Rat Scabies says The Damned’s recent album Not Like Everybody Else became an emotional return to the studio and a tribute to founding guitarist Brian James, with one track carrying particular weight through James’ final performance with the band.
by Paul Cashmere
As The Damned prepare for another Australian tour in September 2026, drummer Rat Scabies says the band’s recent project Not Like Everybody Else was shaped by the legacy of founding guitarist Brian James and became an unexpected reunion with a deeper emotional purpose. The album, recorded with original members reconnecting after decades apart, now stands as one of the final major projects connected to James before his death in 2025.
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Speaking to Noise11, Rat Scabies said the recording process arrived with uncertainty attached to it. The reunion of key members had not taken place in a studio setting for decades, and there was no clear expectation of how the dynamic would work after so much time had passed.
“It was the first time we’d been in a studio together for what, 30 years or something?” Rat Scabies said. “There was an anticipation about how that was going to work out. Could we work together and take criticism and advice and nods as good as a wink?”
The sessions eventually moved beyond simply creating another release. Scabies said the material itself became a reflection of Brian James’ influence on the band and on the original London punk scene that formed around The Damned in the mid-1970s.
“We chose songs that were either by artists that were a big influence on Brian or artists that he liked,” he said. “What he was into had a big effect on what we listened to and our approach to things back in ’76.”
For fans of The Damned, the significance of Not Like Everybody Else sits beyond the songs themselves. The album functions as a document of shared history, reconnecting musicians whose creative relationships stretch back to the earliest days of British punk.
One track in particular has emerged as the emotional centrepiece. The band’s version of The Last Time features Brian James and now carries an unintended finality.
Scabies said hearing James’ contribution after his death brought a different meaning to the recording.
“I always love everything that Brian does,” he said. “He was the original noise guitar player.”
“There is a certain amount of emotion that comes back at you when you’re listening to it and thinking, bloody hell, that was the last time.”
The title itself created an added layer of meaning after the fact. According to Scabies, the song selection was Brian James’ own decision.
“Ironically, it was Brian’s choice to play that song and I think that was his dark sense of humour coming through.”
James was one of the principal architects of The Damned’s earliest sound and wrote much of the material that established the group as one of punk’s first major British acts. His work on songs including New Rose helped define a scene that emerged simultaneously with acts such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash. Released in October 1976, New Rose became recognised as the first British punk single and placed The Damned at the front of a movement that would alter popular music during the following decades.
The Damned have continued through multiple line-up changes across their history and their catalogue expanded well beyond the original punk years. However, the return of original members brought a different perspective to the recent recordings.
Rat Scabies admitted there was little time during the sessions to dwell on the emotional side of the project because of practical pressures.
“We were on quite limited time as well,” he said. “So we didn’t have too much time to dwell on the loss of Brian.”
The emotional resonance surrounding the album has also raised questions about how much of the material may appear in upcoming live shows. Scabies said there is no defined plan to build the Australian performances around the record.
“We might chuck something in there,” he said. “But that’s not really what it’s about.”
After fifty years of music, he said the greater challenge remains deciding which songs are left out.
“There are some songs everybody knows that you have to play and then there are others where you think, the punters really like this one and we enjoy playing it.”
The Damned return to Australia and New Zealand in September for four dates across
Auckland, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
Tuesday 8 September, Auckland, Powerstation
Thursday 10 September, Sydney, The Opera House
Friday 11 September, Brisbane, The Tivoli
Sunday 13 September, Melbourne, The Forum
Tickets available at: https://thephoenix.au/the-damned-2026/
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