Lenny Kaye's "Nuggets Live at The BBC" - E.P. Launch, Listening Party & Movie Screening at the Spice of Life, London April 18th

Alan Blizzard, Marty Love, Jim Jones, Joe De Lorenzo, Guy Griffin and Alan Clayton

Back in 2023, Patti Smith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye played some successful and well-received shows in the States to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of his iconic and hugely influential “Nuggets” compilation. Lenny was backed by a stellar line-up consisiting of some of his many musician friends, playing cover versions of some of those classic tracks that he had included on the album. The U.K. based Damned aficionado Kevin Shepherd, then suggested to his friend Joe De Lorenzo, the promoter and tour manager for The Damned, that Lenny should consider bringing the Nuggets show to London. Somehow, using his extensive contacts, Joe made it happen and he assembled an impressive Transatlantic cast for a two-night stand at the 100 Club back in April 2024. The core band backing Lenny featured bassist Dave Treganna of Sham 69 and Lords of The New Church, Jim Jones of Thee Hypnotics and Jim Jones All Stars on guitars and vocals, drumming duties were shared between Rat Scabies of The Damned and Marty Love of Wingmen and the Johnny Moped Band. The other ever presents were Derek Cruz from the Jesse Malin band on Guitars, Harmonica and Percussion and Greg Rice on the keyboards, who both did a superb job considering they were in for the long haul.

Joe with Richard England, Marty Love and Jim Jones

Jim Jones on stage at the Nuggets 100 Club show from Alan Blizzard's movie

We were also treated to various special guest vocalists including Clive 'The Doctor' Jackson of Dr & The Medics, Jon King from Gang of Four, Alan Clayton of The Dirty Strangers, Peter Coyne of The Godfathers, Anita Chellamah from Cherry Bombz and they were joined by New Yorkers, Roxanne Fontana and Amanda Cross. Then we had the guest guitarists, Cheetah Chrome from CBGB's legends Dead Boys, Japanese guitarist Tsuyoshi Kitagawa, otherwise known as Go Ohgami, Billy Shinbone from The Sinclairs and Guy Griffin of The Quireboys. Most memorably of all, it also featured Brian James of The Damned with what was to be his last ever live performance before he sadly passed away. If that wasn't enough, former Clash compatriot DJ Barry 'Scratchy' Myers warmed up the crowd perfectly and Go-Go dancers Moana Santana and Helene de Joie provided some suitably 60's style atmosphere.

Nuggets promoter Joe De Lorenzo

Brian James filmed at rehearsals by Alan Blizzard for his "Nuggets: The Movie"

Then recently it was announced that Johnny Depp’s record label IN-2, in conjunction with the U.K. based Cadiz Music, were going to release a “Lenny Kaye’s Nuggets Live at The BBC” E.P. consisting of a Marc Riley session that they had recorded while they were in London for the 100 Club shows in 2024. It was a special Record Store Day release, so on Saturday, we went along to the Spice of Life in London’s Soho for the E.P. listening and launch party organised by Joe De Lorenzo and Cadiz Music. The afternoon event also included an exclusive preview of the forthcoming LP “Riot On Oxford Street: Live at the 100 Club” and a screening of Alan Blizzard’s excellent behind-the-scenes documentary "The Nuggets Movie” filmed during the 2024 London trip. There was also the added bonus of a Q&A session with Jim Jones, Marty Love and Joe, hosted by Richard England of Cadiz, and there were appearances from ‘Nuggeteers’ Alan Clayton, Greg Rice and Guy Griffin who were happy to chat to members of the audience and sign copies of the E.P. 

Lenny Kaye at the 100 Club Nuggets show on April 4th 2024

It was a thoroughly entertaining afternoon and there was some good news too, there are plans underway for some gigs later in the year to promote the release of the live LP, so please keep an eye out for more information on that. Can’t wait! You can read all about one of the 100 Club gigs in our Retro Man Blog feature here, which also includes lots of photos and videos from a truly remarkable night. More videos from the gig can be found by visiting our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel here, it's totally free to subscribe. Here's an example of one of our videos, Lenny Kaye with "I Wanna Be Your Dog" featuring Brian James it what was sadly to be his last ever live performance, Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys, Rat Scabies of The Damned and Dave Treganna of Lords of The New Church...

