The Damned have unleashed ‘Summer In The City’, their take on The Lovin’ Spoonful‘s classic, and it’s everything you’d want from a band who’ve spent nearly five decades refusing to play by anyone’s rules.
This is the final taster from their upcoming covers album Not Like Everybody Else, landing January 23rd. What’s immediately impressive is their ability to take someone else’s song and make it sound unmistakably their own, injecting their trademark chaos and madness into every bar. The whole band is on fire here. The rhythm section is absolutely punishing, Rat Scabies and Paul Gray locking in with relentless precision. Captain Sensible is on fire as usual, his guitar work slicing through the mix with that distinctive edge, while Monty Oxymoron‘s keys add that signature layer of glorious unpredictability.
The album was recorded in a blistering five days at Revolver Studio in Los Angeles. Most significantly, this marks the first time in 40 years that original drummer Rat Scabies has returned to the studio with the band.
Not Like Everybody Else serves as a heartfelt tribute to the late Brian James, the band’s founding guitarist who passed away last year. Every track has been carefully chosen to reflect the songs that influenced him and shaped the band’s identity. The album opens with R. Dean Taylor‘s ‘There’s A Ghost In My House’, moves through Pink Floyd‘s ‘See Emily Play’ and The Animals‘ ‘When I Was Young’, before closing with a powerful farewell: The Rolling Stones‘ ‘The Last Time’, featuring Brian James himself, captured at his final shows with the band and lovingly remixed for this release.
To celebrate, The Damned are playing one off covers shows at Albert Hall, Manchester on January 28th, Bataclan, Paris on February 1st, and Essigfabrik, Cologne on February 3rd. Then comes their massive 50th anniversary headline show at OVO Arena Wembley on April 11th with The Loveless ft. Marc Almond, Peter Hook And The Light, and The Courettes.
