SLEEVE NOTES
BLACK LEATHER, KNEE-HOLE PANTS
A Tribute to the
Ramones
A Tribute to Sham 69
Label Notes
The Dirty Scums/The
Thirsty Scums/The Ramones
Discograffiti
Jokes
All titles by the great Ramones unless mentioned otherwise
Recorded on 01 and 02/05/2004 at the Barefoot Studio - Tielt
Mixed on 09/05/2004 at the Barefoot Studio - Tielt
In memory of:
- Ramones (1974 - 1996)
- Joey Ramone (19/05/1951 - 15/04/2001)
- Dee Dee Ramone (18/09/1952 - 05/06/2002)
The Thirsty Scums are:
- Very Thirsty Pik: vocals/guitar - backing vocals
- Ever Thirsty Keez: vocals/bass - backing vocals
- Really Thirsty Zjantie: drums - backing vocals
Addendum
On 11/09/2004 we celebrated the release of this CD. Four days later also Johnny
Ramone lost his battle against cancer. May he rest in peace. Of course the “in
memory of” on page 1 of this booklet should include Johnny Ramone (08/10/1948 –
15/09/2004).
BONUS TRAX: A Tribute to Sham 69
All titles by the great Sham 69
Recorded live by Studio M on 06/10/1990 at the Artevelde-venue in Waarschoot on
a four-track tape recorder
Mixed on 09/12/1990 by Studio M - Tielt
Previously released in February 1992 as Side 2 of the "If the Barkeepers are
united, the Scums will never be divided"-tape (DR673 - Dirty Records)
Digitally converted from cassette (found no equipment that could read the
original master tapes) on 22/04/2004 by TVA Music Company - Bassevelde
Mastered on 24/06/2004 by TVA Music Company - Bassevelde
Released on 11/09/2004 on Dirty Records as DR888
Sleeve notes & Booklet by Very Thirsty Pik
Artwork by Joeri
Sleeve pictures by Peter
Grammar checked by M.-Christine
Write The Thirsty Scums at Kapelleweg 10 - 8700 Schuiferskapelle - Belgium
It's a small step for a dirty punk to get thirsty (or vice versa), so visit The
Thirsty Scums at http://www.thedirtyscums.com and e-mail The Thirsty Scums at
thedirtyscums@yahoo.com
THE DIRTY SCUMS - THE THIRSTY SCUMS - THE RAMONES: ¿ QUE ?
1989
The Dirty Scums kick off their third LP "The Booze and the Chicks" with their
own composition "I wanna see the Ramones". The song is based on a true story. In
1986 the Ramones were gigging very close to the place the Scums lived. The Scums’
bassplayer couldn’t visit the concert as he was on holidays in the sun in Spain,
hence the title “I wanna see the Ramones”. The song was released for the first
time in 1988 in a live-version on their 5th Anniversary Gig-tape (gig that took
place in 1987). Another live-version exists, you can find it on the “1st Strike
of the Dirty Punks”-tape (Contrast Tapes - BEL), a compilation which was also
released in 1988.
1993
The Dirty Scums’ EP "Really High" contains a.o. a medley of at least eleven
Ramones-songs, the song is called “Ramones-medley”.
1996
A remix of “Ramones-medley” appears on their fourth album “The Pils Sessions”.
In the same year the Ramones play their final concert on 6 August (Los Angeles)
and quit the scene.
1998
"I wanna see the Ramones" appears on the international Tribute-CD "Blitzkrieg
over you !" (Nasty Vinyl - DEU) next to bands like Motörhead, Nina Hagen (in
duet with Dee Dee Ramone), Die Toten Hosen (with Joey Ramone himself), ...
Inspired by this awesome compilation, The Dirty Scums start a
Ramones-Tribute-band and call it The Thirsty Scums. The members are all the same
of The Dirty Scums. The bandname was used for the first time the year before,
when they played a gig with nothing but punk covers for the occasion of the 15th
Anniversary of The Dirty Scums. They play 1 gig with this tribute-band at the
end of 1998.
1999/2000
The Thirsty Scums gig 11 times.
2001
"Ramones-medley" figures on the Tribute-CD “1,2,3,4 ... A Lo-Fi Ramones Tribute”
(bTrack - BEL), compiled by the Belgian artist KlootPerW next to bands like
Heideroosjes, Green Day, the Kids, Marky Ramone himself, ... You should know
that Marky Ramone plays in a Belgian band ! The bandname originally was The
Marky Ramone Group but since a few years they’ve been called Marky Ramone and
the Speedkings. They would have played on a festival in Ostend together with The
Dirty Scums, but it happened that Marky was ill that day and the gig was
cancelled. The Thirsty Scums gig but 4 times in 2001, the year in which Joey
Ramone dies from lymphatic cancer ...
2002
Again “Ramones-medley” figures on another Ramones Tribute
CD: “Ramones Forever - An International Tribute” (Radical Records - USA). The
new studio-album from The Dirty Scums is called “Rockin’ asskickers makin’ one
noisy entertainin’ sound”, of which the abbreviation accidently appears to be “R.A.M.O.N.E.S.”
and which features “R.A.M.O.N.E.S.” from Motörhead. 2002 gives The Thirsty Scums
8 gigs, but 2002 also takes away Dee Dee Ramone from us, he dies from a drug
overdose ...
2003
The Thirsty Scums are going live at top speed and gig 23 times.
