6) Were you in any bands before Victim (later Victimize)?
Bryn “No, the band’s first name was Red Alert & the Rejects. We then became the Victims and eventually Victimize.”

7) By the time that Roman joined Victimize, your punk sound began to change to something more psychedelic.. was this Roman's influence, or just the direction that the band were heading in anyway?
Bryn “Deffo Roman’s influence. He had a much more melodic approach where as we’d been pretty hardcore!”

8)  Please tell us the story of when/how you came to join the Damned ?
Bryn “I pestered Roman for a job and he would say to me, we (the Damned) have already got a Bass player. Then Roman surprised me and said I have a job for you. Can you lay bricks? As you can imagine I was pretty distraught! I thought you were offering me the job as the Damned bass player. It turned out that Rat had hit Paul Gray so he left them in the lurch 2 weeks before a British tour! So the band gave me 2 weeks to learn 30 songs which was the tour set list. And that was it!”

9) How did you approach the old classics.. did you play the bass note for note as on the record.. or did you add your own bass runs?
Bryn “I tried to keep it as it was on the records but obviously I would put my own feel to it on certain numbers.”

10) As the new boy, did Captain and Rat give you a hard time?
Bryn “Only Scabies did, after a few months.”

​

11) Do you remember that first tour that you did? (tour of small clubs up and down England... with sold out shows etc). How did the fans take to you, replacing Paul ?
Bryn “Yeah, I remember it well. The Damned had their first and only car accident whilst on tour, at Scotch corner in Yorkshire. I remember Scabies saying to me, I hope you’re not going to be a jinx? I replied, Well, we all survived! The fans were fine. I seemed to be accepted, to my surprise.”

12) The Damned have had many different bassists over the years.. in your opinion (other than yourself) who did you think was the best?

Bryn “Captain”.

13) What was your favourite Damned era of all (inclusive of the years you were involved!)?
Bryn “I would say my favourite album was Strawberries after Damned, Damned, Damned!  So very early days and then the time I was with them.”

14) What can you tell us about Naz Nomad.... (whose idea was it, who selected those songs that ended up on the album?)

Bryn “Dave & Roman were always trying to find obscure 60’s garage stuff to do, to piss Captain off, who was a bit of an authority on the subject of unknown bands. The plan was to release the album to see if Captain could guess who it was. So, really, Dave & Roman chose them.”

15) Towards the end of May, and throughout June 1983 you toured the USA. Was this the first time you had been to America? Any highlights of this tour that you can remember? Did the band sell out venues during this era?
Bryn “It was the first time I’d been on a plane! I think we did really well, except for a lazy drug taking tour manager who never organised us properly. The crowds were really good. There were a few incidents. Rat had been warned by a fortune teller to watch out for his eyes and as I had never been away before. He thought I was partying too much! So on one occasion, a tour manager had to kick his door down and save his life when some drug crazed lunatic was trying to rip him off. He thought I had invited him to Scabies room. It escalated……..!”

16) Thanks For The Night - although written by Captain in 1981, it was not played live or recorded until you joined the band. Rumour has it that Paul Gray refused to play the song as it was so tricky. What are your thoughts on this - is it a difficult song to play?

Bryn “Everyone said Paul couldn’t get the timing right, the same as ‘Ignite’. I was quite surprised but felt quite proud that I could play them.”

17) Nasty was written especially for the Young Ones show, by Roman & Dave. Was Thanks for the night and Do The Blitz also recorded at the same time? Were any other songs recorded, at this session but not released (Is It A Dream perhaps?)

Bryn “Yes they were. No, nothing else was recorded at that time.”

 

18) Return of living dead album included 'Dead beat dance' - was this an old Victimize song?

Bryn “Yes it was a Victimize song called ‘The Day I met God’ It was written by Andy Johnson and myself. During a Damned demo session, Roman had been asked to write a track, with Dave, for a film and whilst I was having some time off, he recorded it.”

 
19) At the end of 1984, The Damned performed Smash It Up pt2 on The Tube - any memories of this? Did you get to meet Jools Holland etc?
Bryn “Yeah, I did meet Jools. I also remember meeting Hanoi Rocks but have never seen the footage from the show.”

 

20) At the end of 1984, The Damned booked into the studios were DDD was recorded, and laid down tracks for demos - can you remember what tracks were recorded? (I am guessing Is It A Dream, Grimly Fiendish and Sanctum Sanctorum?)

Bryn “No, I can’t remember specific tracks.”

 

21) According to information in the official Damned biography - Phantasmagoria was rushed, and released before it was quite finished. Hence only 9 tracks included. Which tracks failed to make it to the album in the end?

Bryn “I wrote Trojans, and that was added whilst we were touring. Roman & Dave flew back to Pete Townshend’s eEel Pie studio to finish off the lyrics etc for the whole album.”

