there are just three bands that matter; The Ramones, Motörhead and The Damned.
All subsequent Rock Bands lineage can be traced back to these three. Strangely
enough my favourite single, album and live gig are from none of the above
bands. For only the second time in their history Motörhead and The Damned once
again became touring partners. Motörhead were
always the metal band punks liked and The Damned the punk band that appealed to
metalheads, with Lemmy even joining a bassless Damned (Les Punks) for a one off
gig at The Electric Ballroom. This lead to the aborted Motördamned project that
saw The Sweets’ “Ballroom Blitz” and Motörhead’s “Over The Top” recorded.
“Spend That Money” indeed. Normally the pre-Christmas Motörhead UK Tour takes
in around half a dozen dates but this year, due to Lemmy’s health concerns,
it’s down to just three; Manchester, Birmingham and Wembley Arena. I braved the
£46 cost of the ticket but avoided forking out for the costly Car Park opting
for London Transport seeing them at Wembley. I missed the beginning of opening
act The BossHoss but was suitably impressed to go out and purchase their
current CD “Flames Of Fame”. The Damned’s set being only 50 minutes
meant it was a super condensed fan favourite best of. As per nothing post
Eloise, with the band finishing up with the singular Smash It Up, no time for
Part One on this particular occasion. The sound, for a change for The Damned was
spot on, better than some of their own headlining shows I’ve seen. It’s been
three years since I last saw Motörhead due to clashing gigs, a Hand-Fasting and
Lemmy’s hematoma. Lemmy seemed very subdued,
never moving from his mic stand and no machine gunning bass. The only thing
that was animated was his hands and mouth. Sonically though Motörhead, as I
hoped, ruled. The set-list, as we all know for a band that have been
going for as long as they have is always going to be difficult, choosing what
to put in and what to leave out. “No Iron Fist”, or “Bomber”, but then I have
heard them a million times before. “Rock It” and “Suicide” on the other hand
from “Another Perfect Day” and “Inferno” respectively were a nice addition. I’m
really glad I went, three really good bands, just about money well spent.