Marky Ramone is the fourth original member of Ramones, and the only surviving one. Marky Ramone and his project Blitzkrieg will conclude a nationwide tour of Spain this Friday at Las Arenas Shopping Centre.
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Marky Ramone, the former main drummer of the most important precursor punk band in history, is wrapping up a massive tour in Spain this Friday at 8:30 pm, at Las Arenas Shopping Centre’s tent, with his latest musical project that he has been involved in since 2010: Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg. The original venue was supposed to be Sala Fábrica La Isleta, the concert’s organizer, but due to ongoing construction works, the location has been moved to the aforementioned shopping centre.
The truth is that the Brooklyn-born musician arrives with his band after tirelessly touring 25 cities across our country since it all began on April 6, at Sala Cabally, Málaga, with their final 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.
For this reason, Marky Ramone’s latest visit to Gran Canaria serves as his final stop before returning to America, giving it a special significance.
Farewell
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It’s not just a farewell to what many media outlets have rushed to label as “the most important punk tour of the decade,” but also because it’s assumed that the group arrives with a highly experienced repertoire after so many live performances with minimal rest. This tour showcases the affection that the four members of the New York band always had towards our country, materializing in albums titled in Spanish such as the live album “Loco live” or their farewell, “¡Adiós, amigos!”.
Furthermore, it is worth highlighting that Marky is the only original member of the group still alive. While Tommy was the first drummer to leave Ramones, joining Marky, he only lasted four years. Therefore, there is no doubt that Marky, who was part of the band during the periods covering the albums released between 1978-1983, and between 1987-1996, was the most significant drummer of the group. He is the only surviving original member, with the vocalist Joey Ramone passing away in 2001; guitarist Johnny Ramone in 2004; bassist Dee Dee Ramone in 2002; and the short-lived original drummer Tommy Ramone in 2014.
Marky has previously visited Canary Islands three times. The first time was during Ramones’ 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 consisted of, alongside Marky, Joey Ramone, Johnny Ramone, and C.J. Ramone, the only non-historic member who was with the group for seven years between 1989 and 1996. The second visit was a solo show on February 29, 2008, in Telde, where he revisited songs from his former band. However, this time he was accompanied by a Blitzkrieg of members from a band in Argentina, where the group is particularly revered. Some of these members will repeat at the concert today. During that visit, Marky performed with members of the band Expulsados – Sebastian Widmer on vocals, Martin Sauan on bass, and Marcelo Gallo on guitar. The third visit would be in 2015 in Tenerife with a band and repertoire similar to the previous one.
This 2024 Blitzkrieg includes vocalist Iñaki Pela Urbizu, known for his work with the Spanish group La Excavadora, alongside the familiar faces of Marcos Gallo and Martín Sauan on guitar and bass, respectively. On April 5, they premiered their new music video “New York New York,” part of an EP titled “Keep On Dancing.” Based on the national concerts Marky has performed, the repertoire will consist of half Ramones songs and half covers of his favourite bands.
Successes
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Thus, in the first group, they are set to perform all the hits from the 14 albums released during the 22 years of Ramones, including songs like 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 alternated with covers in the second part, songs 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 (Creedence Clearwater Revival), and Wonderful Word (Louis Armstrong).
Marky Ramone (Mark Bell) was part of Ramones as a drummer from spring 1978, recording their first album Road to Ruin, and remaining in the band for 15 years, playing over 1700 gigs until the band’s dissolution in 1996. However, the New York musician’s musical legacy goes beyond that, as he has been a part of the key formations that emerged in the city over the last 40 years. He was involved in the blues-rock project Dust, the arty rock of Richard Hell & The Voidoids, the horror punk of The Misfits, the punk-rock of Teenage Head, and the supergroup of rock legends Osaka Popstar. Not to mention his regular collaborations with Ramones’ member’s solo albums. The accelerated 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, on this occasion, may hold even greater symbolism, as Marky is the fourth historic Ramone, considering each member’s joining date in the band, and the only surviving member from the original group.
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It should be clarified that punk originated in London with the Sex Pistols’ album Never Mind the Bollocks in 1977. Therefore, anything that happened before that date should not be labelled as punk. At most, it would be regarded as pre-punk. This is the case with Ramones, whose career began in 1974, and their debut album was released in 1976. The same applies to other legends of the era wrongly associated with this style like Bishops, Eddie and The Hot Rods, or Dr. Feelgood.
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