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EVERYONE with a prostate needs to get it checked. JOHNNY Ramone, lead guitarist with the influential US punk rock band the Ramones, died yesterday after a five-year battle with prostate cancer. Ramone, 55, who was born John Cummings, died in his sleep at his Los Angeles home, said Arturo Vega, the Ramones' creative director. The Ramones, famed for playing their high-energy, unpolished songs at breakneck speed, rose to fame in New York City in the 1970s, following such British punk rock legends as the Sex Pistols and the Clash. But unlike most punks, Johnny Ramone was an outspoken Republican who once declared Ronald Reagan the best US president of his lifetime. Johnny becomes the third member of the band to die in recent years. Singer Joey Ramone, born Jeffrey Hyman, died in 2001 of cancer. Bassist Dee Dee Ramone, born Douglas Colvin, died from a drug overdose in 2002. Marky Ramone has recently overseen the production of a DVD, Ramones Raw.