He Was Everything Punk
Sid Vicious rose to fame as the second bassist for the punk rock band, Sex Pistols—but it wasn’t for his musical talent. A friend once described him as, “Everything in punk that was dark, decadent and nihilistic”. From fights in clubs to brushes with danger and one fateful final night, Vicious’ dark rise to fame came to a tragic end all too soon.
1. He Didn’t Know His Own Father
Simon John Ritchie, AKA Sid Vicious, had a punk rock beginning. He was born in May 1957, in Lewisham, London to his mother, Anne Beverley. To escape the doldrums of her own life, Beverley had joined the British Army, where she had fallen for a trombone-playing guardsman named John, who became Vicious’ father.
Unfortunately, Vicious would never meet the man.
Chicago Art Department c/o: L. Schorr, Wikimedia Commons
2. His Father Abandoned Him In Ibiza
Shortly after his birth, Beverley took the infant Vicious to Ibiza, expecting her partner to join them. She was in for a devastating surprise. In the first of Vicious’ many disappointments in life, his own father ghosted him and his mother, never showing up in Ibiza. Without any support, Beverley had to scrape by however she could—including selling pot.
His luck didn’t improve from there.
3. His Stepfather Kicked The Bucket
The British Embassy helped Beverley and the young Sid Vicious get back to England—but things didn’t get any better. Beverley married a man named Christopher Beverley, hoping to provide a stable father figure for her son. However, six months later, he succumbed to kidney failure. Once again, Vicious was without a father.
It was a pattern that would repeat—loss after loss, each one cutting deeper.
4. He Contemplated Ending It All
By 1973, Vicious’ mother had fallen into addiction. While she numbed herself with any substance she could get her hands on, Vicious had to struggle alone, attending a community college for kids on the edge. There, he made a desperate confession to a school counselor. He said that he was thinking about ending his life.
There was no one to answer his heartbreaking cry for help—least of all, his mother.
5. His Mother Kicked Him Out
That same year, in the throes of her addiction, Beverley pushed Sid Vicious over the edge and into the streets—literally. Seemingly without warning, she kicked him out of their house. “It's either you or me,” she reportedly said, “and it's not going to be me”. When he told her that he had nowhere else to go, she simply said, “I don't care”.
Forget unconditional love—this was unconditional rejection.
6. He Found A Gang Of Misfits
Out on the streets, Vicious had to find his own family, and he found it in others just like him. He started hanging out with fellow Kingsway College student John Lydon, who in turn introduced Vicious to John Grey and John Wardle. Altogether, they became “The Four Johns”—a crew of squatters, dropouts, and punk pioneers.
They may have lived in filth, but at least they lived on their own terms.
7. He Got His Name From A Hamster
Sid Vicious was one of the Four Johns because, at the time, he was Simon John Ritchie. And how he earned his name is a little-known fact amongst punk aficionados. When Lydon’s pet hamster, named “Sid” after Syd Barrett, the co-founder of Pink Floyd, took a bite out of Vicious, the teen yelled out, “Sid is really vicious!”—and the nickname stuck.
So, he had the stage name, but he definitely didn’t have the talent.
Keystone Features, Getty Images
8. He Was Paid To Stop
Unlike other punk legends—or, depending on your opinion, much like other punk legends—Sid Vicious wasn’t always a gifted musician. Before he rose to infamy, Vicious and Lydon, who had started going by the name Johnny Rotten, busked in the streets, playing Alice Cooper covers…badly. How bad were they? They were so bad that people tossed coins at them just to make them stop.
It was pathetic. It was punk. It was exactly what Vicious was chasing.
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9. He Wanted To Be In The Band
In 1975, Johnny Rotten formed a little band called the Sex Pistols. As Rotten’s best friend, Sid Vicious quickly became their biggest fan. But not necessarily for the music. At a 1976 show, when the band unleashed chaos upon their own fans, Vicious watched on with stars in his eyes. He wanted to be just like them.
