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was John Simon Ritchie, a meek, razor-thin youth who was often beaten by gangs in his London neighborhood.But when he died of a heroin overdose, he was Sid Vicious, a punk rock musician accused of knifing his girlfriend to death.And the bizarre music that had brought him brieffortune and infamv also*was dying.The nude body of thespikehaired rock star, wholiked to hurl insults and vomit at his audiences,was found Fridav with a*needle nearbv and too*much heroin in his veins It was the denouncement of a drama that really began just over a year ago when Johnny Rotten, the lead singer for the Sex Pistols, announced that he was quitting punk rock’s most infamous group.Vicious, who joined the Sex Pistols as a replacement at bass guitar, had met Rotten at school before he dropped out at 15. Rotten gave him his nickname, supposedly as a joke. Vicious, he said, was not at ail vicious.The Sex Pistols developed a following, and they and other ’‘punkrock” groups became the talk, but not necessarily the music, of England. The Sex Pistols, with such songs as *Tm a Lazy Sod” and ‘i’m Pretty Vacant.” were not calculated to please a mass audience.The Sex Pistols, and other groups such as the Vibrators and the Damned, retched, insulted andclawed. They and their fans wore tom clothing, pushed safety pins through their cheeks, and colored their hair purple or orange.them became hooked on heroin or methadone, an artificial heroin substitute.The group’s biggestrecord in the UnitedStates, “God Save theQueen,” was banned fromEnglish radio during Queen Elizabeth II’s Jubilee year because of its anti-royalist lyrics. The group appeared on a radio talk show, and their obscene language resulted in the cancellation of their first national tour.When the Sex Pistols finally reached the United States, after working out visa problems, the tourwas a flop They drew small crowds and bad reviews. At theend of the tour. Rotten announced that group was through. Vicious collapsed on the plane the next day at Kennedy International Airport, the victim of boozeand pills.Vicious was accompanied by his girlfriend. Nancy Spungen. 20. whohad grown up in thePhiladelphia suburb ofHuntington Valley. In 1975. she joined the New York rock scene, and in 1977 she moved to London, whereMiss Spungen took over as Vicious’ manager when the Sex Pistols disbanded. He appeared at local clubs and recorded a punk version of Frank Sinatra’s“Mv Wav.”% »The two moved into a $35-anight room in Manhattan’s Chelsea Hotel which has catered for generations to art and entertainment folk. They lived quietly in Room 100 of the hotel registered under the name “Mr. and Mrs. John Ritchie.” until Oct. 12 of last vear.At 9:45 a m. on that date, Sid Vicious called the emergency 911 number and told the operator, “Someone is hurt.”Police found the body of Miss Spungen, unclad except for black undergarments, under the bathroom sink. She had been stabbed once in the abdomen.Vicious was charged with second-degreemurder, though he disavowed anv memorv of• *what had happened that night. Weak and shaking from the effects of drug withdrawal he was held on $50,000 bail.Malcolm McClaren. the former mentor of the SexPistols, and others raisedthe bail mo new*•A week and a half later, on Oct. 23. Vicious jabbed his arms and wrists with a broken lightbulb in an unsuccessful attempt at suicide He was treated for superficial cuts and was placed in the psychiatric ward of Bellevue Hospitalfor several weeks.Vicious went back to jail for the last time after he was arrested on a charge of striking Todd Smith — brother of rock singer Patti Smith - at a nightclub with a beer mug following an argumentalways* YourRED 1BLUEGREEChos3134 Andrews Hwy. One Energy Square OdessaL
Newspaper Details
Odessa American
Odessa, Texas, US
Sun, Feb 04, 1979
Page 75
Full Page
Clipped by
San A.
Texas, USA 02 Jun 2021
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Odessa American
