[Cover photo credit to Sasha Lecca]

The Damned have announced the upcoming release of Not Like Everybody Else, a personal and celebratory covers album, dedicated to the memory of Brian James, the band’s founding guitarist, who passed away earlier this year on March 6^th. 

Due out on January 23^rd, 2026 via earMUSIC, distributed by BFD/The Orchard in North America, the album was recorded in five days of “emotion and creative fire” at Revolver Studio in Los Angeles. Fans who order the album through the Official Album Store starting October 29^th will receive three exclusive 7” vinyl singles featuring previously unreleased B-sides.

For the album, The Damned features Dave Vanian on vocals, Captain Sensible on guitar, Rat Scabies on drums, Paul Gray on bass and longtime keyboardist Monty Oxymoron. This marks the first time in 40 years that Rat Scabies has returned to the studio with the band. 

The first single from the forthcoming album is “There’s A Ghost In My House”, which reimagines R. Dean Taylor’s classic with The Damned‘s energy. The single is accompanied by a music video directed by Gilbert Trejo and filmed during the band’s recent US tour.

Following their formation in 1976, The Damned became the first UK band in the Punk Rock genre to release a single (“New Rose”) and then an album (DAMNED, DAMNED, DAMNED). Initially associated with the British Punk Rock movement and then Gothic Rock, the band went on to release ten studio albums and several UK-charting singles across genres. They are also known for their theatrical live act.

The Damned’s ‘Not Like Everybody Else’ track listing:

1. There’s A Ghost In My House (R. Dean Taylor)
2. Summer In The City (Joe Cocker)
3. Making Time (The Creation)
4. Gimme Danger (Iggy & The Stooges)
5. See Emily Play (Pink Floyd)
6. I’m Not Like Everybody Else (The Kinks)
7. Heart Full Of Soul (The Yardbirds)
8. You Must Be A Witch (The Lollipop Shoppe)
9. When I Was Young (The Animals)
10. The Last Time (The Rolling Stones)