Henry Rollins - The Ramones

Henry Rollins shares his thoughts & feelings on one of the most influential & important bands of all time: The Ramones.
Taken from Talk Is Cheap Vol. 3 Disc 2 Track 1
Spoken Word performance live from the Enmore Theater in Sydney, Australia. April 23rd, 2003.
*Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.*

[@HermanWaldorf]

Ian McKay and Henry Rollins in the car after the Ramones gig is a beautiful image. Thanks Henry

[@kiernan3995]

woah that’s super cool! didn’t realize that until you pointed it out, love minor threat!

[@wadeyearsago]

Henry nails a Ramones gig. It was physically punishing, the music a tidal wave of noise. You were a beaten pulp. Full beers dancing off the table. You really did want it to end, you needed it to end, you actually needed to escape. Fantastic, life changing.

[@Miriboheme]

true 100%.

[@samwindmill8264]

I wish I could've experienced them, I was a year old when they broke up

[@huskybrutor9287]

I couldn't hear for 3 days afterwards!

[@dennisperin2989]

2nd only to Motorhead! Motorhead clubs you over the head by song 3! But even Lemmy was impressed enough to write a little didi bout em…Motorhead, ACDC, Ramones, Man O War were the loudest shows i ever saw.

[@SpettroFamily]

I got to be honest : despite the gig was really a war, for me was not enough - even two extra hours would be not enough

[@Lengsel7]

It's pretty much impossible to be depressed when listening to The Ramones.

[@michaelmyers8288]

Exactly why I listen all the time.

[@wiisalute]

Try Radiohead or The Smiths

[@MrRamyon74]

@@wiisalute Why? I love Radiohead and the Smiths but it's definitely not feel good music.

[@IHATERALPH]

@@wiisalute no

[@stevec6427]

I've been depressed hearing shitty covers bands playing Ramones songs many times

[@leoperez9732]

The Ramones are legends and Henry Rollins telling his story about see their show is awesome.....

[@thisismenow923]

I saw The Ramones in a small club in the early 80's and they had "it" One of the best shows EVA!

[@Miriboheme]

i saw them in a bowling alley in brockton, mass. rollins' description is spot on. SPOT ON.

[@RoyRamone955]

Classic and true explanation. Hey, we’re the Ramones, take it Dee Dee. 1982 my cool mom let me and my younger brother cut school and she drop us off at Nassau Community College for a free Ramones show. We were hooked. Saw them close to 100 times from 82-till it ended. Great times. Only disappointment was the final show being in California and not NYC where it really should of been for the real fans.

[@ctpmark]

What Henry Describes as his experience at his first ramones gig... is exactly the sane as my experience seeing motorhead in 1984 as a 16 year old getting a lesson on a club gig ... Awesome!

[@johnstrika9170]

ctp Mark This comment brought back memories of being 14 and getting into a Motorhead show at L'Amour in Brooklyn. Lol nice 🤘

[@user-hv5uy7ct6g]

I saw the Ramones 13 times, I utterly loved them and miss them terribly.

[@TheEvilChipmunk]

Now I wanna sniff some glue.

[@larryphillipsjr.1607]

😂

[@Lengsel7]

Carbona, NOT glue.

[@davidderifield3820]

I just wanna have something to do TOnight.

[@stanbolkowy166]

@@davidderifield3820 depending on who, someone to do and something to do

[@j_freed]

@@davidderifield3820 - then I did what God forbade…

[@DrSRUFI]

When Laney sings 'Yeeeeeeaaaaahhhh', you get chills he is singing from the other side. Truth Spoken.

[@DinosaurSatan]

Well... I think the "Yeeeeeaaaahh" was more a Jerry Cantrell thing than a Layne Staley thing. Notice how it persists in Anger Rising but is completely absent from Social Parasite.

[@molochsorcery4357]

It may be added by tracking overdubs in the studio. If Cantrell does it live is another matter.

[@kkula7843]

RIP.

[@watts111]

Except it's Cher who has the copyright on it. Sorry Henry.

