Marky Ramone


Marc Steven Bell, known professionally as Marky Ramone, is an American musician. He was the drummer of the punk rock band the Ramones, from May 1978 until February 1983, and August 1987 until August 1996. He has also played in other notable bands, Dust, Estus, Richard Hell and the Voidoids and Misfits.
In 2015 Marky released his autobiography Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone.
He lives in Brooklyn Heights with his wife, Marion Flynn.

Early life

According to his autobiography, he and his twin brother Fred were born at New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children on July 15, 1952 and is of Dutch ancestry on his father's side and of French and German ancestry on his mother's side.

Musical career

Bell began playing drums in 1971 with the hard rock band Dust, featuring Kenny Aaronson on bass and Richie Wise on guitar, and produced by Kenny Kerner. Bell recorded two albums with the band, before getting into the punk scene. In late 1972, following the death of the New York Dolls' original drummer Billy Murcia, Bell was the only seriously considered alternative to the eventually chosen Jerry Nolan. "Jerry and I knew each other," he said. "When Billy died, I went down to the loft where the Dolls were auditioning… I could do different time signatures, different accents, and I basically overplayed it – put in all these drum fills that weren't necessary. And Jerry just kept the beat straight. So Jerry got it and I didn't."
In 1973, Marky joined Estus and recorded an album of the same name, produced by The Rolling Stones' first producer, Andrew Loog Oldham. Bandmates for Estus included Harry Rumpf and Tom and John Nicholas. In the mid-1970s, Bell joined Richard Hell and the Voidoids and played on their first album, Blank Generation. In May 1978, Tommy Ramone asked Bell to join the Ramones; he accepted and was renamed Marky Ramone.
Marky was with the Ramones for the next five years. He starred in the movie Rock 'n' Roll High School, recorded the anthem, "I Wanna be Sedated", and worked with legendary producer Phil Spector. After five albums with Dee Dee, Joey, and Johnny Ramone, Marky was asked to leave the band in February 1983 because of a drinking problem. He was replaced by Richie Ramone who was himself replaced four years later by Clem Burke of Blondie, who was asked to leave only after two shows. Marky returned clean and sober in August 1987, and played 1700 shows and recorded 10 studio albums with the band until their retirement in August 1996.
In 1996, Marky joined Dee Dee Ramone to form the Ramainz, performing Ramones songs.
In 2000, Marky joined Joey to record Joey's solo album, entitled Don't Worry About Me. Joey told talk show host Joe Franklin that Marky was his favorite drummer along with Keith Moon.
In 1997 and 1999 Marky recorded two albums with his solo band Marky Ramone & the Intruders.
In 2001, he was presented with a lifetime achievement award from MTV by U2 singer Bono.
In September 2004, Ramone served as Executive Producer and released a Ramones DVD entitled on Image Entertainment, which featured footage of the band while on tour all over the world along with other various rare, vintage footage. Much of the candid footage is courtesy of Marky Ramone's personal video library. Ramones: Raw is the only certified Gold selling Ramones DVD and one of only two US gold selling releases in the Ramone entire catalog, the other being the greatest hits double LP Ramones Mania, released in 1988. Ramones: Raw is also the highest charting release in Ramones history.
On April 22, 2008, Marky Ramone appeared on a new CD in Canada playing drums with the Canadian punk band called Teenage Head. The CD is called Teenage Head with Marky Ramone and it was released in the USA on June 10, 2008.
, 2016

Radio career

Since 2005, he has hosted the show Punk Rock Blitzkrieg on Sirius XM. The show was originally aired on Faction, but has since been moved to 1st Wave following the launch of Turbo on Channel 41 and the relocation of Faction to Channel 314 as an Xtra Channel. The show has been renamed to Marky Ramone's 1st Wave Blitzkrieg. In April 2018, Marky Ramone's Punk Rock Blitzkrieg launched as a 24/7 channel available online only for Sirius XM subscribers. The channel features previously aired recordings of Marky Ramone's 1st Wave Blitzkrieg.

TV appearances

In 2015 Marky released his autobiography Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone.

Awards

The following is a list of albums and singles Marky Ramone has played on.
With Dust:
With Estus:
With The Voidoids:
With the Ramones:
With Marky Ramone and the Intruders:
  • 1994 – "Coward with the Gun"
  • 1996 – Marky Ramone & The Intruders
  • 1999 – The Answer To Your Problems?
  • 2006 – Start of the Century
With Dee Dee Ramone:
  • 1989 – Standing in the Spotlight
  • 1997 – "I Am Seeing U.F.O's"
  • 1997 – Zonked/Ain't It Fun
With The Ramainz:
  • 1999 – Live in N.Y.C.
With Joey Ramone:
  • 2001 – "Merry Christmas "
  • 2002 – "What a Wonderful World"
  • 2002 – Don't Worry
  • 2002 – Christmas Spirit... In My House
  • 2001 – No If's, And's or But's
  • 2002 – Legends Bleed
With Misfits:
  • 2003 - Project 1950
With Cherie Currie:
  • 2007– Cherry Bomb
Solo:
  • 2006 – Start of the Century
With Teenage Head:
  • 2008 – Teenage Head with Marky Ramone
With Bluesman:
  • 2008 – "Stop Thinking"
With Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg:'''
Marky Ramone produced, with Callicore Studio two animated videos, illustrating two songs from the Marky Ramone and The Intruders albums.