Dave Vanian and the Phantom Chords (a.k.a. (the) Phantom Chords) were a 1990s

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rock band, featuring The Damned's

Dave Vanian David Vanian (born David Lett, 12 October 1956) is an English rock musician, and lead singer of the punk rock band the Damned. Formed in 1976 in London, the Damned were the first British punk band to release a single, release an album, have ...

on vocals. The band's style is a fusion of

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

and gothic rock, which has been classified as gothabilly. They performed a mixture of covers and new material.

History

Following the 1989 breakup of The Damned, Vanian, guitarist

Roman Jugg Roman Jugg (born 25 July 1957 in Caerphilly, South Wales) is a keyboard player and guitarist. He began his career in the Welsh punk band Victimize in the late 1970s. An acquaintance of Paul Gray, Jugg was originally hired in late 1981, recor ...

and bassist

Bryn Merrick Bryn Merrick (12 October 1958 – 12 September 2015) was a bassist who was a member of Cardiff-based punk band Victimize. He later joined the Damned between 1983 and 1989, replacing Paul Gray, who had left for UFO. Merrick's first release wi ...

formed the Phantom Chords with Brendan Mooney (guitar) and Clyde Dempsey (drums). In 1990, the debut single by the band ("

Johnny Remember Me "Johnny Remember Me" is a song which became a 1961 UK Singles Chart #1 hit single for John Leyton, backed by The Outlaws. It was producer Joe Meek's first #1 production. Recounting the haunting – real or imagined – of a young man by his dead ...

", a cover of a

Geoff Goddard Geoffrey Goddard (19 November 1937 – 15 May 2000) was an English songwriter, singer and instrumentalist. Working for Joe Meek in the early 1960s, he wrote songs for Heinz, Mike Berry, Gerry Temple, The Tornados, Kenny Hollywood, The Outlaws ...

song) was released on

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States ...

in Australia and

M&G Records M&G Records was a record label founded by Michael Levy after he sold his previous label Magnet Records in 1988 to WEA for an estimated £10 million. History After Magnet was sold and was then merged into Eastwest Records in the UK, Levy set ...

in the UK. However, although an 11-track album (including "Johnny Remember Me") was written, and Polydor planned to release it, this did not happen, and only two one-sided acetates of it exist (although it has since become available through bootlegs). A promotional cassette was available for purchase at some of the venues when the band toured the United States later in 1993. The Phantom Chords released another single in 1992, "

Town Without Pity ''Town Without Pity'' (German: ''Stadt ohne Mitleid'') is a 1961 American/Swiss/West German international co-production drama film directed by Gottfried Reinhardt. Produced by The Mirisch Corporation, the film stars Kirk Douglas, Barbara Rü ...

" (a cover of a 1960s

Dimitri Tiomkin Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (, ; May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in St. Petersburg, Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City ...

Ned Washington Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Life and career Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Bes ...

song) on Camden Town Records. Now featuring Donagh O'Leary on bass following the departure of

In 1995, after touring in Britain and the US, they released a full-length album, ''David Vanian and the Phantom Chords'', on Big Beat Records. At this time they performed "This House Is Haunted" on

VH1 UK VH1 was a British and Irish pay television channel that was owned by ViacomCBS. The channel was based on the original VH1 American channel of the same name. On 24 November until 26 December 2017, VH1 was renamed temporarily as VH1 Christmas. T ...

as well as "Born To Be Wicked" on ITV's ''It's Bizarre''. The band's line-up was variable. A 1993 Damned reunion (''

I'm Alright Jack and The Beanstalk ''Not of This Earth'' is the eighth studio album by The Damned (band), The Damned. It is often called ''I'm Alright Jack & The Beanstalk''. History The album has a convoluted history. Following the Final Damnation concerts in 1988, the origin ...

'') and later resumption of The Damned (with Vanian and

Captain Sensible 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. H ...

) meant that the Phantom Chords became a

side project In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize ...

for Vanian, and they have released nothing since 1995.

left Phantom Chords, saying "I got fed up with relying on someone who was unreliable". However,

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

s by Phantom Chords were still taking place in December 1999.

Discography

Albums

*Unreleased album (1990) * ''David Vanian and the Phantom Chords'' (1995,

Big Beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as th ...

)

Singles

" (1990,

) :Released as 12" single, 7" and CD.
Featured "Johnny Remember Me" (

Goddard Goddard may refer to: People * Goddard (given name) * Goddard (surname) Places in the United States * Goddard, Kansas *Goddard, Kentucky *Goddard, Maryland *Goddard College, a low-residency college with campuses in Vermont and Washington *Godda ...

) b/w "Ghost Train" and "Relentless" *"Town Without Pity" (1992, Camden Town) :Featured "Town Without Pity" b/w "(She's a) Bad Motorcycle"

Books

* Barry Hutchinson: ''After The Lights Go Out: A Biography of The Phantom Chords.'' 2015.

References

External links

*Myspace page
12 (fan)
*Phantom Chords information, Damned12.freeserve.co.uk

* On the AMGbr>*New* Dave Vanian & The Phantom Chords Website !
{{The Damned British rock music groups Gothabilly groups Musical groups established in 1990