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NEW YORK (AP) — The Ramones always seemed too fast. Their songs rushed by, often two minutes or less of pure adrenaline. Their influence outstripped their sales. And now, with the death of drummer Tommy, all four original members of the seminal punk rock band are gone.

Tommy Ramone, born Erdelyi Tamas in Budapest, Hungary, died Friday at age 65, said Dave Frey, who works for Ramones Productions and Silent Partner Management. Frey had no further details.

Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee and Tommy Ramone, taking their surname from an alias Paul McCartney used to check into hotels, formed in Queens, N.Y. in 1974. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members were among the leaders of the original punk rock movement with songs like "I Wanna Be Sedated," "Blitzkrieg Bop" and "Rockaway Beach."

Wearing ripped jeans, black leather and bad haircuts, the Ramones stripped rock down to its essentials: two guitars, drums, a singer and no solos. Their 1976 debut album had 14 songs in less than 30 minutes, with "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" and "Beat on the Brat" reflecting their twisted teen years.

Their taste also reflected a love for early 1960s rock, before it became "progressive."

The Ramones never had a Top 40 hit, although not for lack of trying. They brought in the eccentric Phil Spector to produce an album. After seeing the Ramones in Asbury Park, N.J., Bruce Springsteen wrote "Hungry Heart" for them — then kept it for himself when his manager smelled a hit.

"This is art," Tommy wrote in the liner notes for a Ramones compilation. "Sometimes it doesn't sell at first. Sometimes it takes a while for the world to catch on."

Their concerts were a bolt of energy, songs tumbling upon one another. "Hello, Schenectady!" Joey shouted upon taking the stage in Syracuse, N.Y., one night in the late 1970s, before Dee Dee let loose with the familiar, rapid-fire "1-2-3-4" call that signaled the music's start.

Upstate New York city. Starts with an 'S.' Close enough.

Bands like Nirvana, Blink-182 and Green Day — who inducted the Ramones into the rock hall — came later and did sell, with sounds unimaginable without the Ramones' influence.

Now, teenagers not yet born when the Ramones played their last gig in 1996, perhaps even unaware of their legacy, wear black T-shirts to the mall emblazoned with the band's distinctive insignia.

Tommy Ramone was the last to see it all. Singer Joey died first, of cancer, at age 49 in 2001. Bass player Dee Dee was killed by a drug overdose the next year at age 50, three months after the band's rock hall induction. Guitarist Johnny, then 55, died of cancer in 2004.

Tommy was the band's original manager and helped produce some of their earlier albums. He was a guitar player in a band with Johnny that predated the Ramones, but went behind the drums when they couldn't find anyone else to keep up. He got out early, leaving the stage in 1978, although he produced the Ramones' 1980s album "Too Tough to Die."

"If you're cooped up in a van with the Ramones, it can eventually get to you," he said in a later interview.

He stayed active as a producer, working with the Replacements, among other bands. He played mandolin, banjo and guitar for a bluegrass band in his later years.

___

Associated Press writer Kristen de Groot contributed to this report from Philadelphia.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's foreign minister said Friday he will tell U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at a meeting this weekend that Berlin wants to reinvigorate the two countries' friendship "on an honest basis" after asking Washington's top spy to leave.

Thursday's decision to demand the departure of the intelligence representative at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin was "the right decision, a necessary step and an appropriate reaction to the breach of trust that has taken place," Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters in Berlin.

It followed reports over the past 10 days that U.S. intelligence had recruited two Germans — a man who worked at the country's foreign intelligence agency and a defense ministry employee. Steinmeier said those reports were "troubling."

They added to friction and frustration over reports last year that the U.S. was intercepting Internet traffic in Germany and eavesdropping on Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone calls

Steinmeier said he will meet Kerry on the sidelines of talks in Vienna about Iran's nuclear program. The U.S. State Department confirmed that a bilateral meeting would take place.

There is "no alternative" to Germany's longstanding partnership with the United States in view of challenges in Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan and elsewhere, Steinmeier stressed. "That is why this cooperation must be marked not just by trust but by mutual respect."

"We want to reinvigorate our partnership, our friendship on an honest basis — we in any case are prepared to do that," he said. "And that will be the message I will give to my American colleague."

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Germany expects the unidentified American spy to leave the country "promptly."

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey man has been convicted of killing a 6-year-old boy who was trying to protect his sister from a sexual assault.

Osvaldo Rivera, of Camden, was found guilty Friday of felony murder and numerous other charges by a jury that reached its verdict after deliberating for less than three hours. He faces life in prison when he's sentenced Oct. 23.

Authorities said Rivera, 33, broke into the children's home in September 2012 while they were asleep and their mother was in the hospital recovering from a surgical procedure. Rivera was trying to assault a 12-year-old girl when her little brother intervened to protect her, investigators said.

Rivera slashed the children's throats, authorities said. The girl ran to a neighbor's house for help.

Two other girls, ages 9 and 14, were inside the home but weren't injured.

At the time of Rivera's arrest, there was speculation that he had been smoking "wet," or marijuana laced with PCP. But authorities said that has never been confirmed, and the issue wasn't raised during the trial.

Claims were made at trial that Rivera was drunk when the assault occurred, but prosecutors said there was no evidence Rivera had consumed alcohol around the time of the attacks.

They also noted his winding escape route, which they said showed a clear awareness of having committed an offense, and his physical actions — such as leaping fences — that demonstrated balance and coordination unlikely in a person so intoxicated they would be unaware of their actions.

Besides the felony murder count, Rivera was also found guilty of murder, attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault, burglary, making terroristic threats, weapons offenses and two counts of child endangerment.

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