Brian James, the founding guitarist of the iconical British punk band the Damned, has died age 70. A statement
posted to his official Facebook page called him: "one of the true
pioneers of music". At this very moment, no cause of death was shared.
His
Damned bandmate Captain Sensible, AKA Raymond Burns, shared a tribute
on X: "We’re shocked to hear that creator of the Damned, our great chum
Brian James, has sadly gone. A lovely bloke that I feel so lucky to have
met all those years ago and for some reason chose me to help in his
quest for the music revolution that became known as punk."
Brian James
wrote the first official British punk single, "New Rose" – released five weeks
before the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the UK" – and was the lead songwriter
on the band's debut album, Damned Damned Damned, which was released in
February 1977. That November, James left the group after the release of their second
album, the poorly received "Music for Pleasure," and pursued several solo
groups, including the brilliants Lords of the New Church, who released three albums
in the 1980s.
Born as Brian Robertson in Hammersmith,
London, in February 1955. After playing in the proto-punk band London SS
alongside future Clash member Mick Jones, he formed the Damned with
singer Dave Vanian, bassist Captain Sensible and drummer Rat Scabies in
1976. Captain Sensible expanded on his post on Facebook,
recalling that when James was recruiting bandmates, he instituted short
hair as a rule – a radical departure from the mid-70s hippy look –
and had such a "blistering technique" on guitar that he persuaded
Sensible to switch to bass. "The next couple of
years were a pretty wild ride but Brian's vision of a music revolution
had been absolutely spot on … and boy do I feel lucky that he chose me
cos I had no plan B if the music game failed."
They
played their first gig in July 1976, as support to the Sex Pistols at
the 100 Club in London. The Pistols' manager Malcolm McLaren kicked them
off a subsequent support tour. After departing the group, James collaborated with
Iggy Pop as a member of his touring band. Stewart Copeland of the
Police performed on his first two solo singles, Ain’t That a Shame from
1979, and Why? Why? Why? from 1982.
In 2000,
James joined forces with Copeland, Wayne Kramer of MC5, Duff McKagan of
Guns N’ Roses and Clem Burke of Blondie as the Racketeers for the album
Mad for the Racket.
In 2013, he re-recorded his
Damned material for a solo album, Damned If I Do, and toured the record
with Rat Scabies (AKA Christopher Millar). In 1988 and 2022, the
original members of the Damned reunited for a UK tour.
James is survived by his wife, Minna, and son Charlie.
