Through a mixture of archival footage, archival and new interviews with all.
While a band, they never experienced the tremendous successes of some of their contemporaries (Blondie, Talking Heads) and those they influenced (Nirvana, Green Day). A years-in-the-making documentary on the legendary punk band the Ramones. Three of the original members died between 19, and some of their interpersonal problems were never resolved. The obstacles they encountered and the hard work they applied to earn whatever relatively limited success they achieved is discussed in detail. Archival footage - photos, interviews, and concert footage - contrast contemporary takes from those who were around The Ramones as they overcame their own initial musical ineptitude and personality problems to become a highly influential band. Spector was finally sentenced to 19 years in jail in 2009.END OF THE CENTURY: THE STORY OF THE RAMONES is unflinchingly frank - as raw and inspired as the music The Ramones made.
RAMONES END OF THE CENTURY TRIAL
The ‘Wall of Sound’ producer would eventually be sentenced to jail time for his part in the murder of Lara Clark but would continue to produce music during the lengthy trial period. But the erratic behaviour of Phil Spector would drastically become a more and more frequent and dangerous occurrence. was odd that Phil Spector produced End of the Century, because his painstaking working methods seemingly clashed with The Ramones instinctual approach. The partnership would naturally not see a reprisal. Then he sat down at his black concert piano and made us listen to him play and sing ‘Baby, I Love You’ until well after 4:30 in the morning.” But a scary preview into the future of Spector was laid out in front of the band as he often used bodyguards and even guns as a form of intimidation.ĭee Dee Ramone remembers in his autobiography how Spector had threatened him at gunpoint: “He levelled his gun at my heart and then motioned for me and the rest of the band to get back in the piano room … He only holstered his pistol when he felt secure that his bodyguards could take over. The recording sessions may have provided a lot of strange behaviour from the split-personality of Spector. The tension between the two leading Spector to hire a bodyguard, bringing him along to band meetings in case Johnny jumped him. The chord came out sounding okay, but 12 hours worth ain’t really worth it, you know?” it was enough to drive Johnny crazy and he almost left the band. I mean, nobody else could hear the difference. In the same interview Johnny explained that Spector once listened to a chord for 12 hours straight: “The opening chord to our song ‘Rock N Roll High School,’ he spent 12 hours sitting there and listening to the same chord over and over again. Rock n roll’s got to be very spontaneous and a little faster.”
The rest of the band agreed too, Johnny Ramone remarked in a 1982 interview about their conflicting styles, “Working with Phil was very difficult because I guess he’s a perfectionist so he likes to spend a lot of time redoing things and re-listening and it’s very time consuming.
In fact, it was this song that would signify the relationship between band and producer and how it may have crossed the line from strange into downright deranged. The partnership even had a mark of approval on the album itself as the Ramones covered The Ronettes ‘Baby I Love You’. It allowed the band to breach into new areas, using their music to talk about addiction and tour life. The record rated highly among critics and approached a far wider range of subject matter in the songs. We got along very well and had a nice rapport…” Marky Ramone remembers “I understood attitude, he was from The Bronx, I was from Brooklyn. It would become the stuff of punk legend. Spector had hit mega-stardom with his work with The Ronettes and The Crystals in the sixties and after working with The Beatles, was now keen to help move the heavy metal bubblegum band of leather jackets and ripped jeans into the mainstream. With their eyes trained on the top of the mountain, Phil Spector quickly became a key candidate to produce the album on Sire records.
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