Dead Addict Of The Day

Today's dead addict is going to break my strict alphabetical rule because it's Sid Vicious's birthday, and he'd be 50 today. Also, we're going to New York soon, and he hung out there a lot. So I'm in a Sid Vicious kind of mood.

Born John Simon Ritchie, he was one of the godfathers of punk rock, and his bass playing for the Sex Pistols made him famous. While he is not credited for being an exceptional musician, his attitude has been the model for many a pissed-off punk kid.

He met the lovely Nancy Spungen in 1977. She was a groupie looking for a rock and roll boyfriend, and the couple fell deeply in love and had a rocky, messy relationship that culminated in the break up of the Sex Pistols. Nancy was a heroin addict, and Sid soon started sharing her addiction.

Sid woke up one morning in the Chelsea Hotel in New York City, and he found Nancy crumpled on the bathroom floor, dead from an apparent stab wound. He'd been high the night before, and he didn't remember killing her or seeing her get killed. There is speculation that she might have been murdered by robbery-minded drug dealers who'd visited their room earlier in the evening, as a substantial amount of money was also allegedly missing from the room.

Vicious went to jail for Spungen's murder, but his $30,000 bail was posted by Virgin Records. While out on bail, he obtained some heroin from his freakin' mother, and overdosed.

Thanks, mom.