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INSANE: Damned - The Real Truth

“All I was using was one Fender Twin Reverb, which I stole off Bob Marley… I had it turned up to 10 the whole time”: Stolen amps and punk rivalry – inside the making of the Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks

Guitarist Steve Jones reflects on the making of the Pistols' incendiary studio album, Johnny Rotten's overdub myths, and why they had to keep Sid Vicious away from the studio

Guitar World

“There’s still that unresolved thing where we haven’t had the last hug and a drink. I was very, very sad when he died”: The chaos and carnage of The Lords Of The New Church, punk’s first supergroup

Formed by members of The Damned, Dead Boys and Sham 69, The Lords Of The New Church snatched defeat from the jaws of victory

Louder

"We stopped playing for 10 minutes and ate pizza on-stage while the crowd watched." The Damned were the first UK punk band to tour America and it was an unforgettable experience for all involved

"We’d see Joey Ramone in the street and say hi"

Louder

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“It could hardly have been more in tune with the gothic scene’s aesthetic preferences if it had come with free bat wings”: The pioneering British punk band who embraced the darkness to make a classic 80s goth album

With 1985’s Phanasmagoria, The Damned made one of the great goth-punk albums

Louder

“I used it in the Damned, playing with Iggy… That guitar was part of me”: The Damned frontman Brian James’ ‘New Rose’ Gibson SG sells for over $95,000

The Gibson SG that put UK punk on the map smashed its pre-auction estimates – as did James’ hand-written lyrics

Guitar World

"Discharge meets GBH and Motörhead at an anti-Nazi demonstration after drinking cider all afternoon in a Hackney squat." Ten obscure and criminally under-rated UK punk albums

There's more to British punk rock than Never Mind The Bollocks and London Calling

Metal Hammer

“A unique symbol of punk’s emergence in the UK”: The Damned frontman Brian James’ iconic Gibson SG, the guitar that defined the sound of early UK punk, already set to exceed estimate at auction

The 1964 SG soundtracked the Damned’s first two records, and featured on the first punk single to ever be released in the UK

Guitar World

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"She dumped the baby on me and Joe Strummer and f***ed off for three days." That time a world famous rock star got shocked members of The Clash and The Damned to babysit her daughter while she went out partying

Two Punks And A Baby: A Hollywood Tale

Louder

‘A lot of late 70s bands wore grey. But we were determined to have fun’: the return of the mega-influential Swell Maps after 46 years

Championed by the BBC’s John Peel and signed to Rough Trade, the band were punk when that meant DIY, psychedelia and prog as well as screaming chords. What’s more, they loved Pink Floyd …

The Guardian - UK

‘We wouldn’t still be playing if we’d got stinking rich’: the Damned celebrate 50 years of punk, goth and holy grail hunting

An appetite for self-destruction left Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible and Rat Scabies hugely influential but financially insecure. They’re back with a big show and their first album together since 1995

The Guardian - UK

Iron Maiden, Metallica, Rush, Bon Jovi and more: 26 things we're looking forward to in 2026

Over the next twelve months, rock will keep rolling smoothly forward - here are 26 ways its wheels will remain lubricated

Louder

“Each of them impacted the instrument in their own way, as luthiers, hitmakers, session players, or air guitar-inspiring soloists”: Remembering the guitarists we lost in 2025

2025 has been a big year for the guitar, but we've also had to sadly say goodbye to dozens of guitar greats, from many eras, and every imaginable genre. Here, we recognize those guitarists, and their contributions to the instrument

Guitar World

The Damned cancel North American tour dates due to band member's 'catastrophic event' at home

The Damned have axed a handful of dates after an "unexpected" and "catastrophic event" at a band member's home.

BANG Premier

"We never thought we'd make it this far and neither did you": The Damned announce massive 50th anniversary show

Yep, punk is officially half a century old

Louder

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Evening Standard

The Damned announce 50th anniversary show at Wembley Arena

The band will be supported by Peter Hook And The Light, The Loveless featuring Marc Almond and The Courettes.

Louder

Iggy Pop, Sex Pistols, The Damned, Melvins, Jack White, Gorilla Biscuits among artists confirmed for new US punk rock festival

Some of punk and hardcore's most iconic bands will play CBGB festival in Brooklyn, New York on September 27

BANG Premier

The Dammed guitarist Brian James buried at sea

The Dammed guitarist Brian James was buried at sea off the coast of Newhaven in East Sussex, England, his widow Minna has revealed.

Louder

“Only the stoner fuzz intro was played on the show. I spoke about dreamy ambient passages, a variety of tones and textures... I wasn’t invited back”: Captain Sensible tried and failed to tell the world about Egg

When The Damned guitarist Captain Sensible tried to share his passion for early prog band Egg on a radio show, it didn’t go well. But he still loves their work

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The Guardian - UK

Brian James obituary

Guitarist with the punk band the Damned who wrote many of their songs, including their first single, New Rose

Louder

"He built a campfire in the middle of his hotel room. It was kinda cute…" The mad, bad and dangerously daft story of The Damned

A fast history of punk legends The Damned. Includes: spit, vomit, cider, sulphate, haunted mansions, and "serious amounts of lunacy".

MusicRadar

“Brian’s vision of a music revolution had been absolutely spot on”: Punk icon Brian James, founder and former guitarist of the Damned, dies aged 70

James electrified the nascent UK punk-rock scene and fired its first salvo with the Damned's era-defining single, New Rose

The Guardian - UK

Brian James, founding guitarist of the Damned, dies aged 70

James was the lead songwriter for the trailblazing British punks’ first album Damned Damned Damned and went on to collaborate with artists such as Iggy Pop

The Independent UK

The Damned founding member Brian James dies aged 70

He wrote the UK punk single, New Rose, and was behind the creation of their first record.

Louder

The Damned founding guitarist Brian James dead at 70

Brian James wrote much of The Damned's early material as they carved their place in punk rock history

Guitar World

“One of the true pioneers of music – guitarist, songwriter, and true gentleman”: Brian James, punk rock guitar legend who played with The Damned and The Lords of the New Church, dies at 70

During his brief time with the Damned, James authored songs like New Rose, considered one of the foundational anthems of punk

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