1995 — Ramones' Adios is for Real After All |
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GABBA GABBA GOODBYE: After 22 years, the Ramones are hanging up their leather jackets, and all I can say is that the world will be a worse place without them.
Though rumors were flying that the band's last album, this summer's not so cryptically titled «Adios Amigos,» was its farewell, when we talked with Joey Ramone around the time of the record's release, he hinted that reports of the band's death may have been premature--especially if the album received an especially warm commercial reception.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen. And now, Ramone admits that perhaps he had been in a bit of denial. «I guess there was a slight ray of hope, but that wasn't the band speaking, it was me speaking.» But now, even he knows the end is near. «I think I went through the hell of the Ramones being over already, which was very depressing. To me, the Ramones have always been bigger than four individuals; they have a life of their own. It's almost this entity, this monolith.»
All that's left now is to wrap up a goodbye tour. The band heads to Europe Tuesday (16) and then comes back to the U.S. for select East Coast dates that will include some secret club shows and its final New York appearance. In March, the band will go to South America. Its last show will be a stadium date in Buenos Aires, with Iggy Pop as the opening act.
After the tour ends in the spring, the band members already have individual plans, according to Ramone. Joey will continue writing for online music magazine Addicted to Noise. He will also host his own program on an Internet radio station that will launch later this year. C.J. has a solo record deal with a French label, Marky has an album coming out on MCA offshoot Blackout, and Johnny says he's going to retire.
In my mind, the Ramones were like cockroaches… indestructible. I thought a nuclear bomb could drop and the Ramones would be left standing among the rubble. I was wrong.
Melinda Newman |