10. He Started His Own Band—And Took No Prisoners
Before he joined the Sex Pistols, Vicious co-founded a band of his own, called the Flowers of Romance. Ironic, given there was little to no romance in the band. When his bandmate Paloma McLard, AKA “Palmolive”, rejected Vicious’ romantic overtures, he promptly kicked her out. Given his penchant for lashing out, Palmolive got off easy.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
11. He Let Loose With A Chain
In June 1976, Sid Vicious went to see his favorite band’s show at the 100 Club—and didn’t like what he saw. Or rather, what he didn’t see. When music critic Nick Kent blocked his view, Vicious’ reaction was blood-curdling. A high-as-a-kite Vicious whipped out a rusted motorcycle chain that he regularly carried with him and smashed it across Kent’s head.
The incident made the papers—and thus began Vicious’ rise to infamy.
Coup d'Oreille, Wikimedia Commons
12. He Missed His Big Break
Despite co-founding Flowers of Romance, the band never played a single live show. Nevertheless, Vicious’ antics off the stage caught the attention of other punk bands, and for a hot second, he was in the running to front legendary band the Damned. But when it came time to audition, Vicious didn’t even show up. His self-destructive behavior only got worse from there.
13. He Broke Glass
Later that year, Sid Vicious tried his hand at drumming during the first gig for Siouxsie and the Banshees. Characteristically, it didn’t take long for things to spiral. The next day, he was back at the 100 Club—this time to see the Damned, the same band he was supposed to be fronting. Wasted and amped on speed, he hurled a pint glass at their singer Dave Vanian mid-performance.
He missed his target. But someone else wasn’t so lucky.
Michael Johnson, Wikimedia Commons
14. He Blinded A Woman
The glass didn’t hit Vanian—it hit a pillar, then exploded into the crowd. When one of the shards of glass struck a woman in the eye, she became blind. The incident landed Vicious in Ashford Remand Centre where his friends, as a joke, brought him a copy of Helter Skelter, the book about the Manson family. This horrifying incident only made Vicious even more of a punk rock legend in the making.
In fact, it was basically his audition.
Richard E. Aaron, Getty Images
15. He Finally Got His Wish
In February 1977, the Sex Pistols’ manager, Malcolm McLaren, tossed out their bassist, Glen Matlock. The reason? According to McLaren, Matlock liked the Beatles too much. They had their eye on someone who was truly punk rock. “If Johnny Rotten is the voice of punk,” McLaren said, “then Vicious is the attitude”. Just like that, Vicious had gotten what he truly wanted: to become a member of his favorite band.
He should have been more careful about what he asked for.
16. He Was Their “Kamikaze Pilot”
Before he joined the band, Sid Vicious never missed a show. After joining, however, he wasn’t just encouraged to go off the rails—he was expected to. Friend John Wardle once said, “Sid was offered up as a sacrificial lamb…He was their [the band’s] kamikaze pilot”. His antics had the intended effect: A major record label started paying attention.
Richard E. Aaron, Getty Images
17. He Celebrated With Destruction
Thanks to Vicious’ wild, punk rock attitude, his band signed with A&M Records in March 1977. But it was hard to tell if they were happy about it. Vicious and his bandmates celebrated by trashing the label’s offices. The ink on the contract had barely dried before the band’s chaotic “celebrations” spilled over into the Speakeasy Club that same night.
18. He Started A Bar Brawl With A DJ
After signing the record deal, Vicious and his bandmates descended on the Speakeasy, a regular haunt for musicians. But, when Vicious and his bandmates spotted DJ Bob Harris from the Old Grey Whistle Test, things escalated. Or deteriorated. They cornered Harris, demanding to know when they’d be on his show. Bottles in hand, they pinned him behind the bar.
That’s when the fists—and glass—started flying.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Vicious
George Wilkes Archive, Getty Images
19. He Smashed A Bottle Into Someone’s Face
Sid Vicious and his bandmates sparked a bar brawl. The consequences were brutal. Amid the chaos, Vicious rammed a broken bottle into the face of BBC engineer George Nicholson, drawing blood from a deep gash. The fighting turned so “vicious” that authorities had to cordon off an entire block.
While none of the band members faced charges from the incident, they didn’t get off easy.
20. He Blew It
The next day, the fallout from Vicious’ vicious attack had already begun. After hearing about the brawl in the news, A&M Records tore up their contract while Capital Radio banned their music. However, Vicious didn’t really care. It’s not like anyone listened to his songs for his melodic mastery.
