Drummer Clem Burke sat down with Classic Rock for a new interview and reflected on the few days he played with The Ramones. The rocker explained why he thought Johnny Ramone was a ‘bastard.’
“Bastard. I mean, I knew those guys right from the beginning,” he explained. “I was friends with Joey, but can’t say I was friends with Johnny, even though it was probably his idea to get me in. I was asked to join The Ramones about four different times, right when Tommy first left and all the other times when they went through all the other drummers. When I finally said yes, I told them I didn’t want to do it permanently.”
“I did think maybe, but Johnny? His politics?,” the drummer continued. “He’d be in the front of the van listening to the baseball, I’m relegated to the next row, then there’s Joey and Dee Dee in the back. So if I’m talking to Johnny, I’m not talking to Joey and if I’m talking to Joey, I’m not talking to Johnny.”
“He used the guitar as a means to an end, and I don’t think he particularly cared for it. He refused to rehearse, so I’d spend a lot of time going through stuff on my own. They’re all dead now, which is terribly sad. But being in the Ramones was not a happy place to be,” Burke added.
Burke joined Ramones only for two days. He was brought in after drummer Richie Ramone left the band, feeling unappreciated and unhappy with his share of earnings. Burke had very little time to rehearse and found his first show with The Ramones challenging. After just one more show, the band decided his style wasn’t a good fit and reintroduced their original drummer, Marky Ramone.
“They asked me on a Monday when they had a gig on a Friday. It was the hardest work I ever did in a band,” he said of the gig during another interview.
As opposed to his recent comment, Burke reflected that his time with The Ramones was short but he enjoyed it. He agreed that bringing Marky Ramone back was the best choice for the band. Burke also said Johnny Ramone was a strict taskmaster and that he was uncomfortable with the band’s personal conflicts and issues.
