Brandon's music career started in 1978, in Clapham, south London, with the formation of punk group The Pack, in which he was the singer and songwriter.

The Pack consisted of Brandon, Scottish-born drummer Rab Fae Beith and two Canadian brothers, Simon and Jon Werner on guitars.

Brandon and Stammers were then joined by Lascelles James of Brit funk band Body, Soul & Spirit on saxophone and Chris Bell on drums to form Spear of Destiny.

While continuing to explore the political ideas that he wrote about in Theatre of Hate, Brandon's lyrics for Spear of Destiny dealt more frequently with the classic pop themes of love and romance.

The band's reputation as a live act never translated itself into record sales, and Spear of Destiny only had one Top 20 hit, "Never Take Me Alive", which reached number 14 in the UK Singles Chart in 1987.

Brandon continues to tour with both Spear of Destiny and Theatre of Hate, as well as a revamped Dead Men Walking, playing occasionally as The Pack, and acoustic shows including with cellist Sam Sansbury.