“Blew them offstage”: the battle between The Stranglers and Ramones
Aggression has always been a cornerstone of punk, fueling its sound and energy across subgenres like hardcore. This aggression often manifests in the chaotic physicality of mosh pits, where adherents vent their intensity in a semi-contained way. However, in punk’s early days, that aggression was far less controlled. Figures like Sid Vicious epitomised this with his infamous, often brutal, unprovoked assaults, while Suicide’s Alan Vega carried a bicycle chain on stage for self-defense. But Vicious and Vega weren’t alone—bands like The Stranglers and the Ramones also had their share of heated moments, including one memorable spat between the two groups.
There’s not much that unites both bands musically, with one always being much more artistic than the punk genre they were tied to. However, their American counterparts gave the form some of its most famous aspects, such as the buzzsaw guitar and anthemic choruses, as it was the late 1970s, and music was a much smaller scene then, they ended up playing together.
One night in 1976, both groups played at London’s famous Dingwalls, Camden. The Stranglers, who have been open about the history of violence at their gigs and could be very aggressive, explained why they hated the Ramones and revealed what happened between them when speaking to ZigZag later that year.
After the interviewer mentioned a little altercation between both bands at Dingwalls, the ‘No More Heroes’ group were disgusted even at the mention of the American outfit’s name. “They should stick to playing tennis,” vocalist Hugh Cornwall said. “Well, they can’t play music,” he clarified. “They have never seen a motorbike in their lives. They’re Manhattan Island kids trying to be Bronx kids. We blew them off stage at the Roundhouse.”
What caused this slight altercation? Well, it might not be as punk as you’re expecting. Bassist JJ Burnel, a man notorious for his explosive temper, explained that he “honked” over a Ramone, and immediately, things became fraught. However, no physicality happened between these groups: “But the Ramones split like hairs at the first sign of a fight. They thought they were going to get mugged!”
It seems that violence was in the air that night. During a 2014 interview, Burnel looked back on the evening and explained that it was his band against basically everyone else, with many of the first wave of punk’s royalty in attendance, including The Clash, Sex Pistols, Ramones, and their journalist friends, who were all on the same side.
According to Burnel, the altercation began when The Clash’s bassist, Paul Simonon, spat on the ground as The Stranglers were leaving the stage at Dingwalls. Burnel noted that spitting was a nervous tic of Simonon’s at the time, but he still took it as an insult and responded by hitting him, igniting a full-blown brawl. The scuffle spilt outside after both groups were thrown out of the venue by the bouncers, continuing in the courtyard.
Sketching his interpretation of the most hilarious scenes from this era, Burnel said: “On one side were the Pistols, The Clash, the Ramones and a load of their journalist friends. On the other side was us, a few of our fans and me, nose to nose with Paul. Dave [Greenfield, Stranglers keyboards] had John Lydon up against the ice-cream van.”
As Burnel was at the centre of the aggression that night, he’s the one who’s discussed it most extensively. In another interview, he recalled Stranglers leader Cornwell and his Clash counterpart, Joe Strummer, calmly watching things unfold, saying: “I think your bass player is having a thing with my bass player.” He went on to posit that that incident involving Ramones and Simonon worked against them moving forward, with the press against them.
It might well have done, but it seemed like it was all in a day’s work for a band that could be so confrontational that they told ZigZag they once made an audience of 350 walk out on them by telling them: “You’re not going to like us so you may as well piss off!”
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