WALTER LURE, SESSION
MUSICIAN (RIP, 2O2O).Most people remember Walter Lure (1949-2020) as the guitarist from Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers. Surprisingly I find that many punk rock fans are not aware of the big role Walter played in The Heartbreakers. He sang and wrote many great tunes. Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers made their debut in 1975 at CBGB's in New York. Years later the group did re-union appearances, their last one was in late 1990.
Walter Lure's another main band was The Waldos. The Waldos was active until Walter died on August 22, 2020, at the age of 71, from complications arising from liver and lung cancer. RIP.
In 20 last years of his life Walter Lure played many times at Joey Ramone Birthday Bash that are memorial events for Joey Ramone.
CJ Ramone's band Bad Chopper asked Walter Lure to play on a few songs on the Bad Chopper CD. Walter played lead guitar on the songs Sick Of It and Ain't No Criminal.
I am happy Walter Lure punkrocked in Europe for the first time in 20 years in 2007. Thomas G and Dee Jaywalker were offered Walter Lure to do a mini tour in Europe in April 2007. Read more here.
Walter Lure's role on three Ramones albums...
First time ever, truth about Walter Lure's role for the Ramones is told on my book Ramones: Soundtrack Of Our Lives. Book has my five pages long interview with Walter.
After book interview you will discover what Walter Lure's role was on three Ramones albums: Subterranean Jungle (1983), Too Tough To Die (1984) and Animal Boy (1986). His role was bigger than what most Ramones fans could have realized.
He does not tell things so accurately in his memoir To Hell And Back: My Life In Johnny Thunders. Heartbreakers, In The Words Of The Last Man Standing (2020).
Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee wanted Walter to play something on those three albums. On the records they mentioned his name but didn't say what Walter did on the record. Just "Special Thanks to Walter Lure" etc.
Walter had told me: "Before we ever started recording, the Ramones told me they weren't going to give me full credit for playing guitar on the records I played on, so I wasn't upset when I saw the albums. They just paid me the money they promised and mentioned my name inside the album. I think it was Johnny's idea but they never told me why they wanted it that way."
Last meeting with Johnny Ramone...
Even without full credit things were well between Walter and Johnny. Walter tells in Ramones: Soundtrack Of Our Lives that he met Johnny for the last time in 2002: "I saw Johnny Ramone for the last time in February 2002 at his house in LA. I was in town visiting friends and went over to see him and his wife Linda who was a very old friend of mine as well. He showed me his house, his collection of horror movie posters, baseball cards, and then we went out to lunch at a local cafe with a few other friends. I think I found out a year or two later off of the internet (probably around April 2004) that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Then later on (August-September) Linda told me it was getting worse. He died soon after.", Walter tells in my book.
Street Fighting Man...So on the Ramones: Soundtrack Of Our Lives, Walter explains in how many songs he plays on those albums and also tells lot more. Also how and why he sang during one session, a cover of The Rolling Stones song, Street Fighting Man with the Ramones.
Jungle Records is a London-based independent label and they had put together a 3-disc Down To Kill set made up from previously unreleased Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers material (release date: October 7, 2005)! Release contains this version where Walter Lure is singing with the Ramones cover Street Fighting Man.
Street Fighting Man (with Joey on vocals) was released at first as a B-side of single and it's nowadays also released in re-issued version of Too Tough To Die.
Chinese Rocks... and Dee Dee Ramone
So Ramones: Soundtrack Of Our Lives has my five pages long interview with Walter. I am happy that I asked also of Chinese Rocks that was released in Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers' debut album, L.A.M.F. in 1977. And then few years later Ramones recorded it to End Of The Century.
Jari-Pekka: "What you think is the truth - is Chinese Rocks a Ramones or Heartbreakers song?"
Walter Lure: "To tell the truth, I think Chinese Rocks was really a Dee Dee Ramone song that other people (Heartbreakers, Richard Hell) added bits and pieces to, but was really Dee Dee's property.
However, the song was really perfect for the Heartbreakers who were the only group with the balls to sing it in public and and really mean it. After all, we actually lived like it. We really made the song our own and when people remember the song they really think of the Heartbreakers, not the Ramones.
Walter Lure played with Dee Dee Ramone a few times at the Continental in New York.
Walter: Dee Dee would ask me to play a song or two - usually Chinese Rocks or Too Much Junkie Business and sometimes something else - with him and whatever band he was playing with at the time. He was always the usual Dee Dee Ramone - very enthusiastic about what he was doing and also very creative. He always wrote the best songs for the Ramones and probably had the most talent in the band, Walter tells in my book.
Live In Berlin release...
As I did mention before I am happy Walter Lure punkrocked in Europe for the first time in 20 years in 2007. Thomas G and Dee Jaywalker were offered Walter Lure to do a mini tour in Europe in April 2007. Read more here. Of the show at the Wild At Heart in Berlin on April 14, 2007 was recorded Live In Berlin live release. CD was released by Nicotine Records (Italy) and LP by Tornado Ride Records (Italy). I attended and photographed the show.
Photos in right. Upper photo: Walter Lure and his tour members in European tour in 2007. Paolo Serlino (drums), Annette Gucci (guitar and back vocals), Walter Lure (vocals and guitar), Rina Regina (bass and back vocals) and Dee Jaywalker (guitar and vocals).
Lower photo: Arde (Arska Laine) of The Voodoo Nights and Pyhät Nuket etc., Walter Lure, Simo "Simppa" Wilberg of the Strikin' Case etc. and Sister Manik and Jari-Pekka Laitio-Ramone.