As I’ve said before, there were only two punk bands that I listened back in the Jurassic Era (1979-1982 for you kids). The Sex Pistols and The Damned. Damned, Damned, Damned was The Damned‘s first album, released in 1977 during the middle of the Punk Rock explosion. We were a little bit slow on the uptake in Fort Hood Texas. The album was produced by Nick Lowe which explains why the production is very radio friendly, in my opinion.

I learned about The Damned from my best friend’s (Bill) little brother Jim. Jim and my brother, Tony, were best buddies and were into all things punk at the time. I believe Jim may still be. I would guess Jim purchased the cassette a couple of years after its 1977 release. I recall we were having a gathering (one of many) of the neighborhood hoodlums (self proclaimed The Biloxi Bunch because we lived off of Biloxi Circle on Fort Hood) out in some secluded spot on Fort Hood. There were many secluded places to park and party on Fort Hood.

We were listening to music and Jim played The Damned‘s cassette tape on someone’s car radio, possibly mine as I had installed an under-dash cassette player with two 10 inch Jensen speakers in my 1980 Chevy Monza (Maroon colored and my baby). The song “Stab Your Back” came on and Jim and my brother proceeded to jump around stabbing themselves and anyone near them in the back with imaginary knives. Yes, alcohol was involved in all these underage gatherings, usually provided by me because I had turned 18 years old, the legal drinking age in Texas in 1980. It was a hilarious exhibition and soon every kid out in that secluded field, lit by car headlights, was jumping up and down trying to stab each other in the back, Shaking my head.

As I listen to the album (I have the 2017 reissue 40th anniversary and the CD) and write this post, the songs on this album could be played on the radio today with no issues. Similar to The Sex Pistols album, it is a melodic punk album with catchy songs, but still having a few fast paced pogo jumping songs, like “Stab Your Back“. My favorite song from the album is “Neat Neat Neat“, a great sing along song. “Feel The Pain” sounds like it came straight off an early Alice Cooper album.

A great first (official) album from a seminal punk group that brought back memories of those field parties out in the middle of nowhere with my best friend, my brothers, and their friends. For all the great memories this album brought up I chose it for this month’s Album of the Month, Damned Damned Damned by The Damned.