The Damned’s founding guitarist Brian James has died, aged 70

Brian James, founding guitarist of legendary British punk band The Damned, has died at the age of 70.

James’ death was announced via his official Facebook account on Thursday night (March 6). A cause of death was not revealed, though the post notes that he died “peacefully” with his family by his side.

The post also reflects on the punk icon’s legendary career, including his illustrious credit as a writer on “the first ever UK punk single ‘New Rose’. The post also mentions James’ post-Damned career including his stints in The Lords of the New Church, The Dripping Lips, The Brian James Gang and more.

See the full post below.

Brian’s ex-Damned bandmate Raymond ‘Captain Sensible’ Burns has reacted to the news, sharing a photo of himself with Brian on X (formerly Twitter). Burns wrote: “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.”

We’re shocked to hear that creator of @thedamned, 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. Cheers BJ! 🌹 pic.twitter.com/HuLdyMvI3z

— Captain Sensible (@CaptainSensible) March 7, 2025

Brian co-founded The Damned along with vocalist Dave Vanian, bassist Raymond ‘Captain Sensible’ Burns and drummer Christopher ‘Rat Scabies’ Millar in 1976.

The band released their debut single ‘New Rose’ in October of that year, and in February 1977 dropped their debut album ‘Damned Damned Damned’ – the record scored an 8/10 review from NME. In November 1977, the band released their follow-up album ‘Music For Pleasure’, with Brian James leaving the band soon after.

Following his exit from The Damned, he formed the short-lived Tanz Der Youth before moving on to join Iggy Pop‘s touring band in 1979. James then recorded two solo singles, ‘Ain’t That A Shame’ and ‘Why, Why, Why?’ featuring The Police’s Stewart Copeland on drums both times in 1979 and 1982 respectively.

Next, he started The Lords of the New Church with fellow rocker Stiv Bators. Together, The Lords of the New Church would release three albums and one EP between 1982 and their split in 1989. In June 1988, Brian James briefly reunited with The Damned for two gigs at The London Town and Country Club UK (now renamed O2 Forum Kentish Town).

Between 1992 and 1996, James played in the Brussels-based Dripping Lips. In 2001, he joined MC5‘s Wayne Kramer, Guns N’ Roses‘ Duff McKagan, Stewart Copeland and Clem Burke to form the supergroup Racketeers and recorded and released the album ‘Mad for the Racket’.

In 2013, he revisited his Damned material, re-recording nine songs for his third solo album ‘Damned If I Do’ and performed them throughout the UK with former Damned bandmate Christopher ‘Rat Scabies’ Millar.

In October 2022, James reunited with Scabies, Sensible and Vanian for five Damned Shows in the UK. The English rockers first announced their reunion tour in 2020, with dates slated for the following year. However, the shows were later postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and moved to late 2022.

Following the news of his death, tributes have been pouring in in honour of the late Brian James. See a few of them below.

In a lengthy post to accompany the brief X/Twitter reaction, Captain Sensible reflected on James’ impact on his life and career, and added that the original members of The Damned “were all up for doing it again too.. but that’ll never happen now, sadly.”

He added that today (Friday, March 7) The Damned will play in Sao Paulo, Brazil and “will dedicate the set (and a few of his songs) to Brian James – without whom the Damned would never ever have happened”.

Dave Treganna, who played in Brian James Gang wrote: “Shocked to hear Brian James passed way. The most talented and original guitarist and songwriter and pioneer of the punk scene. I’ve known this man for over 40 years and have shared some of the funniest happiest wildest creative times in my life. Brian was a true gentleman and wonderful father and husband. He will be missed more than these words can convey.”