Anything is the seventh studio album by the English punk rock band the Damned, released by MCA Records in 1986. On the album's release, it charted in the United Kingdom, peaking at No. 40, and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. Four singles were released that all charted in the UK.

It saw the band continue with their gothic rock sound largely present on the band's previous album Phantasmagoria (1985). However, it also saw the band shift towards a mainstream rock sound with glossy production, something which frontman and singer Dave Vanian would later regret. The Damned's vocalist, Dave Vanian, later stated that the group were forced into the studio to record the album before they had prepared any new material for it.

Anything was released on MCA Records on 1 December 1986 in the United Kingdom. In the UK, the album charted for two weeks, peaking at No. 40. It was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. After the release of the "Gigolo" single in January 1987, the Damned toured Europe until February. After its lukewarm success, reaching number 87 in the UK and only staying on the chart for a week, MCA and The Damned parted ways the following year.

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|rev3 = MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide

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Contemporary reviews were mainly positive, The Ottawa Citizen gave the album a positive review, describing the album as "varied but not disjointed" and that the Damned had become a "superb pop band" that make a "better pop band of the '80s than it did a punk band of the '70s".

The Vancouver Sun also praised the album, stating that the Damned "have made the switch to mood music quite well, almost rising to the level of the mighty Stranglers". The review compared the album to music by Simple Minds, opining that the album was what they "want to sound like, moody and atmospheric without getting all doomy and gloomy".

Retrospective reception was far more negative, A retrospective review from AllMusic was negative, awarding the album 2 stars and calling it the worst album of the original group's catalogue.

In an album ranking list Mörat of Louder put Anything second to worst on the list, praising only the cover of Alone Again Or "and the vaguely hummable Gigolo," saying "the rest is turgid at best, and plain boring at worst. Such was their lack of inspiration that they couldn’t even come up with a proper album title, so for want of a better idea... “Oh, call it anything.”"

When later asked about the Phantasmagoria and Anything albums, Vanian said that "some of the production in retrospect could have been done a little better, but it was the '80's. Some of those songs were just as heartfelt as anything that had gone before despite the frills and ruffles".

Track listing

Personnel

;The Damned

  • Dave Vanian – lead vocals
  • Roman Jugg – guitars, keyboards, vocals
  • Bryn Merrick – bass, vocals
  • Rat Scabies – drums

; Additional musicians

  • Blue Weaver – keyboards
  • Paul "Shirley" Shepley – keyboards
  • Paul Wickens – keyboards
  • Suzie O'List – backing vocals
  • Kurt Holm – trumpet

; Production

  • Jon Kelly – production, engineering, mixing (2, 7, 9)
  • Henrik Nilsson – additional engineering
  • Lance Phillips – additional engineering
  • Alan O'Duffy – additional engineering
  • Ken Thomas – mixing (3, 6, 8)
  • Nigel Walker – mixing (1, 4, 5)
  • Howard Raybould – album cover carving
  • Jef Hartley – album cover painting
  • Booce – album cover painting
  • The Leisure Process – design, art direction
  • Nick Knight – photography

Charts

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