The Damned (band)

The Damned
The Damned performing in 2008
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Punk rock gothic rock new wave post-punk
Years active	1976 (1976)–present
Labels	Stiff Chiswick Bronze Toshiba Nitro English Channel MCA
Associated acts	Naz Nomad and the Nightmares Lemmy Kilmister
Website	www.officialdamned.com
Members	Dave Vanian Captain Sensible Monty Oxymoron Pinch Stu West
Past members	Brian James Rat Scabies Lu Edmonds Algy Ward Paul Gray Roman Jugg Bryn Merrick Paul Shepley Kris Dollimore Alan Lee Shaw Jason "Moose" Harris Garrie Dreadful Patricia Morrison

The Damned are an English rock band formed in London in 1976 by lead vocalist Dave Vanian, guitarist Brian James, bassist (and later guitarist) Captain Sensible, and drummer Rat Scabies. They were the first punk rock band from the United Kingdom to release a single, "New Rose" (1976), release an album, Damned Damned Damned (1977), and tour the United States. They have nine singles that charted on the UK Singles Chart Top 40.

The band briefly broke up after Music for Pleasure (1977), the follow-up to their debut album, was critically dismissed. They quickly reformed without Brian James, and released Machine Gun Etiquette (1979). In the 1980s they released four studio albums, The Black Album (1980), Strawberries (1982), Phantasmagoria (1985), and Anything (1986). The latter two albums did not feature Captain Sensible, who had left the band in 1984. In 1988, James and Sensible rejoined to play what was said to be the Damned's final live show. This was released the next year as the live album Final Damnation.

The Damned again reformed for a tour in 1991. In 1995, they released a new album, Not of This Earth, which was Scabies's last with the band. This was followed by Grave Disorder (2001), and their most recent album, So, Who's Paranoid? (2008).