10 Most Important Acts That Shaped Punk Rock Music
2. Ramones
By the mid 1970s, rock songs were filled with endless guitar solos and self indulgent experimental sounds. When the Ramones emerged in '74 they embodied the same ethos as the MC5 and The Stooges. With a furious speed their tracks rarely reached the two minute mark, but it was just the thing rock lovers were searching for.
The release of their debut self-titled album in 1976, was marked by critical acclaim but a poor sales performance. When British rock acts got hold of the first Ramones record, however, it was one of the signposts that informed the London scene, which direction music was heading in.
The band toured England the same year, where they met members of The Clash and Sex Pistols (who had broken into the backstage area). This was when the band realised they were making an impact - young British musicians were willing to do anything they could to get a slice of the action. Joe Strummer once described the wall of sound created by the Ramones, by stating "you couldn't put a cigarette paper between one tune ending and the next beginning".