“The village idiot”: Viv Albertine recalls meeting Sid Vicious for the first time
Before Viv Albertine became the guitarist of The Slits – the first-ever all-female punk band – she was enamoured by the Sex Pistols, inspired by Johnny Rotten’s powerful approach to performance. Combined with the influence of Patti Smith, Albertine knew that someone like her, a working-class girl with a love for music, might have a chance of becoming something.
She quickly became friends with the Pistols, running in a circle that also included punks like The Clash. Albertine started playing the guitar, using her own intuition and the advice of her musical friends to hone a unique sound on her instrument. One day, while walking down the streets of London with The Clash’s Mick Jones, her then-boyfriend, the pair bumped into Rotten, who was joined by an elusive figure with “black and spiky” hair.
Albertine recalled in her memoir, Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys, that this was her introduction to Sid Vicious. He would eventually become the bassist of Sex Pistols, replacing Glenn Matlock, but Vicious’ death – following the murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen (which he may or may not have been responsible for) – seemed to mark the end of punk’s initial wave. He was a complex figure – a contradictory mess of violence, humour, shyness and subversion.
During their initial meeting, Albertine mentioned her recent acquisition of a guitar, to which Vicious replied, “I’ll be in a band with you.” Albertine was shocked, “This is an extraordinary thing for a guy to say because there are hardly any boys and girls in bands together. […] The idea of us two playing together makes even the Pistols seem a bit old-fashioned.”
Before she knew it, she’d agreed to be in a band with Vicious despite not even knowing his name. When she asked Jones who exactly she’d just met, he replied plainly: “Sid. Mate of John’s. You don’t want to get mixed up with him.”
Describing her impressions of Vicious, she called him “sheepish and bashful,” adding, “He acts the clown, the village idiot, like Ollie in Laurel and Hardy: he’s no fool, so he must want people to underestimate him.”
Albertine continues, “Sid’s whole persona is a mask, which is weird because he despises fakery and bullshit. He makes me think of that Jamaican expression, ‘Play fool, get wise.’ He’s watching everything and listening to everyone, but tries not to let on how clever he is.”
Albertine and Vicious ended up in a band called The Flowers of Romance, which cycled through various members, including Keith Levene, Palmolive (who would also go on to join The Slits) and Kenny Morris. The band was short-lived – they didn’t even release any music or play live. Vicious soon kicked Albertine out of the band, and they both went on to bigger and better things.
For Albertine, Vicious was a bit of an enigma, simultaneously charming and difficult, often making her feel confused in his presence. “He doesn’t give away much about himself, and he’s never completely relaxed; consequently, I don’t feel relaxed when I’m with him.” This description of Vicious, one of punk’s most notorious and intriguing figures, is hardly surprising.
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