43 years of Ramones

CAIRO – 17 August 2017: August 16 marked the 43rd anniversary of punk rock-band The Ramones’ first ever public performance in 1974, coming in 5 years after the Woodstock Festival.

Known as one of the fathers of New York's punk movement, this fledgling band brought something new and daring to a time of hippies, rocking the CBGB (Country Bluegrass Blues) bar in the U.S's Forest Hills, Queens with a wild new sound that would later become known as 'punk rock,' defining a brand new era in American culture and music.

The band members consisted of four young men; Douglas Colvin, John Cummings, Thomas Erdelyi and Jeffrey Hyman, who took on the stage names of Dee Dee, Johnny, Tommy and Joey, all with the last name Ramone, giving a sense that the band was like a family. The goal of the Ramones was fighting against how commercialized rock 'n' roll had become, creating something that just focused on the bare minimum of what rock was: the spirit, with no added fat.

The Ramones success came less from creating singular hits like other musicians and more for the creation of something daring, a group of punks starting a band and raging against the tyranny of the government and capitalism, inspiring many to follow in their footsteps in the path of punk resistance.

Their debut album, also called 'The Ramones,' directly inspired legendary bands such as ‘Sex Pistols’ and the ‘Clash.’ In total, their influence helped foster thousands of bands, creating punk rock as we know it today.

All four of the original members of the Ramones died due to causes such as drug overdoses. The last member, Tommy, passed away in 2014 due to cancer.