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A casual flick through the Playhouse's new programme for Spring reveals that a bluegrass duo called Uncle Monk will be performing in Derry on 7th May. Some people reading this may think 'Ha, at last, he's run out of things to say about punk rock and has now strayed into Americana in an affectation of rootsiness'. Or, if you're smart , you'll know that Uncle Monk's mandolin player is Tommy Ramone. Smarter than I am, anyway. The thought of a genuine Ramone setting foot in Derry has caused a generation of fans to start booking babysitters in advance. Last week I was a bit offhand about Ramones drummer Marky, who joined the band after their third LP Rocket to Russia in 1977. He replaced Tommy, who seems to have been the brains behind the Ramones. No cheap shots , please. We're talking about the band that took rock and roll into a garage, stripped off the rust, pumped up the tyres,Ìý tuned the engine and sent it back out with a new sense of humour. Tommy was manager, producer, and eventual drummer once they realised they couldn't get anyone else who could play that fast. He wrote Blitzkrieg Bop. He was also the most normal of the four. Joey was had obsessive compulsive disorder, Johnny was a right wing disciplinarian, who didn't speak to Joey for 18 years, while Dee Dee was a heroin addict who resented Tommy because Tommy was normal. Tommy could cook dinner.
I met Tommy once, when he visited the Undertones dressing room in London in 1978. I wasn't there when he came in, so returned to find the rest of the band gathered around this softly spoken American. He wasn't wearing sunglasses or a leather jacket (and the Undertones didn't do proper introductions) so it took me a while to work out who he was. A living legend. And how apt that he's now playing the BG from CBGBs.Ìý