2004
After 50 gigs, the first CD from The Thirsty Scums is
recorded, it’s released in September, you’re holdin’ it now and it contains 19
songs as a Tribute to the Ramones and another 12 songs as a Tribute to Sham 69.
Cheers !
Most of the songs we cover are trax from the Ramones’ first four albums, which are essential in every rock’n’roll-collexion to me. Still it’s strange (and completely wrong) how most people only know the songs of these albums that figure on their fifth album “It’s Alive” (1979). Here’s a survey of all of the Ramones studio-albums, indicating the release-year and the number of songs we cover from that album (if there are any) on “Black leather, knee-hole pants”.
Ramones - 1976 - 5
This first album - the first American punk album - is
presented on our CD with almost the complete A-side. The first four songs -
“Blitzkrieg Bop”, “Beat on the Brat”, “Judy is a Punk” and “I wanna be your
boyfriend” - are completely covered, “Now I wanna sniff some glue” is part of
the Medley.
Leave Home - 1977 - 6
Again side A represents the biggest part with “Glad to see
you go”, “Gimme gimme shock treatment” and “Suzy is a headbanger”. Medley-stuff
is “Oh oh I love her so”, “Pinhead” and “Now I wanna be a good boy”, the latter
from side B.
Rocket to Russia - 1977 - 11
This album is one of my favourites. I think I must have played it about a
thousand times. It was not easy to convince my speedy-oriented colleagues to
cover some of the more slower songs on this album. Anyway, this one is
represented by “Cretin Hop”, “Here today, gone tomorrow”, “I wanna be well”, “I
can’t give you anything”, “Ramona” and “Why is it always this way”. As to my
knowledge, these last two songs have never appeared on any live(bootleg)-album
of the Ramones. “Rockaway beach”, “I don’t care”, “Sheena is a punkrocker” and
“Teenage lobotomy” are all part of our Medley. Finally “We’re a happy family” is
to be found in that other medley of us “We’re a happy Durango family”. Songs we
don’t cover from this album ? Their two own covers “Do you wanna dance” and
“Surfin’ bird”, and also “Locket love”, which I stil want to cover anyhow.
Road to Ruin - 1978 - 1
For an unknown reason, this record is only represented by
“I wanna be sedated” in our Medley.
Rock and Roll High School - 1979 - 1
There’s only two new Ramones-songs on this
movie-soundtrack, one of them - “Rock’n’roll High School” - kicks off the
Medley.
End of the Century - 1980 - 1
Again, only “Rock’n’roll High School” comes from this
album.
Pleasant Dreams - 1981 - 1
Once more just one song from this very underrated album,
namely “The KKK took my baby away”.
Subterranean Jungle - 1983
No song at all from this record is represented. I tried in vain to persuade my
colleagues to cover “In the Park”.
Too Tough to Die - 1984 - 1
Durango 95 is part of our “We’re a happy Durango family”-medley.
We spent some time tryin’ to cover “Chasin’ the night”, but singin’ and playin’
the song didn’t work for me. A “Durango 95" is a sports car, it was for instance
used in the movie “Clockwork Orange”.
Animal Boy - 1986
We once tried out the title song “Animal Boy” but it never really worked out.
Halfway to Sanity - 1987 - 1
Only the opening song of this one is covered: “I wanna
live”.
Brain Drain - 1989
I tried - again in vain - to convince the other Scums to cover “Pet Sematary”.
Mondo Bizarro - 1992
Bizarre, but this is another album that is not represented at all.
Acid Eaters - 1993
No representation of this cover-album on our tribute, however, we had a punk
version of “Have you ever seen the rain”, long before the Ramones !
Adios Amigos - 1995
We covered “Life’s a gas” but for some reason it disappeared from our playlist.
I think we should pick it up again.
The Motörhead-song R.A.M.O.N.E.S. from which lyrix we took the title of this CD “Black leather, knee-hole pants”, first appeared on Motörhead’s “1916"-album (1991). Later on the Ramones played it too, and released the song on their “Greatest Hits Live” (1996) as a bonus track.
Jokes are always in the air with The Dirty/Thirsty Scums, and sometimes you can find some in the songs they play. They started for instance the song “R.A.M.O.N.E.S.” on their “R.A.M.O.N.E.S.”-album with the bell-idea from Rock’n’Roll Highschool but used a boxing bell instead of the schoolbell. The same song is also slightly adapted to their own lives and talks about Skuverskapelle and themselves instead of New York City and the Ramones.
Mixing songs is also a favourite one. So you can find a little bit of “Pet Semetary” (“I don’t want to live my life again”) at the end of “I wanna live”. “Durango 95" and “We’re a happy family” are completely mixed and received the new title “We’re a happy Durango family”. On “I wanna be sedated” in “Ramones-medley” you can hear the famous “Blitzkrieg Bop”-heyho-lyrix as backing-vocals.
When Pik sings “ring me up the president” in “The KKK took my baby away”, you can hear Keez saying “Allo” (or Flemish dialect for “hello”). Also the Ramones have some practical jokes, as they sing in “Ramona” about “Little Tom and Joey”, Tom bein’ the real name of Keez and Joey bein’ the name of his eldest son. To call Keez - a 100 kg bloke - “little Tom” is surely a joke.
And to honour the bandname (thirsty), this time the schoolbell and the schoolsounds of Rock’n’Roll Highschool are replaced by a pub-bell and by pub-sounds. Cheers !