21. He Could Barely Play
Sid Vicious played his first gig with his new band on April 3, 1977, at The Screen on the Green. It wasn’t exactly a triumphant debut. Vicious had virtually no experience as a bassist. So, when it came time to record the band’s debut album Never Mind the Bollocks, a different guitarist, Steve Jones, had to step in.
Despite his obvious shortcomings, Vicious put in surprisingly little practice.
Never Mind The bollocks - Album Review by Yee Loi
22. He Missed Rehearsals
As the rest of the band worked on perfecting their sound in the studio, Vicious was off doing what he did best: Harming himself. Instead of rehearsing and getting better at the bass guitar, Vicious was holed up in a hospital bed with hepatitis—likely the result of his intravenous substance use issues. He had one person to blame for that.
23. His Mother Was His Dealer
Sid Vicious hadn’t become an addict by accident—he never had a chance. It was practically genetic. According to John Gray, he once caught Vicious using speed while still living with his mother. When Gray confronted him, Vicious shrugged and said, “It’s me mum’s”. Believe it or not, an even more destructive relationship was just around the corner.
Evening Standard, Getty Images
24. He Met His Match
In 1977, the same year that Vicious released his debut album with the band, he met someone who would change his life forever, and not necessarily for the better: Nancy Spungen. An American expat with a reputation for trouble, Spungen latched onto the London punk scene and quickly became Vicious’ other half. His much, much worse half.
25. He Dated The Scene’s Ultimate Villain
Johnny Rotten had been the original target of Spungen’s dangerous affections. But once she set her sights on Sid Vicious, everything changed—not for the better. The caustic pairing burned through the band, creating a rift in the once tight-knit group. McLaren, the band’s manager, was so desperate to get rid of her, he considered having her deported back to the US.
There was, however, something sweet about their relationship.
26. He Was “Shy And Polite”
Vicious and Spungen were more than just a punk rock star and groupie on a never-ending bender. At times, they brought out the best in each other. Spungen’s mother described Vicious as “shy and polite”. Spungen could even be sweet and caring, cutting Vicious’ food for him. Those brief moments of peace, however, were few and far between.
27. He Liked To Watch
Behind closed doors, Vicious and Spungen had a deeply troubling relationship. Spungen once admitted that the bruises she’d blamed on random Johns actually came from Vicious. Not only was there speculation that he beat her, but there were rumors that he encouraged her to sell her body…so that he could watch.
Music was at the heart of their madness.
Watal Asanuma, Shinko Music, Getty Images
28. He Went Gold While Falling Apart
Despite his own struggles, Sid Vicious toured Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and the UK with his bandmates—with, of course, Spungen in tow. The tour was supposed to promote the band’s debut album, and it worked. Never Mind the Bollocks hit number one on the charts and is still considered to be one of the best punk albums of all time.
Success, however, came with a price. One Vicious wasn’t willing to pay.
29. He Had To Detox
By January of 1978, Vicious’ punk rock sound had wafted across the Atlantic to the US, sparking the demand for a tour. But it came with serious conditions for Vicious. Warner Bros, the tour’s backer, demanded that Vicious sober up, and swapped out his usual fix for methadone. Unfortunately, it didn’t help. Throughout the tour, Vicious was sick, miserable, and short-tempered. Worse yet, they’d barred Spungen from joining him.
The kamikaze pilot had lost his co-pilot, and he was determined to crash and burn.
30. He Carved A Message Into His Chest
Before a Dallas show, Sid Vicious did something that shocked even the most ardent punk rock fans. With a razor blade, he carved “Gimme a fix” into his chest. When he appeared on stage, he joked about his act of self-harm, saying, “If you try to [end] yourself [with a razor to the chest], it won't work”. With that, the Sex Pistols were done.
And so was Vicious—almost.
Richard E. Aaron, Getty Images
31. He Hit Rock Bottom At 30,000 Feet
After the tour, the band effectively broke up. Sid Vicious then flew from San Francisco to New York—and barely made it. High on a diet that consisted of methadone, diazepam, and hooch, Vicious slipped into unconsciousness before the plane touched down. When he woke up in the hospital, a doctor informed him that if he didn’t stop, he would be six feet under in six months.
Spoiler alert: He didn’t stop.
