Remembering Sid Vicious

This entry should really be headed Warren Says, since all of the information below comes from former CHARTattack sales guru Warren Campbell. He's been on a major Sex Pistols kick lately and, to commemorate today's 30th anniversary of Sid Vicious' drug overdose death, he offers these interesting tidbits about the former Sex Pistols bassist:

His father was a guard at Buckingham Palace.

He got his stage name from Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten's hamster.

His bass playing isn't heard on Never Mind The Bollocks.

He asked Motorhead's Lemmy for advice on how to play bass after he joined the Sex Pistols. "I can't play bass," he said, and Lemmy responded, "I know."

There are rumours that some of his ashes were spread over girlfriend Nancy Spungeon's grave and others were sucked into the ventilation system at Heathrow Airport in London, England.

He was the original drummer for Siouxsie & The Banshees.

He first met John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten) at Hackney Technical College.

When the Sex Pistols brought him into the band to replace bassist Glen Matlock, The Clash refused to perform on any bill with them because guitarist Mick Jones was Jewish and took offence to Vicious' Nazi regalia.

He invented pogo-dancing when he was at a Sex Pistols show and couldn't see the band, so he started jumping up and down.

A thousand punks marched in London's Hyde Park on the first anniversary of his death. His mother was going to take part, but she was recovering in hospital from a drug overdose.

He wore a padlock around his neck that his mother later gave to actor Gary Oldman, who portrayed him in Sid & Nancy.

After his arrest for killing Spungeon, bail of $50,000 U.S. was posted and plans were put in place by manager Malcolm McLaren for an album to be recorded with Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook. The album would have consisted entirely of standards, including "White Christmas" and "Mack The Knife."

There are at least seven semi-official Vicious records: Sid Vicious & Friends; Live At The Electric Ballroom; Never Mind The Reunion Here's Sid Vicious; Sid Dead Live; Sid Sings; Too Fast To Live; and The Idols With Sid Vicious. Most of these recordings contain music from various performances he gave while living in New York City.

By Steve Mclean

http://www.chartattack.com/

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