RAMONES
MUSEUM, Berlin - Germany
It was Joey Ramone who said, 'It's not my place in the 9 to 5 world,' so maybe it's not surprising that the world's only Ramones museum doesn't keep ordinary opening hours. It's weekends only here - unless of course you have to visit them urgently (their phrasing), stated example being a touring band who happen to be playing in Berlin during the week.
On a Saturday afternoon, I made tracks for the museum which is in the district of Kreuzberg - after all, what better way to spend my first weekend in the German capital than to visit an exhibition about an iconic American band, the information in which is entirely in English? In fact, the only German (and I use the word loosely) in sight was a note handwritten by Joey, reminding himself where he was playing ("MUE-NICK") and, in a more passable attempt at the language than Franz Ferdinand's "Ich heisse Super-Fantastisch," a prompt to ask the crowd how it was going: "VEE GATE ESS OISH
The publicity for the museum proudly proclaims that it's arranged in chronological order. The problem is knowing where to start - the beginning isn't obvious. My first port of call was a glass case containing Johnny Ramone's stage-worn jeans - "unwashed" as the label proclaims with delight.
It may consist of two small basement rooms in a house at the end of a seedy-looking street (which does feel rather appropriate), but the museum contains every piece of Ramones memorabilia that you imagine - and some that you probably can't, from newspaper cuttings dated 197, to a Ramones baseball bat, in case there are any strays brats that you might want to beat. There's a Ramones comic book, and any number of autographed photos and scraps of paper, including a note from Jonny Ramone from only a few years ago, apologising for not being able to "make it" because he's been dealing with "health issues", but he's "all right". it feels bitter to read it at the start of 2006. There's also a plethora of rare Ramones T shirts which you're unlikely to catch the average trend-follower wearing on the street. All this is painstakingly laid out, on tables and on the walls, where there's not a free space, while a TV places a seemingly endless stream of news reports about the band.
There are plenty of more obvious tourist attractions in Berlin, but if you're a rock'n'roll fan, this one is not to be missed. There's no entry fee, just a donations box - or rather the body of a guitar, and, having visited, you won't begrudge leaving behind a few Euros.
- Mary Boyle
© Pure Rawk 2006