Genres R&B Past members Coreé Richards Genre Contemporary R&B | Labels Big Life Active until 2001 | |
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Years active 1995–2001, 2010, 2013–present Origin London, United Kingdom (1996) Albums Forever, Since You've Been Gone Members Jade Jones, Andrez Harriott, Coreé Richards, Rahsaan J Bromfield, Noel Simpson Similar Emma Bunton, Kele Le Roc, Shady Nate, Eleftheria Eleftheriou, Goin' Through Profiles | ||
Damage are a British R&B boy band who achieved success in the 1990s with eleven hit singles, including four Top 10 successes on the UK Singles Chart. They have sold 2.5 million records worldwide. The band consists of Jade Jones, Rahsaan J Bromfield, Andrez Harriott, and Noel Simpson.
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Biography
The band was formed by Rahsaan "Ras" Bromfield and Noel Simpson who were students at the Barbara Speake Stage School in the London neighbourhood of Acton. They rapped and danced at school assemblies. Jade Jones was brought into the band when Bromfield and Simpson heard him sing a high note. Andrez Harriott, a student at Sylvia Young Theatre School, was recruited after he and Jones performed together in the musical play Carmen Jones. Coreé Richards was asked to join the band after he was heard singing at a bus stop.
The band sent a demo tape of a cover version of the Jackson 5 song "Anything" to Jazz Summers of Big Life Records in early 1995. Damage made inroads into the UK Singles Chart and the second single "Love II Love" reached number 12 while the follow-up, "Forever", charted at number 6 during the Christmas period. "Forever" was also notable for being both the first song that Steve Mac and Wayne Hector wrote together, and the song that caught the ear of Simon Cowell and effectively led to Mac becoming the chief songwriter-producer for Cowell's subsequent projects.
Damage's debut album Forever followed in 1997, along with two further UK Top 10 singles – "Love Guaranteed" and a cover version of Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight", the latter reaching number 3. The quintet subsequently embarked on an extensive touring schedule while negotiating a new recording contract following the collapse of Big Life. Jones remained in the media spotlight through his long-term romance with Emma "Baby Spice" Bunton of the Spice Girls. Damage returned to the UK music scene in early 2001 with their Cooltempo Records' début album, Since You've Been Gone. Since You've Been Gone had several tracks co-produced and mixed by well-known UK DJ and producer DJ Dodge. In 2001, they decided to call it a day, after Richards left the band.
Harriott and Jones performed for a while in their band CherryBlackStone. Jones is now a trainee chef. Damage performed a one-off gig at Party in the Park in Leeds, on 25 July 2010.
In early 2014, Damage reformed as a quartet without Richards for the ITV2 documentary The Big Reunion along with other bands such as Eternal and A1, although Richards did appear on the show to talk about the band and meet with his bandmates one last time.
Songs
ForeverForever · 1997
Ghetto RomanceSince You've Been Gone · 2001
Love GuaranteedForever · 1997