[@SomeRandomHobo44]

@@watts111 Cher and Layne Staley should never be compared together. Cher is a pop singer who cares about making music based off of what the latest music trend is and Layne is a guy who just cares about writing good, honest music, irregardless of what the latest trend is

[@jonesey251]

"When Creed or that nickleback bitch do it..." Thank you Henry, thank you

[@ShinerBock2007]

Wow he’s an amazing story teller. I just saw Joey on Conan recently. He was such a sweet man. RIP big guy!!

[@evesolis6133]

I like him cause he's not afraid to show affections as well as hatred towards people. Unlike some commenters on the Internet who is only capable of preconceived hatred whatsoever.

[@fiendfrank]

Long live the Ramones.

[@wally40ful]

Henry is right! The Ramones are fuckin' Awesome!!

[@KCSunbeam-pi9bq]

I must add that Dee Dee was not only the most prolific songwriter in the beginning, he was always the chief songwriter. After he quit, he continued to write songs for the Ramones.

[@MsStellaBoy]

Caught The Ramones at a smallish venue in '80 & '81 in Florida. I gotta say, they gave me a thorough ass kicking each time. Relentless. Tremendous stamina. Pure energy. For 70/80 minutes your locked in. No piss breaks. No refreshments. No chit chat. And walking out with your body soaking wet from sweat & vibrating from the amp onslaught. Glorious.

[@MsStellaBoy]

@@CosmicConnection968 Cowards

[@MsStellaBoy]

Gutless

[@MsStellaBoy]

@@CosmicConnection968 My sincere apology CC. replied to the wrong post. Sorry!

[@mtp4430]

Absolutely the most descriptive dead on account I've ever heard. It brought back such memories, I swear to you, I could literally smell the smegma, dank, heavy, urine, beer and sweat filled air as I did back then. And the 1 2 3 4 in between every song in rapid fire succession. Man, those were the days. The Ramones rocked. The only thing I would add from my experience of concerts in the big arenas such as MSG, is that when the lights went up at the end of the show, you could literally not see the other side of the garden through the thick fog of marijuana and cigarette smoke lingering in the air. Ah yes, my youth. It was a magical time. Thank you Henry for the trip down memory lane.

[@ladyhonor822]

January 2023 RIP Angels.See you on the other side ☦️. Concerts galore. Philadelphia USA

[@Lunatic4Bizcas]

'That Creed or Nickleback Bitch.' Ha! Ha! Hell Yeah!

[@wolfchange6279]

Lunatic4Bizcas Ha Ha Ha🤘🤘🤘

[@IamSimoid7]

Always an enthralling tale with Mister Rollins.

[@RandomDuude]

You never forget your first ONETWOTHREEFOUR 😂

[@imtgof6126]

Exactly my first punk show at the Sanamonica Civic Center,Ramones & the Runaways....I knew that I was 4 ever PuNk...let's see I'm? ? 56 and still get off on the old shit like DKs,Dead Boys,Iggy,Slits,Adolescent,Circle Jerks,Flipper,The Germs,Fear,MDC,Black Flag,Agent Orange, Tex and the Horseheads,TSOL,The Cramps,Dickies,Flesheaters,D.O.A,.also The Goth thing was fun 2 Bauhaus,Christian Death,Siouxie and the Banshees. Joy Division...I could go on and on....

[@jeffclement2468]

I got hooked on Henry's tales in the 80's when he wrote the end page for Spin magazine. Been a fan ever since 🤘

[@LetsGoMetsGo33]

From a big Ramones fan, love the description of the show. Puts you there.

[@SpettroFamily]

This time he's more than accurate : to see The Ramones live was a life experience : the moshpit was basically a giant brawl - they went on stage and Joey look SO STRANGE - he went 1..2..3..4 and you're into the pandemonium - no pause between one song and another - a sonic assault - it was fantastic, legendary, unforgettable 🥲

[@j_freed]

CBGB just included everyone from Blondie to Patty Smith to Talking Heads and Devo. The Ramones fucking mattered.

[@xdeadbeatboi6666x]

jonas brave Long live New York punk/new wave right?

[@brettfavreify]

Makes you wanna be a time traveller.

[@gazman2769]

Ramones were amazing to see. If you never saw them live it was an amazing experience. They came out it was amazing. They were one of a kind. RIP Legends.

