Brian James Facebook Page has posted the following info regarding his death:
GOODBYE TO A PIONEER & TRUE GENTLEMAN
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.
Founding member of The Damned, writer of the first ever UK punk single, New Rose, Brian was the
principal songwriter of the band’s debut album, Damned Damned Damned, which was released in
February 1977. Parting ways with the Damned following the release of their second album, the Nick
Mason-produced Music for Pleasure, Brian created the short-lived Tanz Der Youth, before he formed
The Lords of the New Church with his friend and fellow rocker Stiv Bators.
In a wave of excitement, headed by the twin powers of Brian James and Stiv Bators, three successful
studio albums followed for The Lord of the New Church, spawning singles such as Open Your Eyes,
Dance with Me, and Method to My Madness. Always looking for new challenges and keen to work
with different musicians, over the years that followed, Brian formed The Dripping Lips and guested
on different records, while creating the Brian James Gang and working on his solo albums.
Incessantly creative and a musical tour de force, over a career which spanned more than six
decades, with his music also gracing film and television soundtracks, in addition to The Damned and
The Lords of the New Church, Brian worked with a plethora of punk and rock ‘n’ roll’s finest, from
Iggy Pop to Wayne Kramer, Stewart Copeland to Cheetah Chrome. Most recently, more than four
decades after the release of the epoch-making New Rose, the original members of The Damned
reformed for a series of very special and emotional UK shows in 2022.
With his wife Minna, son Charlie, and daughter-in-law Alicia by his side, Brian passed peacefully on
Thursday 6th March 2025.
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