BBC Radio 6 Music Session

The Damned are an English rock band formed in London in 1976. The band was founded by lead vocalist Dave Vanian, guitarist Brian James, bassist (and later guitarist) Captain Sensible, and drummer Rat Scabies. They were the first punk band from the United Kingdom to release a single, 'New Rose,' in 1976, and to release a studio album, Damned Damned Damned, in 1977. The band also toured the United States during this period. Nine of their singles charted within the top 40 on the UK singles chart. Following the release of their second album, Music for Pleasure, in 1977, which was critically dismissed, the band briefly dissolved. They re-formed without Brian James and released Machine Gun Etiquette in 1979. Throughout the 1980s, they released four studio albums: The Black Album (1980), Strawberries (1982), Phantasmagoria (1985), and Anything (1986), with the latter two albums marking a shift toward a gothic rock style. Brian James and Captain Sensible rejoined the band in 1988 for a series of reunion gigs, one of which was released as the live album Final Damnation in 1989.