Raymond Ian Burns (born 24 April 1954), known by the stage name Captain Sensible, is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. Captain Sensible co-founded the punk rock band the Damned, originally playing bass before switching to guitar. He embarked on a solo career during the 1980s, following a UK number one hit with his cover of "

Happy Talk Happy talk, also called banter, is the additional and often meaningless commentary interspersed into television news programs by news anchors and others on set. It may consist of simple jokes or simply a modified wording in asking a question of ...

". Captain Sensible's distinctive appearance includes a red

beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret remains ...

and sunglasses, typically with white frames. He was also a founder of the Blah! Party.

Early life

Captain Sensible was born in

Balham Balham () is an area in south London, England, mostly within the London Borough of Wandsworth with small parts within the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. The area has been settled since Saxon times and appears in the Domesday Book as B ...

, London, on 24 April 1954. He went to Stanley Technical School for Boys in

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Wood ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

. The first musical instrument he played was a

Bontempi Bontempi is an Italian musical instrument manufacturer, best known for manufacturing low-priced, plastic-cased chord organs: small keyboard instruments in which the sound is produced by air being forced over reeds by an electric fan. Such ins ...

organ. Growing up, he listened to

Brian Auger Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939) is an English jazz rock and rock music keyboardist who specialises in the Hammond organ. Auger has worked with Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, an ...

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The band w ...

Egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

, Stray,

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...

and

the Groundhogs Groundhogs are an English blues and rock band founded in late 1963, that toured extensively in the 1960s, achieved prominence in the early 1970s, and continued sporadically into the 21st century. Tony McPhee (guitar and vocals) is the sole co ...

The Damned

Originally a member of the

Johnny Moped Johnny Moped are an English punk rock group formed in South London in the mid-1970s, who once had Chrissie Hynde (later of the Pretenders) and Captain Sensible (later of the Damned) as members. Biography Formed in Croydon in May 1974, the b ...

band, Captain Sensible joined the Damned in 1976 on the suggestion of his colleague

Rat Scabies Christopher John Millar (born 30 July 1955), known by his stage name Rat Scabies, is a musician best known as the drummer for English punk rock band the Damned. Career Millar was born in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. He played drums with Tor ...

, the band's drummer, filling a number of positions during his tenure (including bassist, lead guitarist and keyboardist), and eventually becoming the band's main songwriter following the departure of Brian James. Captain Sensible left in the 1980s to concentrate on solo projects, but rejoined in 1996 after Scabies left, and co-wrote ''

Grave Disorder ''Grave Disorder'' is the ninth studio album from the punk rock band The Damned, released in August 2001. It was their first release since signing to Nitro Records and only studio album with Patricia Morrison. Style The album is musically s ...

'', the band's first new studio album for 8 years, in 2001. He continues to tour and record with the band.

Solo career

Captain Sensible's first solo release came in 1978 with the single " Jet Boy, Jet Girl", an Elton Motello cover recorded while the Damned were on hiatus. He followed this in 1981 with the '' This Is Your Captain Speaking'' EP on

Crass Records Crass Records was an independent record label that was set up by the anarchist Punk rock, punk band Crass. Overview and history Prior to the formation of Crass, Penny Rimbaud and Gee Vaucher had published their creative works via their own D ...

. He signed to

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

and had a UK number one hit in 1982 with a cover of "

", the Rodgers and Hammerstein song from '' South Pacific'', featuring backing by

Dolly Mixture Dolly mixture is a British confection, consisting of a variety of multi-coloured fondant shapes, such as cubes and cylinders with subtle flavourings, and sugar-coated jellies. The origin of the name is uncertain. It has been passed down throu ...

and a band including

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...

on guitar. This was later

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

for

British hip hop British hip hop, also known as UK hip hop or UK rap, is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of R&B/Hip-Hop. Britis ...

artist

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. Dizze ...

's 2004 song "Dream". Other Captain Sensible songs that became hits in the UK and Europe were " Wot", "One Christmas Catalogue" and anti-

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

"Glad It's All Over", which was co-written and produced by

Tony Mansfield Tony Mansfield (born 19 January 1955) is an English songwriter, musician and record producer. Early work Mansfield was born in Wimbledon, London, and became best known as the main songwriter/producer for New Musik, a synthpop band that perfo ...

. After quitting A&M Records he continued recording for various independent labels, including Deltic Records and Humbug Records. He has also toured with his solo band Punk Floyd. Captain Sensible's recording of "The Snooker Song" from

Mike Batt Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Having achieved substantial ...

