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The Ramones

The Ramones were a punk rock band formed in New York in March 1974 (see 1974 in music). They led the New York punk movement and are often credited with forming the musical foundation of punk. The original band members all adopted the surname Ramone (an alias sometime used by Paul McCartney to avoid attention when travelling), although they were not actually brothers. After playing gigs at the legendary CBGB club in the Manhattan Bowery district, they were signed by Sire Records in autumn 1975 (see 1975 in music) and recorded their debut album The Ramones.

Tommy Ramone was later replaced on drums by Marc Bell (under the name Marky Ramone) so that Tommy could focus on being the group's manager. It was this lineup which played a central role in Roger Corman's Rock 'n' Roll High School, released in 1979.

Marky Ramone was eventually replaced by Richard Beau (under the name Richie Ramone) and then Clem Burke before rejoining the band in 1990. Due to ongoing personality clashes and frustration at not achieving success commensurate with their influence, they disbanded in 1996.

Joey Ramone died of cancer on April 15, 2001 in New York (See 2001 in music).

Dee Dee Ramone was found dead at his Hollywood home on June 5th 2002 following a suspected drug overdose (See 2002 in music).

Discography

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