Public Servant Lifestyle

Hey Ho, Let's Go!...to watch the story of arguably one of the best loved bands of all time: the punk godfathers known only as 'Ramones'.

"As infectious as the band's three minute blasts of power pop...captures the energy of a band who inspired The Clash, The Sex Pistols and Blondie." - Hotdog.

"Amazing. A seismic snapshot of the early days of punk." - Entertainment Weekly.

In 1974, the New York City music scene was shocked into consciousness by the violently new and raw sound of a band of misfits from Queens called the Ramones. Playing in a seedy Bowery bar to a small group of fellow struggling musicians, the band struck a chord of disharmony that rocked the foundation of the mid-seventies music scene.

This quartet of unlikely rock stars travelled across the country and around the world connecting with the disenfranchised everywhere, while sparking a movement that would resonate with two generations of outcasts across the globe.

Although the band never reached the top of the Billboard charts, they managed to endure in face of fleeting success and crushing interpersonal conflicts by maintaining a rigorous touring schedule for twenty-two years. Tracing the history of the band, from its unlikely origins, through its star-crossed career, bitter demise and the sad fates of Joey and Dee Dee, Ramones: End of the Century is a vibrant, candid document of one of the most influential groups in the history of rock.

Unlikely Rock Stars

"It's accurate. It left me disturbed." - Johnny Ramone.

Ramones: End of the Century begins at the end of the Ramones’ career with their 2002 induction into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Here, the wayward sons of rock music were honoured by an industry that had ignored them for their entire career. It was a triumphant yet bittersweet night for the band. As drummer Tommy Ramone acknowledged in his acceptance speech, members of the group were still bickering and battling over issues that transcended even the death of their singer, Joey Ramone. Despite the ongoing rancour, Tommy recalled the common background and bonds of brotherhood that recent animosity couldn't obscure.

The story of the Ramones began in their childhood neighbourhood of Forest Hills, Queens. The band members shared childhoods filled with alienation, salvaged only by their common love of underground music like Iggy and the Stooges and the New York Dolls. As high school students, amidst teenage delinquency, glue sniffing and a shared dark sense of humour, all set to a soundtrack of teen angst and frustration, the Ramones were headed nowhere.

CBGBs

With seemingly no other options, and against a popular music terrain that was completely polar to their sensibilities, they formed a band and learned to make music by simply picking up instruments and just playing. And after a few false starts, they unveiled their newly invented sound at the legendary CBGBs on the Lower East Side. With their stripped-down sound, clean aesthetic and fast attack, the band quickly became the darlings of the New York underground music scene.

Before long, their reputation gained them fans among the ranks of New York’s biggest scene-makers: Andy Warhol, Malcolm Mclaren and Danny Fields all attended Ramones concerts. Danny was so impressed by their performance that he offered to be their manager on the spot. The band accepted under the condition that he provide them with the necessary funds (three thousand dollars) for a new drum set. Danny then brought them to the attention of Sire Records head Seymour Stein who signed them immediately.

New York Underground

Although their first album, simply called: The Ramones, sold poorly in the U.S., it is now commonly acknowledged as a landmark album and became an underground favourite in the UK.

On July 4, 1976, the Ramones invaded the Britain and inspired the nascent English punk rock scene. Members of the Clash, the Sex Pistols, the Damned, and Chrissy Hynde - all of whom had yet to make their musical debuts - appeared at their first gig. The Ramones blitzed London yet returned to the States to find manager Danny Fields begging to get them a gig in New Jersey. Wherever they played across the U.S., they drew only a small crowd of misfits bored with the music and culture of the time. Yet in their wake, the Ramones left behind numerous local bands who were inspired by their, 'do it yourself' musical philosophy. Others didn’t know what to make of this band of freaks in black leather jackets.

Back in New York City, the band had a record deal but no money. They all lived with Arturo Vega, their lifelong art director, in his East Village loft. As their popularity grew through grassroots networks, they became major rock stars, if only in the eyes of rock journalists and the small, but fervent, audiences.

