Af samtlige nye engelske punkbands fra sommeren 1976 er det The Damned som vinder racet om at udkomme først på vinyl. Heldigvis for både sin egen og genrens historie er den første engelske punk-single – altså udsendt dags dato i 1976 – en markant genre-klassiker.

Den engelske musikforfatter Dave Thompson skrev i 1992 disse ord om The Damned’s første udgivelse: “‘New Rose’ is today rightly revered as one of the greatest songs to emerge from 1970s Britain. More than anything outside of the Pistols, ‘New Rose’ (and its flip, the relentless slaughter of the Beatles’ “Help”) brought a focus to the still burgeoning punk scene, finally lifting it out of the musical basket it had hitherto shared with the Stooges/Dolls/MC5  axis, and knocking the Feelgoods and Hot Rods-powered pub rock angle clean out of sight. This was no sub-metal snottiness, no high octane R&B revival. Rather, it was the absolute redefinition of all that rock’nroll held dear, a stunning return to basics which threw every last iota of expertise and experience to the winds. The band’s detractors thought they were smart when they called the Damned’s record “primitive.” They were way off the mark – the Damned’s fans saw it as primeval.”