Brian James, Co-founding Guitarist of the Damned and Lords of the New Church, Dies at 70
Guitarist and songwriter Brian James, co-founder of the Damned and Lords of the New Church, died March 6 at 70, his family said.
No cause of death was given in the statement that remembered James as “one of the true pioneers of music, guitarist, songwriter and true gentleman.”
James was “a true legend and a pioneer of the U.K. punk scene,” Eric Anthony said.
“His legacy as a musician and as a person is immeasurable,” the guitarist wrote on social media. “His music will forever live on.”
James played on the Damned’s first two albums, Damned Damned Damned and Music for Pleasure, both released in 1977, before co-founding the Lords of the New Church, which released three LPs between 1982 and ’84.
He went on to form the Brian James Gang and the Dripping Lips, work as a session man and make solo records. In 2022, James reunited with the Damned’s original lineup for a series of shows in the U.K.
Those gigs were “magical in all sorts of ways,” Captain Sensible said in remembering “the riffmeister” on social media.
“We were all up for doing it again, too, but that’ll never happen now, sadly,” Sensible said.
“The Damned play in Sao Paulo, Brazil (March 7) and will dedicate the set (and a few of his songs) to Brian James - without whom the Damned would never ever have happened.”