Sid Vicious

The Pure Face of Punk

Sid Vicious is the most popular and visible icon of the punk movement, and for good reason. Sid joined the Sex Pistols in 1977. He was recruited by manager Malcolm McLaren who wanted Sid because he had the attitude and the look - so the old bass player was kicked out and Sid was in.

With McLaren's vision and the styling of Vivienne Westwood Sid became the pure face of punk, and he had the natural attitude to match.

Sid was described by many as likeable and maybe even a little bit introverted. He was born in London as "John Simon Richie", and sarcastically dubbed "Sid Vicious" by band mate John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) - Sid was named after John's hamster "Sid the Vicious" who had a habit of biting people.
Despite only having a handful of recordings and dubious musical talent, John Simon Richie achieved legend status as "Sid Vicious" - the embodiement of punk.

SID VICIOUS (John Simon Ritchie, Simon John Beverley etc.; May 10, 1957, London – February 2, 1979, New York) was a punk rock musician, an icon of the punk rock movement, primitive individualist anarchist, and the bass player of the Sex Pistols (replacing Glen Matlock). He was deeply involved in the birth of the British punk rock scene, along with close friend Johnny Rotten (John Joseph Lydon, Sex Pistols vocalist).

Childhood

Sid Vicious was born in London to John and Anne Ritchie. Shortly after his birth, John Ritchie left the family, leaving them to fend for themselves. Sid and his mother moved to the island of Ibiza while his mother became a drug dealer to get money. Anne later married Christopher Beverly in 1965 before setting up a family home back in Kent, England.
His stepfather died six months later, and by 1968 Ritchie and his mother were living in a rented flat in Tunbridge Wells where he attended Sandown Court School. In 1971 the pair moved to Hackney in East London. He also spent some time living in Somerset where he was a pupil at Clevedon Community School or Clevedon Secondary Modern as it was then known.

Name

Sid took his name after John Lydon's hamster, described by Lydon as "the softest, furriest, weediest thing on earth". At the time, he was squatting with John Lydon, John Wardle (Jah Wobble) and John Gray (the four were sometimes referred to as The Four Johns).

The Bromley Contingent, The Flowers of Romance, and The Banshees

Vicious began his musical career as a member of The Flowers of Romance along with former co-founding member of The Clash, Keith Levene (who later co-founded John Lydon's post-Pistols project Public Image Ltd.). He had loose associations with The Bromley Contingent, the fashion avant garde that followed the Sex Pistols, and appeared with Siouxsie & The Banshees playing drums at their notorious first gig at the 100 Club Punk Festival in London's Oxford Street.
According to the band's photographer Dennis Morris, Vicious was "deep down, a shy person." However, Sid did assault NME journalist Nick Kent with a motorcycle chain (it is said after this John gave him the name vicious, but it really comes from Johnny's hamster, that bit people), in retaliation for Nick's domestic assault on former girlfriend Chrissie Hynde. On another occasion, at a London nightclub popular with rock stars of the day, The Speakeasy, he threatened BBC DJ and Old Grey Whistle Test presenter Bob Harris, which in turn resulted in Harris threatening Vicious with legal action.

Sex Pistols

Already known as "the ultimate Sex Pistols fan," and a close friend of vocalist Johnny Rotten, Vicious was asked to join the group after Glen Matlock's departure in February 1977. Manager Malcolm McLaren once claimed "if Rotten is the voice of punk, then Vicious is the attitude". His punk rock character was considered far more helpful than any knack for playing, as he was not renowned for his playing skills, though he did have some composing ability, as was later shown when he composed the track "Belsen Was a Gas" entirely by himself. In his autobiography No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs, Lydon writes, "he wasn't too bad at all for three-chord songs." Sid played his first gig with the Pistols on April 3, 1977, at the Screen on the Green in London. His debut was filmed by Don Letts and appears in /Punk Rock Movie.

Sid & Nancy

In November 1977 Vicious met American groupie Nancy Spungen and they immediately began a relationship (Spungen had come to London looking for Jerry Nolan of The Heartbreakers). She was a heroin addict, and Vicious, who already believed in his own "live fast, die young" image, soon shared the dependence. Although they were deeply in love, their often violent and rocky relationship had a disastrous effect on the Sex Pistols. Both the group and Vicious visibly deteriorated during their 1978 American tour. The Pistols broke up in San Francisco after their concert at the Winterland Ballroom on January 14, 1978.
With Spungen acting as his manager, Vicious embarked on a solo career during which he performed with musicians including Mick Jones of The Clash, original Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, Rat Scabies of The Damned and the New York Dolls' Arthur Kane, Jerry Nolan, and Johnny Thunders.
Meanwhile, Vicious and Spungen had become locked in their own world of drug addiction and self-destruction. Interview footage shows the couple attempting to answer questions from their bed: Spungen is barely coherent while Vicious lapses in and out of consciousness. He also came very close to death following a heroin overdose and was hospitalized for some time.
On the morning of October 12, 1978, he awoke from a drugged stupor to find Spungen crumpled dead on the bathroom floor of their room 100 in the Hotel Chelsea in New York City. She had received a single stab wound to her abdomen and apparently bled to death. He was arrested and charged with her murder although he said he had no memory of having done so. There are several theories that Spungen was murdered by someone else, usually said to be one of the two drug dealers who visited the apartment that night, and involving a possible robbery as certain items (including a substantial bankroll) were claimed to be missing from the room. In his book, Pretty Vacant: A History of Punk, Phil Strongman names Nancy's killer as Rockets Redglare.
Bail of USD $50,000 was put up by Virgin Records at McLaren's request. The plan was for Vicious to record an album with fellow Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook in order to raise funds for his defence. This was to be a collection of standards including (according to McLaren) White Christmas and Mack the Knife. It is also possible, according to Paul Cook, that the album was to be a selection of Sid's favorite songs and would have included tracks from The Stooges, the Ramones, the New York Dolls and The Heartbreakers.
On February 2, 1979, a small gathering to celebrate his release was held at the home of his girlfriend, Michele Robison, whom he'd started living with in October, after Nancy's death.
During his time at Rikers Island jail, Vicious had undergone drug rehabilitation therapy and was clean. However, at the dinner gathering, he obtained some heroin from his mother, took a tiny amount, and accidentally overdosed that night. His girlfriend revived him, and he was fine. Much later that night, Michele and Sid fell asleep. The next morning Sid was discovered to have passed away. Speculation has persisted that Vicious, unable to live without his beloved Nancy, took his own life.


