Sid Vicious

British punk musician born in London (10 May 1957 - 2 February 1979). He was born John Simon Ritchie, but later adopted his stepfather's surname, Beverley. A pre-Sex Pistols [a=John Lydon] nicknamed him "Sid Vicious," after Lydon's pet hamster named Sid.

In 1976, he began his musical career as part London's burgeoning punk scene, playing drums for [a=Siouxsie & The Banshees] at their first gig; briefly part of the Flowers Of Romance with [a=Keith Levene]; and was considered for lead singer in [a=The Damned], though he didn't show up for the audition. In early 1977, he replaced [a=Glen Matlock] on bass in the Sex Pistols. After the Sex Pistols disbanded, he performed gigs with a number of artists and backup musicians. In July 1978, he played his final show in the UK as part of the one-off group, [a381590].

He moved to New York City, and in September 1978 he performed his final gigs at [l=Max's Kansas City]. On 12 October 1978, he was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend [a=Nancy Spungen (2)]. Ten days later, he tried to kill himself and was sent to Bellevue Hospital. On 2 February 1979, while out on bail, Vicious officially died of "acute intravenous narcotism," also known as a drug overdose.