Brian James, founding guitarist of the pioneering UK punk band Damned, has died. His passing was confirmed in a statement posted on his Facebook page, though no cause of death has been shared. “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of one of the true pioneers of music, guitarist, songwriter, and true gentleman, Brian James,” it reads. James was 70.
Born in Hammersmith, London, England in 1955, James cut his teeth playing in proto-punk bands like London SS and the Subterraneans – alongside future members of the Clash and Generation X – as well as the glam rock outfit Bastard. He formed the Damned in 1976 with lead vocalist Dave Vanian, bassist Captain Sensible, and drummer Rat Scabies. The band played their first show on July 6 of that year, supporting the Sex Pistols at the 100 Club. They were the first UK punk band to release a single, putting out ‘New Rose’ five weeks before the Sex Pistols came through with ‘Anarchy in the UK’. They also were the to tour the US, inspiring the first wave of West Coast hardcore punk.
James served as principal songwriter on the group’s first two albums, Damned Damned Damned and Music For Pleasure, before leaving the group in 1977. He went on to form Tanz Der Youth with Andy Colqhoun on bass, Hawkwind and Chicken Shack’s Alan Powell on drums, and former Iron Maiden member Tony Moore on keyboards. In 1981, he founded the supergroup the Lords of the New Church with Stiv Bators (ex-the Dead Boys), bassist Dave Tregunna (ex-Sham 69), and drummer Nick Turner (ex-the Barracudas).
In June 1988, the Damned reunited for three live shows. His self-titled solo debut album came out in 1990 through New Rose Records, the French record label named after the song he’d written almost fifty years prior. He continued performing and releasing throughout the past two decades, playing a series of shows alongside Vanian, Sensible, and Scabies in 2022.
