This event took place on Thursday 23rd July 2015. 

We are delighted to welcome director Wes Orshoski for a Q&A following the 20.30 screening on Thursday, July 23rd.

The Damned were notoriously the first British punk group to release a record, when the still thrilling New Rose single was unleashed by Stiff in October, 1976.

Nearly 40 years on, it rankles with members of the original line-up that they have never been afforded the respect given to their contemporaries, in particular the Sex Pistols and The Clash. Wes Orshoski, the co-director of the brilliant portrait of Lemmy in 2010, delivers a superb rock doc that, while celebrating the true scintillating brilliance of the band at their best, also nails how infighting, evolving line-ups, changes of musical direction, cock-ups, rip-offs, bloody mindedness, addictions, depression, bitterness, personality crises, nostalgia tours, frilly shirts, Dracula impersonations, berets, mohair jumpers and oversized sunglasses all play their part in how they are perceived.

Fans won’t need a second invitation to revel in the terrific archive footage, which is presented alongside painfully honest interviews with band members and acolytes, as well as live footage of recent anniversary gigs around the world, shot while Orshoski was imbedded with the group. Even the uninitiated will recognise this as documentary filmmaking of a different class, a glorious revelation of how rock’n’roll can be both transcendent and ridiculous, often at the same time. (Notes by Michael Hayden.)

For more films and special guests in July’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Cinema, click here.