IT'S been more than forty years since their initial explosion onto what was at the time a fledgling London punk scene, and here they still are, still going for it, kicking off 2018 with new material and an extensive UK tour.

If you haven't yet guessed who I'm writing about, it's punk royalty the Dammed, the first band to ever release a punk record in the UK, who will be stopping on their Evil Spirits tour stops in Southend at the Cliffs Pavilion, on Wednesday February 7.

2018 also sees the unveiling of a hugely-anticipated new album, also called Evil Spirits, the first studio album in ten years.

It was recorded in New York by famed producer Tony Visconti, whose list of past working-relationships reads like a who’s who of popular music (David Bowie, T-Rex, Morrissey, U2, The Stranglers, Iggy Pop and Thin Lizzy to name but a few) following the band's new deal with Search And Destroy/Spinefarm Records.

“Our new Tony Visconti produced album, as with all previous Damned records, very much has its own sound,” says Captain Sensible, the Damned's guitarist. “We’re looking forward to having an element of that mixed in with the old faves on this tour.”

Also to celebrate the 40 year milestone, BMG music is presenting a limited-edition set of five and seven inch vinyl singles including the famed first ever punk single, New Rose, and all the other early hits from the chaotic punk quartet.

All singles have been recreated with their original artwork, including the ultra-rare, Stretcher Case Baby. These are all packed in a superb box, collaged with original press cuttings from back in the day.

Also included is a Damned embroidered patch, exclusive to this box-set.

Main support on the tour comes from fabled Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom, whilst American ‘operatic-punk’ performer Kristeen Young will open the show at Koko.

Kelly Buckley caught up with red beret wearing Damned guitarist Captain Sensible.

KB: Hello Captain. Please can you give us a brief outline about what we can expect from this new tour.

CS: I’m looking forward to playing onstage with Paul Gray again.. he’s a spectacular bassist, and told us all that if he got paid for how many notes he crammed in he’d be buzzing about in a private jet. On the album sessions Paul and Pinch really clicked as a rhythm section, which allows Monty and myself to venture into the realms of psychedelia on occasion. Dave will be prowling the stage as ever.

KB: Forty years?! Wow! But as well as your original fans, you seem to keep gathering a newer, younger fanbase. Why do you think this is?

CS: There’s a lot to be said for a thrashing drum kit and a cranked up guitar. Add that to a bit of melody and some rabble rousing lyrics and you’ve got a winning formula. I love a bit of 70s rock myself but it can get a little stodgy and samey occasionally. Punk seems to retain a freshness, even if the band are a bit past their sell-by date. It’s fun to see mixed age audiences. When my kids came to some shows and were cavorting about in the mosh pit I thought, 'blimey, you’d never get me anywhere near anything like that. I’d be at the back in the posh seats making sure no one spills my pint'.

KB: I've read interviews where you have said the band always intentionally wanted to move forward with your music and didn’t want to just repeat what you’d already done. Is this the case in terms of evolution with the new album - what kind of sound does it have?

CS: We aren’t keen on some of the trends in studio techniques, auto-tuned vocals, maxed out loudness, quantised drums... everything perfected until there’s no soul left. For us, (producer) Tony Visconti encapsulated everything about the glorious 70s sound that we wanted on this record... and he had us all playing live, bashing it out in the same room with a focus on getting the initial band version of each song as close as possible to the finished thing. He chose a studio with a heap of wonderful sounding antique valve gear and mics,which often had to be cajoled into action with a few thumps. The new album sounds old school of course, and there’s still a fair bit of punk in there, but it also has the singalong vibe of early Bowie and T Rex. Getting to sleep back at the hotel during recording sessions was sometimes a problem with the albums many themes and melodies fizzing around your head.

KB: Do you have any particular favourites out of the new material which you are looking forward to airing to the audience and why?

CS: Standing At The Edge Of Tomorrow has a neat 1950s spy theme flavour to it. Apparently it’s Dave’s first single in 40 years in the band. Long overdue - it’s a cracker. The backing vocals are sung in Russian male choir style -that’ll be fun onstage. I’m not sure what else we’ll be doing, not TOO many newies that will test the audience’s patience though.

KB: What do you do with yourself in an average day when you are off-duty from being a punk icon?

CS: I have to take Mrs Sensible out to lunch most days. We are a couple of foodies and, being a bit of a chef, she’ll pretty much identify all the ingredients and spices by taste. There’s a few places we always go back to - especially where street food is up for grabs - as with Borough and Brixton Markets. Apart from that there’s my beloved Crystal Palace,with never a dull moment following that saga. As a youngster I’d watch the matches from a muddy hill at the top of Holmesdale Road terraces wearing claret and blue. These were the days of the Glaziers, Johnny Byrne and Bert Head. Palace have come a long way since then, but the clubs still got its soul.. and with the precious connection to its local community intact. How great then that we have ‘our Roy’ as manager... and local heroes like Wilf and Punch playing for us.

KB: The idea of a tour sounds knackering to me at my time of life and I’m a fair bit younger than you. What do you do to keep motivated and fit?

CS: Unlike the ‘good old days’ when I’d drink myself through a tour, I awake in the morning with a clear head so can have a stroll about the towns we play, and as a rail enthusiast maybe do a bit of trainspotting. The band get on with each other, so there’s plenty of banter - with the fans too. They keep you on your toes if they think you’re getting above yourself, like the stick I used to get during my 1980s pop star period - all deserved of course - like “My wife’s been playing your sodding ‘Happy Talk’ single non-stop for weeks... it’s driving me nuts”. That sort of thing. They’ll buy you a drink though... if you hover around the bar long enough [laughs]. [Captain Sensible had a pop hit with a cover of Happy Talk, which got a lot of press attention and which he performed on a few kids Saturday morning TV shows, "as drunk as a parrot" he says].

KB: What is next for Captain Sensible after you have finished this tour and promoted the new album?

CS: Well, being of a certain age, some of my chums have retired, but, if those old frauds the Stones can keep going at their age, as representatives of the punk generation we feel duty bound to give them a run for their money. They’re OK though. And unlike some of their contemporaries who, when it was just emerging slagged off the new punk movement, they actually sent a bunch of cakes and whiskey to greet us at the venue when we turned up for our first US gig. Maybe they’d seen the Damned Damned Damned album sleeve? [The album cover was made up of a photo of the band with their faces covered in cake].

After rediscovering our mojo recording-wise, the Damned may well be doing some more of that. We only had two weeks to do the new album so there’s enough left over for a second one... with some of the wackier material getting overlooked by the label - for reasons of commerciality perhaps? But I learned a lot by watching Tony Visconti at the mixing desk. He showed how it’s still possible to make vintage, classic sounding records, even in today’s high tech studios.

Visit southendtheatres.org.uk for ticket information and booking.