The Damned - Smash It Up (Old Grey Whistle Test)

[Midgetdiscoo]

Just seen them on their 35th anniversary tour, they still know how to get the crowd going.

[Kelly14UK]

Annie Nightingale is 69?!

[andreaneilcmc]

It's not Dave. It's Nick Cotton with his hair greased back.

[jurripurri]

Dave's vocals suck live as always, but the backing vocals are excellent.

[7OLGA7]

This video made my day! Thanks! :D

[NoxiousRob]

Saw the Damned for the first time as a 16 year old when they were touring the Machine Gun Etiquette album, of which this song is one of the highlights. Great band then and still great fun live - I'm off to see them next month (Vanian and Sensible the only remainders from the classic line-ups, but the Cap is still good value with his banter to the crowd).

[ChicksDigBeige]

@NoxiousRob You lucky, lucky bastard. Machine Gun Etiquette is the first LP I bought, at 13.. still reckon it's their best...but Australia is a tad far from England and I never saw them. Now I'm old... and missing out again! Bummer that Rat isn't drumming, though.

[tallpaddy]

memories of damned gigs- too much beer and insane dancing always leading to my glasses getting broken- oh happy days...

my m8 just txt'd with news that l'm a proud owner of a damned ticket for nov 12th

2011 at london's roundhouse- l better bring a spare pair of glasses...

[fickifickmaster]

see, I like the studio version better! Sure the live version is more aggressive without the keyboard but instead of singing the song, Dave Vanian sounds more like he's yelling.  It's such a great pop song with great melodies but that doesn't come through on this.

[MrMDC01]

@fickifickmaster pop song ?

[neverfrisco]

One of the all-time great live bands. Did lights for them twice at the I-Beam in SF ('89 & '91), and have seen them live about 20 times. Next up: Oct. 29 at Slim's, SF. And yes, kids, this is the real deal; punk rock at it's best.

[lilr8erreyes]

Green Day is awesome.



[BrunoMuck99]

Captain Sensible is the attittude in person. Period.

[diabeticmonkey]

So much better than the album version.

[PostPunkFan]

Oh yeah! Now this is real music boys and girls!

[punkbabeloveya]

I agree Dave is hot, but I have a thing for Algy! Love The Damned, awesome song.

[pennyroyaltea89]

whats with all the green day sucks? who even gives a fuck about green day anymore?? THIS IS A FUCKING DAMNED VIDEO!!!!!!!!

[tomahawkbungle]

@pennyroyaltea89 yep,well said...leave green day to do they`re thing,and leave the damned to do they`re thing.

[pennyroyaltea89]

@tomahawkbungle yea don't get me wrong i'm not a green day hater or anything but what relevance do they have to this video!!? lol

[AScottishdude]

@pennyroyaltea89 did people ever care about green day? stupid pop bands these days...

[TheWizzKidz]

@spiralmc Are you fucking stupid?

[smokinsimmo]

I was at Derby Assembly Rooms 1980 to see the Dammed play.  They did smash it up and we obliged. The gig was stopped by a bouncer coming on stage telling us the band were not coming back on. Two years later I was seeing a local girl and it turned out her stepdad was the same guy.

[cahoot06]

is tha Captain on the lefy minus berret ?

[ome32]

yep

[81giulis]

dave vanian...one of the most charismatic singer of the 70/80's....so hot!!!

[SpeedTriple59]

Green Day fuckin chicken shits..

[diarmuid604]

Greenday suck cock.

[jonahmoffatt]

lovee all the old british punk stuff on youtube spoilt only by people mentioning fuckin Green Day.

[yallop9]

Continuing a great BBC tradition of focusing the camera on the bassist during guitar solo.

[tetiontkon]

@yallop9 seriously. whats up with that?

[lolcoolsexylol]

sensibles a wanker

[GlittersAllWet]

Everybody's smashing things uppppp

[paddonc]

he must get dizzy

[sowatyawant]

Dont wanna be a sucker like all the rest!

[carneasadaplate]

I think they're wonderful. Great "live" video

[carneasadaplate]

I think they're wonderful. Great "live" viddy

[louis0121]

They just dont make them like this anymore,first live gig i ever went to in Edinburgh 81/82 fuckin amazing.

[edbad85]

bass out of tune, rat starts too fast, the captain hits all the wrong notes, and dave is out of breath. A typicly bad live preformance from them but i still love it!