's musical ''

The Hunting of the Snark ''The Hunting of the Snark'', subtitled ''An Agony in 8 Fits'', is a poem by the English writer Lewis Carroll. It is typically categorised as a nonsense poem. Written between 1874 and 1876, it borrows the setting, some creatures, and eight por ...

'' was used as the theme music for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

gameshow ''

Big Break ''Big Break'' is a British television game show, created by Roger Medcalf, Mike Kemp and Terry Mardell, presented by comedian Jim Davidson and snooker commentator John Virgo, and broadcast on BBC One between 1991 and 2002. Inspired by ITV's '' ...

'', and he also wrote and performed a song called "Brain's Theme" for the movie ''Skinned Deep'' in 2004. CaptainSensible02

Captain Sensible is also a member of

Dead Men Walking Dead Men Walking are a British based rock supergroup with a multi national line-up, who have toured the UK, Ireland and the United States. From 2001 to 2006 they were led by Mike Peters of the Alarm and Kirk Brandon, of Spear of Destiny, with a ...

, a

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

featuring Mike Peters,

Kirk Brandon Kirk Brandon (born 3 August 1956) is an English musician best known as the leader of the bands Theatre of Hate and Spear of Destiny and a former lover of Boy George. Musical career Brandon's music career started in 1978, in Clapham, south Londo ...

(

Spear of Destiny A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastene ...

) and

Slim Jim Phantom James McDonnell (born March 21, 1961), known by the stage name Slim Jim Phantom, is the drummer for Stray Cats. Alongside bandmates Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker, he spearheaded the neo-rockabilly movement of the early 1980s. Phantom currently ...

, and the Sensible Gray Cells with former Damned mate Paul Gray.

Politics

In September 2006, Captain Sensible formed a new British political party known as the Blah! Party, saying, "We believe that voting is an important part of the democratic process, and we want the Blah! Party to be the party of protest, a channel through which the people of the U.K. can vent their dissatisfaction at nonsensical everyday things, and protest against the government and the current crop of political parties." The Blah! Party was largely modelled on the principle of

direct democracy Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate decides on policy initiatives without legislator, elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently establishe ...

, with suggestions being made by anyone on the party website. These suggestions would then be voted on by the membership, resulting in a "rolling

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

." The party was launched on 24 September 2006 at a conference in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. Initial policies included stopping "chav culture and the idolisation of airhead celebrities like the Beckhams,

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conra ...

and

Jade Goody Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody (5 June 1981 – 22 March 2009) was an English television personality. She came to public prominence in 2002 when she appeared on the third series of the Channel 4 reality show '' Big Brother''. She went on to s ...

", alongside more serious policies of opposing the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

and

ID cards An identity document (also called ID or colloquially as papers) is any document that may be used to prove a person's identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, it is usually called an identity card (IC, ID card, citizen ca ...

, instead spending money on public transport, hospitals and

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

. The Blah! Party entered into a sponsorship deal with Seabrook Crisps in September 2006, with the party logo and details on joining for free printed on their packets. The party also received non-financial support from PR company Propaganda. The party received £168,309 in the last quarter of 2006. The party was debt-free in 2008, with a membership of 8,544, up from 5,000 in 2007. The first Blah! Party candidate was Carl Finlan, who stood in the 2007 local elections in

Thornton and Allerton Thornton and Allerton (population 18,000 - 2021 ward profile) is a ward within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council in the county of West Yorkshire, England, named after the villages of Thornton and Allerton around which it is dr ...

ward,

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

. He gained 69 votes (1.6%). Deputy leader Melodie Staniforth stood in the Holme Valley North ward of

Kirklees Kirklees is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, governed by Kirklees Council with the status of a metropolitan borough. The largest town and administrative centre of Kirklees is Huddersfield, and the district also includes ...

as 'Boney Maroney' in 2008. She gained 38 votes (0.68%). She resigned shortly afterwards. On 11 September 2007, Propaganda handed total control of the Blah! Party to Captain Sensible, former

Official Monster Raving Loony Party The Official Monster Raving Loony Party (OMRLP) is a political party established in the United Kingdom in 1982 by the musician David Sutch, also known as "Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow", or simply "Lord Sutch". It is notable for its ...

deputy leader Melodie Staniforth, Robert Staniforth, Sadie Ingoldby, Shaun Nightingale and Gary Spate. In December 2008, Propaganda closed the website. The party ended its association with Propaganda and Seabrook, launching a new website. At the same time it de-registered from the register of political parties, deciding to instead be a protest group.