PENUBUHAN SEX PISTOLS DI BRITAIN.
(BAND PUNK LEGENDA & YG PERTAMA DI BRITAIN)

•Malcolm Mclaren, iatu seorang tauke butik di London dan juga merupakan
pengurus kpd band New York Dolls sedang mencari idea di mana ingin
menubuhkan sebuah band yg dapat menyebarkan idea² Anarchistnya. Sehingga pada akhirnya beliau bertemu dengan Jonny Rotten, Gleen Matlock, Steve Jones & Paul Cook dan menubuhkan Sex Pistols di Britain.

•Sex Pistols dengan rasminya telah ditubuhkan pada tahun 1975 di Britain dan
Malcolm Mclaren lah merupakan orang yg bertanggungjawab menubuhkan band ini.

•Sex Pistols merupakan band Punks yg pertama di Britain dan juga diiktiraf
sebagai band Punk legenda oleh dunia. Ini kerana, kehadiran mereka telah
menyemarakkan lagi scene Punk di Britain pada ketika itu.

•Membawakan muzik ala Rock`N`Roll yg bingik dan keras juga dengan lagu² yg penuh kontroversi dan anti kerajaan. Lagu² mereka yg menjadi kontroversi di Britain pada pada ketika itu ialah seperti lagu 'Anarchy In The UK' & 'God
Save The Queen' dan telah diharamkan oleh BBC @ Britain Broadcasting pada ketika itu.

•Orang yg bertanggungjawab menggubah dan mencipta lagu 'Anarchy In The UK' & 'God Save The Queen' sebenarnya adalah G-Matlock iatu bassie kumpulan ini dan melalui lagu inilah reputasi band Sex Pistols meningkat dan menjadi terkenal. Tetapi selepas itu Glen Matlock telah keluar daripada band ini kerana ingin menubuhkan Iggy Pop & The Rich Kids dan tempatnya telah diganti oleh Sid Vicious.

•Kehadiran Sid telah membuatkan populariti band ini terus melonjak naik dan
menjadi bertambah rebellious. Ini munkin kerana disebabkan sifat Sid sendiri
yg extreme aggresive dan ganas sesuai dan kena dengan imej Sex Pistols
sebenarnya Sid juga banyak memperlihatkan aksi² yg ganas dan kurang ajar
ketika di pentas. Contohnya, suka meludah dan kencing di atas pentas sehingga membuatkan Menteri Pendidikan Britain pada ketika itu melabelkan mereka sebagai 'Agen Keruntuhan Moral Masyarakat'.

•Sid juga banyak mengubah imej dan penampilan kumpulan ini. Ini kerana ramai yg mengatakan bahawa Sid lah yg telah memperkenalkan fesyen rambut Mohawk sebenarnya. Contohnya ketika beliau muncul pada pertama kali di siaran TV British dengan fesyen rambut Mohawk ini. Dan selain Sid, Vivien Westwood iatu isteri kepada Malcolm McLaren juga telah memperkenalkan fesyen ini dan ia telah mejadi trend sehingga sekarang.

•Sex Pistols akhirnya mengalami kejatuhan pada tahun 1978 disebabkan oleh
kematian Sid kerana dadah(Drugs Overdose). Walaupun begitu, ia merupakan sebuah band Punk legenda. Kemunculan dan kehadiran mereka telah menjadi idola dan ikutan oleh sebilangan besar followers² dan juga bands Punk sehingga ke hari ini.

•Di dalam line up Sex Pistols nama Sid menjadi sebutan dan tidak lekang dari
bibir follower² Punk jika dibandingkan dengan line up yg lain. Ini munkin kerana diantara mereka Sid Vacious lebih berketerampilan. Penampilannya bukan dari segi imejnya sahaja tetapi ia termasuk dengan sifatnya sekali dan beliau boleh dikatakan Roll Model kepada Sex Pistols.
•Sex Pistols (1975-1978).