Initially formed in 1995 by London-based students Ras Bromfield and Noel Simpson, Damage would go on to become one of the United Kingdom’s most successful R&B groups at the turn of the millennium. With lead singer Jade Jones, fellow singer Coreé Richards and performing arts student Andrez Harriott all organically joining the band following chance encounters with its founding members, they soon assembled into a quintet, piquing the interest of Big Life Records after sending them a Jackson 5 cover. Following the success of the hit singles “Love II Love” and “Forever”, which peaked at numbers twelve and six on the UK Singles Chart respectively, the group’s debut album, Forever, emerged in 1997. It was a commercial success, entering the UK Albums Chart at number thirteen and receiving a Silver certification from the BPI. The album was also home to the band’s most successful single to date, a cover of Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight”, which reached number three in the UK. After Big Life folded, the group signed to EMI imprint Cooltempo for the release of a second and final album, Since You’ve Been Gone. Spawning the number seven hit “Ghetto Romance” and the moderately less successful “Rumours”, which leant into contemporary UK garage trends, the 2001 LP entered the UK Albums Chart at number sixteen, later obtaining Gold status signifying 100,000 sales. Parting ways later the same year, Damage was succeeded in 2002 by a short-lived splinter group entitled CherryBlackStone, formed of Harriott and Jones, but the project was ultimately abandoned within months. The band would later regroup for a standalone show in Leeds in 2010, a 2014 appearance in the ITV2 docuseries The Big Reunion, and a full tour in 2015 including a Wireless Festival appearance.
