“Dozen Girls” / “Take That” (Bronze BRO 156) October 1982
The Damned | Dozen Girls | (Bronze) 1982 | Honestly, it really pains one such as I — most easily pigeon-holed (if you must) as a post-punk modernist/realist — to award ‘Single Of The Week’ status to such a bunch of pathetic old lags as The Damned, but in a week of more than a few delightful discs, this lot have made the best!
I really wish it had been made by either the Undertones (to prove they’re not finished) or Rudi (to give them the hit they deserve), but, as it is, this is a raucous, churning pop song that lifts from the Monkees and the Beatles and ends up sounding like the Boys always wanted to.
It’s melodic, it’s poppy, it’s vaguely psychedelic in arrangement/production, it’s great fun and it’s a HIT! Now smash it up!
How can you not like the Damned, Britain’s first comic strip punks are still producing the goodies. Here, Vanian, Sensible, and Rat have been raiding their psychedelia record collections again. Byrds guitar, meandering organ and the Turtles trumpets make up a nice tale of envy. (Record Mirror, 09/10/82)
The Damned is Saturday night with the lads rock trying to recapture the boiling anticipation of “New Rose”, but the bleary eyes can’t focus on their goal and the beer belly’s make nimble moves as remote as my chances of winning Daily Mirror super bingo. (NME, 16/10/82)
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