Mickey Leigh | |
|---|---|
 Leigh in 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mitchel Lee Hyman |
| Born | July 15, 1954 Forest Hills, New York, US |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, keyboards |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Website | www.mickeyleigh.com |
Mitchel Lee Hyman (born July 15, 1954), [1] best known by his stage name Mickey Leigh, is an American musician and writer. He is the brother of Joey Ramone, lead vocalist of the punk rock band Ramones. [1]
Mickey Leigh formed his first band at the age of 10. At the age of 14 Leigh was playing in a band with John Cummings (Johnny Ramone) and Tommy Erdelyi (Tommy Ramone). [2] In 1977 he formed a band, Birdland, with music journalist Lester Bangs. [3] The group recorded nine songs which were finally released in 1986, four years after Bangs' death, on the album Birdland with Lester Bangs. Creem magazine described it as “the best rock ‘n’ roll album of 1986." [3]
Leigh's next band was The Rattlers. The group released two singles and one album in 1985. In 1994 he formed Sibling Rivalry with his brother Joey Ramone. Two years later Leigh recorded an album with his new band STOP. Leigh has also been working as producer for several New York based groups. [4] [5]
In 2009 Leigh published the book I Slept with Joey Ramone: A Family Memoir. On April 15, 2021, the 20th anniversary of Joey Ramone's death, plans were announced for a Netflix movie of Leigh's book, with Pete Davidson portraying Joey Ramone. According to the announcement, Leigh will serve as an executive producer and the film is being made with the full cooperation and support of Ramone’s estate, with a treatment written by Davidson and director Jason Orley. [6]
Leigh's current project is Mickey Leigh's Mutated Music. [7] In early 2022, they released a new album, Variants of Vibe, through Wicked Cool Records. [8]
The Rattlers
Birdland
STOP
The Rattlers
Sibling Rivalry
Leigh, Mickey (2009). I Slept with Joey Ramone: A Family Memoir . Touchstone Books. ISBN 978-0-7432-5216-4.
Jeffrey Ross Hyman, known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of the punk rock band Ramones. His image, voice, and his tenure with the Ramones made him a countercultural icon. He, along with the guitarist Johnny Ramone, are the only two original members who stayed in the band until the disbandment in 1996.
Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs was an American music journalist, critic, author, and musician. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock music criticism. The music critic Jim DeRogatis called him "America's greatest rock critic".
Rocket to Russia is the third studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, and was released on November 4, 1977, through Sire Records. Its origins date back to the summer of 1977, when "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" was released as a single. That summer was known as the peak of the punk rock genre since many punk bands were offered recording contracts. The album's recording began in August 1977, and the band had a considerably larger budget with Sire allowing them between $25,000 and $30,000; much of this money went toward the album's production rather than recording.
Ramones is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on April 23, 1976, by Sire Records. After Hit Parader editor Lisa Robinson saw the band at a gig in New York City, she wrote about them in an article and contacted Danny Fields, insisting that he be their manager. Fields agreed and convinced Craig Leon to produce Ramones, and the band recorded a demo for prospective record labels. Leon persuaded Sire president Seymour Stein to listen to the band perform, and he later offered the band a recording contract. The Ramones began recording in January 1976, needing only seven days and $6,400 to record the album.
End of the Century is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on February 4, 1980, through Sire Records. The album was the band's first to be produced by Phil Spector, though he had offered the band his assistance earlier in their career. With Spector fully producing the album, it was the first release that excluded original member Tommy Ramone, who had left the band in 1978 but had produced their previous album Road to Ruin. Spector used more advanced standards of engineering, such as high-quality overdubbing and echo chambers. These painstaking methods caused conflict between the band and Spector since the Ramones were accustomed to a quicker recording process. Spector emphasized the production value as well, working with a budget of around $200,000, far exceeding their earlier album sessions.
Road to Ruin is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on September 22, 1978, through Sire Records as LP record, 8 track cartridge & audio cassette. It was the first Ramones album to feature new drummer Marky Ramone, who replaced Tommy Ramone. Tommy left the band due to low sales of previous albums as well as stress he experienced while touring; however, he stayed with the band to produce the album with Ed Stasium. The artwork's concept was designed by Ramones fan Gus MacDonald and later modified by John Holmstrom to include Marky instead of Tommy.
Leave Home is the second studio album by American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on January 10, 1977, through Sire Records, with the expanded CD being released through Rhino Entertainment on June 19, 2001. Songs on the album were written immediately after the band's first album's writing process, which demonstrated the band's progression. The album had a higher production value than their debut Ramones and featured faster tempos. The front photo was taken by Moshe Brakha and the back cover, which would become the band's logo, was designed by Arturo Vega. The album spawned three singles, but only one succeeded in charting. It was also promoted with several tour dates in the United States and Europe.
