Brian James Dies: Founding Guitarist Of The Damned & Lords Of The New Church Was 70
deadline.comBrian James, founding guitarist and songwriter of seminal British punk group The Damned who later played with Stiv Bators in The Lords of the New Church, died Thursday.
He was 70. His family confirmed the news in a Facebook post. Also featuring singer Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible on bass and Rat Scabies on drums, The Damned first hit the UK charts in March 1977 with its album Damned Damned Damned on Stiff Records.
With James as its main songwriter, it was the first of 10 charting LPs in the country. Its first hit single there was 1979’s “Love Song,” starting a run of nine Top 40 tracks led by their lone Top 10, “Eloise,” which reached No.
3 in 1986. James wrote the influentuial band’s debut single “New Rose,” which came out in October 1976 and is considered Britain’s first punk single, coming a month before The Sex Pistols upended the scene with “Anarchy in the UK.”.
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