[Artaud1957]

@edbad85 Ahh, but that's what makes it so special! This particular version of this song is one of my favorites. The exhuberance! The sheer joy of the performance!

[ewen07]

@edbad85 Doesn't matter thats only part of the act.

[TheLexyboy]

@edbad85 yep, you just described The Damned to a tee lol

[shit311]

that vampire is from Twilight. jk

[Lytton333]

The Who.. after a night in the charnel-house..

[amtervik]

The Damned.... Man it really has been ages ago. Still great song!!!!

[grammargrub]

Dave Vanian at 1:37 .haha!

[miscu99]

@steve51704000 Tre Cool (whoever the hell that is) fucking wishes he/ she had been in The Damned mate

[nik1969100]

I guess the one prick can just fuck off!

[DeeDeeRuhmone]

idontcareifilookamess 0_o

[citta144]

fucking superb !

[BourneLippy]

I just love the tunelessness!  What an era!

[seanreillyireland]

The most brilliantly retarded ending... music for 10 year old delinquents to smash the classroom while teachers sick.

[peterpamanez]

SMASH IT UP!!!! i like this and the offsperings version

[agenthayter]

1 person just can't be happy today...

[Salubri1986]

HE IS GODLIKE!!

[Jutesoup]

dave is and always be the coolest mother fucker on the planet

[Bumbumawangis]

Gee that singer looks like a vampire,they had the image,but Bauhaus had the image and the songs/music.I'm not going to criticise this though,it's just too cool.

[julieanddavid]

@Bumbumawangis maybe cos he is a vampire so did the damned have the image obvs your not a damned fan checkout there stuff and they are still going now

[RebelSpiritof77]

Offspring-inspiring!

[sclapione]

@RebelSpiritof77 "Offspring-inspiring!"

errr what ?

[IstanbulCymbals80]

tre cool is just like rat scabiels

[pfmo5678ramone]

@IstanbulCymbals80 wishes he was.

[Teetee33]

Love how the Brits embraced punk back then to the point that it could get on the pop charts and still be a menace to society. By the time that happened here in the States, a lot of the wind got knocked out of the sails. Now punk is used to sell toothpaste. So sad--but we still have amazing shit like this! Smash It Up!

[ChrOnikEmPIRE]

If the world ends, we should put all the shit that defines who we are in a vault and when future civilizations find it, this song MUST be in that vault.

This song is so fucking great!!

[xdeadxtreex]

@ChrOnikEmPIRE where would the future civilizations come from if the world ended? does the future worry you that much?

[JonGee420]

@ChrOnikEmPIRE How dare Blink182 call themselves punk. Not on my watch!!!!!

[nik1969100]

Pure class!

[topperredcap]

Awesome - Pure Damned

[im4out]

fantastic

[scotsmaninusa]

remember this well on Brit TV.they played 'just can't be happy today' after this.

[gary3640]

singer is david vanian drummer is rat scabies

[LuminousGuy]

Seen them playing in glasgow lastnight. Excellent gig !

[snowyowl65]

No it is not..it's Dave Vanian.

[cisco9x]

Siouxsie & The Banshees, Killing Joke, The Ruts, Sex Pistols, The Exploited

[cbgbomfugrip2006]

i want to kiss and touch dave vanian everywhere

[andybrad84]

raw, raucous and loud exactly how punk should be played. I bet all those shitty emo punk bands wish they had a quarter of the damned's talent

[andybrad84]

this is punk music at its best. Raw, raucous and loud!! fuck those shitty emo bands this is what real music is about

[yourtubesteak]

Too cool. Anybody who thinks Green Day is punk needs to hear this.

[illhaveadouble]

@yourtubesteak I played this to one of the girls in my class (Im a teacher now - be afraid, Ive got your children!), and she still insists Greenday are punk. It says so on her ipod you see....

[Teetee33]

@illhaveadouble Who better than a bunch of crusty punks to teach today's youth? I say more power to 'em! Show her the proper path--please!

[tinyrebellion]

bring back OGWT!!!!!!

[spectro52]

Great stuff!

[kopite020864]

Yeah it was one of the best things about gigs back then was you could meet the bands afterwards met the clash the jam stiff little fingers buzzcocks stranglers sham69 undertones madness specials squeeze .............and the best thing was they wanted to talk to the fans spoke to joe strummer about politics after a gig once didnt have a clue what he was trying to get at but at 15 with a bottle of beer in my hand who the fuck cared,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,­,

[BearWindAppleyard]

This version is so much better than the musicvideo-version. In this they sound like a punkband, and not a postpunk-indieband (like in the other version).

