The annual event, organised by Johnny Ramone’s widow Linda Ramone, was well attended this year, with notable first time guests including Morrissey, artist Shepard Fairey and Lethal Amounts’ Danny Fuentes, according to Forbes Magazine.
The event also included an art exhibit, curated by Fuentes, in the mausoleum, as well as a screening of the sci-fi classic Barbarella, a favourite of Ramone’s.
“Johnny was very passionate about collecting, especially movie posters,” Linda Ramone told Forbes. “He had every inch of the house covered. And we talked about how they looked all the time with our pals. That’s why we show a movie every year and have an installation of art and memorabilia at the tribute, because it’s what Johnny loved.”
Billie Joe Armstrong spoke after the event, telling Forbes that Joey Ramone was his favourite guitarist ever, and one of his favourite singers ever.
“They seemed like a family, with the name and a gang or something like the Del-Lords or some kind of New York bunch of barbarians that could wield around a baseball bat,” Armstrong said.
“They’re known, just the leather jackets, the jeans, and the thing I liked about them is they didn’t really play up the fashionable English mohawk punk. They were very American and very Americana.”
The surprisingly sweet set included Ramones tracks ‘Rockaway Beach’, ‘Judy Is a Punk’, and ‘Danny Says’ as well as a rendition of the Sex Pistols’ ‘Pretty Vacant’.
