21ST SEPTEMBER 2013 - THE DAMNED /UK/, APTEKA /PL/

35 years on, and the rush of witnessing a Damned live show is still comparable to that first buzz of energy released at some long forgotten sweat box of youth. A series of inspired, ambitious albums and amazing live shows combining full-on rock energy, stylish sense of performance, and humorous deadpan cool are not necessarily what anyone would have thought when Ray Burns and Chris Millar met in 1974 when both ended up working backstage at the Croydon Fairfield Hall.

Burns and Millar — more famously known in later years as guitarist/singer Captain Sensible and manic drummer Rat Scabies — kept in touch as both struggled in the stultifying mid-'70s London scene. Things picked up when Scabies talked his way into a rehearsal with London SS, the shifting lineup ground zero of U.K. punk that nearly everybody seemed to belong to at one point or another. There he met guitarist Brian James, while in a separate venture overseen by Malcolm McLaren, casting about for his own particular group to oversee, Scabies first met theatrical singer Dave Vanian, still working through his New York Dolls/Alice Cooper obsession.

Vanian's own history allegedly included singing "I Love the Dead" and "Dead Babies" while working as a gravedigger, but whatever the background, he proved to be a perfect frontman. Scabies put Sensible in touch with Vanian and James and the Damned were born, with Sensible switching over to bass while James handled guitar and songwriting.

APTEKA /PL/ Apteka is one of the most prominent Polish bands in an alternative music genre. Their unique way of playing, surround sound, sharp lyrics placed the band on the list of the most popular and revered groups on the Polish music scene. In 2013, Apteka will celebrate their 30th anniversary of work. Over that time span, they did hundreds of gigs in clubs and on various festivals. They made their stage appearances as headliners at the biggest Polish festivals such as Open Air, Przystanek Woodstock, Off Festival and many others. They toured Croatia, the UK and Russia within the Apteka Witkacy Express tour. In the eighties they made a three-month tour across Russia, Siberia and the Caucasus.

Apteka may boast over eight albums, most of which have become classics of the Polish rock music.

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