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Brian James, the founding member and guitarist of the influential British punk band The Damned and an architect of the British punk rock movement, died on March 6, 2025, in Seaford, East Sussex, England. He was 70.
Brian James formed The Damned with singer Dave Vanian, bassist Raymond ‘Captain Sensible’ Burns and drummer Christopher ‘Rat Scabies’ Millar in 1976.
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The band's first single, New Rose, made musical history when it was released in October 1976. The led the way for their debut album, Damned Damned Damned, which arrived in early 1977. Not long after the release of Music for Pleasure in November 1977, Brian James exited The Damned.
Sources differ on the specific reasons behind his departure, but his frustration at the band's belated, rushed recording process, poor management, and various personal disagreements with other members all played a part.
James, who was the main songwriter on Damned Damned Damned, had to struggle for creative control as the band started recording for their second album, Music for Pleasure, in late 1977.
Music for Pleasure was produced by Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason, unlike their debut album, which had Nick Lowe behind the controls. In an interview with Uber Rock he said:
"It really was rushed. I had one song, ‘You Take My Money’, which we’d been playing live, then Jake, our manager said 'Take a couple of months off and write a new album'. I like songs to come out naturally, organically."
James later confessed that the group had rushed to put the album together and had not truly been ready to do so. Captain Sensible and Rat Scabies also wrote for the album, impacting James’ creative freedom.
A look into Brian James’ solo career as a musician and his reunion with the Damned
After he left Damned, Brian James started a group called Tanz Der Youth and then played with Iggy Pop’s tour band in 1979. He even released solo music, working with notable musicians such as Stewart Copeland of The Police.
In the 1980s, he co-founded The Lords of the New Church with Stiv Bators, which gained him more fame in the gothic rock genre.
Although he departed from The Damned in 1977, James did reunite with the band from time to time. According to NME News, he shared the stage with them for a pair of shows at the London Town and Country Club in 1988.
Brian James also re-recorded some of his old Damned material for his 2013 solo album Damned If I Do. Eventually, in 2022, James rejoined the original lineup consisting of Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible and Rat Scabies, for a series of special performances, marking his final time on stage with the band.
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