Ramones Mania

Sometime before Christmas 1976, a stranger walked into the chip shop where I was working, wearing a denim jacket with ‘Sex Pistols’ scrawled in biro on the back; we agreed that he was an odd looking youth and Sex Pistols was an odd thing to write on your jacket. It was a long way from the Kings Road to York…

The Ramones released Blitzkrieg Bop in the UK in July 1976 but it passed me by and the first record I heard was California Sun and I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You when the single came out in February 1977. Suddenly this new music was everywhere - Eddie and the Hotrods and Dr Feelgood were the past and The Damned, The Clash, Buzzcocks and the Ramones were the future.

Driving rhythms, bonkers lyrics and relentless energy, the Ramones were like an animated MAD comic set to music and I couldn’t (and still can’t) get enough.

Just about all the tracks you could want are on this 1988 compilation, although personally I think it would be even better if Havana Affair, Surfin’ Bird and Chainsaw had been included. So whether you’re a life long fan who wants all the tunes in one place, or someone discovering the band for the first time, this is the album for you - Hey Ho, Let’s Go!

♫ thanks for reading