Von Sid Vicious und mir

Biography of Sid Vicious

Simon John Ritchie-Beverley (May 10, 1957 – February 2,1979), better known as Sid Vicious, was an English punkrock musician and member of the band the Sex Pistols.

He died of a heroin overdose at the age of 21.

In November 1977 Ritchie met American groupie Nancy Laura 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 inevitably

Ritchie, who already believed in his own "live fast, die young" image, soon shared the dependence.

Although deeply in love, their often violent and rocky relationship had a disastrous effect on the Sex Pistols. Both the group and

Ritchie visibly deteriorated during their 1978 American tour.

The Pistols broke up in San Francisco on January 14 during a concert at the Winterland Ballroom when Lydon walked off the stage.

Ritchie left shortly afterwards, and with Spungen

acting as his "manager" he embarked on a short and ignoble 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 and Jerry Nolan.

Meanwhile Ritchie 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 Ritchie

lapses in and out of consciousness. He also came very close to death following a heroin overdose and was hospitalised

for a time.

On the morning of October 12, 1978 Ritchie allegedly awoke from a drugged stupor to find Spungen crumpled dead on the bathroom floor of room 100 in the Hotel Chelsea in New York. She had received a single stab wound

to her abdomen and apparently bled to death.

Vicious was arrested and charged with her murder although he said he

had no memory of having done so. However, he later claimed to have "killed her because I'm a dirty dog." There are wholly unsupported theories Spungen was murdered by someone else, usually said to be one of the two drug dealers

who visited the apartment that night.

After appearing in court over Spungen's death, Ritchie was briefly interviewed by a tabloid journalist. He was shaking

slightly and appeared sober, morose, and withdrawn:

Interviewer: Are you having fun at the moment?

Ritchie: Are you kidding? No, I am not having fun at all.

(long pause)

Interviewer: Where would you like to be?

Ritchie: Under the ground.

Interviewer: Are you serious?

Ritchie: (quietly, and sad) Yeah.

Bail of $50,000 was put up by Virgin Records at McLaren's request, and in February 1979 a party to celebrate his release was held at the home of his new girlfriend Michelle

Robinson.

During his time at Rikers Island prison, Ritchie

had undergone drug rehabilitation therapy and was supposedly clean. However at the party he obtained some heroin from his mother, and was discovered dead the

following morning, having taken a large overdose.

Speculation has persisted that Ritchie, unable to live without

his beloved Nancy, took his own life.

He wrote the following poem about her:

You were my little baby girl, And I shared all your fears.

Such joy to hold you in my arms and kiss away your tears.

But now you're gone, there's only pain and nothing I can

do. And I don't want to live this life, If I can't live for you.

To my beautiful baby girl. Our love will never die...

After Ritchie's death, his mother phoned Deborah Spungen, Nancy's mother, to request that he be buried next to her, but Deborah Spungen declined.

There are several myths about what happened to Ritchie's remains but one of the

most persistent is that late one night, "Sid's mother jumped

the graveyard fence where Nancy was buried and scattered

his ashes over his beloved for them to be together for all

time."

According to The Guardian, "It's more likely that Ma Vicious arrived back at Heathrow with his remains.

Malcolm McLaren claims she knocked them over in the arrivals lounge; hence the fanciful myth that Sid's essence still

circulates, wafting through the air vents and moving among the travellers." .

Sid Sings, a solo album, was released posthumously by Virgin Records. This was mostly a collection of cover

versions of rock 'n' roll numbers such as "C'mon Everybody"

and "Something Else" by Eddie Cochran along with material by Iggy Pop and Johnny Thunders and a rendition of the

Paul Anka / Frank Sinatra standard "My Way". 

Striking footage of Vicious performing this song in Paris provides the

closing sequence for Julien Temple's film The Great Rock 'n'

Roll Swindle.

End

Tja, so ist das mit der Liebe. Finde das ganze hat auch etwas von John und Yoko, oder irr ich da?

Wisst ihr ich habe mich auch jemanden falsch gegenueber Verhalten, habe denjenigen aus niedrigen Beweggruenden sehr verletzt. Ueber die Konsequentz war ich mir zu keinem Zeitpunkt bewusst. Weil ich mich in was reingesteigert habe, was normal ueberhaupt nicht erwaehnends Wert gewesen waere. 

Was bleibt ist die grosse Last des Schuld seins. Sowie zig vergebliche Versuche des wieder gutmachens.

Aber Eins bleibt auch noch, die Hoffnung doch noch erhoert zu werden.

Was schreib ich hier ueberhaupt?

Kommt mir alle gut diesen Donnerstag.

Tschuessen

 Sid Vicious My Way 

Copyright by Joerg Hartwig