Hey Ho Let's Go

L to R: Dee Dee, Joey, Tommy and Johnny

Released in April 1976, Ramones was arguably the very first punk rock album and one of the most influential records of all time. The band recorded the album in only 17 days for a grand sum of $640. Most of the 14 tracks were recorded in one take and the longest song on the album clocks in at 2:38.

The record did not have a hit single, never got anywhere near the charts and has sold less than 500,000 copies to date. But it was the first record to reject the arty pretensions of 1970s progressive rock. There were no long introductions, complex instrumentals or guitar solos. All the songs were fast, primitive and anti-social dealing with feelings of alienation, frustration and isolation.

Some interesting facts and information about the Ramones:

* The band used the same engineering techniques that the Beatles did for their early work, placing the guitar in one channel, the bass in the other and the drums in the middle.

* During the bands 22 years together from 1974 to 1996 there were a total of 8 Ramones: Joey, Johnny, Tommy, Dee Dee, Marky, Richie, Elvis and CJ. They played a total of 2263 gigs.

* The Ramones pseudonym was started by Dee Dee and inspired by the fact that Paul McCartney used the name Paul Ramone when he checked into hotels.

* Tommy was originally an employee of the studio that the band rehearsed in. When the band was auditioning for a drummer, he would often take to the kit to demonstrate how the songs should be played. Eventually, it was decided that he was the only one who could play the songs properly and he joined the band as the drummer.

* The band played live for the first time in March of 1974 and after a few months they became regulars at CBGB's. Their sets were so short (usually 20 minutes) that they often had to repeat them twice during a show.

* The Ramones first concerts in England were on July 4th & 5th, 1976. Their impact was enormous as the audience was full of musicians who played their first gigs immediately afterwards. These included The Damned (July 6th), The Clash (July 10th) and Buzzcocks (July 20th).

* Joey died in April 2001, Dee Dee died in June 2002 and Johnny died in September 2004. All three were the founding members of the band.