32. He Couldn’t Ever Leave Spungen
As soon as he left the hospital, Sid Vicious ran straight back to Spungen. The two jetted off to Paris to shoot The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle, but spent most of their time locked in their hotel room getting high. Even when Vicious tried to record some music, he returned from a session and made a disturbing discovery. Spungen had cut her wrists in fear that he had left her.
That was their idea of a romantic getaway.
33. He Made A Comeback
After a brief trip back to London, Vicious and Spungen returned to New York. The caustic couple checked into Room 100 of the Hotel Chelsea, assuming the names Mr and Mrs John Ritchie. For a time, they seemed to work well together. Spungen stepped in as Vicious’ manager, landing him gigs throughout the US. However, it quickly became apparent that something was missing.
Henry P. Gray, Wikimedia Commons
34. He Was No Good On His Own
The crowds that attended Vicious’ shows expected to get a taste of the full band. They were in for a cruel surprise. What they got was a cheap knock-off. The crowds heckled Vicious for his low-rent Johnny Rotten impersonation. In return, Vicious cursed out his hecklers. It wasn’t obvious that he couldn’t carry on as he was. At one point, Spungen called her parents and confessed that she was sick and wanted help: detox. For both of them.
Help couldn’t come fast enough.
35. He Took 30 Pills That Night
On October 11, 1978, Vicious and Spungen threw a party in their hotel room at the Chelsea. In a perfect example of his downward spiral, Vicious downed thirty Tuinal pills, a sedative, and passed out cold. While he was comatose, his party guests came and went. But, the next morning, when the party was over, he found that he was all alone. Sort of.
Watal Asanuma/Shinko Music, Getty Images
36. His Girlfriend Met A Grizzly Fate
At 11 AM on October 12, hotel staff at the Chelsea found something horrifying in Vicious’ room. It was Spungen’s lifeless body. Sprawled out on the bathroom floor in a pool of blood, Spungen had been stabbed. Vicious, on the other hand, was staggering down the hallway. What happened next was even more shocking.
Universal History Archive, Getty Images
37. He Confessed…Sort Of
When authorities arrived on the scene, Sid Vicious did the unthinkable: He confessed to having been the one to drive a knife into Spungen’s abdomen. But his confession wasn’t really a confession. Right after copping to the deed, he took it all back. His behavior after that only confused matters even more.
38. He Changed His Story—Again
After his “confession”, authorities decided to lay charges against Vicious. But, in his official statement, he gave conflicting accounts of events. On the one hand, he said that he and Spungen had a fight. He also said that he remembered nothing at all. What he said next was downright laughable. He claimed that Spungen had simply fallen on the knife. Guilty or not, one thing was clear: he was not a reliable witness.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
39. He Made Bail
With his music career—and innocence—hanging in the balance, Virgin Records footed the Vicious’ $50,000 bail. The deal? He had to stay in New York, check in with the authorities daily, and show up at his methadone clinic. In the meantime, he returned to the Chelsea Hotel with the Pistols’ manager Malcolm McLaren and, fatefully, his mother, Anne Beverley.
40. He Might’ve Been Innocent
Despite his “confession” and the curious circumstances, McLaren didn’t believe for one second that Sid Vicious had stabbed Spungen. While he believed that Vicious could harm himself, he didn’t believe he was capable of taking someone else’s life. And, with so many people going in and out of the room that night, anyone could have done the deed.
Plus, it didn’t seem like Vicious even knew where he was.
41. He Was Warned Not to Be Left Alone
At the behest of his lawyer, the legendary F Lee Bailey, Vicious met with the forensic psychiatrist Dr Stephen Teich. Suffice to say, Teich’s analysis was troubling. He said that Vicious seemed somewhat detached from reality, rambling on about the “working class in Berlin,” while fixating on the TV. His final analysis: Do not leave Vicious unattended.
It was a warning that came too late.
42. He Had A Light Bulb Go Off
Only hours after Vicious’ meeting with Teich, his mother called in a panic: the forensic psychiatrist was right. Vicious had cut his arms with the glass from a broken light bulb. Teich rushed back and called for help. As authorities and medics arrived, Vicious tried to flee through a window. Thankfully, Teich blocked him before he could leap to his doom.
