The Damned arrived on the punk scene fifty years ago when it was seen as rebellious upstarts with songs such as Smash It Up and New Rose. As they took to the stage at the Piece Hall in Halifax, supporting Hollywood Vampires, the original punk rockers appeared to have lost none of their ferocity.

David Vanian cut a dandy figure in black and white with a matching hat; the lead singer still had that menacing edge and commanding voice that made The Damned such an attractive prospect in the first instance. Dressed in his regular red beret, Captain Sensible shared sparring lines with Vanian throughout their one-hour set, at times sounding as though they'd wandered in from a comedy double act. Naturally, those punk classics were the highlights of a buoyant set, with their cover of the Barry Ryan classic Eloise displaying a cutting edge.

Formed to honour their dead drinking musician friends, The Hollywood Vampires are not just your regular rock band. Led by Alice Cooper, the band features, amongst others, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, producer Tommy Henriksen and musician-turned-actor Johnny Depp, bringing their lost comrades' music back to life through their arrangements.

Cooper had the best voice and stage presence of the various vocalists on show; Depp's take on the Killing Joke standard The Death and Resurrection Show was less convincing than his vocals on David Bowie's Heroes. Perry gave an evocative version of the Johnny Thunders track You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory, whilst Henriksen provided a near-copy vocal version of the AC/DC classic Highway to Hell.

Hollywood Vampires understand that reverence doesn't have to mean restraint. These songs are played with muscle, attitude and a healthy dose of irreverence — Vampires versions, rough around the edges, occasionally unpredictable and all the better for it.

The grand finale, inevitably, belongs to School's Out, transformed into a celebratory free-for-all, before the band returned for The Train Kept A-Rollin' and Hi Ho Silver Lining, the latter a tribute to guitarist Jeff Beck. By then, the distinction between tribute and party had completely disappeared.

The Hollywood Vampires aren't pretending to recreate a lost golden age. They are keeping its spirit alive. And while the concept may have begun as a toast to friends and heroes who didn't make it this far, the 2026 incarnation feels increasingly like a celebration of survival itself. In twenty years' time, when maybe some of these vampires are raising a glass in heaven — or hell — with their old friends, those of us still alive will be remembering this mesmerising concert, proclaiming, "I was there." Tonight, though, in Halifax, Hollywood Vampires were definitely very much alive.