The Damned’s 50-Year Riot: Punk’s Most Unholy Reunion Invades Wembley

25 June 2025 rocknews

Fifty years ago, The Damned lit a fire under the British music scene with the brash, breakneck release of New Rose—the first UK punk single to hit record stores. Now, in a defiant move that’s equal parts nostalgic and chaotic, the legendary band is preparing to storm the OVO Arena Wembley on April 11, 2026 for a one-night-only celebration of their half-century reign. If the punk apocalypse had a golden jubilee, this would be it.

This isn’t just a reunion gig. It’s the resurrection of anarchy, and all five core members—Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Rat Scabies, Paul Gray, and Monty Oxymoron—are back in the same room, presumably armed with eyeliner, sarcasm, and a borderline disrespect for health and safety regulations.

The Return of the Unruly

The big news? Rat Scabies, the drumming wildman who left the band in 1996, is rejoining the original lineup for the first time in nearly four decades. That makes this show a full-circle moment—and a near-impossible alignment of punk rock’s most volatile planets.

Fans can expect a setlist that slices through the band’s ferocious discography like a chainsaw through cobwebs. We’re talking early thrashers like Neat Neat Neat, the gothic drama of Curtain Call, and the twisted carnival chaos of Eloise. Whether they revisit the bleak brilliance of The Black Album or lean into their garage rock roots, it’ll be a career-spanning riot.

But The Damned aren’t going it alone.

Support Acts That Bleed Legacy

The undercard packs a punch: Peter Hook & The Light bring Joy Division and New Order classics with synth-fueled swagger, while The Loveless featuring Marc Almond offers a decadent swirl of goth and glam. Add The Courettes—a husband-and-wife duo blending garage surf rock and 60s girl group vibes—and you’ve got a lineup that mirrors The Damned’s own genre-bending legacy.

Each act has its roots tangled in the same dark, flamboyant soil that nurtured The Damned. And yet, none of them feel like nostalgia acts—they’re torchbearers of a still-living underground spirit.

More Than a Show—It’s a Statement

In a press release that reads like a grinning middle finger to fate, the band declared: “We never thought we’d make it this far, and neither did you.” That’s The Damned in a nutshell—equal parts theatrical and tongue-in-cheek, balancing sincerity with snark.

But behind the sarcasm is something real. Fifty years is no small feat for any band, let alone one forged in the squats and spit of London’s punk heyday. They’ve survived label implosions, personal spats, genre detours, and enough lineup changes to rival Fleetwood Mac’s family tree. And yet, they’re still here—older, maybe wiser, definitely louder.

A Legacy That Refuses to Lie Still

What makes The Damned endlessly compelling is their refusal to sit still. They were punk’s first UK band to release a single, first to tour the US, and the first to fracture the genre’s rigid framework. While others stayed tethered to raw three-chord fury, The Damned dabbled in psychedelia, gothic theatricality, and even orchestral arrangements.

They made horror sexy, camp sublime, and punk… weird—in the best way possible.

This Wembley show is not just for the lifers in leather jackets. It’s a testament to artistic endurance. A reminder that punk isn’t about being frozen in time; it’s about defying expectations.