 

22) What can you tell us about the track (which you are credited as writer) Trojans? Rumour has it that the demo contained vocals, however due to shortage of time it was released as an instrumental... Did you and Roman play all of the instruments on this track?

Bryn “It never had lyrics. Roman was credited with writing it but was embarrassed as he thought it was ‘a pile of shit!’ because it was one of mine. The whole band performed on it.”

 

23) Are there any unreleased recordings from MCA ?

Bryn “We were halfway through a demo session around ’87 when MCA and ourselves split. There were many songs never released.”

 

24) What are your memories of recording Phantas - was it a fun experience?

Bryn “It was the first time I had recorded an album so I was excited, except for the continual interventions by MCA, trying to change things to make us do it their way. It was a big distraction.”

 

25) Is it true to say that Roman & Vanian wrote most of the material on Phantas?

Bryn “Yes”

 

26) What can you tell us about the opening track 'Street of Dreams' - who wrote this one, and was it an old song or a new one written during the album sessions?

Bryn “Roman wrote it with Dave writing the lyrics. It was written during the sessions.”

 

27) According to Roman, it was Vanian who came up with most of the lyrics, but did you (or any of the others) have any lyrical input?

Bryn “I didn’t. Maybe Roman and possibly Rat had some input.”

 

28) I always felt that Edward The Bear was b-side material, but was included on the album to increase number of tracks. What can you tell us about this track?

Bryn “It was an old case of Roman stealing bits from various demo songs from previous collaborations.”

 

29) How much did you contribute to Phantasmagoria - did you write all of the bass lines?

Bryn “Yes, all of the bass lines were mine.”

 

30) What can you tell us about Paul Shepley? (You recruited Paul Shepley for the UK tour, and he also performed on one track (8th Day).)

Bryn “I liked Paul and his funny stories of when he played with the Anti-Nowhere League and also it was quite amusing watching him duck from Scabies shooting him with my elastic band gun! Sorry Shirl.”

 

31) Why was Paul never regarded as a permanent member? His pic was included on the back of the Damned bio book.. confusingly... and he also signed a number of MCA records...!!

Bryn “Because he didn’t write any songs and he was paid more as a session musician, anyway.”

​

32) The final gig of the 1985 tour (Woolwich Coronet) was recorded, with a few live tracks appearing on b-side of Is It A Dream. Were any of these shows professionally filmed?

Bryn “Don’t know.”

 

33) Throughout 1985 Sept, Oct, Nov and Dec The Damned embarked on a hectic tour of Europe (Ireland, Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland) and finally a few dates in the USA. Can you remember much about this tour, I am guessing it would have been your first time to have visited a lot of these places? Any places stick out in particular? The Damned sold out most shows in the UK, was this the same story across Europe? Was was it like in the USA?

Bryn “The only thing that stick in my mind is being smuggled across the German border as my passport had been stolen in Ireland which I was unaware of and the rest of the tour was a blur! Too much fun!”

 

 

34) At the Fan club gig in 1986, The Damned performed a new track 'Anything is Better Than This'. The track went down a storm live, however the recorded version released by MCA, and mixed by Jon Kelly was so disappointing in comparison. The single was over produced, featuring a watered down Damned.. there were cheesy sound effects (shotgun noises etc), and Vanian's vocals were put through a distortion effect. What did you think of the final mix - were you happy with it?

Bryn “The track was called ‘Anything’. I was particularly happy with it, even the single version.”

35) The free 10th anniversary show for the fan club gig was a great idea, and one of the highlights of The Damned's career. Who's idea was it to do a free show? The BBC filmed the whole show, do you think it will ever see the light of day as a DVD release?

Bryn “I’m not sure. It may have been Rat’s idea. I have no idea if it will be released on DVD.”
 

36) Anything - contained some excellent songs: In Dulce decorum, Restless and Girl Goes down being personal favourites of mine. The album was flawed though as appeared unfinished/rushed in places. The album only had 9 tracks, and a few of those were b-side material (The Portrait..). What are your views on this album now looking back? Why so few songs ?
Bryn “It was recorded in Denmark. Dave was in America a lot of the time, with his wife who had suffered a family loss. It was hard to record lots of material without him as he and Roman were the main songwriters on the album. We didn’t want to record stuff without Dave’s input. I probably only like 3 songs on it.”
 

37) Were all the songs written by Vanian & Roman? Which songs did you and Rat contribute to?
Bryn “I didn’t write anything for this album. Rat wrote Psychomania.”

38) Are there any demos from the ANYTHING album, and if so how do those versions compare with the released versions?
Bryn “There were. They were heavier and raunchier. Some were better and some weren’t. A lot were never used.”

