Rewind: 1985 - The Damned Go Gothic!

Phantasmagoria - The Damned

Released 15th July 1985

MCA Records

Produced by The Damned and Jon Kelly

 UK Album Chart #11

 Personnel
    Dave Vanian - Vocals
    Roman Jugg - Guitar, vocals on track 7, keyboards
    Bryn Merrick - Bass
    Rat Scabies - Drums
    Andy Richards - Additional keyboards
    Luís Jardim - Percussion
    Gary Barnacle - Saxophone

Singles from the Album

Grimly Fiendish / Edward the Bear. UK Chart #21

The Shadow of Love / Nightshift. UK Chart #25

Is It A Dream? / Streets of Dreams (Live). UK Chart #34

Remastered 2 CD Deluxe Edition

Disc 1

1. "Street of Dreams" – 5:38
2. "The Shadow of Love" – 3:52
3. "There'll Come a Day" – 4:14
4. "Sanctum Sanctorum" – 6:24
5. "Is It a Dream" – 3:27
6. "Grimly Fiendish" (Album edit version) – 3:49
7. "Edward the Bear" (Album version) – 3:36
8. "The Eight Day" – 3:46
9. "Trojans" – 4:51
10. "Grimly Fiendish" (The Bad Trip Mix) – 5:10
11. "The Shadow of Love" (10 Inches of Hell Mix) – 6:42
12. "Is It a Dream" (Wild West Express Mix) – 6:45

Disc 2

1. "Grimly Fiendish" (Spic 'n' Span Mix) – 5:21
2. "Edward the Bear" (B-Side single version) – 3:53
3. "The Shadow of Love" (The Pressure Mix) – 5:34
4. "Nightshift" – 2:24
5. "Let There Be Rats" (Rat Scabies song) – 2:09
6. "Wiped Out" (Rat Scabies song) – 1:34
7. "Would You" – 2:46
8. "Is It a Dream" (Wild West End Live) – 8:11
9. "Street of Dreams" (live) – 5:05
10. "Curtain Call" – 4:27
11. "Pretty Vacant" – 2:04
12. "Wild Thing" – 2:14
13. "The Shadow of Love" (BBC Radio 1 Session) – 4:05
14. "Is It a Dream" (BBC Radio 1 Session) – 3:36
15. "Street of Dreams" (BBC Radio 1 Session) – 4:43

Tracks 1-9 on Disc 1 were the Original Tracklisting for the album on it's release.

The Damned returned on record and this time without Captain Sensible. They had always had a little bit of the Gothic about them with Dave Vanian's almost Vampire image and for this album they seemed to go the full overblown Gothic look. The band had played their first show without Sensible in August of 1984 leaving the crowd a bit puzzled at the absence of one of the founding members of the band.

The album became one of the highest charting albums for The Damned and it gave birth to three singles that all charted though Grimly Fiendish peaked the highest at #21 (personally I thought The Shadow of Love was the much better song!).

Six months after the album release The Damned would have their biggest hit single ever as they reached #3 with the old Barry Ryan hit Eloise.