Brian James, the pioneering guitarist of the British punk band Damned, has passed away. His death was confirmed in a statement posted to him Facebook Pagethe cause of death is not shared. It reads “It is a great sadness to announce the death of one of the true pioneers of music, guitarist, songwriter, true gentleman, Brian James.” James was 70 years old.
Born in Hammersmith, London, England in 1955, James cut his teeth with proto-punk bands like the London SS and the Underground X. This is a future member of Clash and Generation X, along with Glam Rock Outfit Bastard. He formed Damned in 1976 with lead vocalist Dave Banian, bassist Captain Sensible and drummer Ratt’s scab humiliation. The band performed their first show on July 6th of that year, supporting the Sex Pistols at 100 clubs. They were the first British punk band to release a single that released “New Roses” five weeks before Sex Pistol came in “British Anarchy.” They were also touring the first wave of hardcore punk on the West Coast and touring the US.
James served as principal songwriter on the group’s first two albums. Cursed and Music for joyBefore leaving the group in 1977, he formed the youth with keyboards with Andy Corkhorn and Tanzdell Youth on bass, Alan Powell on chicken shack on drums, and former Iron Maiden member Tony Moore. In 1981 he founded the supergroup “New Church Lord” with the Stiv Beters (formerly The Dead Boys), bassist Dave Treganna (formerly Siamese 69), and drummer Nick Turner (formerly Barracuda).
In June 1988, Damned was reunited for three live shows. His self-titled solo debut album was released in 1990 through a new Rose Record. It is a French record label named after a song I wrote almost 50 years ago. He continued to perform and release throughout the past 20 years, performing a series of shows in 2022 along with Banian, Wise, and Chicken.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuxfq5qbiyk
Source: Our Culture – ourculturemag.com
