Rory Sutherland on Johnny Ramone

Great Lives

BBC

Documentary, History, Society & Culture

4.2 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 14 December 2021

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Johnny Ramone is a founding member of the seminal New York punk band, the Ramones. Famed for their blisteringly short songs played at breakneck speed, the Ramones burst onto the scene in 1976 with tracks like 'Blitzkrieg Bop', 'I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You' and 'Judy is a Punk'. When they played The Roundhouse in London journalist Chris Salewicz was there, and afterwards he said all the British punk bands started to play their songs twice as fast. But, as advertising expert Rory Sutherland reveals, it's Johnny Ramone's contradictions that really form the basis for his choosing him as a great life. Johnny was a staunch Republican at a time when punk was perceived as a largely left-wing movement. In fact, for Rory, anything that aims to disrupt the status quo can be punk - including Brexit! Johnny studied tapes of the Ramones performances to ensure that they looked, sounded and moved in what he felt was the right way, and his aim was to make a million dollars and retire early. Matthew Parris presents, ready to shout "1,2,3,4".

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Toby Field

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, let me ask you, sir, have you heard George's podcast?
0:06.1	Me and Ben Brick are back with a blast, this time with stories from Africa's past.
0:11.0	Not too distant, unsolved mysteries, unsung heroes from untold histories, I'm trying
0:16.9	to make sense of the present day, join me on this journey by pressing play.
0:23.8	Have you heard George's podcast?
0:25.7	Chapter four.
0:27.1	Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:30.5	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:36.3	Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Ted Newgent, Bob Barr, Rush Limbaugh, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
0:43.6	These names appear in the back of the autobiography of today's great life, under the heading
0:48.9	favorite Republicans.
0:51.1	Other lists include his favorite horror films, best ball players, that's baseball, by the
0:56.4	way, favorite TV shows and top singers.
1:00.2	In the list of top punk groups, there are all the usual suspects, buzz cocks that
1:05.2	end the clash, and of course the sex pistols, but sitting in the number one spot are
1:10.3	the Ramones, and they were immodestly put there by the subject of today's great lives,
1:17.1	Johnny Ramone.
1:18.6	And in case you're wondering, his favorite film was Bride of Frankenstein from 1935, with
1:23.8	Boris Karloff and his top singer was Elvis Presley.
1:27.9	The Ramones, the American punk band famous for their short songs like Sheena is a punk
1:33.6	rocker, and the KKK took my baby away, rock and roll high school, and blitzkrieg
1:39.4	Bop, played at breakneck speed, and introduced with a shout-of-
	...

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