[@tigerstyle4505]

Crazy coincidence, I was at a punk show when I heard Dee Dee died and I went to a punk show the nights that Johnny and Joey died. Every time the bands that played would play covers in tribute and the crowds went absolutely insane. For all their flaws The Ramones have a legacy that can't be denied. Dee Dee's voice was the best. Sad I never got to see em. Nothin in the world can compare to a punk show. Doesn't matter if it's street bands playin bluegrass style flail punk or crust bands playin some straightedge hole in the wall it gives ya something inside. Makes ya feel alive. I've seen every kinda band from all kinds of genres but I've been on stage and sang along with the singers of The Addicts, GBH, Subhumans, Caustic Christ, Leftover Crack, Lower Class Brats, Municipal Waste, Cro-Mags, Agnostic Front, Circle Jerks and dozens of other bands and hung out with most of em before and after shows and ya just can't say that about any other music really. I came up with mostly hip hop, R&B, soul and gospel but I am forever grateful to the punks on the block for tuning me in! Gotta say a lot of bands did me like this 😂

[@stanbolkowy166]

My own crazy coincidence, not really, more of a curse, is whenever growing up that i ever got into a certain musician or band; the person always died right after, got into soundgarden in my early teens and then cornell died, got into stone temple pilots, then scott died a handful of years later, almost made me anxious on getting into anyone because of being afraid that i'd kill them by simply liking them lol

[@no-eb1yc]

Henry!! This fires me up!! Legendary stories man, definitely

[@tonym994]

GIMME GIMME SHOCK TREATMENT is far and away my favorite RAMONES tune. the rotten luck of their personal lives is unprecedented in Rock. we share your pain, Henry .

[@SuperCrazyPsycho731]

Ramones lived a pretty full life. You got to remember they were old enough to remember when Bay City rollers were a new thing. Also, if they were honest about the inhalants and whatnot, yeah

[@isackelmendi5827]

wow what he said about layne(aic)it so true,thank you henry

[@kennopalus]

I grew up in Glenarden MD . that was in walking distance of the capital centre . I saw the same shows he did . If you search capital centre on you tube , it will pull up a lot of the shows he's talking about . That place was state of the art when it was built , and had a large video monitor in the middle of the ceiling on all four sides . many of the shows were recorded from the 70''s and 80' s

[@finnblu3002]

Ken opalus and mile long lines for too few baths and girls in men's baths using stalls and bowls for urinals

[@MrJabroney]

God damn,the Ramones came to my life at just the perfect time.This band will always be my favourite

[@JuliusGalacki]

The first time, I saw the Ramones at the Fast Lane in Asbury Park in 1978 or 1979. I was 3 feet from the stage. My memory of the show is a whirl and a blur but the feeling was of one of the greatest shows I ever saw. On the negative, my ears were ringing for a month from the wall of speakers on either side of the small stage. It still has physical ramifications to this day as I still need earplugs when I see a live show today as it's otherwise painful and I get this weird echo. But I don't regret seeing that show. Ever.

[@WarWolfSpirit]

All these views and likes, yet all I see in the comments are people who seem to have a personal problem already with Henry before they came here & just wish for the public to know how they feel about a person they do not like...yet are here watching the videos and commenting.

[@homelessmike]

love rollins keep posting

[@evesolis6133]

And Rollins seems to tell a story quiet nicely. When he talks about other people, it's full-on about them or even contrasting himself to highlight them, unlike some comment says it's all about himself or whatever. And he never trashes a guy without reason and just leaves meaningless hatred-filled rants. So yeah, people who comment negatively often is preconceived and even more sadly, not willing to adapt and grow and learn.

[@ogflyguy2845]

Punks were all assholes? Do your homework before feeling justified to even comment. Punk came out of a financially fucked and burnt out London. The originals were pissed off and rightly so. I was a teen when punk hit the US...it was a relief from the hippie movement in the US. I was a huge fan and so was my crew in high school. I have no recollection whatsoever of hating anybody. If anything we were accepting of non conformists...for many it the only crowd that would accept them. Rollins describes the scene to a tee...small venues...the music was just the opposite of the big arena bands reducing highly produced music and shows and reducing that shit to 4 chords and dive bars..Too bad you missed the movement...your loss

[@xwhite2020]

How do you feel to be the stupid fucking idiot guy wasting your stupid fucking idiot time acting all wise.

