SiD ViCIOUS
30th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTOR'S EDITION
The first, intimate full-length 80 minute documentary on Sid's life to mark 30
years since his death, when he was just 21 years old from a heroin overdose.
Many of those closest to Sid speak for the very first time about the only true
punk icon - who burnt out, but never sold out.
SID! BY THOSE WHO REALLY KNEW HIM
(COLLECTOR'S EDITION) DVD & CD Set
Odeon Entertainment - www.odeonent.co.uk
Running time: Approx 86 minutes
Considerable mystery surrounds the short life of Simon John Beverley. Better
known as Sid Vicious, to many fans he was a hero of the punk movement and a
cultural icon. Sid lived his life in chaos and anarchy. He was a drug addict
from a teenager and as a member of the Sex Pistols he lived up to his name -
once attacking NME music journalist, Nick Kent, with a bicycle chain.
Eventually, heroin abuse took its toll and Sid died aged twenty-one in 1979.
To mark the 30th anniversary of his death, a new documentary, in association
with ITN Archive, relates the definitive story of Sid's life. Critically, the
DVD documentary includes interviews with the people who knew Sid best - Malcolm
McLaren (Sex Pistols manager), John Wardle aka 'Jah Wobble' (a childhood friend
who is available for media interviews), Vivienne Westwood (Sex Pistols
designer), Rat Scabies (The Damned), Steve Severin, ex-flatmate Viv Albertine
(The Slits), Ron Watts (100 Club), Caroline Coon, Glen Matlock, Marco Pironi,
Sex Pistol's tour manager, John Tiberi, and many more of Sid closest mates
Ritchie joined the Pistols after bassist Glen Matlock's departure in February
1977, his first gig was on 3 April, at the Screen on the Green in London. Soon
after joining the Sex Pistols Sid told the Daily Mirror: "I'll probably die by
the time I reach 25."
Manager Malcolm McLaren said had he met Sid before he had hired Johnny to be the
singer, Sid would have been the Sex Pistols front man. Although Sid couldn't
play guitar very well, and it was often unplugged at live gigs, he had the most
charisma of anyone on that stage.
Although Sid fixed the iconic greatness of the Sex Pistols, just 12 months after
he joined, the band collapsed. His year with the Sex Pistols is rightly covered
extensively in this DVD - highlighting Sid's contribution to the group on stage.
The final chapter of Sid's life revolves around his girlfriend, Nancy Spurgeon -
a fraught relationship which would eventually lead to her death. Sid himself was
found dead of a heroin overdose in New York's West Village on 2 February 1979.
How he acquired the last fatal dose of heroin remains the subject of
controversy. Punk era music photographer, Peter Gravelle, claims he sold Sid
that last dose and is available for media interviews for the first time. Many of
Gravelle's back catalogues of photographs of the Sex Pistols and Sid are to be
exhibited for the first time at Proud Galleries, Camden, London, on 25 March.
Some of the photographs are available for copyright-free use in features and a
number of them are available to purchase as prints - details are included in the
DVD notes.
In addition to the special collector's edition DVD documentary, filmed in high
definition (HD) and including previously unseen archive footage, there is a FREE
CD recorded live in New York in 1978 with Sid Vicious, Steve Dior, Arthur Kane
and Jerry Nolan. There's also a 28-page biography of Sid Vicious written by Mark
Paytress, author of Vicious: The Art of Dying Young.
Available for interview:
Sid's lifelong friend Jah Wobble - member of band PIL.
(Jah was given his name by a drunken Sid, unable to pronounce his real name of
John Wardle)
Plus
Simone Stenfors - Sids former girlfriend
Viv Albertine -Sid's best friend and flat mate (Slits guitarist)
Ron Watts - Ex-Manager of The 100 Club - the spiritual home of the Punk movement
Peter Gravelle - Controversial photographer and friend
Peter 'Kodick' Gravelle is holding an exhibition of some of his most iconic
artwork from his head'y days photographing all the major punk rock bands of the
late 70's. The exhibition of largely unseen photos will be held at
Proud Galleries, Camden, London from Thursday 19th to Sunday 29th March