Brian James, the original member and bass player for The Damned, has died at age 70.
James was a member of The Damned from 1976 to 1978 and 1988 to 1991. He last performed with the band in 2022.
Brian played on the first two albums ‘Damned Damned Damned’ (1977) and ‘Music for Pleasure’ (also 1977).
After he left The Damned Brian then formed Tanz Der Youth with members of Hawkwind, Chicken Shake and Iron Maiden. They were the opening act on Black Sabbath’s ‘Never Say Die’ tour.
James then hooked up with Iggy Pop’s band as bass player and recorded his first solo single ‘Ain’t That A Shame’ in 1978.
Brian had an Australian connection when he played on The Saints album ‘Out In The Jungle’ (1982). Next he founded The Lords of the New Church with Stiv Bators.
James rejoined The Damned in 1988 for two shows. In 2001 he recorded ‘Mad For The Racket’ as The Racketeers with Duff McKagen of Guns n Roses, Wayne Kramer of MC5 and Clem Burke of Blondie.
In the past 20 years Brian had the Brian James Gang. His solo album was released in 2012.
Brian’s last show with The Damned was in October 2022.
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
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