Teetering somewhere between serial outcast and punk rock legend, famed sticksman Richie Ramone's influential yet often overlooked services to rock 'n' roll have been nothing if not contradictory. Despite having penned the now-iconic 'Somebody Put Something In My Drink' and played a pummelling, pivotal role at a crucial stage in the Ramones' genre-defining career, both recognition and rock stardom continue to elude him. And while the Ramones' recent Grammy Award may have cemented the band's legendary status, Richie's exclusion from the accolade only served as a stinging reminder of the bitter rivalry and bad blood that finally brought about the band's demise in 1996.
"You’re gonna get a good interview for this 'cos I got this rotten cold and I'm real angry and nasty about it now," promises legendary drummer Richie Ramone in exceptionally low, tobacco-roughened notes of New Jersey. Fresh from fronting all-girl tribute band the Ramonas in the capital this evening, a cold night in late November finds the sticksman speaking frankly about the Ramones' famously rocky past. Every bit as black as the dusky ensembles they famously favoured on stage, theirs is a notoriously troubled and finally tragic saga blighted by relentless quarrelling and the untimely deaths of founding members Johnny, Dee Dee and Joey. During his own relatively brief chapter with the band, the years 1983 to '87 saw the drummer and songwriter leave behind a unique legacy in the form of several classic rock anthems. But, while the Ramones' global legions of fans may be quick to recognise this influential contribution, the drummer nevertheless continues to be criminally overlooked in showbiz circles. Numbering the latest in a long line of uncredited achievements, the 2011 Grammys saw only Tommy and Marky step up to accept their recent Lifetime Achievement Award. Intent on honouring the Ramones' lesser-known players, however, the ever-plucky Richie made a surprise appearance and impromptu speech to the many thousands of applauding onlookers gathered there that night. "I never actually got the Grammy," Richie explains. "But Mickey Leigh, Joey's brother, said, 'We're going to the Grammys in L.A. Why don't you come? You should come on stage and say a few words about Joe.' Now, the Ramones are broken into two camps. There's Mickey Leigh's camp and then there's Linda Cummings' camp - they're totally divided. So I went to this thing, I sat in the front row, they had no idea that I was going to walk on that stage. They announced the people, they all went up and then I just tagged behind and she [Linda] was like, 'What's he doing up there? What's he doing?' So then Mickey introduced me and I said a few words, but that's all it was. They tried to get me into the whole Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame thing too but that never worked out either."
Though more than a decade has elapsed since the Ramones split back in 1996, it's clear that time and even the tragic death of Johnny has done little to heal these deep-seated old wounds. Having first been recruited in 1983 at the explosive onset of the Ramones' 'Subterranean Jungle' tour, a then twenty five-year-old Richie found himself instantly seduced by the band's notoriously wild, rock 'n' roll lifestyle. "You got to play drums and do drugs you didn't have to worry about nothing," he recalls fondly. "You never knew where you were or what city you were in." But, on entering the recording studio some months later, the less than carefree reality of life with the Ramones soon became painfully apparent to the newly-recruited drummer. And while Richie quickly formed close friendships with both Dee Dee and Joey, his slow-burning resentment toward Johnny finally erupted into furious, full-scale rivalry during the recording of 1987's 'Halfway To Sanity'. "Johnny was such a prick," Richie reveals, with a sudden surge of venom colouring his low and otherwise serenely level tones. "Joey called me in the middle of the night and said, 'Richie, you gotta come and remix this record - it sucks.' So I remixed half the album and then John's saying, 'Nobody's going to buy it so we're wasting our money here.' And they wouldn't give me credit for mixing it. So it just became this type of thing like, who are you? Are you part of the band or not part of the band? And if I'm not part of the band, then give me a fucking credit on the fucking record. You got this, you got my image, you got my name, got everything," the drummer rages. In spite of Richie's obvious strengths as a songwriter from the very beginning of his turbulent time with the Ramones. Johnny’s notoriously cash-hungry tendencies saw the drummer increasingly overlooked in the years that followed. Having already been shaken beyond repair by the 'Halfway To Sanity' dispute of 1987, the pair's strained relationship drew to an abrupt and angry conclusion shortly thereafter. Though once a relatively minor grievance for Richie, Johnny's continued refusal to share in the money made through t-shirt sales finally pushed the drummer's tolerance to breaking point. On this painful but long-overdue revelation, Richie explains, "The fans bought a lot of shirts back then so we came here to London, and after the show everybody got an envelope full of cash and I got nothing. I went through years of that and eventually I was like 'Fuck this, this is bullshit.' It was all about the money with John, how much he could pocket. Not about success or anything. It was just about how much money you could shove in your pocket on a daily basis. He even had a safe under his floor in his house and he just kept stuffing it in there. I'm sure he made millions of dollars in T-shirts alone." Despite Johnny's best efforts to downplay Richie's role in this now-iconic ensemble, the drummer's influence continues to be strongly felt among fans, with the unforgettable 'Somebody Put Something In My Drink' being widely considered a rock 'n' roll classic. With this much-loved track having most recently been covered by Celtic punk upstarts The Gobshites, it's more than evident that Richie's status in the rock 'n' roll history books is now nothing less than legendary. But however much the dynamic sticksman may have accomplished over the past few decades, his relentless passion for his pummelling art continues to lead him into increasingly diverse creative territory.
The last few years, I've been playing in a lot of different things," the drummer reports. "I did that West Side Story project - that thing I scored for orchestra. You can see that on my website, it's very interesting. It's a whole new world with the ninety-piece orchestra, with my drum set right at the front and the whole piece lasting about eighteen minutes in total. Very interesting. There's also the Richie Ramone stuff which I'm going to be doing in the future. I’m also gonna do some shows with The Gobshites to promote that. Then I'll probably be putting my own thing together,” he concludes casually before adding with steely, unshakeable certainty, "I'm gonna be out there a lot in 2012. I'm gonna do everything."
