Des chefs-d'oeuvre ? La liste des tracks risque probablement d'être un peu longue, une synthèse pouvant être toutefois envisageable, dès l'année 1980, avec le sombre écrin contenant "Curtain Call", témoignage d'un spectre musical considérablement élargi. Des plaisirs solitaires ?
Come on! ... For the sake of the title and, I hope, a fair assessment: NOT LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.
50 years of good and almost loyal service. It's time to pull a few gems from the attic or the vault - take your pick- and certainly not "spit in the soup" (of which there was plenty). The Damned are still here; the others, a little or a lot less so. They have remained flexible without ever truly surrendering or completely breaking the thread. The least "polished" of the leading trio, perhaps, but assuredly the most authentically punk in their initial approach.
Masterpieces? The tracklist would likely be a bit long, but a synthesis can be found as early as 1980, within the dark casket containing "Curtain Call"—a testament to a considerably broadened musical spectrum. Solitary pleasures?
Brian James, who passed away a year ago, founder and primary composer of the band’s first two albums, and later the instigator of the Lords of the New Church adventure. Captain Sensible (Wot?), who made his banker happy with a bit of dancefloor slapstick. Or, much more discreetly, the brilliant "Night Touch" by an escaped Dave Vanian for Morgan Fisher’s cult-classic first compilation MINIATURES ; the "Hammer Horror" seed was planted then, destined to leave a lasting mark on the burgeoning gothic scene. Can we still speak of pedigree?
Not content with aligning a remarkable original discography—as evidenced again by the unstoppable DARKADELIC two or three years ago—The Damned have never neglected the "tongue-in-cheek" gesture (the Beatles' "Help" as the B-side to "New Rose" in 1976), punk obligation requires it. An untimely use of covers that would lead them to global success (for the time being) with "Eloise" in 1985. Multi-dimensional? The Damned are that too.
So, what of NOT LIKE ANYBODY ELSE in this chilly month of January 2026?
A second observation: the tracklist leaves no room for anything other than a tribute to their roots and, of course, to Brian James—guitarist nourished by the Detroit sound of the Motor City era. The cover of the Stooges' "Gimme Danger," idolized by James, is striking to say the least.
However, this covers album is far from being a mausoleum, as ephemeral as they usually are in these lean times ; it is likely the opposite. An embodied record where we find that very particular way of summoning the past without ever wishing to freeze it, testing its resistance against the present: Robert Dean Taylor, The Lovin' Spoonful (the cover of "Summer In The City" could trigger a tidal wave), The Creation, Pink Floyd—from the time when they were eminently respectable—The Kinks, the Yardbirds, Eric Burdon & the animals, not forgetting The Lollipop Shoppe or the Rolling Stones' "The Last Time," which (despite what the title suggests) was the first time a track penned by the Glimmer Twins reached the top of the hill.
NOT LIKE ANYBODY ELSE is a record of transmission—imperfect, perhaps (all the better), but profoundly necessary. A salutary reminder (maybe) that some do not grow old; they sediment gracefully, accumulating layers, shadows, and bursts of light. Come on... fifty years on, to still be capable of such a gesture, without cynicism or stale nostalgia, is less a matter of longevity than a rare form of integrity. The Damned are still here. Not like everybody else and certainly not like anybody else.