SID VICIOUS

Date of Birth

10 May 1957, London, England, UK 

Date of Death

2 February 1979, New York City, New York, USA (heroin overdose) 

Birth Name

Simon John Ritchie 

Nickname

Sidney 

Height

6' 2" (1.88 m) 

Mini Biography

Along with fellow Sex Pistol member, Johnny Rotten, lanky, sneering, pock faced Sid epitomised the punk movement born in the mid 1970s in working class England. Sid Vicious (real name John Beverly) wasn't an original member of the Pistols, but rather joined the band after original bassist, Glen Matlock dropped out after personality clashes with lead singer Rotten. On stage, Sid (often stripped to the waist) would incite the audience to get wilder and more frenzied, and his infamous antics included spitting and spraying beer into the audience. The British establishment despised the Pistols with a passion, and Sid was viewed as a crude, foul mouthed hoodlum corrupting English youth with his unclean image. Unfortunately for a naive Sid, he fell into the company of alleged drug user, Nancy Spungen, and his world spiralled out of control leading to the break up of the Pistols (their last show being in San Francisco), and Sid's lame attempts to kick start his own solo career, which included a demented cover of the popular Frank Sinatra song "My Way", accompanied by a violent video clip. Vicious and Spungen took up residency in the Chelsea Hotel in New York City in early 1978, however their self destructive personalities meant a tragedy was fast approaching, and on October 12th 1978, Spungen was found dead in their hotel room from stab wounds. Vicious was charged by police with Spungen's murder and released on bail, pending trial. However, only four months later in February 1979, Vicious himself was found dead of a heroin overdose. Sid was dead at aged 21. His will requested his ashes be poured over Nancy's grave at the King David Cemetery in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Along with Janis Joplin, Brian Jones & Jimi Hendrix, Sid had assured himself a place in rock and roll history, as another iconic music figure dead at a young age.

Trade Mark

Padlock chain worn around his neck given to him by Chrissie Hynde of band The Pretenders

His sneer

The Pogo dance

Leather jacket

Spikey hair

Trivia

On 2 February 1980, in honor of the first anniversary of Sid's death, one thousand punks marched from London's Sloane Square in Chelsea to Hyde Park. His Mother, Anne Beverly, was supposed to have taken part in the proceedings, but she was in the hospital due to a drug overdose.

Murdered his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, in 1978. Trial for the murder began January 2, 1979. Sid died before the trial ended. He confessed to the murder, but from his story and the evidence surrounding the murder scene, it appears she encouraged him to do it.

For a short time Sid played drums for Siouxie and the Banshees in the 1970's.

Boyfriend of Nancy Spungen.

Former bassist for the pioneering punk band The Sex Pistols.

His stage name was given to him as a joke, because of his inability to defend himself in a fight. John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) once commented, "Sid couldn't punch his way out of a bag of crisps!"

There was no key for his padlock chain necklace.

During the filming of Alex Cox's "Sid and Nancy", Sid's mother gave the actor who played Sid (a relative unknown named Gary Oldman) Sid's famous padlock necklace.

He was allegedly stunningly musically incompetent, even by punk standards. His bass work was so rudimentary, that it's rumored (and all the members of the band corroborate) that original Sex Pistol bassist Glen Matlock was invited to return to record basslines over Vicious' originals, even though he had left the band under extremely acrimonious circumstances.

Gained the emnity of the Clash's Mick Jones due to his habit of wearing a Nazi Swastika t-shirt. Jones, who is Jewish, and the rest of the Clash vowed they would never appear on stage with the Sex Pistols.

Was a member of the "Bromley Contingent," a group of young punk fans who followed the Pistols and other punk bands around England.

During the famed summer 1976 "Punk Festival" at London's 100 Club, Vicious became involved in a brawl with another punk, and tossed a beer mug at him. The mug missed, shattered against a pillar, and put a girl's eye out. Vicious was charged, convicted and fined for the incident.

Invented the "pogo" dance. Vicious went to a Sex Pistols gig before he joined the band and wanted to get a better look at them so he would jump up and down in a frenzy, and soon it caught on and more and more people did it.

His ashes were scattered on Nancy Spungen's grave by his mother, Ann. Eileen Polk said that Spungen's family would not allow Sid to be buried next to her, despite his request, nor would the Jewish cemetery permit scattering the ashes there. They were escorted through the cemetery and Ann later returned to scatter the ashes in secret.

His $50,000 bail from the second degree murder charge was revoked when he was arrested for hitting Patti Smith's brother, Todd, with a beer mug one night at a New York club.

Is portrayed by Gary Oldman in Sid and Nancy (1986)

Vicious' mum Anne Beverley committed suicide in 1996.

Personal Quotes

On drugs: "I don't want to be a junkie for the rest of my life. I don't want to be a junkie at all."

I got this feeling I'm gonna die before I get old. I don't know why. I just have this feeling.

On what EMI thought the Sex Pistols were: "We weren't the nice boys they thought we were. And, we weren't nice boys, we were fuckin' nasty little bastards... and we still are.

On John Lydon, a.k.a. Johnny Rotten: "John's just jealous because I'm the brains of the group. I've written all the songs, even from the beginning when I wasn't in the group."

When there are no more categorizations; when there are no more "niggers", when there are no more "whites", when there's just "people", you know, when there's no more "punks" when there's no more "dirt", that is when everything is gonna be OK.

[Talking about joining the Sex Pistols] I was getting my own group together; "The Flowers of Romance", and John (Lydon) said to me - there was this big hoo-haa, and Malcolm was saying "it's all a big secret man, you know. Come down to this pub at such-and-such", and I thought they were gonna do me over cos I didn't turn up to one of Rotten's parties or something - he gets touchy over things like that. And they said "do you wanna play bass for The Sex Pistols?"

[towards the end of the Sex Pistols career] "In the end I was the only one with any anarchy left in me."