Personal life

Captain Sensible was previously in a long term relationship with Rachel Bor of

. The couple have three children together. He is currently married to Mayumi. Burns adopted his stage name Captain Sensible ironically because he used to be a "debauched maniac" who had fun "regardless of the consequences." However, after living at Dial House (the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

where the

anarcho-punk Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, hardcor ...

band

Crass Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk s ...

lived) for a week to record an EP in 1981, his life changed and he became a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

who adhered to Crass' pacifist and creative aims. Captain Sensible has written several songs about

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

, including " Torture Me" and most notably the 1985 single "Wot! No Meat?".

Discography

Solo

;Albums *'' Women and Captains First'' (1982), A&M – UK No. 64 *'' The Power of Love'' (1983), A&M *'' Revolution Now'' (1989), Deltic *''

The Universe of Geoffrey Brown ''The Universe of Geoffrey Brown'' is the fourth solo album and first concept album by Captain Sensible, released in April 1993 by Humbug Records. Background Captain Sensible had grown up musically in the 1960s and 1970s, where "some incred ...

'' (1993), Humbug *''

Live at the Milky Way ''Live at the Milky Way'' is a live album by Captain Sensible, released in 1994 by Humbug Records. It was recorded at the Melkweg, Milky Way club in Amsterdam on the final gig of a European tour supporting the album ''The Universe of Geoffrey B ...

'' (1994), Humbug *'' Meathead'' (1995), Humbug *''

Mad Cows and Englishmen ''Mad Cows and Englishmen'' is the sixth and last studio solo album by Captain Sensible, released in 1996 by Scratch Records. Critical reception In his review of the album on the music website '' Brainwashed'', Mark Weddle wrote: "Captain ...

'' (1996), Scratch ;Compilations *''Sensible Singles'' (1984), A&M *''A Day in the Life of ...'' (1984), A&M *''A Slice of Captain Sensible'' (1997), Humbug *''The Captain's Box'' (1997), Humbug – ontains ''A Slice of Captain Sensible'' and ''Meathead''*''Sensible Lifestyles: The Best of Captain Sensible'' (1997), Cleopatra *''The Masters'' (1998), Eagle eissue of ''Mad Cows and Englishmen'', including bonus tracks*''The Collection'' (2003), Spectrum Music ;EPs *'' This Is Your Captain Speaking'' (1981),

– UK Indie No. 3 *''The Universe of Captain Sensible'' (1998), Jarmusic ontains 5 tracks from ''Revolution Now'' and ''The Universe of Geoffrey Brown'' ;Singles Notes

The Damned

*''

Damned Damned Damned ''Damned Damned Damned'' is the debut studio album by English punk rock band the Damned. It was released on 18 February 1977 by Stiff Records. Produced by Nick Lowe, ''Damned Damned Damned'' was the first full-length album released by a UK pun ...

'' (1977) *'' Music for Pleasure'' (1977) *''

Machine Gun Etiquette ''Machine Gun Etiquette'' is the third studio album by English punk rock band the Damned, released on 2 November 1979 by Chiswick Records. Background The album was the group's first since reforming with Dave Vanian on vocals, Captain Sensibl ...

'' (1979) *'' The Black Album'' (1980) *''

Strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

'' (1982) *''

'' (2001) *'' So, Who's Paranoid?'' (2008) *''

Evil Spirits A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...

'' (2018)

Dead Men Walking

*''Live At CBGB New York City'' (2005), Resistance *''Graveyard Smashes Volume 1'' (2006), Resistance *''Easy Piracy'' (2015), Slimstyle Records

The Sensible Grey Cells

*'' A Postcard from Britain'' (2013), Easy Action *'' Get Back into the World'' (2020),

Damaged Goods Damaged goods or Damaged Goods may refer to: * Goods that have been damaged, where goods are items that satisfy human wants and provide utility * A person considered to be less than perfect psychologically, as a result of a traumatic experience ...

The Jack Tars

*''The Jack Tars'' EP (2015)

References

External links

* * *
Interview with Captain Sensible
(includes video of interview, and of The Damned's 35th anniversary tour), Rocker Magazine, 2011.
Captain Sensible discography

Extended discography
{{Authority control 1954 births People from Balham Living people The Damned (band) members English punk rock singers English punk rock guitarists English punk rock bass guitarists English male singers English new wave musicians Musicians from Brighton and Hove Psychedelic rock musicians Male bass guitarists Male new wave singers Dead Men Walking members A&M Records artists Anti–Iraq_War_activists English republicans