[13] In 1988, James and Sensible rejoined to play a series of reunion gigs, one of which was released the next year as the live album Final Damnation (1989).

As one of the first gothic rock bands, the Damned, featuring lead singer Vanian's baritone singing, dark lyrics and vampire-themed costume, were a major influence on the goth subculture.

[21] Prior to The Damned, Dave Vanian (David Lett), Captain Sensible (Raymond Burns) and Rat Scabies (Chris Millar) had been members of the band Masters of the Backside, which also included future Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde.

[23] When they decided to start their own band, with James on guitar and Scabies on drums, they invited Sid Vicious, later of the Sex Pistols, and Dave Vanian to audition to be the singer.

"[29] When the Sex Pistols released their single, they took the Damned, along with the Clash and Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, as openers for their December "Anarchy Tour of the UK".

[32] According to Brendan Mullen, founder of the Los Angeles club the Masque, their first tour of the U.S. found them favouring very fast tempos, helping to inspire the first wave of West Coast hardcore punk.

[33] Author Ian Winwood wrote, "In terms of placing boots on the ground, it is The Damned who can be credited as having had the most influence on American punk rock.

Les Punks was a quasi-reunion of the Damned (without Brian James or Edmonds) that featured Scabies, Vanian, Sensible and bassist Lemmy of Hawkwind and Motörhead.

The Damned tentatively reformed with the "Les Punks" lineup in early 1979, but originally performed as "The Doomed" to avoid potential trademark problems.

They returned to the studio and released the charting singles "Love Song" and "Smash It Up", followed by 1979's Machine Gun Etiquette and then a cover version of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit".

Machine Gun Etiquette (1979) received largely positive reviews; Ira Robbins and Jay Pattyn of Trouser Press described it as "a great record by a band many had already counted out.

[citation needed] In 1981, the Damned released Friday 13th, a four-song EP that featured the original tracks "Disco Man", "Billy Bad Breaks", "Limit Club" and a cover version of the Rolling Stones song "Citadel".

The band's next album, a one-off side project recorded without Sensible, was the soundtrack to an imaginary 1960s movie called Give Daddy the Knife, Cindy.

[46] In 1984, the Damned performed on the BBC Two sitcom The Young Ones with their song "Nasty", featuring new bassist Bryn Merrick (replacing Gray) and both Jugg and Sensible on guitar.

[47] From the earliest days of the band, Vanian had adopted a vampire-like appearance onstage, with chalk-white makeup and formal dress.

[41] Phantasmagoria's December 1986 followup Anything was a commercial failure, although MCA included one of its tracks ("In Dulce Decorum") on the Miami Vice II soundtrack release.

[citation needed] Late in 1987, the Damned began to work on a new studio album for MCA, but the output of these sessions remains unreleased as the record contract was dissolved.

Two of the new songs ("Gunning for Love" and "The Loveless and the Damned") were later rerecorded by the Dave Vanian and the Phantom Chords side project.

In June 1988, James and Sensible rejoined the group temporarily for three live appearances, including a concert at the London Town and Country Club that was released the following year as the album Final Damnation.

Both cover versions enjoyed major-label distribution and created more exposure to the Damned's sound, sometimes to a younger audience unfamiliar with the group.

This initially featured bassist Paul Gray, who was later replaced by Patricia Morrison, previously of Bags, the Gun Club and The Sisters of Mercy.

[54] By February 1999, the Damned consisted of Vanian, Sensible, Morrison and new recruits Monty Oxymoron on keyboards and Spike T. Smith on drums.

In 2001, the band released the album Grave Disorder on Dexter Holland's Nitro Records label and promoted it with continual touring.

In the summer, the band played the Vans Warped Tour in the U.S.[55] Morrison and Vanian married and had a daughter, Emily, born on 9 February 2004.

[citation needed] In 2006, the Damned released the single "Little Miss Disaster" and a live DVD MGE25 documenting a 2004 Manchester concert celebrating the 25th anniversary of Machine Gun Etiquette (1979).

Featuring interviews with James, Sensible, Scabies, Glen Matlock, Don Letts and Chrissie Hynde, the programme discussed the bands and personalities around the scene, particularly the Anarchy in the U.K.

[57] The band undertook a 23-date UK tour to promote their new studio album, supported by Devilish Presley and Slicks Kitchen.

[67] On 23 May 2019, the Damned started a tour performing their third studio album, Machine Gun Etiquette (1979), which they had not played in full since its release.

The album was preceded by the singles and music videos for "The Invisible Man" on 3 February 2023, "Beware of the Clown" on 10 March 2023 and "You're Gonna Realise" on 21 April 2023.