[@rockyarmstrong7345]

Eve Nam ..i before e sweetheart.. hahahajajanahahaha

[@dethhead22]

The way Henry expresses the arena experience in the 70s sounds like the way Roger Waters describes it.

[@juanespinosa1259]

I've seen pro stand-up comedians in the US not quite as good as Henry. And the theme of his comedy is my reason of being, punk rock music. Hilarious stuff.

[@catboxvideo]

in all honesty the show that was the equivalent to this for me was Black Flag and the Misfits. A friends older brother snuck us in and we easily got lost in the crowd due how packed it was and the fact that I was young and a lot smaller than the majority of the crowd. I barely caught a glimpse of anyone on stage. the music attitude everything severally impacted me. later in life i found a vinyl recording of the Misfits - no title Fiend on Bright Orange - recorded by a Chicago area college radio station - but it was from the same year as the show I saw and amazing thanks Henry and Black Flag so full of nostalgia.

[@quicksilverbalt]

I will never know what it will be like to see the Ramones live. They broke up while i was still in juior high and hadnt even discovered their greatness yet. I think thats the real sad part when a band member dies a window is closed that can never be reopened.

[@zorantaylor3190]

This recording has become as seminal a part of my life as any Ramones song.

[@keithjohnson1830]

Definitely an accurate description of a Ramones show. After about 5 songs you would have to try and escape the front for your life.

[@marycousins9767]

I dig this!! Love hearing stories and I cannot get enough of Henry Rollins!! He's so articulate and poised!!

[@jeanfid]

This is brilliant.

[@TFMB]

omg this is great i laughed so much listening to Henry recall the Ramones, I saw them when i was 15 in 1978 and i tell ya i feel lucky that there was girls in front and behind me lolllllllllllllll. thanks for posting, this made my night.

[@NLOVEWITHJOANJETT]

Just happen to be surfing the net and your post made my night.I have taken in Sir Henry Rollins spoken words tours before....but never enlightening me about The Ramones...THANK-YOU

[@darrenwilsonV2]

Nice. Thanks for posting

[@stevesandford8993]

Great Post!!! (Thank You, Poster!!!) xx SF

[@PAULLONDEN]

Oh my.....just love Henry's stories ... Arena concerts suck so realy bad.......especially when you'd had the opportunity to see bands like Zeppelin , Deep Purple ,Alice Cooper in a proper concert hall with great acoustics . Tried these concrete behemoth air raid shelters a few times and came out every time with the empty feeling I'd been pickpocketed .

[@seanr1013q]

awesome insight ...as always brother Henry!!!

[@pavelpribylovsky4092]

awesome post. Thanks, man. Love Henry, Love Joey, Johnny, Tommy and DeeDee, Marky and CJ also, of course, may they live long and prosper

[@brianwilson49]

This picture is phenomenal. Even if you never heard any Ramones music before you KNOW how it sounds by this picture alone.

[@yodaneer4127]

Best rock & roll band of all time. Hands down. Case closed. And re: the count-in, I once played in a Ramones tribute band called 1234 GO! Sure we sucked but damn that was fun. Thx Henry!

[@terrencebarnes9729]

Having only gotten the privilege of seeing Rollins spoken word performance (amazing). Of course. Hanks wheels are turning so much faster than the rest of ours. So intelligent, duh?, so massive a real human. What I love about Henry Rollins is he is so human. So vulnerable. Vulnerable = the strongest human emotion and be cool with it. Gonna go crank 10 & 1/2. Don't did old Henry.

[@Metalmitch72]

I got to see The Ramones at Lollapalooza of all places in 1996. Probably my favorite concert of all time. Next to the Kiss reunion concert same year with The Melvins opening

[@eddiemuniz443]

If it wasn't for the RAMONES we would all be singing poison songs!!!

[@theatomicclap5328]

Eddie Muniz NEVER!!!!

[@Lengsel7]

Are you kidding? That talk dirty to me riff/song is clearly taken from the Ramones.

[@createyourownheaven]

Why not sing both?

[@tylernovak2953]

CreateYourOwnHeaven Poison is shit

[@kevinstout5332]

Yup

[@izzyboone31]

Thank you for bringing up subject agree with everything.

[@TomMcisaac250]

R.I.Punk Joe Strummer

[@lukess.s]

Thomas McIsaac the dude died in 2002....

