jog this old fossil of a reviewers memory! The clips end with the Young Ones and the Damned appearance playing Nasty, this heralds the return of the live band to play said song! Nice link…..

From this point in to the end of the show it is non stop classics, Love Song with it’s immediately recognisable bassline, hammered out by Paul Gray looking like the super cool dude he is, effortlessly rocking out. Machine Gun Etiquette is introduced for those who have gone before, for Bryn (Merrick), Brian (James) and Algy Ward. Fan Club takes us back in time and Disco Man puts in a welcome appearance. Ignite see Vanian in the crowd and then conducting the infectious sing-along elements. 

Neat, Neat, Neat has the crowd going wild. Curtain Call sounds like the immense opus it is. Vanians voice sounds silky smooth throughout, truly impressive. This leads into a short drum solo from Scabies, this is a man who can still drum with the best, no slow downs or lack of intensity, and it is great to see almost all of the original band back together. The solo skilfully links into the drum intro for New Rose and before we know it the evening is concluded. 

A fab evening from a band that refuses to lie down and call it a day. Still as vibrant and energetic as ever. For the first half of the show, Sensible wears a large “50 and Fabulous” badge, how appropriate and how true!

All concert photography by Graham Hilling. You can check out more of his work on his website, here.

The Damned: Website
Marc Almond & The Loveless: Website
Peter Hook & The Light: Website
The Courettes: Website

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