Home/ Collections/ Ramones
Photography · Collection

Ramones

Ramones — Photographs, 1975 to 1984

This collection brings together photographs of the Ramones made from the band's first year at CBGB through to the mid 1980s, by the photographers who documented punk in New York as it happened.

Bob Gruen photographed the band in Forest Hills in 1975, in the subway, and on stage at CBGB before the first album was recorded. Roberta Bayley photographed the session that produced the cover of Ramones in 1976, and the collection includes her contact sheet from that afternoon, along with Joey Ramone at Coney Island in 1977.

Godlis photographed the band and the club at night through the late 1970s, Ebet Roberts photographed them at CBGB in 1977 and at the Palladium in 1979, and Allan Tannenbaum, Bobby Grossman, Chris Stein and Richard Aaron each photographed the band inside the same downtown circle.

The story continues outside New York. Ian Dickson photographed the Ramones in Liverpool in 1977 and 1978, at Eric's Club and at the site of the original Cavern Club. Michael Grecco photographed them in Boston in 1981, and George DuBose made the cover of Too Tough to Die and the later New York portraits.

Taken together, these photographs are the visual record of how four musicians from Queens became the reference point for punk everywhere else.

Each work is produced from the original negative or colour transparency, hand-signed by the photographer or the estate, and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a secure digital provenance record.

Photographers in this collection: Bob Gruen, Roberta Bayley, Godlis, Ebet Roberts, Ian Dickson, George DuBose, Michael Grecco, Allan Tannenbaum, Bobby Grossman and Chris Stein. Related collections: CBGB, Punk, Blondie.

89 works
Ramones performing at CBGB, New York City, 1976, photographed by Bob Gruen.
Ramones Performing at CBGB, New York City, 1976TMPG·0742
Bob Gruen From $1,500
Select options →
Ramones performing on stage at CBGB, New York City, 1976, photographed by Bob Gruen.
Ramones, On Stage at CBGB, New York City, 1976TMPG·4150
Bob Gruen From $1,500
Select options →
Ramones, Forest Hills, New York, 1975, photographed by Bob Gruen.
Ramones, Forest Hills, New York City, 1975TMPG·3526
Bob Gruen From $1,500
Select options →
Ramones in the subway, New York City, 1975, photographed by Bob Gruen.
Ramones, Subway, New York City, 1975TMPG·5990
Bob Gruen From $1,200
Select options →
Ramones emerging from the subway, New York City, 1975, photographed by Bob Gruen.
Ramones Emerging from the Subway, New York City, 1975TMPG·3846
Bob Gruen From $1,200
Select options →
Ramones. CBGB, NYC, 1975, photographed by Bob Gruen.
Ramones, CBGB, New York City, 1975TMPG·9958
Bob Gruen From $1,200
Select options →
Ramones. Tower Theater, Philadelphia, PA. March 18, 1978, photographed by Bob Gruen.
Ramones, Tower Theater, Philadelphia, PA, 1978TMPG·7350
Bob Gruen From $1,200
Select options →
Joey Ramone, St. Marks Place, 1981, photographed by Godlis.
Joey Ramone, St. Marks Place, 1981TMPG·7190
Godlis From $1,200
Select options →
The Ramones photographed in New York City in 1976 by Roberta Bayley, in the session that produced the cover of their debut album.
Ramones, First Album Cover Session, New York City, 1976TMPG·1894
Roberta Bayley From $1,500
Select options →

Roberta Bayley and the Birth of Punk

In early 1976, photographer Roberta Bayley was asked to photograph an unknown band from Queens for what would become one of the most influential debut albums in rock history. The resulting image — four figures standing against a brick wall on East 2nd Street in Manhattan — became one of the defining photographs of punk rock.

Released in April 1976, Ramones stripped rock and roll down to its essentials: short songs, loud guitars, and an attitude that rejected the excesses of mainstream rock. Critics initially struggled to understand what they were hearing, but the visual identity created by Bayley proved just as influential as the music itself.

Writing in August 1976, Rolling Stone famously declared: "The Ramones are punks and will beat you up." The statement captured both the confusion and excitement surrounding a band that was about to transform popular culture.

Today, Bayley's photographs of the original album cover session are regarded as foundational documents of punk's birth.
Further reading: The New York Times
The Ramones posing against a brick wall for their debut album cover, New York City, 1976. Photograph by Roberta Bayley.
Ramones, contact sheet, New York City, 1976, photographed by Roberta Bayley.
Ramones, Contact Sheet, New York City, 1976TMPG·0518
Roberta Bayley From $1,400
Select options →
Ramones, smiling during the original album cover session, New York City, 1976, photographed by Roberta Bayley.
Ramones, Smiling, New York City, 1976TMPG·0566
Roberta Bayley From $1,400
Select options →
The Ramones performing at CBGB, New York City, 1976. Original Cibachrome print by Roberta Bayley, printed circa 1990.
Ramones Performing at CBGB, New York City, 1976TMPG·7942
Roberta Bayley From $1,400
Select options →
Ramones on stage at CBGB, New York City, 1976, photographed by Roberta Bayley.
Ramones on Stage at CBGB, New York City, 1976TMPG·9878
Roberta Bayley From $1,400
Select options →
Joey Ramone, Coney Island, 1977, photographed by Roberta Bayley.
Joey Ramone with Surfboard, Coney Island, New York City, 1977TMPG·7718
Roberta Bayley From $1,400
Select options →
Ramones Performing at CBGB, New York City, 1977. Photograph by Ebet Roberts.
Ramones Performing at CBGB, New York City, 1977TMPG·0774
Ebet Roberts From $1,000
Select options →
Dee Dee Ramone, CBGB, New York City, 1977. Photograph by Ebet Roberts.
Dee Dee Ramone, CBGB, New York City, 1977TMPG·9526
Ebet Roberts From $1,000
Select options →
CBGB and New York

CBGB and New York

CBGB was more than a music venue. It was the laboratory where a new cultural movement emerged. Between 1974 and 1978, the Ramones shared the stage with Television, Patti Smith, Blondie, Talking Heads, Richard Hell and countless other artists who would redefine New York's downtown scene.

These photographs document the Bowery before it became a destination, capturing the clubs, streets, backstage rooms, and late-night encounters that shaped the visual mythology of punk.

Far from the commercial music industry, the Ramones became symbols of a city in decline but overflowing with creative energy.
Joey Ramone with Debbie Harry, New York City, 1977, photographed by Chris Stein.
Joey Ramone with Debbie Harry, New York City, 1977TMPG·4710
Chris Stein From $1,000
Select options →
Ramones from behind, CBGB, New York City, 1977, photographed by Allan Tannenbaum.
Ramones from behind, CBGB, New York City, 1977TMPG·2534
Allan Tannenbaum From $1,500
Select options →
18 of 89 works