SEPT. 28, 6:55 P.M. ET Although the Sex Pistols and the Clash were the most high-profile British bands associated with the '70s punk movement, the Damned were actually the first punk band in England to release an album. Their debut effort, "Damned Damned Damned," featured the groundbreaking single "New Rose," and preceded the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K." by several months.

The Damned [ tickets ] have gone through many personnel changes, and members have participated in a myriad of outside projects with a veritable who's-who of the British rock scene. Chrissie Hynde played guitar in one incarnation of the group, Pink Floyd's Nick Mason produced the first Damned album, and Jon Moss was their drummer before Boy George recruited him to join Culture Club. The Damned were honored guests on the final T Rex tour.

Despite repeated claims of farewell shows in recent years, the Damned have returned once again with a new album, "Grave Disorder," and a supporting tour of North America that has already taken them through parts of Canada and includes dates across the U.S. through the beginning of November.

After 25 years, the group has been rejuvenated by interest from American audiences in general, and from Offspring frontman Dexter Holland in particular. Holland signed the Damned to his Nitro label this year, and the band's famously colorful guitarist Captain Sensible was happy to chat with liveDaily about the resulting album and tour. He also discussed some of the Damned's historical highlights. The group's ghoulish-looking lead singer, Dave Vanian, chimed in with a bit of personal anecdote as well.

LiveDaily: How hard is it, after 25 years, to break new ground, musically speaking? "Grave Disorder" has elements of power pop, goth rock and punk, all rolled into one album.

Captain Sensible: Everyone in the band's adding their own kind of flavor--we all listen to very different music. Pinch, the drummer, listens to modern stuff, Dave listens to '50s and rockabilly and goth and stuff like that. I suppose I come from Kraut rock, and kind of garage-beat music and whatever, and Patricia [Morrison, bass] was in the Bags and Sisters of Mercy and all sorts of other bands. Put it all in a melting pot and what comes out at the other end is "Grave Disorder," and it kind of works.

It sounds like one band, but a lot of styles from one band.

Yeah. I hope people can tolerate that, 'cause a lot of music at the moment is in one bag. Things are very diversified musically--so many different styles--but bands don't cross over from one to the other, it seems.

How did Dexter Holland end up signing you to his new label? Did he contact you?

We did some gigs in Los Angeles, and we had to go back by public demand. When we'd finished the tour, we had to fly back and do some more, put on another six shows or something in California. The Nitro people had come in to see us, and obviously reported back to him and said that the band was quite happening.

[Holland had] liked us anyway--the Offspring did the "Smash It Up" cover version in the Batman version, which was kind of funny. Made me laugh. I went down to see the film, and I thought "Bloody hell!" How strange that this song you write ever ends up in a film. A lot of bands get their music in films, but it's never happened to us before. So I just sat there shrieking with laughter, it was so funny.

How does this lineup compare to the various incarnations of the Damned over time?

I'm quite enjoying touring at the moment, because it's a pretty good vibe in the band. Better than I can remember for a long, long time.

This is a nice lineup. It's not very good press to say, "It's a nice lineup," because I think people want to hear that we've all sort of gone berserk and punch each other up backstage. But we get on very, very well.

Aside from your work with the Damned and various other projects, you've had some solo success as well. Do you have any other solo stuff on the side right now?

Well, I haven't done anything for awhile, but I think [indie label] Cleopatra released a compilation of my stuff under the name "A Slice of Sensible," which has got some unreleased stuff on it. I don't know if that's still floating around.

But no, I haven't done anything else. This is keeping us quite busy. It's really important to give it a good go this time, because we've had quite a few cracks at the showbiz pie, if you like.

Is it true that the Damned toured with T Rex at Marc Bolan's request?

We did, yes. He saw a picture of me onstage with the band. I was wearing a T Rex/Marc Bolan T-shirt, and I suppose when he was looking for a support band in 1977, we were a good choice. He had seen that the punk thing was happening, and he wanted to kind of keep his career going, I suppose, by nicking some of our audience, maybe. And we wanted to nick some of his audience, because a lot of the girls that followed T Rex were quite pretty. He was so good to us, as well.

1977 was the year he died.

It was, yes. A real shame. He took us out on his coach [bus], and he didn't ask us for tour support money, and he used to give us pep talks and tell us the dos and don'ts in recording studios. When we were in service stations, eating egg and chips and terrible fatty foods, Marc would be jogging. He would jog 'round and 'round and you'd see him going past the window, and the rest of his band were inside eating egg and chips, followed up by a few cigarettes. And Marc was on a get-fit, get-healthy kick.

The funny thing is, they're probably still around and he's long gone.

Strange, isn't it? It's the argument cigarette smokers use all the time: "Well, I could get knocked over by a bus."

When you've got a history like the Damned has, how do you choose what to play in your concerts now?

The previous set that we did before this was pretty much put together by the audience. They told us what they wanted us to do. But obviously, everything's changed. We're showcasing as much new material as we can. In fact, we did the whole album back to back at Dingwall's in London, which went down extremely well. People were saying, "Oh, you've got to record it as a live thing." But we've just got the actual album out!

Damned singer Dave Vanian and bassist Patricia Morrison are a married couple. Were you at their wedding?

No, I wasn't. But it sounded totally bizarre. Here--Dave will tell you all about it. [Hands the phone to Dave Vanian.]

Dave Vanian: We planned on this big event at an old 15th century church, but it was difficult to get, because we were both divorcées. So it didn't quite work out that way. We ended up going to Vegas and got married in the whole Elvis-type scenario. I timed it so that that night, we were whisked off in this 1960s pink Cadillac to see Tom Jones. It was a wild couple of days.

Do you think you personally bring elements of goth rock into the Damned's music because you used to be a gravedigger?

Dave Vanian: Well, I don't think it was because I was a gravedigger. It wasn't the job that made me, that was just the person I was.

That's got to be the only thing that you and former gravedigger Rod Stewart have in common.

Dave Vanian: I hope so. I don't know if I'll ever grow a mullet.