[Landline]A sensational video from punk rock prehistory has surfaced

That's Joey Ramone!

I THOUGHT YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW

Jeffrey Hyman, the future Joey Ramone of the Ramones, was in a band before the Ramones. The band was called Sniper, Joey was called Jeff Starship, and the sound was (maybe?) Stooges-meet-New York Dolls. Glitter pre-punk. The band never recorded with Mr. Starship — I’m not sure if there are even any photos, although you’d think there’s got to be. Anyways, Joey himself described his time in Sniper like this: "I used to wear this custom-made black jumpsuit, these like pink, knee-high platform boots- all kinds of rhinestones- lots of dangling belts and gloves."

Last week, this video of Sniper, ripped from some kind of multi-camera 1973 TV broadcast, surfaced: 14 minutes of barely there, blurry/scrambled, video from punk rock pre-history. The audio is bootleggy, mono, vocal-centric, the band only audible when Joey’s off mic. But who cares, this is Joey in the (err…) punk rock birth canal, before being born into Joey Ramonehood, dressed in a leotard (or are those panties?) and sash, fronting a band where one bandmember’s between-song sell-it patter goes, “Yeow! Alright, we’re Sniper! And we be may be loud but we’re good. Nobody’s forcing you to stay if you don’t want to. Dig it?”

Incredible to see this footage, suddenly, after all this time.

We love you and miss you, Joey.