....When The Ramones broke up , they were only playing mega - stadiums in Argentina. They were still playing many of the same venues in the states , and , perhaps in Britain and West Europe , that they'd played 15 years earlier , or to crowd of about the same size. They were'nt hurting , but they were not a multi - million dollar franchise , like they are today , when , barring their three drummers (Clem Burke did two gigs. He's an honorary Ramone.) , second bass player, and , if you wish , Richie Ramone I from the VERY first , undocumented , lineup (WHO MOVED TO SF and co - founded The Nuns.) , THEY'RE ALL DEAD.
They went out on a high note , you could say , playing the Lollapalooza tour , but, they were third - billed to Metallica and Soundgarden. I realize The Ramones were not selling millions of records like the other two (Maybe Soundgarden had'nt hit the million mark....YET.), BUT , I SAW NO REASON THE THREE COULD'NT RECIEVE EQUAL BILLING.
No one calls Metallica sell -outs , OK , SOME PEOPLE DO . NO ONE CALLED SOUNDGARDEN OR NIRVANA SELL - OUTS WHEN THEY WERE STILL AROUND (Soundgarden , of course , reformed recently , and , to their credit , they just played a place , here , that maybe holds 3 - 5000 people.). But , if a legendary Punk , or proto punk , band , strikes while the iron's still relatively hot - Be it The Stooges , The Dolls , The MC3 , The Pistols .....someone's going to call 'em sellouts. Rock'n'Roll does'nt have a sweetass retirement package , especially if it never made you rich in the first place.