Best known for being the fastest, most powerful drummer who ever played in the iconic punk band the Ramones, Richie Ramone played Sooki Lounge in Belgrave, Melbourne on Wednesday 2 November 2016. The 59-year-old drummed and sang lead vocals, with Ronnie Simmons on lead guitar, Clare Misstake (AntiProduct) on bass, and Ben Reagan on rhythm guitar and drums – whenever Richie stepped out front during a set comprised of Ramones songs and tracks from his 2 solo albums.
Richie joined the Ramones in February 1983 and performed over 500 shows around the world with the punk legends from New York City, before his departure in August 1987. During this period, he wrote several critically-acclaimed and fan-favourite songs for the albums Animal Boy, Too Tough to Die and Halfway to Sanity, being the only Ramones drummer to be credited as the sole composer and writer of Ramones songs. This includes their hit Somebody Put Something in My Drink, which remained a staple in the Ramones set list until their final show in 1996. Richie is also the only Ramones drummer to sing lead vocals on Ramones songs. He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, when all three of the band’s drummers (Tommy, Marky and Richie Ramone) stood under the same roof for the first time ever.
