The Damned – Machine Gun Etiquette

Released in November 1979 by Chiswick Records, Machine Gun Etiquette is The Damned's third studio album and marks a bold evolution in their sound.

With founding guitarist Brian James gone and Algy Ward joining on bass, the band embraced a broader musical palette, blending punk with 60s garage rock, psychedelia, hard rock and proto-hardcore influences. Highlights include Love Song, Melody Lee, I Just Can’t Be Happy Today, a fierce cover of MC5’s Looking at You, and the punk anthem Smash It Up (Parts 1 & 2). Energetic, creative and sonically adventurous, the album played a key role in bridging classic punk with the emerging post-punk and alternative scenes of the early 1980s. Widely regarded as one of the band's finest and most influential records.