British Invasion (Again)

At about this time, the bands from England that the boys had in a sense begat, exploded. The politically charged lyrics and the highly stylized images of the Clash and the Sex Pistols drew the attention of the world press and the Ramones seemed relegated to the background, to the point where the Sex Pistols were commonly referred to in the secular press as the creators of punk rock and its origin traced to London, rather than the Bowery. The Ramones countered the punk invasion with arguably two of their best albums; Rocket to Russia (1977) and Road to Ruin (1978), although neither album broke through commercially in the U.S.

The stress of touring and the pressure to sell records put a great deal of strain on the group’s interpersonal relationships. Tommy - drummer, producer and one of the founders—left the band. In a desperate attempt to release a hit record, the group enlisted the services of legendary producer Phil Spector.

Joey, who had pushed the band to experiment a little and make a different kind of album, was the impetus behind the union. On paper, the pairing of the two made sense, as the Ramones drew much of their inspiration from the kind of pop songs Spector was known for producing. But the reality of the working relationship was very different. Almost immediately, Dee Dee and Phil, both eccentrics in their own right, clashed, with the veteran producer once forcing Dee Dee to play bass at gunpoint.

Phil Spector

The Ramones, who were used to recording an album in one week at the very most, compared the experience of working with Phil Spector to Chinese water torture. The strain of the sessions caused the engineer to suffer a heart attack, while the finished result, End of the Century (1980), was to no one’s liking. The band was never the same after that session, with the relationship between Johnny and Joey, although strained at the outset of the Spector session, completely ruptured by the end of recording the album. Following disappointing record sales for Century, the band resigned itself to the fact that they would probably never be a chart-topping recording act.

Johnny viewed being a rock star as a means of employment, recording an album every couple of years and touring constantly. After Tommy’s departure, Johnny and Joey butted heads over the direction of the band. Johnny wanted to make the same music in the familiar Ramones mode, while Joey fought for creative change. A full-blown power struggle ensued and the aggression intensified when Joey’s long-term girlfriend left him for Johnny. Joey was heartbroken and the relationship between the two band mates was fractured for good. Though they continued to tour in a small van together for years, they never spoke to each other again.

Exhaustion

As the 1980s moved forward, the touring continued to be the only source of income. Marky Ramone - who replaced Tommy - succumbed to alcoholism and was kicked out of the band, only to return to the group a number of drummers later. Dee Dee decided to experiment with rap music and released an album, much to Johnny’s embarrassment. Shortly thereafter, Dee Dee, overcome with exhaustion and bloated by antidepressants, left the band, his wife and his psychiatrist. In the face of all this, Johnny refused to give up. He found CJ, a younger, cheaper version of Dee Dee, and continued the never-ending tour for another eight years.

With Dee Dee’s replacement, CJ Ramone, the band entered a new decade with a renewed influence on the bands that would become the grunge movement. CJ, who was a lifelong fan of the band, found that the 'united' front he’d admired was anything but. Their relationships were splintering even further, but the band found acceptance in some inexplicable Beatle-like way in South America where screaming fans filled 30,000-seat arenas shouting 'Hey, Ho, Let’s Go!' and holding aloft banners featuring Ramones slogans (often song titles) like 'Sheena Is A Punk Rocker' or 'Gabba Gabba Hey'.

Much of this late career success was mitigated by the deteriorated relationships and constant feuding. The premature deaths of Joey and Dee Dee a year apart were sad punctuations to the legacy. In the end, the music industry recognized the huge influence the band has had over two generations of rock music. As Legs McNeil says in the film, "The Ramones saved rock and roll." See the movie and believe it.

Given a limited cinema release in the UK but that's okay - it's out now on DVD. Extras include: eight extra interview excerpts a featurette by Tommy Ramone called Who Wrote What On The First 3 Albums by Tommy Ramone, a deleted scene and the original theatrical trailer. The film was directed and shot by Michael Gramaglia & Jim Fields.

For more information, visit the film's website: www.endofthecentury.com

Ramones: End Of The Century is out on DVD now.

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