Foto & ©: Roberta Bayley

Tidligere Black Flag-forsanger, nuværende forfatter, foredragsholder og sanger Henry Rollins har i LAWEEKLY i anledning af Tommy Ramones’ bortgang skrevet nogle glimrende og tankevækkende ord om The Ramones:

Tommy Ramone passed away on July 11. He, Joey, Dee Dee and Johnny are all gone now. Losing the Ramones was a slow process, as prolonged as it was painful.

Sometimes, I would be in some ruined backstage area on a multimonth tour and feel strengthened knowing they were most likely out there somewhere, lighting up the place. I remember when I found out the band had retired. I was alone in a small room and it was like something had been removed from the world. I wondered if everything would be OK the next day.

A few years later, members of The Ramones started to die. They were too young to go, I thought. It was very tough. For many people, their records are close friends, the shows memorable nights of their lives. They met so many of their fans over the years, the loss was often extremely personal.

Just my personal opinion: The Ramones rescued and recharged rock & roll.

For countless young, pissed-off, alienated outsiders-for-life, The Ramones spoke the language of missed dances, bad dates and no friends. They were a perfect concept, like Devo; all the brilliance without the studied self-awareness.

The cover of their first album, the classic Roberta Bayley image, is a study in cool, unease and insolence. It is one of the greatest band lineup shots ever and looks exactly like the record sounds.

The Ramones are the lesson on how to do it. They worked tirelessly on the road and in the studio. They were great and they knew it. The challenge was bringing the world up to speed.

If you want to hear a band damn near kill their audience, check out The Ramones’ in-concert epic, It’s Alive. They are almost sadistic in how they tear through the songs, seemingly bashing them senseless to get to the next one, as if each song will never be played again and must be given proper trajectory into the stratosphere. They truly achieve something that is bigger than the four of them.

If you never had the chance to stand in front of this band, I dare say you missed out on something truly spectacular. I will never forget the first time I saw them. When they walked onstage and, within 10 seconds, started playing, I thought I was going to explode. The show was the very definition of how powerful true rock music is. I couldn’t understand how they could keep going. It was as full-on a live experience as I have ever had and almost ruined me for going to other shows.

There is something you will notice, if you listen closely to the first three studio albums — Ramones, Leave Home, Rocket to Russia — and the aforementioned live album: The band is evolving. Not becoming softer or hollowed out, but refining and sharpening their attack. This is not only one of the most bomb-proof live bands of all time, they were writing truly excellent, memorable songs. Some, in a smarter, better world, are top-of-chart singles.

© LAWEEKLY/Henry Rollins

PS – Her en lille halv time fra den af Rollins omtalte It’s Alive – enjoy!