I Slept With Joey Ramone: A Family Memoir by Mickey Leigh with Legs McNeil Touchstone HK$208
There would have been no punk rock without the Ramones. The New York-based group set the punk scene in motion during the early 1970s with their brash melodic sound and irreverent songs such as Sheena is a Punk Rocker and I Wanna be Sedated. I Slept With Joey Ramone relates the life of the band's eccentric singer, an unlikely rock star who suffered from physical and psychological ailments.
The salacious title is a cheeky joke, as the book is written by Joey's brother Mickey and refers to the time they shared a bedroom as children. It is a refreshing stab at a rock biography which manages to be both revealing and loving. Co-written with rock scribe Legs McNeil, it even has some unforeseen literary qualities.
Joey Ramone - born Jeffry Hyman - grew up in the working-class district of Queens, New York, in the 60s. These formative years, rather than his time as a rock icon in the 70s, provide the most interesting read. Leigh details the fistfights and domestic disturbances that occur in the rough and tumble suburb with a gentle nostalgia. Leigh soon notices his big brother is different to his peers. Joey's physical appearance is strange: he's very thin, with long arms and legs. Psychologically, he is withdrawn and prone to black moods which can lead to violence.
As the brothers grow older, music starts to permeate their lives. First it is the wild surf music of The Surfaris' Wipe Out, then the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. By the 70s, they have graduated to the avant-garde jazz of Frank Zappa and the shock rock of Alice Cooper. Music transforms the introspective Joey, and he sets out to have his own shot at fame.
The book loses some of its magic as the Ramones work their way towards stardom. Although Leigh is along for the ride as the group's roadie, some of the personal insight disappears from his descriptions of these years.