The mid-70s were one of the most fertile periods in rock/pop history. Like a junction on the old Silk Road, a clash of cultures was swirling and ideas were mixing and mingling. Reggae was introduced and quickly co-opted. Funk got dressed up, hit the club and was rechristened Disco. Bands started copying the New York Dolls, who themselves were copying the Rolling Stones, and a glam scene was born. The recording revolution started by the Beach Boys continued to evolve, leading to operatic offerings by Queen and Led Zeppelin.
And then there were a bunch of guys who were sick of it all. Guys with names like Lemmy and Dee Dee and Strummer and Rotten and Vicious and Rat Scabies and...Captain Sensible?
Like the Silk Road, there was a savvy merchant ready to capitalize on all this cultural creativity. That merchant was artist/designer Malcolm McLaren. McLaren had caught a Ramones show at CBGB in New York City and wanted to import the sound and aesthetic to his native London, so he started recruiting musicians and formed a band called the Sex Pistols.
McLaren set about promoting the Pistols which brought attention to the other bands that were already part of London's punk scene. One of those bands was called Masters of the Backside, which included Ohio's own Chrissie Hynde, as well as Englishmen Dave Vanian, Rat Scabies and Captain Sensible. Brian James from the band London SS was added to the gentlemen from Masters of the Backside and The Damned was born.
The Damned was swept along with the rising popularity of the Pistols and would play many of the same venues and occasionally open for them. While the Pistols were first in the public consciousness of English punk, The Damned actually beat them to a few key milestones.
The Damned were the first UK punk band to release a single as well as the first to release an album. It was today in 1977 that The Damned released their debut album, "Damned Damned Damned". (Wikipedia says it was released on the 18th, my source says 16th.) Their debut single, "New Rose", was released in October 1976 and its popularity, along with the ever increasing attendance at shows by The Damned, The Clash, and Sex Pistols, convinced the band to record an entire album.
The album reached the top-40 in the UK and soon after its release The Damned were opening for T. Rex. Shortly thereafter, in another first, The Damned became the first UK punk band to tour the United States and they were a profound influence on the burgeoning hardcore scene (The Dickies, Bad Brains).
