RockLists.com
Cover of Damned Damned Damned by The Damned
Cover: Damned Damned Damned

Song · The Damned

“New Rose” by The Damned

From the album Damned Damned Damned (1977)

“New Rose” by The Damned appears on 24 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1978 and 2022. It was first released in 1977 on the album Damned Damned Damned. Its best result is #8 on the John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1980). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #621 alternative song of all time.

24countdowns
5stations
#8best position
0#1 finishes
2top 10 finishes
1978–2022years charted

Watch

New Rose

Video from YouTube (The Damned - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"New Rose" was the first single by the Damned, released on Stiff Records in October 1976, and it holds a spot in history as the first single ever put out by a British punk band. Guitarist Brian James wrote it, Nick Lowe produced it, and it later landed on the band's debut album, Damned Damned Damned.

It's pure velocity: drums tumbling downhill, guitars slashing, the whole thing played like the band has somewhere better to be. Singer Dave Vanian opens it deadpan, borrowing a spoken line from the Shangri-Las' 1964 song "Leader of the Pack" before the roar kicks in.

Flip it over and there's the Beatles' "Help!", hammered out at roughly double the original's speed. Both songs became fixtures of the Damned's live shows and turned up across compilations. Stiff reissued "New Rose" in its Damned 4 Pack mail-order set, and in 2003 Castle Music put it on CD in the Stiff Singles 1976–1977 box.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1978 13 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1978) 50
1979 10 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1979) 50
1980 8 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1980) 50
1981 12 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1981) 50
1982 13 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1982) 50
1999 990 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 631 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 631 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2000 39 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (2000) 50
2001 641 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 641 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 88 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 641 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 317 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 641 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 641 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2007 1038 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1119 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1142 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1057 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1008 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 975 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 945 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2022 521 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s 908

Also listed as: New Rose" (7.

Comments

Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "New Rose" by The Damned.

Be kind and stay on topic. Guidelines

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.