David Vanian - wikipedia David Vanian Dave Vanian Birth name David Lett ( 1956 - 10 - 12 ) 12 October 1956 ( age 61 ) Origin Hemel Hempstead, England, UK Genres Punk rock, gothic rock, rockabilly Occupation ( s ) Gravedigger, singer - songwriter, musician Instruments Vocals, keyboards Years active 1976 -- present Labels Nitro Records Big Beat Records Raw Power Records Associated acts The Damned David Vanian & the Phantom Chords Naz Nomad and the Nightmares Captain Sensible Website officialdamned.com Dave Vanian ( born David Lett, 12 October 1956 ) is a 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, an album, have a record hit the UK charts, and tour the United States. With a fluid line - up since their founding, Vanian has been the only ever - present member. Contents 1 Career 2 Personal life 3 Discography 4 References 5 External links Career Born in Hemel Hempstead, Vanian changed his name from Lett to Vanian in early life after a previous stint as a gravedigger -- Vanian being a play on `` Transylvanian ''. He remains one of the early influencers of gothic fashion, wearing dark and otherworldly clothing both on stage and off. He is known to be a fan of renaissance art, film noir and horror movies, all of which manifest in his stage appearance. In November 1976, the British music magazine NME stated that Vanian `` resembles a runaway from the Addams Family ''. In 1978, he was guest in the song `` Do n't Panic England '', from the band Doctors of Madness. In 2004, he and Captain Sensible turned on the Christmas lights in Cambridge, causing some controversy. Vanian sang with the MC5 for their 40th anniversary singing `` Looking at You '', which was released as part of Revolution : A Celebration of the MC5. In 2008, with the band the Throb, played `` Let 's Get Lost ( Sailor Jerry 's Story ) '' to the compilation The Original Sailor Jerry Rum -- Music To... To. Outside of the Damned he has led the rockabilly band David Vanian & the Phantom Chords, hosted Dave Vanian 's Dark Screen on the UK - based television channel Rockworld TV and composed the soundtrack for the 2009 film, The Perfect Sleep. Personal life Vanian in 2006 Vanian has kept his personal life out of the limelight, even opting out of any input towards The Damned biography The Light at the End of the Tunnel by Carol Clerk. Vanian joined The Damned in 1976 He married his first wife Laurie in 1977, but they separated in the mid-1990s. He married Patricia Morrison in Las Vegas in 1996, after The Damned had performed an Australian tour. The couple have one child and live in Islington in London Discography Dave Vanian and the Phantom Chords ( 1995 ) References Jump up ^ Tobler, John ( 1992 ). NME Rock ' N ' Roll Years ( 1st ed. ). London, UK : Reed International Books Ltd. p. 294. CN 5585. Jump up ^ Church fury at Damned 's switch - on, bbc.co.uk ; accessed 12 September 2015. Jump up ^ Profile, theperfectsleep.com ; accessed 12 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` Official Damned.com ''. OfficialDamned.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 2003. Retrieved July 16, 2015. External links The Damned ( official site ) : Dave Vanian section Interview ( while touring with the Phantom Chords ), November 1993 ( QuickTime Video ) hide The Damned Dave Vanian Captain Sensible Monty Oxymoron Pinch Paul Gray Brian James Rat Scabies Lu Edmonds Algy Ward Roman Jugg Bryn Merrick Paul Shepley Kris Dollimore Alan Lee Shaw Moose Harris Garrie Dreadful Patricia Morrison Stu West Dave Berk Henry Badowski Jon Moss Lemmy Gary Holton Spike Smith Studio albums Damned Damned Damned Music for Pleasure Machine Gun Etiquette The Black Album Strawberries Phantasmagoria Anything Not of This Earth Grave Disorder So, Who 's Paranoid ? Evil Spirits Live albums Live Shepperton 1980 Live at Newcastle The Captain 's Birthday Party Not the Captain 's Birthday Party ? Final Damnation Ballroom Blitz -- Live at the Lyceum Molten Lager Live at the 100 Club Compilation albums Light at the End of the Tunnel The Radio One Sessions Smash It Up : The Anthology 1976 -- 1987 EPs Friday 13th EP Testify Singles `` New Rose '' `` Neat Neat Neat '' `` Stretcher Case Baby '' `` Problem Child '' `` Do n't Cry Wolf '' `` Love Song '' `` Smash It Up '' `` I Just Ca n't Be Happy Today '' `` White Rabbit '' `` The History of the World ( Part 1 ) '' `` There Ai n't No Sanity Clause '' `` Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde '' `` Wait for the Blackout '' `` Lovely Money '' `` Dozen Girls '' `` Lively Arts '' `` Generals '' `` Thanks for the Night '' `` Grimly Fiendish '' `` The Shadow of Love '' `` Is It a Dream ? '' `` Eloise '' `` Gigolo '' `` Anything '' `` Alone Again Or '' `` In Dulce Decorum '' `` Fun Factory '' `` Prokofiev '' `` Shut It '' `` Little Miss Disaster '' `` Standing On the Edge of Tomorrow '' `` Devil in Disguise '' `` Look Left '' `` Procrastination '' Associated acts Masters of the Backside London SS The Lords of the New Church Dave Vanian and the Phantom Chords Naz Nomad and the Nightmares Related articles Discography `` Nasty '' The Damned : Do n't You Wish That We Were Dead MusicBrainz : d99fc1f6 - 43c0 - 498c - b07d - c3bdff4094e4 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Vanian&oldid=832372148 '' Categories : 1956 births Living people English male singers English punk rock singers English baritones The Damned ( band ) members Gothic rock musicians People from Hemel Hempstead Musicians from Hertfordshire Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from June 2015 Use British English from April 2013 Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from September 2013 Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Euskara Français Italiano Português Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 25 March 2018, at 16 : 11 ( UTC ). 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Question: who was the lead singer of the damned
Answer: Dave Vanian (born David Lett