One of the last surviving Ramones wasn’t invited to a 50th anniversary concert that will feature a punk supergroup playing some of the band’s best tunes, The Post has learned.
Former drummer Richie Ramone confirmed he was left off the guest list for a John Travolta-hosted “50th anniversary” bash in Los Angeles that will feature a supergroup with bassist CJ Ramone, Green Day frontman Billie Joe, Rancid’s Tim Armstrong and Blink-182’s Travis Barker.
“I was never invited to the event, nor did I know anything about the celebration till it popped up on my feed,” Richie said of the event, set for Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Aug. 30. “Go figure, huh. I just hope it will be fun for all the fans, because they are the ones that matter.”
Also left off the invite list was the family of the Ramones’ Joey Ramone, who died of lymphoma in 2001. Joey’s brother, Mickey Leigh, recently agreed to transfer his half of the estate company Ramones Productions Inc. to settle a legal battle with guitarist Johnny Ramones’ widow Linda Cummings-Ramone.
“I think everybody should have been included,” Leigh said of the apparent snub. “I think it was rude. I don’t know how it cannot appear intentional.”
Leigh said even during ongoing bad blood with Cummings-Ramone, he still invited her through a publicist to events, including an April panel discussion in New York City discussing the release of the Ramones’ self-titled album.
But he said he hoped the concert would be a success.
“Anything that perpetuates their legacy and makes people happy, I’m all for it,” Leigh said.
The Ramones, who formed in Forest Hills, Queens in 1974 and played through 1996, are largely credited with launching the punk movement. Although they had only limited success in their careers, their legend has only grown over the decades since they hung up their infamous leather jackets for the final time.
The original members of the band — Joey, Johnny, bassist Dee Dee and drummer Tommy — died years ago but three other members remain and remain active in the rock scene to this day.
CJ — who replaced Dee Dee as bassist in the final years of the band — will be performing with the supergroup while longtime drummer Marky was invited but likely won’t be able to unable to attend the concert, sources said.
Richie, who played with the Ramones for four years in the 1980s, had quit the band in a dispute with Johnny in a dispute about getting paid a cut of the income from the band’s ubiquitous t-shirts.
The band was notoriously plagued by internal feuds.
Cummings-Ramone had dated Joey before she and Johnny struck up a relationship. The pair never made amends but continued to play in the band beside each other until the end.
The disputes continued after the original members had died.
The Post recently reported on Leigh ceding control of the Ramones corporation as he faced the prospect of paying millions in a lengthy court battle.
Cummings-Ramone sued Leigh for pursuing a Netflix biopic, starring Pete Davidson as Joey, centered on his memoir “I Slept With Joey Ramone” without full approval from the corporation’s board. Leigh argued the film, which is now shelved, was not an official Ramones biopic.
Cummings-Ramone is running the event at Hollywood Forever — where there is a gravesite statue to Johnny and where Dee is also buried. She declined comment on the invite list and event.
The event is just the latest at the cemetery and appears to mark the 50th anniversary of the Ramones’ self-titled first album.
The night will also include a double-feature screening of the 50th-anniversary edition of “Carrie,” alongside Travolta’s new film “Propeller One-Way Night Coach,” as well as a DJ set from artist Shepard Fairey, while all proceeds from the night will benefit the David Agus, MD, Cancer Research at the Ellison Institute.
Additional reporting by Mark Lungariello
