‘Elvis Ramone’: when Blondie’s Clem Burke joined the Ramones for just two days
Today, the music world mourns the passing of Clem Burke. In a statement, Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein announced: “It is with profound sadness that we relay news of the passing of our beloved friend and bandmate Clem Burke following a private battle with cancer.”
They continued: “Clem was not just a drummer; he was the heartbeat of Blondie. His talent, energy, and passion for music were unmatched, and his contributions to our sound and success are immeasurable. Beyond his musicianship, Clem was a source of inspiration both on and off the stage. His vibrant spirit, infectious enthusiasm and rock solid work ethic touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.”
Burke remained a pivotal mainstay in Blondie’s lineup since he joined the icons in 1975, shortly after their formation—but his brilliance often spread far and wide. In a remarkable turn in his career, the drummer also became part of the Ramones family, going under the pseudonym of ‘Elvis Ramone’—even if it was only for two days.
Tensions between the New York punks had reached boiling point with drummer Richie Ramone by the summer of 1987. Feeling deeply underappreciated by his bandmates, he abruptly walked away. “I was Richie Ramone when you wanted me to be. And then I was just a hired guy when you wanted me to be,” he reflected in the 2003 documentary End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones.
Adding further, Richie continued: “When it came to T-shirt money, I wasn’t a Ramone. This is after five years. I felt I was due. I wasn’t asking for the world. I was asking for a little bit of that T-shirt money. What’s the big deal? Joe especially, I loved him to death, but he’d tell me one thing as we hung out at night and then it wouldn’t happen. I said, ‘That’s it. I’m finished.’ I had a gig or two that I bailed on and nothing was going to change my mind.”
This departure threw the Ramones into turmoil—they needed a replacement for Richie, and fast. Having already postponed a pair of hometown shows at New York’s Ritz, the band were desperate to avoid further cancellations. They turned to Clem Burke, calling in a favour and creating the short-lived persona of ‘Elvis Ramone’. It was an offer Burke couldn’t refuse, but he was thrown in at the deep end with almost no rehearsal time to ease his way into the Ramone family.
Recalling years later, the Blondie drummer described his first live show with fellow New Yorkers as a disaster: “They asked me on a Monday when they had a gig on a Friday,” Burke explained. “It was the hardest work I ever did in a band.” Burke would only ever do one more show with the Ramones, the band deciding in the days between their next show that his style wasn’t the perfect fit.
The following weekend, as the revolving door of Ramones drummers spun once more, the band decided to bring back Marky Ramone—their original drummer before Richie. Marky had initially left the group due to struggles with alcohol, but having managed to get sober, he returned and remained with the band until their final show in 1996.
Years later, while reflecting on the turbulent years, Joey Ramone explained why Burke and the Ramones styles didn’t quite work out: “His drumming style wasn’t right,” he said. “It was very loose, like in Blondie, not as rigid as we need. Double time on the hi-hat was totally alien to him.”
Speaking to the Washington Times in 2014, Burke held no bitterness in regards to his short time as Elvis Ramone, admitting: “I came to The Ramones with the attitude and mandate that I wasn’t necessarily interested in being in The Ramones. Although, in retrospect, I did enjoy it. I might not be here today if I had continued to be in The Ramones. The best idea they had was to get Mark Bell, aka ‘Marky Ramone’, back in the band when I left. He’s a great drummer.”
He also added: “I wasn’t interested in staying in The Ramones for a couple of reasons. Joey Ramone was a pretty good friend of mine; Johnny Ramone was kind of a taskmaster. I didn’t like the fact that he and Joey didn’t speak to each other. Dee Dee Ramone, although he was a great artist, I think had a few mental problems, walked the tightrope between manic and depressive and was a heavy drug user. Although I think he died because he stopped using heroin and tried going back. Supposedly, that’s what happened to Sid Vicious, too. Not to be morbid, but it’s a perfect circle that all four of them are dead now. It is really completed.”
Listen to this bootleg of Elvis Ramone’s debut show with the Ramones in full below and remember the great man at his best.
