{"id":39549,"date":"2018-08-19T10:07:30","date_gmt":"2018-08-19T09:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=39549"},"modified":"2018-08-28T21:01:09","modified_gmt":"2018-08-28T20:01:09","slug":"the-damned-united-scabies-and-gray-back-on-stage-together-as-professor-and-the-madman-rock-the-100-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/08\/the-damned-united-scabies-and-gray-back-on-stage-together-as-professor-and-the-madman-rock-the-100-club\/","title":{"rendered":"THE DAMNED UNITED – Scabies and Gray Back On Stage Together As Professor And The Madman Rock The 100 Club"},"content":{"rendered":"

Words: Matt Catchpole – Pictures: Sam Wells<\/strong><\/p>\n

What better venue than London’s\u00a0100 Club<\/strong> for the on stage revival of what many regard as the The Damned’s best ever rhythm section.<\/h4>\n

Paul Gray<\/strong> and Rat Scabies<\/strong> were reunited for the first time in more than 20 years at the spiritual home of British punk for a one-off show with Professor And The Madman.<\/h4>\n

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Many of those present would have been there to witness the first flourishing of the partnership on The Damned’s\u00a0Black Album<\/strong><\/em> and\u00a0Strawberries\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n

But this was no night for nostalgia, instead it was a celebration of the UK pair’s collaboration with Orange County-based musicians\u00a0Alfie Agnew<\/strong> and\u00a0Sean Elliott<\/strong>\u00a0on this year’s superb PATM album\u00a0Disintegrate\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Me.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Having originally hooked up in West Coast punk outfit\u00a0D.I\u00a0<\/strong>in the ’90s Agnew and Elliott have an instinctive musical connection and. like The Damned, their musical ambitions extend way beyond the traditional punk archetype.<\/p>\n

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Alfie Agnew – picture by Sam Wells<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Warmed up by a full-blooded set from south London psychobilly\/punks\u00a0The WitchDoktors\u00a0<\/strong>(highly recommended!), sections of the crowd are already slam dancing when PATM take the stage.<\/p>\n

As they launch into opener\u00a0Peace Bombs\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>from second album\u00a0Elixir, Volume II: Election<\/strong><\/em>, it’s clear the acoustics in the tiny club are not best suited to PATM’s expansive sound.<\/p>\n

Despite being partially dampened by a perspex screen, Scabies’ thunderous drums still dominate proceedings.<\/p>\n

The intricate subtleties of Agnew and Elliotts’ songs are largely lost in the waves of feedback crashing off the back wall and it’s virtually impossible to make out what they’re singing, but nobody seems to mind. This is about having fun.<\/p>\n

Agnew, a real life maths professor, is a charismatic whirl of energy, smiling and blowing kisses to the crowd, as he switches between guitar and keyboards.<\/p>\n

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Sean Elliott – picture by Sam Wells<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He shares vocal duties with Elliott – all skate punk cool in long shorts, baseball cap and sneakers – his fluid surf guitar licks ringing out above the wall of noise.<\/p>\n

Gray looks like he’s having the time of his life, trademark Rickenbacker bass slung low as he bounces around, head thrown back, throwing shapes.<\/p>\n

He casts the odd glance back to Scabies\u00a0 – who released his debut solo album<\/a> this year – the pair embellishing their album contributions to considerable effect.<\/p>\n

Closely watching Agnew for the changes, Scabies is all over his kit, titanic fills and rolls blending with more nuanced jazz stylings.<\/p>\n

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Rat Scabies – picture by Sam Wells<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s a bit rough and ready at times, reflecting the band’s minimal rehearsal time, but this quartet clearly enjoy playing together, the audience feeding off their enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

The odd false start is laughed off good humouredly, as the band rip through the set at a ferocious pace.<\/p>\n

Standout tracks included\u00a0Nightmare<\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0Wishes<\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0Demented Love Song<\/strong><\/em> and the psychedelic ’60s homage\/pastiche\u00a0Space Walrus<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

There’s little room for banter, but Elliott finds time in the encore for a quick tale about the band’s encounter with\u00a0Adam Ant<\/strong>, who’d been rehearsing next door.<\/p>\n

Apparently, the sight of Gray and Scabies was all too much for the Dandy Highwayman, who ducked down and hid in a feeble attempt to escape unnoticed.<\/p>\n

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Paul Gray – picture by Sam Wells<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The night’s only nod to past glories comes with the final song when special guest\u00a0Graeme Douglas<\/strong>,\u00a0Gray’s old mucker from Eddie And The Hot Rods<\/strong>, leads the band through a speedy and spirited\u00a0Quit This Town<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

With Scabies and Gray having recorded their contributions to Disintegrate Me<\/strong><\/em> through the wonders of file sharing, this may have be the first and last time this PATM line-up play live.<\/p>\n

That would be a shame as they’ve clearly got something – let’s hope they can build on the critical success of Disintegrate Me\u00a0<\/i><\/strong>and find the space in their busy schedules for more shows in the future.<\/p>\n