How Paul McCartney accidentally named the Ramones

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When you think of punk rock legends, The Ramones are probably one of the first names that come to mind. Bursting onto the scene in the 1970s, they helped define the sound and spirit of punk — fast, loud, and unapologetically raw. But here’s a twist you might not know: none of The Ramones were actually named Ramone.

So where did the name come from? Believe it or not, it traces all the way back to a young Paul McCartney, long before The Beatles became the biggest band on the planet.

Back in 1960, McCartney and his bandmates (then known as The Silver Beetles) were touring Scotland with a Liverpool singer named Johnny Gentle. Gentle, whose real name was John Askew, used a stage name that impressed the group. Inspired, the young Beatles decided to come up with cool stage names of their own.

Paul, wanting to sound a bit more mysterious and rockstar, went with Paul Ramone. George Harrison became Carl Harrison (a nod to Carl Perkins), and John Lennon briefly called himself Long John Silver. McCartney thought Ramone sounded exotic, maybe even European, and he used it often. He’d check into hotels under the name, and even try out some fake French phrases at parties to charm the ladies.

Fast forward a decade or so, and a scrappy group of musicians in New York City were gearing up to start a band. Dee Dee Ramone, a big Beatles fan, remembered that old McCartney alias and decided to use it. Soon, the rest of the band followed suit, Johnny, Joey, and Tommy all adopted Ramone as their stage names. And just like that, The Ramones were born.

As drummer Marky Ramone later confirmed in an interview with Sofa King Cool, the band’s name was directly inspired by McCartney’s early pseudonym. It’s a small but fascinating connection between the world’s most famous pop band and the pioneers of punk.

So even though Paul McCartney never played a power chord in a leather jacket, he still left his fingerprints on punk historym, all thanks to one fake name that stuck.