There’s no disputing that The Damned still have a loyal fanbase, and tonight the auditorium is filled to bursting. Acoustics in the Great Hall, though, have always been hit or miss, and it was clear as soon as The Nightingales began their set that tonight was going to be a miss. Described by their contemporary John Robb as “the misfits’ misfits”, the Birmingham band appeared without introduction, played for an hour, and left without a single audience interaction. If experimental post-punk is your thing, great, but it isn’t mine and the only thing that made the hour palatable was Fliss Kitson (ex-Violet Violet), who is a damn good drummer.

When The Damned appeared 30 minutes later, with Dave Vanian looking snazzy in a three-piece black suit and trilby and Captain Sensible in trademark red beret and striped t-shirt, the calibre of professionalism rose – but not the standard of the sound. Excessive reverb made the vocals indecipherable, and feedback distorted the guitars. Strangely the drums, again, were excellent. 

The Damned are a band that usually don’t take themselves seriously, but tonight they seemed to forgo fun in favour of promotion (though the Captain did make a joke about pensioners). They have a new album coming out and when Vanian announced that they would be playing most of it there was almost a collective groan from the audience. From my balcony seat, I could see a fair amount of restlessness and phone scrolling, and when I ventured out to check if the sound quality was any better downstairs, the predominant noise was the buzz of people chattering.

Halfway through what was proving to be a tough night on the ears, the band threw the crowd a bone in the shape of Standing On The Edge Of Tomorrow – but it wasn’t until the encore that Damned fans got some of what they came for. A rushed rendition of the Barry Ryan hit Eloise, a barely recognisable New Rose and two other oldies got the audience animated and it was fun to watch men ‘over a certain age’ moshing and pogoing and relieving their punk heydays. Captain Sensible’s solo hit Happy Talk was, sadly, conspicuous by its absence.

The Damned + The Nightingales, Great Hall, Cardiff University Students Union, Fri 31 Mar

words LYNDA NASH photos ANTHONY JAMES