‘Beware of the Clown’ is the second single from DARKADELIC, The Damned’s 12th studio album coming April 28th. The track was written by founding member Captain Sensible to deride what he calls the “conveyor belt of bozos” who lead us and was produced by Tom ‘Mitch’ Mitchener. The track musically evokes two magical Damned albums, 1982’s Strawberries and 1985’s Phantasmagoria. “It wasn’t intended,” co-founder and lead singer David Vanian admits, “it just happened”.
Martin Gooch, responsible for the A Night of A Thousand Vampires concert film, once again jumps into the director’s chair for the video in which Captain Sensible takes centre stage as a politician cursed by all things clown (any resemblance to any real politician is purely coincidental). Watch here.
46 years after releasing their groundbreaking debut, Damned Damned Damned, music pioneers The Damned return with DARKADELIC, their first studio album since 2018’s UK Top 10 Evil Spirits. It follows on the long dark coattails of last year’s live release A Night of a Thousand Vampires (UK #1 on Official Blu-Ray Charts) and will be released on April 28th 2023 on earMUSIC.
DARKADELIC catches the band once again evolving and expanding upon their unique universe and features some of The Damned’s sharpest song writing and genre-bending performances. Alongside Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Paul Gray and Monty Oxymoron, William Granville-Taylor joins the band on drums.
Pre-order the album DARKADELIC HERE
DARKADELIC will be released on CD Digipak, 1LP Black Vinyl (Gatefold, 180g), Ltd. 1LP Transparent Vinyl including DARKADELIC Slipmat (Gatefold, 180g) and digitally. Several exclusive items, such as signed art prints, t-shirts and tote bags will be available via the official DARKADELIC D2C shop. See all exclusive D2C items here.
Following their formation in 1976, The Damned remain one of the most groundbreaking bands coming out of the 70s British punk rock scene. With 11 studio albums and several UK chart singles, the band are pioneers who rose from London to earn an ever-expanding global fan base fueled by legendary live shows. Their dark lyrics and David Vanian’s rich baritone vocals also catapulted The Damned to the forefront of the Goth-Rock genre.
After touring the US with Blondie in 2022, The Damned have returned to the road with a European and UK tour, recently announcing a second show in London at the Alexandra Palace Theatre on April 21st. Tickets on sale now.
See all UK dates and venues below.
THE DAMNED – MARCH/APRIL 2023 UK TOUR DATES
Fri 31 March – Cardiff – Great Hall
Sat 01 April – Southend – Cliffs Pavilion
Sun 02 April – Oxford – O2 Academy
Tue 04 April – Nottingham – Rock City
Wed 05 April – Liverpool – O2 Academy
Fri 07 April – Newcastle – NX
Sat 08 April – Glasgow – O2 Academy
Mon 10 April – Leeds – O2 Academy
Tue 11 April – Manchester – Albert Hall
Thu 13 April – Birmingham – Town Hall
Fri 14 April – Bristol – O2 Academy
Sat 15 April – Norwich – The Nick Rayns
Mon 17 April – Brighton – Dome
Tue 18 April – Southampton – O2 Guildhall
Thu 20 April – London – Alexandra Palace Theatre
Fri 21 April – London – Alexandra Palace Theatre
