Before he ascended to the ranks of musicians known by only one name, Steven Patrick Morrissey was your archetypal British music geek. He was the president of the UK’s New York Dolls fan club and wrote letters in support of the band to the music press. But he wasn’t into every act from New York City. In 1976, 17-year-old Morrissey told Melody Maker how he really felt about the Ramones. “The Ramones are the latest bumptious band of degenerate no-talents whose most notable achievement to date is their ability to advance beyond the boundaries of New York City, and purely on the strength of a spate of convincing literature projecting the Ramones as God’s gift to rock music,” he began, later adding with the unquestionable authority of a teenager from a different country that the Dolls and Patti Smith were “the only acts which originated from the N.Y. club scene worthy of any praise.” See the entire screed, which apparently won Morrissey an LP, below.

[via Dangerous Minds]