Spaghetti with The Misfits: The final meal of Sid Vicious
When asked about Pantera’s 1996 tour with White Zombie and Eyehategod and the weeks of chaos which subsequently led to his drug overdose, Phil Anselmo said, “I chose the worst possible route. After I overdosed – and these are my words – it was understood in my mind, I got it. There was no injury, there was no suffering, there was no anything, there was only a drug problem. There was only a fucking drug problem.” According to Misfits lead singer Jerry Only, Sid Vicious’ attitude towards drugs was similar.
“He didn’t give a shit about himself, about his mom, about facing murder charges,” said Only, reflecting on the meal he had with Sid on the day he died. “He just sat there and shot dope. He’d got clean being in jail for a month, came out and started shooting almost pure heroin. They got him really killer shit, and he couldn’t handle it.”
This is the harsh reality of addictive drugs such as heroin; they are not just a part of somebody’s life; they become that person’s life. Vicious constantly struggled once he became addicted to heroin, the drug that would ruin and subsequently end his life. It’s a true tragedy, not only because of his age but also because, regardless of people’s opinion of his music, he had an energy about him that the live performance did and could have continued to benefit from.
Unfortunately, Vicious couldn’t see past his addiction; there was only the fucking drug problem. It was apparent to most people who met him, which Jerry Only found challenging to see when he came around for food.
“You think all these people in bands have such a great life? You gotta be careful,” he said. “Sid had just gotten out of jail for murder. He hadn’t stood trial, so we don’t know the details of whether he actually killed Nancy. He took that secret to the grave… I had met Sid’s mother at the Max’s Kansas City show, and I was driving her around town while Sid was in jail, helping her do stuff cause she was from England, y’know? We had made him dinner the night he got out and talked about doing great things.”
Only added: “He was on and on about all the things he wanted to do. Meanwhile, he was shooting dope all night and overdosed twice while I was there. It’s one thing to talk about doing karate and starting a new band, and utilising your fame for something greater. And it’s another thing to talk about it with a needle in your arm while you’re turning blue.”
The group had food together whilst Sid talked about empty aspirations and continued getting high. They ate spaghetti bolognese, which Only now describes as “British spaghetti.
He said: “I’m Italian, y’know? We made a red sauce, and his mom threw a bunch of big vegetables in. It was kinda thin, wet sauce… That’s why when the Romans were conquering the world, they left the UK alone.”
Eventually, the night became too much for Only, and he left. He had his brother with him, who was only 14 at the time. Regardless of the punk and horror icons that Misfits would go on to become, Only didn’t want to expose his brother to those kinds of sights. “I said, ‘I ain’t gonna drag me and my brother into this shit. If you’re gonna just kill yourself, fuck this shit.’”
Only and his younger brother left, leaving behind a high Sid Vicious, a confused mother and, most crucially of all, the fucking drug problem.