[kopite020864]

I hear that - remember seeing this somewhere around ,79 raving about it in school the next day to my mates and loving it especially as my older sister and brothers mum dad and anybody over the age of 21 hated it and theirin my friends was the whole glorious fucking point !

[BearWindAppleyard]

@kopite020864 Must have been an awsome

time to be young..

[rs646583]

the offspring /////// do not even come close//// emo crap

[flanders7741]

the offspring do an awesome cover of this song

[73mandala]

@flanders7741 you've just committed musical stupidity,you should never mention shit bands like offspring with real bands like the damned,mate offspring is kiddy music that exists to line the bands and the record companies pockets where as these bands played for the love of rock n roll,offspring what a joke

[LiquidDreamsUK]

Bet Whispering Bob loved it! Not.....

[Guedingen]

Ha, ha! how true. You surely remember the fuckwit introducing Sham 69 with barely disguised revulsion?

[bordarboy]

gotta love the 'harmonies' in that.

[TheNaomiengland]

1993 on a british tv show called sounds of the sventies. They played this. Love this tune.

[trojantjl]

The Offspring version is just as good

[zacharge13]

what?!

[OurGodReignsSupreme]

hoy shit this blows my stoned mind V man kickass

[chrisjapow]

love it. the damned are one of those few bands that can get away with playing their songs really loose and raw.... and it actually comes out better than the polished album versions.

[grammargrub]

Dave Vanian at 1:37 hahaha! Magic

[Thejimislim]

this video fuckin rocks

[netjerk]

That is some quality shit right there.

[Mysticalili]

Simply perfect!

[dewaltpowertools]

ive seen these in 1980..fucking brill!!!!

[PunkLobo]

One of the coolest songs ever. Great Lyrics too.

[hartmusc]

A great piece of music history.

Plus, can someone enlighten me:

When "emoh11" posts a comment, and then removes it ("Comment removed by author"), within 24 hours, yet no one else has said anything in response, what does that mean?

I see it a lot. Is it just commercial spamming, or YouTube being less-than-honest?

[TheLexyboy]

well, when i remove comments, its usually because ive realised ive been talking bollocks when im pissed, he he. ps pissed now, so comment might not be here when you try to read it

[primate1234]

At their shambolic best!! Algy's backing vocals are great, brings back memories- I remember this when 1st broadcast with Captain announcing 'we're The Damned and we're a punk band!' - SUPERB!!!!

[majorsnag]

@primate1234 saw them a fair few times back in 79/80

fuckin excelent band

[motlycat]

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[grammargrub]

1.38 arrrghh!!!! brilliant

[tigergambit]

I seem to remember watching the Damned perform this on the OGWT and at the end they smashed all their instruments - either been cut at the end or a different clip?

[johndevault]

It was a different clip. Can't remember what song but I saw it on an OGWT compilation DVD.

[johndevault]

The song was I Just Can't Be Happy Today

[chelmsfordpunk]

Saw them at the Lyceum in London early eighties, but due to having a rather hard game of rugby (hooker) fell asleep at the back by the bar for half the show!!!!!!

[APublicDomain]

It sounds as bad as it always did....... Fantastic. Confused looks all round at most points. Difficult to tell if they themselves know what's going to happen next. My guess is they hadn't a clue. This is some of my favourite footage of this incredible group of nutcases. Thanks for putting it up.

[completecontrol77]

haha i think you described them perfectly. quality band!

[bluem00nshine]

fckn xellent xxx

[stevies22]

Great memories! Saw them many times in the late 70s and early 80s before the went downhill. Now I live in the US I'll be seeing them again in Washington DC in May and cannot wait!

[Kugey2009]

Bloody brilliant!! Nice one!!

[mikkaklaar]

Dave, the Captain, Algy and the Rat - classic

[primate1234]

At their shambolic best!!

[stenwald]

Cheers for uploading. Well raw...

[mimapo]

Hey, they copied Offspring, Ha Ha!

The best, The Damned.

[edwardleeford]

Nice post. Great video. Your description lists the Damned, Damned, Damned era lineup, though, while this is the Machine Gun Etiquette era lineup (with Captain on guitar, Algy Ward on bass, and no Brian James).

[sid77ie]

pure punk.. great