Tommy Ramone dies aged 65

Tommy Ramone has died aged 65.

His death marks the passing of the last surviving member of The Ramones.

“Tom died yesterday, July 11, at 12:15 p.m. at his home in Ridgewood, Queens,” Andy Schwartz, publisher of New York Rocker magazine, said on behalf of Ramone’s family. “He was in hospice care following treatment for cancer of the bile duct.”

Rolling Stone confirm Ramone was 65 at the time of his death.

Born Erdelyi Tamas in Budapest in 1949, Ramone was the group’s drummer from 1974 to 1978, and co-produced their first three albums.

The news of Tommy’s death was accompanied by the following 1978 quote of his on the band’s Facebook page: “It wasn’t just music in The Ramones: it was an idea. It was bringing back a whole feel that was missing in rock music – it was a whole push outwards to say something new and different. Originally it was just an artistic type of thing; finally I felt it was something that was good enough for everybody.”

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