zzzy8pg Brian James, Pioneer of Punk Rock, Is Dead at 70

　　

Brian James, who helped spark the punk-rock revolution in Britain in the 1970s as the lead guitarist and chief songwriter of the British band the Damned, bringing a rare degree of musicality to a genre known for its chain-saw attack, died on March 6. He was 70.

The latest jab came from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas. This past week, she took the stage at a campaign event for former President Donald J. Trump and declared that her three children had given her the sort of humility that is important to maintain in national politics.

His death was announced on his Facebook page. The announcement did not cite a cause or say where he died.

Mr. James formed the Damned in London in 1976 with Dave Vanian, a former gravedigger, on lead vocals; Captain Sensible on bass, and Rat Scabies on drums. The band was part of Britain’s original punk vanguard.

The Damned never shook British society, or the rock world at large, like the Sex Pistols, who sneered at the queen, hurled obscenities on television talk shows and had pundits mulling the collapse of Western values. Nor did they play the part of political revolutionaries like the Clash,betef who were billed as “the only band that matters.”

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Nevertheless, the Damned made history. They were the first British punk band to release a single: “New Rose,” written by Mr. James, in October 1976 (the Sex Pistols’ anthemic “Anarchy in the U.K.,” soon followed); the first to release an album, “Damned Damned Damned,” in 1977; and the first to tour the United States.

ImageThe Damned in 1977, from left: Captain Sensible, Mr. James, Dave Vanian and Rat Scabies.Credit...Jorgen Angel/Redferns, via Getty Images

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