The Ramones made music so fantastically dumb it was a work of genius that inspired a whole generation, says Neil McCormick.
Hey ho, they’re gone. The last of the original Ramones, Tommy Erdelyi, has died aged 62, finally bringing to an end the saga of one of the most loved bands in rock and roll history, New York’s original cartoon punks.
Masquerading as inbred cretin siblings, singer Joey Ramone, guitarist Johnny Ramone, bassist Dee Dee Ramone and drummer Tommy Ramone emerged from the CBGB’s scuzzy art rock scene in 1976 with a sonic blast that reverberated around the world. They boiled rock down to its very essence: three chords and a beat. It was so fantastically dumb it could only be a work of genius.
The Ramones are one of the few groups of whom it can be said that they .............