Captain Sensible, performing live with
The
Damned in 2006.
Captain Sensible (born Raymond
Burns, 24 April 1954) is a singer and guitarist (and sometimes bassist)
who grew up in Croydon,
England and founded the punk rock band The
Damned in 1976. After leaving the band, he reinvented himself
as an (alternative) pop singer with a rebellious, self-conscious image.
His signature headwear is a red beret.
|
Contents
- 1 Early
life
- 2 The
Damned
- 3 Solo
career
- 4 Trivia
- 5 References
- 6 External
links
|
Early life
He was born Raymond Burns on April 24th, 1954 in Balham, London, England.
Currently living in Hassocks, West
Sussex.
The Damned
He was suggested by work mate Rat
Scabies and joined The Damned in 1976.
He later rejoined The Damned in 1996 after drummer Rat
Scabies left, and co-wrote Grave Disorder, the band's first new
studio album for 12 years, in 2001. He continues to tour with the band
today, and one of his trademark moves on stage is playing guitar with
an empty beer can.
Solo career
His solo hits included "Wot?", "Happy
Talk" (a UK number one hit
featuring backing group Dolly Mixture), "One Christmas
Catalogue" and "Glad It's All Over". ("Happy Talk" is a cover of the
classic Rodgers and Hammerstein song from the Broadway musical "South
Pacific".) He has toured with his solo band Punk Floyd.
His recording of "The Snooker Song" from Mike
Batt's musical The Hunting Of The Snark
was used as the theme music for the BBC gameshow Big Break.
His version of Happy Talk,
minus his lyrics, was used as the backing track for a 2004 rap by Dizzee
Rascal.
He wrote and performed a song called "Brain's Theme" for the
movie Skinned Deep in 2004.
Captain Sensible is also a member of Dead
Men Walking, a 'super-group' featuring Mike Peters (The Alarm), Kirk
Brandon (Spear of Destiny (band)) and
Slim
Jim (Stray
Cats).
So far he has released 7 solo albums women and captains first
1982 the power of
love 1984 revolution now 1989 the
universe of geoffery brown 1993 live at the milky way 1994 meathead 1995
and mad cows and englishmen 1997
Trivia
In a TV interview he mentioned that he got his
ideas for songs by recording the music from advertisements, playing it
backwards, then learning those reversed themes.
Sensible is also the leader of the
Blah! Party, an avowed "protest party" that aims "to give all
politicians a kick up the jacksie" and which has recently entered into
a sponsorship deal with Seabrook Crisps.
The party bears more than a passing resemblence to the Official Monster
Raving Loony Party - Sensible was a friend of Sutch - but with the
serious edge of the defunct Raving Loony Green
Giant Party. Indeed, the OMRLP's deputy leader Melodie "Boney Maroney"
Staniforth defected to them in July 2007. Sensible had previously been
a member of the Green Party of
England and Wales.
| v • d • e The Damned |
| Dave
Vanian | Captain Sensible
| Patricia Morrison | Monty
Oxy Moron | Pinch |
| Former members:
Brian James | Rat
Scabies | Lu
Edmunds | Algy
Ward | Paul Gray | Roman Jugg
| Bryn Merrick | Kris Dollimore | Allan
Lee Shaw | Moose |
| The Damned discography |
| Studio albums:
Damned Damned Damned
| Music for Pleasure
| Machine Gun Etiquette
| The Black Album
| Strawberries
| Phantasmagoria
| Anything
| Not of This
Earth | Grave
Disorder |
| Live albums:
Live Shepperton 80
| Live at Newcastle
| Not The Captain's
Birthday Party? | Mindless
Directionless Energy | Final
Damnation | The Damned Live
| Ballroom Blitz -
Live at the Lyceum | The School
Bullies | Fiendish Shadows
| Eternal Damnation Live
| Molten Lager |
| Related
articles |
| Masters of the Backside
| London SS | The Lords of the New
Church | David Vanian and
the Phantom Chords | Punk Floyd |
References
External links
