Sunday Slashers presents "The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead"
Music and film have had a long history together, taking cameras behind the scenes of some of our favorite and most influential bands. Through the camera’s eye, we get up close and personal with our musical heroes, and often learn far more than we expected.
Such is the case with Wes Orshoski’s seminal 2015 documentary on the influential English punk band The Damned, Don’t You Wish That We Were Dead, which will be shown at the Palace Theater on this Sunday, as part of Justin Savage’s “Sunday Slasher” series.
“I found The Damned’s story to be compelling, how they were always kind of framed as a punk afterthought, when they were in reality one of the founders of the movement,” Orshoski explains. “I thought it would make for a fascinating doc. I knew it was going to be a challenge, and I was up for the challenge.”
The Damned was the first of the UK punk bands to release a single, album and the first to tour America. The film includes appearances from Chrissie Hynde, Mick Jones, Lemmy and members of Pink Floyd, Black Flag, Guns N Roses, the Sex Pistols, Blondie, the Buzzcocks, and more.
“Hopefully [the audience] will be entertained, and feel moved by the music, and the story,” says Orshoski. “But also I hope that they learn a thing or two. Hopefully the film goes some way toward correcting the punk narrative which can often sideline or marginalize the band.”
The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead
Sunday, 7 p.m.
The Palace Theater
818 Georgia Ave.
chattpalace.com