Grimly Fiendish

"Grimly Fiendish"
Single by The Damned
from the album Phantasmagoria
B-side "Edward the Bear"
Released 18 March 1985
Format 7"/12" single
Recorded 1985
Genre Gothic rock
Length 3:49
Label MCA
GRIM 1
Producer(s) Bob Sargeant
The Damned
The Damned singles chronology
"Thanks for the Night"
(1984)		 "Grimly Fiendish"
(1985)		 "The Shadow of Love"
(1985)

"Grimly Fiendish" was a single released by The Damned in 1985.

The band had been offered a deal by a major label, MCA, and moved further in the direction of goth music under the influence of guitarist/keyboardist Roman Jugg and vocalist Dave Vanian. Given a substantial promotional budget, including a video directed by Jonathon Gershfield and two separate 12" releases (each featuring a different remix of "Grimly Fiendish") and several limited edition 7" variants, the song was the band's biggest hit since 1979, reaching No. 21 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1985.[1]

MCA also issued the single in Germany, Australia and Italy.

The song takes its title (although misspelled for copyright reasons) from a character - Grimly Feendish - The Rottenest Crook in the World [2] - in the UK children's Wham!, Pow! and Smash! comics from the 1960s, as well as Cor!, Shiver & Shake, Monster Fun and Buster in the 1970s and 80s.

Created by Leo Baxendale, Grimly was an over-ambitious and generally incompetent, childlike criminal mastermind, who was often shown wearing a long, black coat, starting initially as the villainous-foil to Eagle-Eye, Junior Spy. Although popular enough to merit his own strip, the regular restructuring or shelving of his strip due to the comics he appeared in being 'merged' with others meant that he never achieved longevity in any single publication, though he was a staple in many IPC/Fleetway comic annuals right through until the 1980s.

The inspiration behind the song was a throwaway remark by a BBC Radio One DJ one afternoon wondering whether anyone still remembered the character, whilst the lyric is Grimly on trial for being a bad influence on children, Grimly on the other hand protesting that he was never given much of a chance (an allegory to his fate in the comic world).

Track listing

  1. "Grimly Fiendish" (Jugg, Scabies, Vanian, Merrick, Doctor) - 3:49
  2. "Edward the Bear" (Scabies, Vanian, Jugg, Merrick) - 3:37

Bonus Track on 12" single, version 1: -

  1. "Grimly Fiendish (Spic 'n' Span Mix)" (Jugg, Scabies, Vanian, Merrick, Doctor) - 5:23

Bonus Track on 12" single, version 2: -

  1. "Grimly Fiendish (The Bad Trip Mix)" (Jugg, Scabies, Vanian, Merrick, Doctor) - 5:09

Production credits

References

  1. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 138. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. ↑ "WebCite query result". Uk.geocities.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.

External links