But he wasn’t done trying just yet.
43. His Girlfriend Predicted Her Doom
After a much-needed stay in a psychiatric care facility, Sid Vicious returned to the Chelsea Hotel in late November of 1978. However, he should have stayed longer. Just two days later, he gave an interview to the Irish journalist Bernard Clarke. In response to questions about Spungen’s bloody demise, he replied simply, “Nancy always said she'd die before she was 21”.
The rest of the interview was even more chilling.
Richard E. Aaron, Getty Images
44. He Wanted To Be Six Feet Under
While it was troubling enough that Vicious described Spungen’s brutal end as something that was “meant to happen”, what he said after that was even more troubling. Clarke asked Vicious where he would like to be to which the troubled punk rocker replied, “Under the ground”. Tragically, he would be—sooner than he knew.
Richard E. Aaron, Getty Images
45. He Slashed A Guy
On December 5, 1978, Sid Vicious went to Hurrah nightclub with an entourage But when he began making advances on a girl named Tarrah, her boyfriend, Todd Smith (brother to punk legend Patti Smith) stepped in. Vicious, irate at the “intrusion,” smashed a bottle and slashed Smith in the face. The gash was so deep that it required five stitches.
It was looking increasingly likely that Vicious would meet a grizzly end of his own.
Richard E. Aaron, Getty Images
46. He Went To Rikers
After his wild outburst at the nightclub, authorities had no choice but to clap Sid Vicious in irons and charge him. The court determined that Vicious had violated his previous bail terms and ordered him to Rikers Island, where he underwent opiate detox. What happened next stunned everyone.
U.S. Geological Survey, Wikimedia Commons
47. He Was A “Good Boy”
Given that he was already out on bail, it seemed almost inevitable that Vicious would go away for a long time. To everyone’s shock, however, the judge agreed to release Vicious once again, even reducing his bail to $10,000. By mid-January of 1979, he was back on the street with his mother telling the press, “Now the public will know he is a good boy”.
For a good boy, he was up to no good.
48. He Went Back To His Old Ways
Once he was out of detox, Sid Vicious had a chance encounter—one that would prove fatal. Randomly, he ran into a friend, Peter Gravelle on the street, and asked him if he could score them some dope. That night, Gravelle delivered $200’ worth to an apartment in Manhattan, where Vicious was staying with friends.
It would be his final high.
49. He Went To Sleep—Forever
Along with his mother and a group of friends, Vicious got into the dope. Though his friends were already concerned about his condition, given that he had just come out of detox, one of them reportedly gave Vicious four Tuinals to help him sleep. It was a sleep from which he would never awaken.
Watal Asanuma, Shinko Music, Getty Images
50. He Slipped Into Oblivion
That night, Sid Vicious drifted off into the closest thing resembling peace in his life—and simply never woke up. The next morning, coming down from a high herself, his mother, Beverley discovered his lifeless body under the blankets she had draped him in. The punk rocker was 21 years old.
Even more heartbreaking, however, was what his mother found next.
51. He Left A Chilling Note
Following Vicious’ passing, Beverley said she found a note in her son’s jacket. One that shed light not just on his tragic end, but on Spungen’s as well. It read, “We had a death, and I have to keep my half of the bargain. Please bury me next to my baby. Bury me in my leather jacket, jeans and motorcycle boots. Goodbye”.
It wasn’t how he wanted to go.
52. He Had Promised To Follow Spungen
According to Spungen’s mother, Deborah, Vicious had also left her a letter shedding more light on Spungen’s death. In fact, he may have written that letter first. “We always knew that we would go to the same place when we died,” Vicious wrote. “We so much wanted to die in each other's arms…This is my final commitment to my love”.
53. Someone Else May Have Confessed
Sid Vicious carried many secrets to his grave, including what really happened the night his girlfriend Nancy Spungen died...that is, if he really knew. However, Not long after, people began to whisper that they knew who the real killer was—and his identity was the biggest bombshell of all.
Rockets Redglare was a fixture in the punk scene in New York. Not only had he been the one to bring Vicious Tuinal on the night of Nancy’s dark end, many began to claim that he’d been the one to kill her. Though he publicly denied involvement, many in the New York scene claimed he’d confessed to them.
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