As the guitarist and main songwriter for the Damned, he helped spark an explosion on the British music scene in the 1970s.
Brian James, who helped spark the punk-rock revolution in Britain in the 1970s as the lead guitarist and chief songwriter of the British band the Damned, bringing a rare degree of musicality to a genre known for its chain-saw attack, died on March 6. He was 70.
His death was announced on his Facebook page. The announcement did not cite a cause or say where he died.
Mr. James formed the Damned in London in 1976 with Dave Vanian, a former gravedigger, on lead vocals; Captain Sensible on bass, and Rat Scabies on drums. The band was part of Britain’s original punk vanguard.
The Damned never shook British society, or the rock world at large, like the Sex Pistols, who sneered at the queen, hurled obscenities on television talk shows and had pundits mulling the collapse of Western values. Nor did they play the part of political revolutionaries like the Clash, who were billed as “the only band that matters.”
Nevertheless, the Damned made history. They were the first British punk band to release a single: “New Rose,” written by Mr. James, in October 1976 (the Sex Pistols’ anthemic “Anarchy in the U.K.,” soon followed); the first to release an album, “Damned Damned Damned,” in 1977; and the first to tour the United States.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Source: Music - nytimes.com
