# The Damned at 50 and the memories (and regrets) of Rat Scabies

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/word-in-your-ear-3755187/the-damned-at-50-and-the-memories-and-regrets-of-rat-scabies
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/word-in-your-ear-3755187/the-damned-at-50-and-the-memories-and-regrets-of-rat-scabies.md
Podcast: [Word In Your Ear](https://stenobird.com/podcast/word-in-your-ear-3755187)
Published: 2026-05-20T13:19:31+00:00
Episode link: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/5ff0586154e2a73589267809/e/6a0db4e3d4f8cd358211bd14/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/word-in-your-ear-3755187/episodes/the-damned-at-50-and-the-memories-and-regrets-of-rat-scabies
Duration seconds: 2142

## Resource

The Damned are – yes! - 50 years old with three of the originals still onboard. And just starting a world tour. In this immensely funny and touching podcast, Rat Scabies (who’s smoking!) points up the repercussions of life in a band. He looks back at their first shows, their devoted audience, “old-fashioned rules”, highlights, regrets, the value of friendship, “putting on the black suit again” and how it felt to rejoin after 30 years on the outside. And all this too …   … playing drums in an Essex panto while pelted with boiled sweets   … Dave Vanian when he was a grave-digger   … punk rock strongholds the world over – “South America was like being in the Beatles”   … Mexico and other places you can still torch a drumkit   … Mr Scabies, aged 70. “Even my mother calls me Rat. The name’s done me well over the years”   … going to the Isle Of Wight aged 14 (with the Danish nanny) and running a hot-dog stand during Hendrix   … supporting the Pistols at the 100 Club: “like letting a greyhound out of a trap”   … Tim Burton, the Goth revival, the Young Ones, steampunk and other factors that keeps the Damned in motion   … “One band’s an oddity, two’s a fashion, three’s a movement”   … rejoining the Damned after 30 years – “like a great stain had been lifted”   … Green Day, algorithms and how they acquired a whole new following.   Order Damned tickets here: aegp.uk/the-damned Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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