The Damned 50th Anniversary Show at Wembley Arena with The Loveless, Peter Hook & The Light and The Courettes

My first introduction to The Damned was watching them play "Love Song" on Top of The Pops as a kid back in 1979 and the first thing that hit me was that immense blast of a bass riff by Algy Ward. I got the album from where it came, “Machine Gun Etiquette”, and it still stands out as one of the very best Punk Rock LPs of all-time, certainly one of my favourites too. However, what came next was a big departure, not just with the line-up as Paul Gray from Eddie & The Hot Rods replaced Algy on the bass, but in the sheer scope of the songs on their next release, an ambitious double album entitled “The Black Album” which included the 17 minute Gothic masterpiece “Curtain Call”. I finally got to see them play live in 1981 at the Lyceum in London on the tour promoting the album, and I was totally blown away. I still think of that fantastic line-up of Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Rat Scabies and Paul Gray as 'my' Damned and "The Black Album", "Strawberries" and "The Friday 13th E.P." from that era are absolute classics. So, it was quite emotional to see that very same line-up on stage at the Wembley Arena to celebrate the band's 50th Anniversary with a setlist that featured many of the songs they played back at my first ever Damned gig! When the gig was announced I must admit to being disappointed to see they had chosen such an awful venue, I am not a big fan of such large soulless places, and I was in two minds whether to go or not. However, I didn’t want to regret missing out on such a special occasion and when I saw the superb support acts lined up, I snapped up a ticket. I must admit I was very pleased and relieved that I did, in the end it was a triumphant and hugely successful show despite my initial misgivings about the venue. At least I wasn’t the only one to dislike the place, even Captain Sensible held the same view, “I prefer the Hope & Anchor” he announced, “Wembley Arena is a big concrete shithole, but at least tonight it’s our big concrete shithole!” 

 

Dwarfed by a huge backdrop and screens showing some fantastic spooky graphics, the band opened with “Street of Dreams” from the “Phantasmagoria” album, (which ironically didn’t feature the Captain or Paul Gray) and then treated us to a first set that was an absolute treat for us “Black Album”/”Strawberries” generation of fans. The brilliant “Wait For The Blackout” was one of the highlights of the night for me and this was followed by the epic “History of The World (Part 1)” and an atmospheric “Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde” complete with old horror movie back projections. It’s a song that highlights Paul Gray’s immense bass playing, and the sound is spot on tonight so you can really appreciate his talents and wonder why he is such an underrated bassist. Maybe it’s because his playing didn’t define The Damned in the way that maybe JJ Burnel, Peter Hook (more on him later) and Jah Wobble did on their respective bands. Captain Sensible in his trademark beret, black and red stripey jumper (with the addition of an oversized ‘50’ badge) and Gibson SG guitar, looks as good as he sounds, defying the years, it’s hard to believe the band are celebrating their 50th year as he’s barely changed since that first time I saw him. We then get two tracks from “Strawberries”, the brilliant, soulful “Stranger On The Town” is an absolute delight that gets the crowd moving and the Psychedelic Pop strains of “Under The Floor Again” is an unexpected gem. Dave moans about Su Pollard keeping “Eloise” off the top of the charts, I’m not a big fan of the song but I guess it has to be included as it was their biggest hit, and I guess an entry point for a lot of new fans at the time. 

The band remind us that it’s not all about nostalgia and that they are still releasing new material with “Wake The Dead” from the 2023 “Darkedelic” album. Personally, I think the band were rejuvenated when Paul Gray re-joined and they released the brilliant “Rockfield Files” E.P. and it got me interested in their new material again. It was a similar situation when Baz Warne took on lead vocals with The Stranglers and the quality of their music and live performances shot up to another level and seemed to re-energize the band, and their fans. Captain takes over on lead vocals for the whimsical “Life Goes On” underpinned by another superb Paul Gray bassline that I’m sure Nirvana pilfered for “Come As You Are” and the pure pop of “Is It A Dream?” are pointers that The Damned weren’t always just about Anarchy, Chaos and Destruction, we’ll save those traits for the second set. My love of “Machine Gun Etiquette” is rewarded by “I Just Can’t Be Happy Today” which highlights the skills of keyboard player Monty Oxymoron who has now become an integral part of the band, “Hurry up Beethoven”, Dave jokes with him at one point. The first set draws to a close with the classic “Smash It Up Parts 1 & 2” after which the band retire for a short interval, and we are kept entertained while we wait by the Pearl and Dean music and loads of old nostalgic TV adverts.

