This is something of a treat for any fans of the Damned, as this is the second post involving them in just a few days (see the Reviews section for our look at their 1980 bootleg Live At Shepperton).
But, today marks the end of 70 rather raucous spins around the sun for one old punk - so let's celebrate the birthday of the best musical captain of them all!
Raymond Ian Burns was born in Balham, London, on 24 April 1954. He got his secondary school education in Croydon, and remains a devoted Crystal Palace fan to this day. He got his first musical instrument experience on a Bontempi organ, before graduating to electric guitar.
He was in local proto-punk band, Johnny Moped, for a while, but also working a range of jobs including typewriter mechanic, landscape gardener and toilet cleaner at Croydon's Fairfield Hall. But, in 1976, he joined a band with David Vanian, Christopher Millar (Rat Scabies) and Brian James - who would become the Damned.
Their first gig was at the 100 Club supporting the Sex Pistols in July 1976. But contrary to the opinion of many that Anarchy In The UK was the first punk single - the Damned's New Rose was released a full five weeks earlier (if we are being pedantic - I'm Stranded by Australian band The Saints came out before both of these).
In those days, Burns - now Captain Sensible - played the bass, despite being a guitarist; as he later explained to Louder Than War in 2023, "When I joined the band in the first place, I was a guitar player. I wouldn't have played bass for anyone else apart from Brian [James]" - describing James' guitar work as "it's genius".
The Damned: New Rose (official music video)
After two albums - Damned, Damned, Damned and Music For Pleasure, the Damned went on what would be a fairly brief hiatus in 1978, returning in 79, this time minus James. This allowed Captain to switch to guitar and keyboards, and for the next album (Machine Gun Etiquette), initial bass demos were done by no less than Lemmy, before Henry Badowski took over briefly, before Algy Ward (of the aforementioned Saints) became the bass player. Sensible would continue with the band until a final gig at Brockwell Park in 1984.
Going Solo... and that song!
Even while in the band, Sensible had done some solo work. In the 78 hiatus, he covered Jet Boy Jet Girl by less well known punks Ellon Motello, followed in 1981 by This Is Your Captain Speaking EP.
But of course he is most famous for his 1982 number one smash hit cover of Happy Talk - the Rogers and Hammerstein number from the musical South Pacific. It was something of a departure from the psychedelic goth punk of the Damned, and will remain for many, their enduring memory of his work. Interesting side note - the legendary Robyn Hitchcock played guitar on the tune. We are, of course, legally obliged to insert the song here for your pleasure.....
Captain Sensible: Happy Talk (singalong video)
Captain Sensible had gained his ironic moniker for his life as a "debauched maniac" during those early punk days. But then a strange thing happened in 1981 when he was recording his EP at Dial House, the squat used by anarcho-punks Crass. During that week he would get to chatting with the band and by the end he was something of a changed man. "I was bit of a football hooligan in a punk band and after a week with them I was a vegetarian and anarcho-socialist."
Political detour
In September 2006 the Blah! Party was formed by Sensible. He explained in 2008, "It's quite easy to write lyrics when politicians are so corrupt. I had to start my own political party I was so angry. I called it the Blah Party. It was 50 percent joke, 50 percent serious, but was my way of dealing with it."
They developed their manifesto in a somewhat evolving / revolving manner, by allowing members to post suggestions on their website. This gave them a mixture of the serious (anti-Iraq War, funding of public transport, renewable energy) and the slightly silly (stopping "chav culture and idolisation of airhead celebrities."). At its peak in 2008, they had over 8,500 members, and had several (unsuccessful) local council candidates. After a few years, they ceased as a political party and concentrated on being a protest group.
More Damned
In 1988, Sensible and James rejoined the Damned for three shows that would be recorded as Final Damnation. But then the following year they did two more UK shows, a US tour and the five more UK shows at the end of the year - the We Really Mean It This Time tour.
He would fully rejoin in 1996, although Scabies has left by now, leaving Sensible and Vanian as the old guard - along with Pat Morrison (Mrs Vanian), Monty Oxymoron and eventually Andy Pinching on drums. Various line-ups have toured and recorded ever since - the original foursome did a tour in 2022 - and Scabies has rejoined for the 2024 tours.
The Damned: Smash It Up (decent fan recording - live in Philadelphia, Oct 2023)
In his own words
Fanzine Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie asked Sensible in 2021 about his personality. "I always look for positives in everything." He reflected on his childhood, "When I was a kid..... my aunty used to say I was their little ray of sunshine."
He gave Hard Noise his definition of what punk is in 2019. "Punk is rebel music.... Punk is an ongoing discussion about the world we live in and society and our corrupt political system." He also talked to them about his relationship with Vanian, a person he often describes as being the polar opposite of him in many ways. "We complement each other as songwriters, neither of us treading on each others toes. We both love 60s garage music and appreciate a bit of dark melancholy if there's any going. And the bloke is the best singer of his generation."
Happy Birthday Captain!