Footnotes

Provenance:
Offered by singer/songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of the punk band The Damned, Captain Sensible.

"They were the Bash Street Kids of Punk... While other groups were carefully considering their moves (or having them considered) The Damned went out there and pulled faces at the world as if there was no tomorrow."
- Jon Savage.

On 6th July 1976, The Damned played their first show supporting the Sex Pistols at the 100 Club in London. On 22nd October, five weeks before the release of the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K.", Stiff Records put out The Damned's first single, "New Rose" - making them the first UK punk band to release a single. The Damned's first album, Damned Damned Damned, was then released on 18th February 1977, and was the first full-length album released by a British punk band. Following this, the band were soon on tour promoting the album, and in March joined T. Rex on their final tour as the opening act.

Captain Sensible co-founded The Damned in 1976, and was with the band until 1984 when he embarked on a solo career, later re-joining the band in 1988 to play a series of reunion gigs in the 90's and 00's. In the letter of provenance that accompanies the guitar, Captain Sensible reminisces ...this guitar was purchased on the road...somewhere in the UK after the previous one had packed up - possibly due to all the beer and spit that got stuck in the pickups. Those were the days! It was then his main guitar for both stage and studio right up until the 90's, when he then retired it after having played it extensively at numerous live performances - even setting it on fire at one point!

The Damned could've been professional road testers of equipment...such was the chaos at our gigs back in the punk days....Yes, the pickups [on the guitar] have been changed for obvious reasons, it's been set on fire onstage, and been chucked about, but would you believe still plays great!
- Captain Sensible

This guitar can be seen in numerous images of the band and Captain Sensible, some notable appearances include, the 9th June 1979 at the West Runton Pavilion when The Damned were supported by The Ruts and Auntie Pus; the 20th March 1998 in Montreal; and not forgetting the 19th May 2001 for Joey Ramone's posthumous birthday party in New York.

Please contact the department for more images of Captain Sensible on stage with this guitar.

Literature:
Savage, Jon, England's Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock, Faber and Faber, (London), 1991, pp.215-216.