Marky Ramone names his five favourite punk songs
Marky Ramone lent The Ramones a certain air of mystery. Forever lurking at the back of the stage, eyes concealed behind a straight black fringe, the drummer was already a familiar face in New York’s downtown punks scene by the time he joined The Ramones in 1978. Here, the punk legend names his five favourite punk tracks, some of which may surprise you.
Marky’s musical career began in 1971 when he started playing drums for Dust, a Brooklyn-based hard rock band formed in 1969 by Kenny Aaronson and Marc Bell. He recorded two albums with the outfit before stepping into the world of punk in late 1972 after auditioning for The New York Dolls. He bombed the audition by playing too many unnecessary fills. This was punk, and the man who eventually got the job, Jerry Nolan, understood that, in punk, the best drummer are the ones who play it straight.
By the mid-’70s, Marky was playing with Wany Coyne & The Backstreet Boys (not those Backstreet Boys) as well as Richard Hell and the Voidoids. He went on to perform on Hell’s pioneering debut Blank Generation. During an interview with Rolling Stone, Marky would name the title track from that album as one of his all-time favourite punk tracks. “I was in this band,” he explained. “This song spoke for the populace at the time CBGB was going. It reflects a moment in time.” The album caught the attention of Tommy Ramone, who asked Marky to join his group.
Marky played with The Ramones for the next five years, appearing in Rock’ n’ Roll High School and helping to record ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’. He also worked closely with famously unhinged producer Phil Spector, who, according to Dee Dee Ramone, once threatened to shoot the band. “He levelled his gun at my heart and then motioned for me and the rest of the band to get back in the piano room,” the bassist wrote in his memoir. “He only holstered his pistol when he felt secure that his bodyguards could take over. Then he sat down at his black concert piano and made us listen to him play and sing ‘Baby, I Love You’ until well after 4:30 in the morning.”
Sadly, in 1983, Marky was asked to leave the band after his drinking problem became unmanageable. He was replaced by Richie Ramone, who was himself replaced by Blondie’s Clem Burke four years later. Burke was asked to leave the band after just two shows. In 1987, Marky returned, having managed to wean himself off alcohol. He would stay with The Ramones until their eventual retirement in 1996. Below, you can find his five favourite punk tracks of all time, including the proto-punk anthem ‘All Day And All of The Night’ by The Kinks. “The raunchiness of the production and Dave Davies’ guitar sound were the beginnings of punk,” Marky said. “When I first heard it, I was like, “Holy shit!”
Check out the full list below.
Marky Ramone’s five favourite punk songs:
- ‘All Day And All Of The Night’ – The Kinks
- ‘Surfin Bird – The Trashmen
- ‘7 and 7 Is’ – Love
- ‘Blank Generation’ – Richard Hell & The Voidoids.
- ‘Talk Talk’ – The Music Machine