 

The band return for a second set and take no prisoners with a far Punkier selection of songs, the back projection shows a clip of the band’s appearance on the classic comedy show The Young Ones and we get the rush of “Nasty”, which is a fantastic and unexpected surprise. That awesome bass intro of “Love Song” is like a rush of adrenaline and that’s followed by the blistering “Machine Gun Etiquette/Second Time Around” which almost careers off the rails. Despite missing his cue on occasion and some dodgy Elvis style hip swings, Dave Vanian is in fine form, starting off in trilby, black mask and long black coat, there must be a Dorian Gray style portrait hanging up in his loft, as he is defying the years like his bandmates. Rat Scabies proves that he is one of the best drummers to have come out of the Punk explosion and it’s so great that he is back in the line-up where he belongs. Dave pays tribute to Brian James and also to Algy Ward and Bryn Merrick which is a nice touch, and they slam into “Fan Club” from the debut album. 

I’m over the moon as next up they play what could well be my all-time favourite Damned track, “Disco Man” from what must be the best ever 4-song E.P. of all time “The Friday 13th E.P.” and I can feel a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. It’s impossible for a band to satisfy everyone, especially one that’s been going for 50 years with such an immense back catalogue, but I think they got the setlist just about right. After all, if every fan submitted their ideal setlist, I’m sure every single one would be different! Also, we already had the special treat of the original line-up reunion with Brian James at the Hammersmith Apollo, so they could be forgiven for missing a lot of the early material. Personally, as it was their 50th anniversary, I would have liked to have heard “Problem Child” or “Stretcher Case”, but I was happy that I got a fair few of my favourite songs. Talking of favourite songs, “Ignite”, the opening track from “Strawberries” was incendiary, if you pardon the pun, and it turned into an immense call and response singalong with the crowd. The classic “Neat, Neat, Neat” sparked off some mosh pit action but then the mood changed for the epic, cinematic classic “Curtain Call”, a duo of songs that couldn’t highlight the scope of The Damned’s musically ambitious eclecticism any better. Of course, the set closes with “New Rose”, that very first Punk single released in 1976, fifty years ago. I’ll say that again, fifty bloody years ago, hard to believe it when the band you are watching are looking and sounding as fresh, energetic and vital as ever. Let’s hope for a few more birthday celebrations to come.

I mentioned earlier that one of the reasons I decided to go was the great line-up that didn’t just consist of the usual Punk bands that I was expecting. The Loveless is Marc Almond’s fun Rock ‘n’ Roll side project and they played a great set mainly consisting of covers with a couple of originals thrown in. They had that down and dirty sound down to a tee and some highlights included takes on 13th Floor Elevators “You’re Gonna Miss Me” and a rousing, Glamtastic “Hell Raiser” by The Sweet. Guitarist Neal X was in top form and the version of his old band Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s “Love Missile F1-11” really worked. As did, Soft Cell’s classic cover “Tainted Love” which was out of this world played in the Rock ‘n’ Roll format. Marc Almond’s voice was fantastic, and he really seemed to enjoy fronting this excellent band.

 

Peter Hook & The Light also delighted the crowd with their set of Joy Division numbers that all sounded immense. The band were formed out of the ashes of Hook’s own Monaco with the addition of his son Jack on second bass, in fact Jack seemed to carry most of the burden, playing more than his Dad, who concentrates on singing, legs wide in familiar pose. Hooky, who’s wearing an Oasis T-Shirt featuring one of my Retro Man Blog colleague Paul Slattery’s photos, has such charisma that he seems to shrink the size of Wembley Arena, and Joy Division’s icy songs flourished in the environment. Talking of T-Shirts, guitarist David Potts is wearing one featuring the cover of The Damned’s “Friday The 13th EP” and he said he was chuffed to bits to be on the same bill as one of his favourite bands, it was a nice touch. We get a superb selection of songs such as “Transmission”, “Disorder”, “Shadowplay” and “Ceremony”, which was the Joy Division song that crossed over to New Order and inevitably, the set closed with “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and the crowd sang their hearts out.

 

Opening up the night were one of our Blog favourites, the Brazilian/Danish duo The Courettes, and I must admit I was a little worried about how they would fare in the cavernous Arena. But I needn’t have been concerned, and I was so pleased for Martin and Flavia that they went down so well despite the extremely early start. In the end they owned the huge stage of the Arena, it was certainly a far cry from the first time I saw them at the Fiddlers Elbow in Camden, but Flavia’s electric presence and Martin’s dynamic drumming style, more than compensated for the huge empty space around them. Of course, having such memorable and timeless songs helps and their trademark wall of sound, bubble-gum harmonies and fuzzed up riffs really endeared them to the thankfully, quite large crowd that were there early enough to see them play. “Boom! Dynamite!” was a real highlight with Flavia machine-gunning the crowd with her vintage guitar and “Hop The Twig” with its Cramps style intro went down a storm and I’m sure they gained a whole bunch of new fans. So, overall it was a superb night and I must admit that the sound and lighting at the venue were excellent, it was loud and powerful even from where I was sitting at the side of the stage, but I don’t think I will attend many more Arena sized shows, as just like the Captain, my heart is at The Hope & Anchor.

