Listen Now

Brian James, The Damned's Founding Guitarist Has Died Aged 70

By Dalton Mac Namee

March 7, 2025

Est. Reading: 2 minutes

The Damned founding guitarist, Brian James, has died aged 70.

James' death was confirmed in a statement shared via social media. While a cause of death was not announced, it was revealed that James died "peacefully" surrounded by his family.

"It is with great sadness that we announce the death of one of the true pioneers of music, guitarist, songwriter, and true gentleman, Brian James", the post read. You can check out that post here.

In 1976, Brian James co-founded The Damned, alongside bassist Raymond 'Captain Sensible' Burns, vocalist Dave Vanian, and drummer Christopher 'Rat Scabies' Millar.

Following this, James set up The Lords of the New Church with Stiv Bators. Together, the pair released three albums between 1982 and 1989. The 1990s saw Burns play in the band, Dripping Lips, alongside Wayne Cramer, Duff McKagan, Clem Burke and Stewart Copeland.

Tributes paid to James

Eventually, James reunited The Damned for five live shows in the UK in 2022. However, these shows were delayed to later that year, due to the pandemic.

Paying a sweet tribute, former bandmate Raymond Burns shared a photo of himself and James on X.

“We’re shocked to hear that creator of The Damned, our great chum Brian James has sadly gone", Burns said. "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". See this post for yourselves here.

In a separate post on Facebook, Raymond Burns said that The Damned will played in Sao Paulo, Brazil today, where they “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 also played with Brian James, also added: “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".