RIP Brian James of The Damned. He was 70.
Quick: Name the first British punk band to release a single. Not the Sex Pistols. Not The Clash, either. It was The Damned who put out “New Rose” on October 22, 1976, on the Stiff label. The guitarist playing at a thousand miles an hour was Brian James.
James was part of The Damned from 1976-78 and again between 1988-91. The last time he appeared with the group was in 2002. He also worked as Iggy Pop’s bass player, appeared in the New York City band The Lords of the New Church, and hung out/collaborated with members of Blondie, Iron Maiden, The Saints, Guns N’ Roses, and The MC5. His last project was The Brian James Gang, but they’d been inactive for a dozen years or so.
No cause of death was given.
