ROKUMENTTI: The Damned: Dont' You Wish That We Were Dead (2015)

Wes Orshoski:

The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead (USA, 2015)

110 min. • English

No age limit

Theme: Rokumentti Selection

The Damned, a hilarious punk-hybrid of Skeletor and Wile E. Coyote, is one of the few first wave British punk pioneers that has survived the last four decades. The band’s debut single is considered the first British punk single and the story goes that they were also the first of their kind to make it across the Atlantic. These theatrical three chord visionaries form alongside The Clash and Sex Pistols the holy trinity of British Punk, whose influence on later bands has been enormous.

In his film Wes Orshoski, who also directed the award-winning documentary Lemmy, pays tribute to the band's brilliantly chaotic core. The quick and bittersweet story covers the endless line-up changes, rebirths and breakups from the immortal first single New Rose to the complex 35th anniversary tour a few years back. Amidst all this is a steady and tight arsenal of talking heads, including members of such bands as The Clash, Pink Floyd, Buzzcocks, Dead Kennedys, The Pretenders, Guns n’ Roses and many, many more.