Believe it or not, twice in the late 70s the RAMONES were the opening act for BLACK SABBATH. Before securing their status as headliners, the band were likely to accept any pairing, no matter how ill conceived the booking. One of the shows was even billed as PUNK VS HEAVY METAL, and the RAMONES had to halt their performance and flee the stage amidst a shower of debris after aborted attempts to start I'M AGAINST IT and SURFIN' BIRD. They did not return to complete their set.
Astonishingly, audio has turned up of this show:
RAMONES VS BLACK SABBATH 1
The other recording is even more unruly, especially at the end of PINHEAD and after the completion of the SEARCHERS' ballad NEEDLES & PINS (perhaps they might have skipped this one??) A disgusted JOEY refers to the crowd as 'turkeys' before launching into SURFIN' BIRD.
(The image is actually from another disastrous gig, opening for AEROSMITH at a festival in Toronto.)
Here is the regrettably incomplete audio:
RAMONES VS BLACK SABBATH 2
Here is MARKY recalling the shows (the link requires two steps, or click on the title):
MARKY RAMONE RECALLS RAMONES VS BLACK SABBATH
The band seemed to take the failed crossover performances in stride, and DEEDEE even briefly took to sporting a BLACK SABBATH tshirt (see above). Over time the schism between the exclusive HEAVY METAL and PUNK camps smoothed over, but a vintage photograph used by the OBLIVIANS for the cover of their classic album POPULAR FAVORITES captures the zeitgeist animosity of an older era perfectly...
(Note the fans wearing tshirts similar to DEEDEE's. Ah, those were the days.)
Looking for a photo credit on the DEEDEE pic, if anybody knows, please let me know.
Until then, feel free to check out my track by track RAMONES career overview blog at
RAMONES: HUMMING A SICKENING TUNE
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GABBA GABBA HEY
