SPOOKYSONGS

The Time Warp – Damian

1974’s Rocky Horror Picture Show stands high atop the list of cult rock musicals of 1974. I’m not sure how popular it is nowadays, but at least up until the late 90s, it was always a thing everyone “knew about”, but not many people “knew” it. The movie had been relegated to midnight showings (that still happen to this day!) Then in 1995, music station VH-1 aired the movie for the first time ever on TV, and the rest of us finally “got it”.

It ain’t Citizen Kane, but the movie is a great time. It moves quick, and is colorful and weird enough to enjoy with or without hard drugs. But of course, the selling point is the soundtrack.

We’ve covered the opening theme to the movie, Science Fiction Double Feature, on this site. The song everyone remembers from the film though, is The Time Warp. This song is actually pretty amazing and in the era of glam rock, can hold its own against the Bowies and Iggy Pops of the day.

In the film, the song introduces us to the Transylvanians and their strange party. Brand and Janet aren’t quite sure what to make of all this madness, but who could resist? You even get a tap-dance solo. And that’s all just super. The song did not chart, but shows up on every single Halloween compilation since 1974.

But that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here for Damian.

That’s right. Damian.

Who in the bloody hell is Damian? Well, Damian was an English performer in the mid-80s. There’s not a ton of info on him other than that in 1987 he released a disco cover of “The Time Warp”. And it bombed.

So… he decided in 1988 to try again, and re-released the song again!

And it bombed.

Still, we all know you can’t keep a good Damian down, so in 1989, DJ Pete Hammond remixed the song, put it out ONE MORE TIME, and KABOOM – it reached the top 10 and was a massive smash in England! Third time’s the charm!

Now, at first, this just sounds like they did a straight cover over a cheap-o disco beat. Which isn’t very far from the truth. But… he hams it up so much that it’s basically a version of Time Warp sung by Frank N Furter. Maybe slightly gayer.

Maybe.

The song gleefully runs along until the song breaks down into a rap by a hip DJ telling everybody it’s time to exercise, for some reason.

“Put your right hand up above your head,

and your left one, too, like my sister said.

Bring both hands slowly to your hips

And roll your body and lick your lips! Lick your lips!”

And then, just to make us all wince a bit, when he says “Lick your lips”, the video cuts to a bunch of 90 year old toothless British ladies doing the dance. mmmmm. Then the song goes full on CLUB MIX as the DJ tells us to EXERCISE!!! Perhaps it’s the pelvic thrust that drives us insane.

I’m not sure why Damian is dressed like Jack Nicholson’s Joker in the video, but since this came out a year earlier, I can only guess that Nicholson stole his entire look from Damian.

So, while not a song really about Halloween, it’s the Time Warp, and encourages exercise. Plus the video has a ton of old brits doing the Time Warp – what more could you ask for? He even got to perform “live” on Top of the Pops!

Here’s a great version of The Time Warp from the Drew Carey Show:

Damian released a few unremarkable singles over the years, faded into obscurity, and died of cancer in 2017.