This Day in Music
Four young men put glam-rock on steroids, four more are the true punks, and Elvis is on leave, all on this day in music.
Releases
1977: England’s true first punk band, The Damned, release their debut studio album, “Damned Damned Damned.”
Having issued their first single, “New Rose,” on October 22, 1976, The Damned beat Sex Pistols to market by five weeks, who released “Anarchy in the U.K.” on November 26th. The Damned’s debut also precedes “Never Mind the Bollocks...” by eight months.
Produced by Nick Lowe, a second single, “Neat Neat Neat,” was released, and the band toured to promote the album, opening for T. Rex throughout the summer of 1977.
“Damned Damned Damned” received widespread critical acclaim, with Chris Welch of New Musical Express commenting, “...a highly professional production and is much more convincing than some other new wave bands I’ve heard on record.” The LP reached No. 34 on the U.K. Albums Chart.
Though Sex Pistols would achieve much greater popularity at the time, despite a short-lived break-up, The Damned would prove to have longevity, and are still together making records today, releasing their 13th studio album, “Not Like Everybody Else,” only three weeks ago on January 23, 2026.
Many personnel changes occurred along the way, including a short touring stint featuring Hawkwind and Motörhead alumnus, Lemmy, on bass, but founders Dave Vanian (David Lett), Captain Sensible (Raymond Burns), and Rat Scables (Christopher Millar) are still with the band.
1974: Kiss, the hard-rocking glam band from Queens, release their debut studio album, simply titled "Kiss." A collection of solid Rock and Roll tunes, the real fascination was the band's costuming and facial make-up.
They made their first national television appearance on The Mike Douglas Show on March 29, 1974, then were again featured that night on ABC-TV's In Concert. During the Douglas show interview, Gene Simmons remarked that he was “evil incarnate,” an early example of his promotional talents.
The album did not sell well at first, with only 75,000 copies shipped. It peaked at No. 87 on the Billboard 200, and did not spin out a hit single. As the band worked on its image and gained popularity, "Kiss" would eventually be certified Gold in both the U.S. and Canada, three years later, on June 8, 1977.
The album cover is a mostly-black and white image of only the band's faces, set against a black backdrop in an homage to the cover of The Beatles' UK album, "With the Beatles,” (Not to be confused with the US record, “Meet the Beatles,” which has a blue filter over the black and white photo.)
Events
1964: A publicity photo shoot featuring The Beatles and heavyweight champion Sonny Liston is cancelled when Liston refuses to be pictured with “those sissies.” The band then attends Mohammed Ali’s training facility, and Ali (still known as Cassius Clay at that time) welcomes them warmly and the shoot is a success. The Beatles would later include an image of Sonny Liston on the famous cover to the album, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
The Daily Elvis
1959: While on leave from the U.S. Army, Elvis appears at the Lido Club in Paris, France.
Pictured: Kiss, from L to R: Ace Frehley (g), Paul Stanley (g), Peter Criss (d), and Gene Simmons (b).
