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 Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

, Surrey. He played drums with Tor and

London SS The London SS is a British rock group founded in March 1975 by drummer Geir Wade, bassist John Brown, guitarist Mick Jones, and guitarist Eunan Brady (formerly of the Hollywood Brats). They later became associated with the then new punk rock s ...

before founding the Damned with Brian James, Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible in 1976. He continued to play with the band with some interruptions and alongside various personnel changes until a dispute over the release of the album '' Not of This Earth'' led to his departure in 1995. His solo work outside the Damned includes a cover version of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's "

This Wheel's on Fire "This Wheel's on Fire" is a song written by Bob Dylan and Rick Danko. It was originally recorded by Dylan and the Band during their 1967 sessions, portions of which (including this song) comprised the 1975 album, ''The Basement Tapes''. The B ...

", credited to "Rat & The Whale". In 2003 Millar formed a short-lived outfit called the Germans with Peter Coyne and Kris Dollimore, originally from

the Godfathers The Godfathers are an English rock band from London, England, with strong influences from R&B and punk. Career The Godfathers were formed by Peter and Chris Coyne (vocals and bass, respectively) after the demise of The Sid Presley Experienc ...

. In recent times, he has played with

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' (German: ''Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens'') is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife ...

, ska artist

Neville Staple Neville Eugenton Staple (born 11 April 1955), sometimes credited as Neville Staples, is a Jamaican-born English singer, known for his work with the 2 Tone ska band the Specials, as well as with his own group, the Neville Staple Band. He also pe ...

(formerly of

the Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynv ...

) and his band,

Dave Catching David Catching (born June 7, 1961) is an American musician from Memphis, Tennessee. He is a founding member of the California stoner rock band earthlings?, a touring member of Eagles of Death Metal and the co-founder of the Rancho De La Lun ...

(

Eagles of Death Metal Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998. Founded by Jesse Hughes (vocals, guitar) and Josh Homme (drums), the band also includes a wide range of other musicians who perform both on the band' ...

Chris Goss Christopher Ryan Goss (born August 17, 1958) is an American record producer and musician. Best known for producing records for Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, he is regarded as an important figure in the development of stoner rock and des ...

the Members The Members are a British punk band that originated in Camberley, Surrey, England. In the UK, they are best known for their single "The Sound of the Suburbs", reaching No. 12 in 1979, and in Australia, "Radio" which reached No. 5 in 1982. Ca ...

, the Mutants, the Spammed, Urban Voodoo Machine and

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in th ...

. He has also worked as a producer, including with Flipron and

Ebony Bones Ebony Bones (''née'' Thomas; born 9 October 1982) is an English singer-songwriter model, actress, and producer. Her musical style is eclectic and often blends elements of afrobeat, art rock, post-punk, classical, new-wave and electronic. Her ...

. In May 2018 he released his solo album ''P.H.D. (Prison, Hospital, Debt)''.

Personal life

Millar lives with his wife Viv and their three children in

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings wh ...

, and is the central character of the book ''

Rat Scabies and The Holy Grail ''Rat Scabies And The Holy Grail'' is a 2005 book written by Christopher Dawes, published by Sceptre Books in the UK and Thunder's Mouth Press in the US. It is a gonzo-esque quest to find the Holy Grail by punk rock legend Rat Scabies, the one-t ...

'', written by former music journalist Christopher Dawes. The book was published in May 2005 and is billed as "A road trip, a rich historical yarn, and testimony to the odd nature of a great many friendships".

Equipment

Scabies uses vintage Leedy & George Hayman drum kits. Over the years he has played various brands, starting with a John Grey 'Autocrat' kit in turquoise sparkle finish, before playing a black Pearl Maxwin kit (early 1970s to 1976), a white Pearl kit (late 1976–1981), a white Premier 'Resonator' kit (1982–1983), a Premier 'Black Shadow' kit (1984–1985), then a Premier 'Resonator' in piano black finish (1985–1996).

Discography

Albums

* '' Lord of the Flies'' (Nosferatu with Rat Scabies) (1998, Cleopatra Records (U.S.A & Canada, Hades Records (U.K. & Europe) * ''Spiteful'' (Sonny Vincent & Spite Featuring Rat Scabies, Glen Matlock, Steve Mackay) (2014, Still Unbeatable Records) *''P.H.D. (Prison, Hospital, Debt)'' (2018, Cleopatra)

Singles

* "Wheels On Fire" (as The Rat and The Whale) (1980, 7", Single) * "Millionaire" (Magic Michael with Rat Scabies & Captain Sensible) (1980, 7", Single) * "Let There Be Rats" (1984, 7", Single) * "Mary Ann" (Sonny Vincent & Spite Feat. Rat Scabies, Glen Matlock & Steve Mackay) (2015) * "Chew On You" (2018, Cleopatra)

References

External links

Rock supergroup The Spammed recording Tommy Gun - Specialized Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rat Scabies The Damned (band) members English punk rock drummers People from Kingston upon Thames 1955 births Living people The Lords of the New Church members