Richard Reinhardt is an American drummer best known by his stage name Richie Ramone, and for being the drummer for the punk band the Ramones from February 1983 until August 1987. As of 2023, he is one of the four surviving members of the band.
Subterranean Jungle is the seventh studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released by Sire Records on February 23, 1983. Overall, the album featured a return to a somewhat more hard punk rock style compared to the band's previous two albums End of the Century in 1980, and Pleasant Dreams in 1981, which were the most pop-focused of the band's career. This direction was encouraged by guitarist Johnny Ramone. The recording sessions saw disputes between band members, mainly due to struggles with alcohol addiction by Joey Ramone and Marky Ramone, and the drug addiction of Dee Dee Ramone.
"Bonzo Goes to Bitburg" is a protest song by American punk rock band the Ramones. It was issued as a single in the UK by Beggars Banquet Records in mid-1985. The song is an emotionally charged commentary on the Bitburg controversy from earlier that year, in which U.S. president Ronald Reagan had paid a state visit to a German World War II cemetery where numerous Waffen-SS soldiers were buried. Lyrically, the song was a departure from the usual Ramones topics. While not commercially successful, it was critically well received.
Too Tough to Die is the eighth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on October 1, 1984, and is the first Ramones record to feature Richie Ramone on drums. With ex-member Tommy Ramone producing, the recording process was similar to that of the band's 1976 self-titled debut album. Likewise, the record's style—both lyrically and compositionally—saw the band returning to their roots. The photograph on the album cover, which features silhouettes of the band members, resulted from a "lucky accident" after photographer George DuBose's camera malfunctioned.
Roderick Edward "Legs" McNeil is an American music journalist. He is one of the three original founders of the seminal Punk magazine that gave the movement its name; as well as being a former editor at Spin and editor-in-chief of Nerve Magazine.
"The KKK Took My Baby Away" is a song by American punk rock band Ramones, released in 1981 through Sire Records. It was written by front man and lead vocalist Joey Ramone and appears on the band's sixth studio album Pleasant Dreams (1981).
Animal Boy is the ninth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released through Sire Records on May 19, 1986. Due to conflicts within the group, the album features less of lead singer Joey Ramone, both in performing and writing, and less performing from guitarist Johnny Ramone. Bassist Dee Dee Ramone wrote and sang more on this album than on previous albums, and Richie Ramone became the first drummer to write songs for the band since Tommy Ramone, the band's original drummer, Richie also wrote for Too Tough To Die (1984). The album spawned four singles, all of which charted on the UK Singles Chart, as well as other charts. In addition to singles, the band promoted their album using a music video for "Something to Believe In", which parodied the contemporary benefit concerts Live Aid and Hands Across America.
The Ramones were an American punk rock band from New York City. Their discography consists of fourteen studio albums, ten live albums, sixteen compilation albums, seventy-one singles, thirty-two music videos and ten films. The band formed in early 1974, and upon signing with Seymour Stein of Sire Records, the Ramones released their self-titled debut album on April 23, 1976. Despite the recording process only taking a week and being on a budget of $6,400, the album has since become their most accoladed and iconic release. 1977's Leave Home was the band's follow up album, released less than a year later, also through Sire. While it was the first album to chart in the United Kingdom, it did not chart as well in the United States as Ramones, nor their third record, Rocket to Russia, which was released in late 1977. Road to Ruin was the band's fourth studio album and their first to feature a change in the band member line-up, with drummer Marky Ramone replacing Tommy Ramone.
Andy Shernoff is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He is a founding member of The Dictators, one of the original New York punk bands, in which he wrote nearly all of the songs, played bass guitar and keyboards, and sang backing vocals and occasional leads. He has been involved with a variety of other musical projects, most notably the heavily Dictators-populated Manitoba's Wild Kingdom and Joey Ramone's first studio album, Don't Worry About Me. He additionally co-wrote four Ramones songs with Joey.
Sniper was an early American glam punk band that formed in New York City in 1972. They were one of several bands that played at the Mercer Arts Center, Max's Kansas City and the Coventry alongside the New York Dolls and Suicide, and were most famous for its former members, which included frontman Joey Ramone, prior to his forming the Ramones, and guitarist Frank Infante, later of Blondie.
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite only achieving limited commercial success during their time together, the band is today seen as highly influential.
Dave U. Hall is an American musician whose musical voice is articulated by the tones of his Electric Bass guitar. He was a member of the band Birdland with Lester Bangs and The Rattlers. He has also played with other bands including, but not limited too, Zymosis, The Makers, Luigi & the Wiseguys, Danny Russo Blues Band, Remod, Jeff Salen, Tiger Beats, Tina Peel, Alan Merrill author of the song "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", Joey Ramone, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. By the end of the punk era, Hall had a reputation for being a session and performance player for many bands.
The Rattlers were an American rock band formed in the New York City in 1979. It was formed by guitarist/vocalist Mickey Leigh, who is the brother of Joey Ramone.
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