Brian Brian Brian (James James James)

Stinky has created a masterpiece, a 3 disc overview of Brian James' career! Stinky's liner notes follow:

Brian James is one of the most cutting and influential guitarists of the punk era, and he also wrote the bulk of the first two albums by The Damned before leaving, only to return for a reunion tour.  Their first album was released on James’ 22nd birthday.  

As Captain Sensible later told Devorah Ostrov, Brian said: "Right, that's it. The Damned's finished. I'm going on to do better things."  The rest of the band appeared briefly as The Doomed until the rights to The Damned’s name could be sorted out.

After leaving the band he formed, Brian cut a single, “Ain’t That A Shame” for IRS Records with Police drummer Stewart Copeland.  "Why? Why? Why?" was later released from the same sessions.  A 1978 single was credited to the short lived band Tanz Der Youth.  Instead of starting another band of his own, James joined Chelsea for a single (“No Escape”), which was a Seeds cover.  

Brian backed Iggy Pop on a tour that was documented on the bootleg Heroin Hates You.  Also in the band were Ivan Kral (Blondie, Shaun Cassidy, Patti Smith & John Waite) and Glen Matlock (The Sex Pistols, The Rich Kids), both of whom played on Iggy's 1980 album, Soldier.

Stiv Bators and Brian James had become friends when The Damned played CBGB’s, and they put together a punk “super group” in 1982 with Dave Tregunna of Sham 69 and Nicky Turner of The Barracudas.  The Lords Of The New Church had a fairly successful run of eight years, and broke up onstage.  Their best known song was “Open Your Eyes” (which seems less paranoid today). At Miles Copeland’s suggestion, they laid their parts down on an existing track which resulted in their hilarious cover of Madonna’s “Like A Virgin.”  

The Lords' cover of “Question Of Temperature” gave an inkling of where Stiv would be heading musically — right back into 60’s pop/rock. In 1990 (the year that Stiv died), Brian released a self-titled solo album (reissued in 2002 and 2018). The Lords of The New Church released one last album, Hang On, in 2003 with Adam Becvare singing lead.

In 2004, Brian James formed another super group, Mad For The Racket, with The MC5’s Wayne Kramer and Guns ’N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan, along with drummers Stewart Copeland and Clem Burke (Blondie).

Brian made an album and a hard-to find soundtrack (Abracadabra) with Belgium’s Dripping Lips, and formed the cleverly named Brian James Gang in 2006.    

He recorded 2012's acoustic Chateau Brian with Lords Of The New Church’s touring keyboardist Mark Taylor, and found time to play live with Rat Scabies, often utilizing Texas Terri as vocalist.  Scabies and James recorded the Pink Fairies' song "Teenage Rebel" for a 2010 tribute album. Brian also reworked material from his days in The Damned on 2013's Damned If I Do.  

The Guitar That Dripped Blood followed in 2015, as did an authorized biography titled Bastard, The Damned, The Lords Of The New Church & More. An EP of "childhood faves" called Too Hot To Pop appeared in 2017, and Brian guested on the Dirty Strangers' 2017 single "T'Troublemaker" b/w "Shepherds Bush City Limits".