Linda Stein, RIP

Legendary music manager Linda Stein, whose pioneering work in the early New York punk scene included, “bringing the Ramones to England for their infamous July 4, 1976, concert that helped spark the young British punk scene,” was found beaten to death in her Upper East Side apartment on Tuesday, reports AP. (Her ex-husband, Seymour Stein, was the  founder of Sire Records, which along with the Ramones, also took a chance on the Talking Heads, the Pretenders — oh, and Madonna, too, but no one’s perfect.)

After leaving music management, she turned to real estate, always continuing to work. As she said in an interview with the New York Observer earlier this year:

You once managed the Ramones. Which is harder: punk rock or real estate?

Stein: Real estate. Firstly, if you manage a band, every time you hear an encore, every time the audience increases, every time your radio increases, it’s an upper. With real estate, the only upper is how much you don’t owe to Uncle Sam on the check you’re getting. There is no high except the money, which is extremely taxable.

Her murder is horrible news. Condolences go to her family and friends, and good luck wishes go to the NYPD in apprehending her killers.