[@Miriboheme]

his description of going to concerts back then is so spot on!

[@gregdahlen4375]

I enjoyed that. Henry has a way of giving you real ideas but they are expressed in a simple way that is understandable

[@Jameister60]

I’m a year older than Henry and he takes me right back to what it was like being a young rock music fan in the 70’s. Awesome story telling.

[@TheHardDonuts]

Ramones will live forever.

[@diggerthegroundhog8799]

I saw the Ramones over 30 times from 1979 to their Adios Amigos show in Philly in a snow storm in 96. That last show blew my mind for over a year. Every Ramones show was an event except for when they played awful venues like Great Adventure. When you saw the Ramones all rules left the venue. It was survival of the fittest. The overpowering sound, energy, the precision, clocklike mentality that went for 90 minutes. You were drained.

[@urwholefamilydied]

21:50 a very good point about being embarrassed by past music when you were young: I remember at 19 through mid 20's dismissing a lot of stuff I had liked growing up. My "cool" friends made me embarrassed about a lot of stuff I legitimately liked. Some of that stuff I actually don't like, and some of that stuff I had to revisit. Just think about the music that you're into... and debate a friend if they say it sucks. Or tell them to fuck off.

[@broyle7332]

Fro on the left is epic.

[@monicajean37]

That's Howard Stern studying Joey Ramone's moves to play him in a future Biopic.

[@lowfatricemilk1860]

this is poetry

[@joebelow9700]

I saw the Ramones eight times from '84 to '89 and yeah Henry describes the experience to the letter! I'm remembering certain things now, like Monte and Johnny having the tour dates memorized. Their music right before they went on was great, too. Motorhead, AC/DC, The Damned. Take it away Dee Dee !!!

[@juancaminante8078]

This is fantastic

[@michaelariola6568]

The best part about having Hank as one of my inspirations since I was 15... The fact that he gave up trying to string out the singing. Rollins band seriously did my soul wrong at the first listen of the ,end of silence. This man is so true.

[@neonknees]

Saw them in 1990 when i was 16, with some buddies, and it was EXACTLY like this. We were fucked afterwards. Nobody gave you pre show tips back then!

[@roloramos6934]

My generation, my past and present in the words of a great storyteller. I love black flag, but Henry undoubtedly outperforms himself in these live matches.

[@michaelr.4878]

..to put a final statement on what Rollin's so elecantly said......and that is why the Ramones were the great band of all time, imo. I was born in 1981 and they were/are my Beatles. I am sure a ton of people feel the same way.

[@djinnmagik6867]

RIP THE RAMONES 🔥🎶🔥

[@ventues9751]

I was lucky enough to see The RAMONES 2 times in 1985 !!!!

[@peterpix1]

I saw them in 78' youre right....whooo......rock and roll greatness though

[@elderlypoodle9181]

He's telling it how it was. Give us some praise for being there at the time. If your not our age don't tell us how it was.

[@irishelk3]

I would love to chat with this guy, he's so enthusiastic, who else matches this guy for enthusiasm?, every time i hear him talk i'm really impressed by him, you can tell he's genuinely interested in what he's speaking about.

[@stanleysteinman7678]

wow, henry, the cap center! still got aboot twenty five ticket stubs! humble pie....black sabbath....van halen opening for nugent....robin trower...kiss...queen...WOW!

[@BelaCurcio]

how he felt about those lame bar shows is how I feel about live music in LA today.... it genuinely feels like it's just depressed 35 year olds who work in banking trying to escape their stupid life by holding a drink and bobbing their head slightly.... and the drinks are so expensive no one would dance in fear of risking their drink spilling. Does anyone else feel this way??? God, I would give anything to see the Ramones, to go to a show like that even. We don't have rock heroes today though.

[@tonym994]

put on'' GIMME GIMME SHOCK TREATMENT'' on MAX and stand back.

[@seandecastro]

Henery speaks the truth , so true and true!

[@numsiskit]

MEGALIKE. I swear I should have been born in the early 60s.

[@stiffrichard2816]

Decades into the future, no one will be still talking about any music that's come out in the past 20 years.

