Born on 15 July: Marky Ramone, the last of the Mohicans of American punk

The last surviving member of the Ramones was born in Brooklyn (New York) in 1952 and, as far as civil status is concerned, goes by the rather ordinary surname of Bell.

As drummer with the iconic American punk band The Ramones, he could have remained discreetly behind his drum kit, leaving the limelight to Joey, the singer who took great pleasure in twirling his microphone stand, to bassist Dee Dee, who always liked to wear his instrument low on his pelvis (like Jean-Jacques Burnel of The Stranglers), and to Johnny, the riff shearer. ‘One two three four’ was Joey's motto before each three-minute track, and today he's the only survivor of this crazy (fake) sibling group.

Joey was the first to die in 2001 from lymphoma. The story goes that he was listening to U2's ‘In A Little While’ when he breathed his last. A year later, Dee Dee also bowed out in 2002 at the age of 50, most likely as a result of a heroin overdose. Surprisingly, Johnny's heart tended to lean towards the Conservatives, and he was a great admirer of George Bush Senior. Not sure all the Gabba Gabba Hey maniacs appreciate that! After years of battling prostate cancer, he died in 2004 at the age of 55.

Although he didn't join the Ramones until 1978 (after the release of their first album) and has committed a few infidelities with the band, Marky Ramone is indeed the last guardian of the temple. Although he also designed a collection, mainly of leather jackets, for Tommy Hilfiger in 2009, Marky's main activity is revisiting the quartet's classics in Blitzkrieg, a band named after the song “Blizkrieg Bop”, a 2 minute 13 minute blast that opened their eponymous debut album. The song already underlined the band's complex literary universe, with the chorus essentially consisting of ‘Hey ho, let's go!’ repeated ad libitum.

(MH with Stéphane Soupart - Photo : © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo : Marky Ramone’s Blitzkried au Lokerse Feesten le 6 août 2019 à Lokeren (Belgique)