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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.

Rat Scabies says cover versions of The Damned songs by Guns N' Roses and The Offspring delivered some of the biggest royalty cheques the band members had ever received, decades after the original recordings helped define British punk.

The Damned will pay tribute to their late founding guitarist Brian James with a powerful new covers album, Not Like Everybody Else, due for release on 23 January 2026 through earMUSIC. The record arrives as the punk icons mark their 50th anniversary, with founding drummer Rat Scabies reuniting with Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, and Paul Gray for their first studio recording together in four decades.

The Damned guitarist Brian James has been buried at sea.