 

You can see more videos from the show at our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel here. Also, don't forget our thoroughly entertaining Retrosonic Podcast with Flavia and Martin from The Courettes, which can be found at our Soundcloud archive here.

Retrosonic Podcast · Presenting the fabulous Courettes

Paul Gorman "London Calling: The Clash In The Capital" A New Map of the Band's London Landmarks

We went along to the Showroom Gallery to see author, music journalist and cultural commentator, Paul Gorman discussing his excellent new annotated map "London Calling: The Clash In The Capital" at a launch party hosted by the gallery owner Andrew Renton. Situated just off the Edgware Road in the heart of "Clash country", a stone's throw from the Westway, it's the perfect location for the pair to cover just a few of the 130 landmarks relating to The Clash that are featured in the map. Some of these included the nearby Joe Strummer Subway where one of Mick Jones' early Rock & Roll Public Library exhibitions was held and the DHSS office on Praed Street close to Paddington Station where Mick worked during the height of the IRA's mainland bombing campaign, a stint that inspired the line "I won't open a letter bomb for you" in the classic "Career Opportunities". Also on Praed Street was the basement where the pre-Punk London SS held auditions that saw various luminaries try their luck for a place in the line-up including Tony James, Mick, Rat Scabies, Terry Chimes and Brian James. The London SS never actually got to play a gig but the various budding musicians did go on to form bands such as The Damned, Chelsea, Generation X, The Boys and of course The Clash. There's the story of Joe Strummer in the queue to collect his dole money at the Lisson Grove Labour Exchange noticing two guys furtively looking at him. He thinks they are going to beat him up but it was just Paul Simonon and Mick Jones plucking up the courage to go and talk to Joe after seeing his band The 101'ers with the intention of inviting him to join their band. 

Paul and Andrew discussed the proliferation of abandoned and derelict buildings in the area at the time, many of which had still not been renovated after the war. This enabled students, artists and musicians to squat in these often large houses and this active scene spawned Joe's Pub Rock band The 101'ers, named after their squat at 101 Walterton Road. Joe also shared a squat with Sex Pistols roadie John Tiberi in nearby Daventry Street which now boasts an English Heritage Blue Plaque. The pair also talk about the gentrification of London, with areas such as Notting Hill which used to be run down, now only being affordable to millionaires. Some more locations included Mick's Gran's 18th floor flat in the high-rise Wilmcote House where Mick would look down from the balcony onto the lights and traffic of the Westway below. This would inspire the line "up and down the Westway, in and out the lights, what a great traffic system - it's so bright" in "London's Burning". Of course there are more iconic locations covered in the map such as the Hammersmith Palais where Joe and Don Letts attended a tension-filled Reggae all-nighter which was to lead to one of The Clash's best moments, "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais". There's the Camden Stables Market, home of the band's "rehearsal rehearsals" practice space and site of the infamous pigeon shooting escapade. Of course, there's also legendary venues such as the 100 Club on Oxford Circus and the Roxy Club on Covent Garden's Neal Street where the band made some of their earliest appearances. That's just a few of the locations covered in this superb, comprehensive round-up of London places that featured in The Clash's history. On our way back to Paddington station we made a quick stop at Paul Simonon's local, The Royal Exchange, which must boast one of the coolest pub signs around.

"London Calling: The Clash In The Capital" is designed by Scott Sugiuchi, who has also worked on album cover art for one of our favourite bands The Woggles, and comes with a postcard and London Calling stencil. It's published by Herb Lester Associates and is another addition to their fantastic collection of music-related maps that include London guides on David Bowie, Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols and Malcolm McLaren, all written by Paul Gorman. Then there are guides on The Velvet Underground and CBGB's era Punk in New York, Serge Gainsbourg in Paris and 1960's Los Angeles. You can order directly from Herb Lester here. Author Paul Gorman has written books on legendary Pop boutique Granny Takes A Trip, The Face magazine and biographies of Malcolm McLaren, Goldie, Barney Bubbles and Boy George and you can find out more information by visiting his Instagram site here.

Here's Paul Gorman discussing the map with David Hepworth and Mark Ellen for their excellent "A Word In Your Ear" Podcast.