[@stanbolkowy166]

decades into the future, no one will remember the last time a mainstream song had guitar playing in it

[@imannonymous7707]

Yeah Henry is one cool dude . He is everything that posers ain't..his recounts of a rocknroll journey is fact based, and too funny to even try not to laugh at...you just gotta laugh , uou cant make that shit up

[@2sc458]

I've got to thank Don Kirschner's Rock Concert, for my introduction to the Ramones (and punk rock). I remember, my brother and I would microphone tape record (cassette), from a 12" B&W TV, Don Kirschner's. When the Ramones came on, we were Rock fan's and said, "What is this crap? They don't even know how to play lead" or whatever. By the end of the first song, it was all over. We had to admit, "You know, this kinda kicks ass!!". I think we were looking at Cream and Hit Parader, which seemed to be a crossover for Rock and punk (Thank you, mags). Then when we finally got to see Ramones, we saw were the image and music came together and became hardcore fans.

[@r.josephgrundy1706]

Funny thing, I'm 43 and I have gone through the whole "re-buying my past on c.d." thing, because I tossed my old cassettes and albums out, year's ago. Also, I totally understand what he meant about feeling as if you've lost a friend, when your musical inspiration dies. I felt the exact same way when, Layne Staley, David Bowie and Prince died. Like I lost a friend, or family member!

[@charleselms2400]

Think god for the 5 dollar bin at wallmart.

[@knutelindstrom3716]

People came here to hear Henry Rollins tell stories, for those who have a problem with him just ignore him & go watch something you do like. I don't understand why people would waste their time complaining about someone or something they don't like when they watch videos by choice. It's not like it's TV programming where you have to watch whatever is on, with Internet we can make our own programming & watch what we personally want to watch. It's obvious that people who don't like the guy only come here to complain about him, but no worries, as I'm sure the feeling is mutual for him! And who cares whether or not he might actually be gay or bi, that's his own damn business, & I wouldn't be surprised if he was. He's doing what he likes, unlike all the people who seem to love to do what they don't like by going to videos & complaining about it. Sure, everyone's free to have an opinion, but if there are much better things to do, then why bother wasting time on things they hate?

[@marquee6]

Henry nailed the experience!

[@madmonk66]

Henry is a good story teller , is smart and has good comedic timing. I appreciate him more as a commentator, stand-up and writer than as a singer. I love Black Flag but he was just singer #4 to me. But it takes guts to take the stage with that band a crowd with long hair and nothing but a sweaty pair of gym shorts. They probably were not as afraid he'd punch them as that his balls might get ground into their faces. ha-ha. I'd be scared too.

[@davidhorner9218]

RAMONES 4 Ever!!!

[@brucewilliams2106]

I was there. Louie's Rock City. Nothing like it ever before or ever since

[@punkisinthedetails1470]

The Only Band That Matters.

[@paralentor]

Very cool to share a common thread of Ultraman with Rollins on the topic of Ramones being Immortal!

[@elang7961]

Lol I don't even know Henry love ultraman😂

[@Pighood]

Normally I don't find Rollins amusing, but this was funny AF

[@tommyt1971]

Watch his piece about performing on stage, you can find it here if you search Rollins nothing can go wrong. Guaranteed to make you laugh!

[@jamespuleo3269]

Great, great storytelling. Thanks for posting. Puts you there. "Excelsior, you fatheads!"

[@eddienebula6084]

the best

[@Tyrannosaurine]

Eddie Nebula To the Center and Let it Burn are masterpieces.

[@zeppelinfan82]

I dont think Led Zeppelin EVER opened a show with Kashmir. But they did alot of shows,and im a die hard fan.

[@grahammccready2647]

great stories as ever. my first "real" gig was SLF & similar to Henty it was too packed out. The guy in front of me had studs on the back his leather jacket and being crammed together it caused some very unpleasent but thankfully minor damage to my face as he bounced up & down in the then very popular "pogo" way.

[@twootters7433]

All the original Ramones are dead, now, my life with never be the same,

[@willmartins168]

R i p ramones. Thanks henry luv ya luv them

[@shmooshoohead]

Henry, back in the day here on Long Island EVERYONE my age hated the Ramones except myself and handful of other misfit weirdos. In fact a guy I knew threw a beer bottle at Joey's head during a show where they opened for Aerosmith.