Marky Ramone is the last surviving original member of Ramones. Today, Marky Ramone and his project Blitzkrieg will conclude a major tour in Spain at Centro Comercial Las Arenas.
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Marky Ramone, the former drummer of the most influential punk band in history, is wrapping up a massive tour in Spain tonight at 8:30 pm in the marquee at Centro Comercial Las Arenas, with his latest musical project that he has been involved in since 2010: Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg. The original venue was intended to be Sala Fábrica in La Isleta, which is the concert organizer, but has been relocated to the mentioned shopping center due to ongoing renovations.
The musician hailing from Brooklyn arrives with his band after touring 25 cities in our country non-stop since it began on April 6th at Sala Cabally, Málaga, with the last stop taking place yesterday at Aguere Cultural, La Laguna, Tenerife. In between, the band of the New York musician has performed in Jerez, Sevilla, Granada, Murcia, Almería, Alicante, Valencia, Castellón, Tarragona, Barcelona, Lleida, Pamplona, Donosti, Gasteiz, Santander, León, A Coruña, Vigo, Ponferrada, Salamanca, Burgos, Guadalajara, and Madrid.
Therefore, Marky Ramone’s return to Gran Canaria marks his final stop before heading back to America, adding a special touch to the event.
Farewell Tour
Not only because this marks the finale of what many media outlets have quickly tagged as “the most important punk tour of the decade,” but also because the band is expected to bring a highly experienced repertoire after numerous live shows with minimal rest. This tour reveals the affection that the four members of the New York band always had towards our country, reflected in albums titled in Spanish such as the live album “Loco Live” or their farewell album “¡Adiós, amigos!”
Additionally, it is worth noting that Marky is the only original member of the group still alive. While it is true that he joined Ramones after the departure of the original drummer Tommy, who lasted only four years, it is undeniable that Marky, who was part of the periods spanning the albums released between 1978-1983 and 1987-1996, was the most prominent drummer in the group. He is the sole surviving member of the original lineup, as vocalist Joey Ramone passed away in 2001, guitarist Johnny Ramone in 2004, bassist Dee Dee Ramone in 2002, and the short-lived original drummer Tommy Ramone in 2014.
Moreover, Marky has visited Canarias three times before. His first visit was during Ramones’s only visit to the archipelago, with a concert on March 5, 1993, at Los Tarahales in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. On that occasion, the band included Marky, Joey Ramone, Johnny Ramone, and C.J. Ramone as the only non-original member who spent seven years in the group from 1989 to 1996. The second visit was a solo performance on February 29, 2008, in Telde, where he revisited songs from his former band. This time, he was accompanied by a Blitzkrieg that actually consisted of members from an Argentine band, highly revered in Argentina, with some of those members repeating in today’s concert. During that visit, Marky performed with the members of the band Expulsados, featuring Sebastian Widmer on vocals, Martin Sauan on bass, and Marcelo Gallo on guitar. The third visit took place in 2015 in Tenerife, showcasing a band and repertoire similar to the previous one.
This 2024 Blitzkrieg lineup includes vocalist Iñaki Pela Urbizu, known for his work with the Spanish band La Excavadora, alongside familiar faces Marcos Gallo and Martín Sauan on guitar and bass, respectively. They premiered their new music video “New York New York” on April 5 as part of an EP titled “Keep On Dancing.” Based on their nationwide performances, Marky’s setlist will consist of half Ramones classics and the other half covers of his favourite bands.
Successes
In the first set, it is expected that they will perform all hits from the 14 albums recorded during the 22-year tenure of Ramones, including Blitzkrieg Bop, Beat on the Brat, I Wanna Be Sedated, Baby, I Love You, Now I Wanna Sniff some Glue, Commando, Glad to See You Again, Listen to my Heart , I Believe in Miracles, and The KKK Took My Baby Away. These classics will be interspersed with covers in the second half, featuring tracks such as Let’s Dance (Chris Montez), Surfin’ Bird (The Trashmen), Needles & Pins (Jackie De Shannon), California Sun (The Rivieres), I Don’t Grow Up (Tom Waits), Have You Ever Seen The Rain (Creedance Clearwater Revival) and Wonderful Word (Louis Amstrong).
Marky Ramone (Mark Bell) has been part of Ramones as a drummer since the spring of 1978, recording their first album “Road to Ruin,” and staying with the band for 15 years, performing over 1700 concerts until the band disbanded in 1996. However, the story of the New York musician goes beyond that, as he has been a part of the main formations that emerged in the city over the past 40 years, including involvement in blues rock project Dust, arty rock band Richard Hell & The Voidoids, horror punk group The Misfits, punk-rock band Teenage Head, and the rock legends supergroup Osaka Popstar. This is in addition to his regular collaborations on solo albums with all Ramones members. The rapid cry of One, two, three, four, is almost an anthem in the Ramone family before starting a live song. This is what we will hear from this 71-year-old drummer in our city, a cry that, in this instance, may carry even greater symbolism, given that Marky is the fourth historic Ramone, considering the day each member joined the band, and the sole member currently alive from the original group.
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It is worth clarifying that punk originated in London with the Sex Pistols album Never Mind the Bollocks in 1977. Therefore, anything that occurred before that date should not be labelled as punk. If anything, it would be described as pre-punk. This applies to Ramones, whose career began in 1974, with their debut album released in 1976. The same misconception surrounds other legends of the era wrongly associated with this genre, such as Bishops, Eddie and The Hot Rods, or Dr. Feelgood.
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