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, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

, Surrey. He played drums with Tor and

London SS London SS are a British rock group founded in March 1975 by drummer Geir Waade, 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 sc ...

before founding the Damned with Brian James,

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 ...

and

Captain Sensible Raymond Ian Burns (born 24 April 1954), known by the stage name Captain Sensible, is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded the punk rock band the Damned in 1976, originally playing bass before switching to guitar. He is kn ...

in 1976. In his audition for London SS, he obtained the nickname Rat Scabies after he was suffering from

scabies Scabies (; also sometimes known as the seven-year itch) is a contagious human skin infestation by the tiny (0.2–0.45 mm) mite ''Sarcoptes scabiei'', variety ''hominis''. The word is from . The most common symptoms are severe itchiness a ...

when a rat ran across the basement floor. The Damned played their first gig supporting the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

, and later released the first punk single in the UK, "New Rose". Scabies played with the Damned 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. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's " This Wheel's on Fire", 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 Experience ...

. He has also played with

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' () is a 1922 silent film, silent German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who ...

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

artist

Neville Staple Neville Eugenton Staple (born 11 April 1955), sometimes credited as Neville Staples, is a Jamaican-born British singer, known for his work with the 2-tone ska band the Specials, the pop group Fun Boy Three, as well as with his own group, th ...

(formerly of

the Specials The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were 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, J ...

) 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 bands earthlings? from 1993–present, and Queens of the Stone Age from 1996-2000, a former touring membe ...

(

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's ...

Chris Goss Chris Goss 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 desert rock genres. Goss is also the ...

the Members The Members is a British punk rock, 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 the UK Singles Chart in 1979, and in Australia, "Radio" ...

the Mutants ''The Mutants'' is the fourth serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 8 April to 13 May 1972. The serial is set on and high above the ...

, the Spammed, Urban Voodoo Machine and

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed 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 the stage pl ...

. He has also worked as a producer, including with

Flipron Flipron are an English psychedelic pop band from Glastonbury, England, consisting of singer and songwriter Jesse Budd, pianist/organist Joe Atkinson, drummer Mike Chitty and bassist Tom Granville. They were signed to Tiny Dog Records in 2003. ...

and

Ebony Bones Ebony Bones (''née'' Thomas; born 9 October 1982) is an English singer. Her musical style is eclectic and often blends elements of afrobeat, art rock, post-punk, classical, new-wave and electronic. Her debut album '' Bone of My Bones'' was r ...

. In May 2018 he released his solo album ''P.H.D. (Prison, Hospital, Debt)''. On 17 November 2023, the Damned announced that Scabies had returned as a permanent member. In February 2024 The Damned announced that, for the first time in 35 years, they would be doing a ten-date

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

tour featuring their 1980s lineup of Scabies,

and Paul Gray.

Personal life

Millar lives with his wife Viv and their three children in

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, 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-ti ...

'', 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 ''Lord of the Flies'' is the 1954 debut novel of British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of prepubescent British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves that led to ...

'' (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 Musicians from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames People from Kingston upon Thames 1955 births Living people The Lords of the New Church members