 

39) It always struck me that you missed a trick in not including Eloise on the ANYTHING album - surely that would have increased album sales dramatically. Was this MCA's decision or the bands?

Bryn “I don’t know why we didn’t put it on the album. It was recorded a long time before the album sessions, so maybe that’s why.”

​

40) Do any studio recordings of LA Woman exist?
Bryn “Possibly, when we were messing around in the studio.”

41) What do you remember of the Rock around The Dock event at Liverpool Docks? The Damned played Eloise with a full scale orchestra, and also mimed to Anything closing the show. Who's idea was it to through all of the Damned's equipment in the docks?!
Bryn “I didn’t have to use my own, favourite bass as I was chucking some old, rubbish guitar in, but I might as well had, as some dopey roadie left it on the floor outside the van and it got nicked.”

42) FLASHMAG - before days of internet, this magazine was a fan's only source of band information - how much input did the band have in this magazine?
Bryn “I know Dave had a lot do with it and also Rat.”

 

43) At Brixton Ace 1987, The Damned played a Christmas show where 'Gunning For Love' was first played, along with 'Johnny Remember Me'. At this time was it the plan to include both of these tracks on the next MCA album ? 

Bryn “No, but they were used on Dave’s new album with the Phantom Chords.”

44) The USA shows at the end of 1988 turned out to be the last shows for you and Roman in The Damned... did you know this at the time?
Bryn “No. We didn’t know we were going to get fired by MCA.”

45) Why do you think the MCA lineup come to an end?
Bryn “Dave was offered a solo career and decided to leave the group.”
 

46) What do you know about the beginnings of Phantom chords (i.e. who'se idea was it.. who wrote the material.. and was this simply a vehicle for Vanian to perform different sort of music?). Obviously Gunning for love + Loveless.. were originally Damned songs.. but when did they get 'given' to Phantom chords?

Bryn “It was all Dave’s idea. All the songs were written by Dave & Roman so they just took them with them. Dave asked Roman to be part of the band and I was eventually asked too.”

 

47) Why did you choose to join the Phantom chords, rather than stay with The Damned (Rat!). Why was it never an option for you and Roman to do both?
Bryn “I could see the Damned folding at that time so when I was asked to go with Dave I just did it. There was no option of doing both.”

48) That must have been pretty frustrating when Polydor dropped the PChords, with you not being able to release the album on any other label?
Bryn “I’d been fired by that time so had no idea what was going on and didn’t really care.”

49) Did you enjoy your time in The Phantom chords?
Bryn “Not particularly. I enjoyed the studio stuff but not so much playing live.”

50) Please could you tell us why you left the band (in 1991)?
Bryn “I was fired!”

51) What have you been up to since 1991?
Bryn “I came back to Cardiff and formed a band with Andy (Victimize) called Bug. We played for a while. I went through a mad period. I had a serious motorbike crash and stopped playing in 1992. I only started playing, again, with The Shamones, in late 2010. We are still playing to date.”

52) Do you keep in contact with Roman Jugg, and any other ex Damned members?
Bryn “I didn’t keep in touch with Roman. But, recently, when The Shamones played in the Boston Arms in Tufnell Park, London, Roman appeared at the show. We chatted about old times but made no plans to keep in touch. I rarely speak to any of the others except when I’ve been to Damned shows.”

53) If The Phantom Chords were to reform.. would you consider rejoining if asked ?
Bryn “No!”

54) You appeared on stage with The Damned in 2009 in Cardiff - it was an emotional moment for many fans seeing you play the bass once again. How did this come about.. and why didn't you play more songs?!!
Bryn “I was pissed and hadn’t played for 18 years. Captain asked me earlier in the day to do it.”

 

55) It is great that you are playing bass again, in the Ramones tribute band 'Shamones' - how did this all come about?
Bryn “A chance meeting with Andy got me playing bass again. We decided to have a jam and I suggested we do something simple and fun to get me back into it. We chose a few Ramones numbers and the rest is history, as they say!”

56) What are your future plans with Shamones? Any solo projects planned?

Bryn “Just to enjoy it and play as much as we can. No solo projects planned but we may start writing again if The Shamones stuff gets boring! We’ve just re-vamped some Victimize songs for a Punk reunion show and compilation CD/album, which was great fun!”

 

In 2012 Bryn is still playing with "The Shamones", Ramones tribute and extensively touring the UK. Catch up with all the latest news and gossip at:

 

http://www.shamonesuk.com

http://www.facebook.com/shamonesuk

Cretin Hop Shamones YouTube Clip

 

Thanks go to Bryn Merrick for agreeing to participate in the this interview.  Also special thanks go to Andrew Johnson for arranging the interview and for typing it all up.