The Damned bring Final Damnation 50 to Brighton Dome

Brighton has always worn its alternative badge with pride, so it is fitting that one of the founding names of British punk is bringing its tour here. The Damned play the Brighton Dome Concert Hall on Wednesday 25 November as part of their Final Damnation 50 tour, with doors at 7pm and the show starting at 7pm. Full price tickets are £59.50, and Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival members save £2 if they log in first to select the members price. A few age rules are worth knowing before you book: under 16s must be accompanied by an adult in the stalls general admission area, and no unaccompanied under 14s are allowed in the venue at all.

For anyone who needs the history, The Damned have a claim to firsts that few bands can match. Formed in London in 1976, they were the first UK punk band to release a single, an album and tour the US. That first single, New Rose, came out on 22 October 1976, followed by the first punk album, Damned Damned Damned, on 18 February 1977. The original line-up was vocalist Dave Vanian, guitarist Brian James, bassist Captain Sensible and drummer Rat Scabies. The touring line-up for this run is Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Rat Scabies, Paul Gray and Monty Oxymoron.

The Final Damnation 50 tour marks 50 years since the 1976 punk explosion, and its centrepiece is the return of Rat Scabies on drums. Born Christopher John Millar on 30 July 1955, he earned his stage name after catching scabies when a rat ran across the basement floor during his audition for London SS. He returned as a permanent member at the end of 2023, and this tour is the first time he is back behind the kit for a full run. The UK leg runs from 25 November to 5 December with eight shows in total, and there is a short US tour running 16 to 17 November.

The support act is a bit of a find in its own right. The Saints '73-'78 is a tribute and reunion project of the original Australian proto-punk band The Saints, who formed in Brisbane in 1973 with Chris Bailey, guitarist Ed Kuepper and drummer Ivor Hay. They are credited as the first band outside the US to release a punk record, having self-released (I'm) Stranded in September 1976. The touring line-up keeps two original members, Kuepper on guitar and Ivor Hay on drums, and adds Mark Arm of Mudhoney on vocals, Mick Harvey of The Birthday Party and The Bad Seeds on keyboards and guitar, and Peter Oxley of Sunnyboys on bass. They play material from the first three albums: (I'm) Stranded from 1977, Eternally Yours from 1978 and Prehistoric Sounds from 1978.

Between a band that helped invent UK punk and a support act that did the same on the other side of the world, it is a double bill that sits comfortably with Brighton's musical character. With the show presented by AEG and the tour only eight dates long, the Brighton stop is one of the few chances to catch it.