The Damned and The Saints ’73-’78 will finally share a stage together for the first time in 2025, nearly five decades after both bands detonated the original punk explosion in the UK and Australia. The tour also revives the historic crossover created by late bassist Algy Ward, the musician whose career linked both legendary groups.
by Paul Cashmere
The Damned will bring their ‘Final Damnation’ 50th anniversary tour to the UK this November and December with special guests The Saints ’73-’78, marking the first time the two pioneering punk bands have toured together despite a shared history stretching back to 1977.
The announcement connects two of the most influential bands of the original punk era. The Saints released ‘(I’m) Stranded’ in August 1976, widely regarded as Australia’s first punk single, while The Damned followed in October 1976 with ‘New Rose’, recognised as the first UK punk single. Both records arrived before punk became a commercial movement and helped establish the raw blueprint that would later shape hardcore, post-punk and alternative rock.
The seven-date UK run comes after The Saints ’73-’78 completed a successful English tour in 2025. The new dates include London’s recently opened 3800-capacity British Airways ARC alongside a series of regional theatre-sized venues.
The connection between the bands runs deeper than shared timing. Bass player Algy Ward became a crucial figure in both groups during punk’s formative years. Ward joined The Saints in 1977, replacing Kym Bradshaw, and first appeared on the landmark single ‘This Perfect Day’. He then played on the albums ‘Eternally Yours’ and ‘Prehistoric Sounds’, two records that expanded the sonic vocabulary of punk with brass arrangements, R&B influences and increasingly ambitious songwriting from Chris Bailey and Ed Kuepper.
Following the collapse of The Saints’ original line-up in 1978, Ward crossed directly into The Damned, performing on the influential 1979 comeback album ‘Machine Gun Etiquette’. His aggressive, Lemmy-inspired bass playing became a defining part of the record’s sound.
Captain Sensible later reflected on Ward’s contribution saying: “Algy was immense on Machine Gun (Etiquette). The sound was largely based on the thundering bass lines that he delivered, it was a beautiful noise.”
Ward’s work with both bands helped create an unusual musical bridge between the Australian proto-punk underground and the emerging British punk scene. While The Saints and The Damned never actually performed together during the original era, Ward effectively carried elements of one band’s intensity into the other.
The Saints’ influence has continued to grow in recent decades, particularly around ‘(I’m) Stranded’, which consistently appears in major international punk retrospectives. Their second album ‘Eternally Yours’ was later included in ‘1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die’, while ‘Prehistoric Sounds’ has undergone a significant critical reassessment after initially confusing audiences in 1978 with its darker arrangements and horn-driven experimentation.
The Damned similarly evolved beyond punk orthodoxy. Albums including ‘Machine Gun Etiquette’, ‘The Black Album’ and ‘Strawberries’ expanded their sound into psychedelia, gothic rock and theatrical pop while maintaining the velocity of their early material. Their longevity has made them one of the few surviving acts from punk’s first wave still performing at a high level nearly 50 years later.
Ed Kuepper reflected on that passage of time in a statement accompanying the tour announcement.
“Crikey that seemed quick.. 50 yrs ago almost to the day, I posted my first ever bundle of press releases,” Kuepper said. “They were all individually hand-written notes on airmail paper and included one 45, along with an 8×10 b&w photo. The gist of each note was to tell people how extraordinary my band were and that the record that I’d included, was without a doubt the best record ever made.”
The renewed interest in first-generation punk bands comes as younger audiences increasingly revisit the original independent scenes that emerged outside the mainstream music industry during the mid-1970s. Both The Saints and The Damned operated initially without major label infrastructure, relying on self-released records, word-of-mouth promotion and constant touring.
Ward’s later career also extended his influence into heavy metal through Tank, the band he formed in 1980 after leaving The Damned. Tank became part of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal movement alongside bands including Saxon and Motörhead. Their debut album ‘Filth Hounds Of Hades’, produced by Fast Eddie Clarke of Motörhead, became a cult favourite within the metal underground.
Ward died in May 2023 at age 63 following ongoing health issues. His role in connecting two foundational punk bands has since become an increasingly important part of his legacy.
Before heading to the UK dates with The Damned, The Saints ’73-’78 connection continues through Kuepper’s newly announced Australian tour ‘The Exploding Universe Of Ed Kuepper’, celebrating 50 years of his recording career across The Saints, Laughing Clowns, The Aints! and his solo work.
The Damned will also return to Australia and New Zealand this September for ‘The Final Damnation’ tour.
The Damned Australia And New Zealand Dates
September 8, Auckland, Powerstation
September 10, Sydney, Sydney Opera House
September 11, Brisbane, The Tivoli
September 13, Melbourne, The Forum
The Saints ’73-’78 With The Damned UK Tour Dates
November 27, Newcastle, O2 City Hall
November 28, Manchester, O2 Apollo
November 29, Birmingham, O2 Academy
December 1, Glasgow, O2 Academy
December 3, Bristol, Beacon
December 4, London, British Airways ARC
December 5, Portsmouth, Guildhall
The Exploding Universe Of Ed Kuepper Australian Dates
July 30, Avoca Theatre
July 31, Canberra, The Street
August 1, Wombarra Bowlo
August 6, Adelaide, The Gov
August 8, Melbourne, National Theatre
August 9, Barwon Heads Hotel
August 15, Fremantle, Freo Social
August 20, Brisbane, The Princess
August 21, Coffs Harbour, The Jetty Theatre
August 22, Murwillumbah, Regent Theatre
August 27, Sydney, Enmore Theatre
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