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Sid Vicious bass guitar

#61
I've read a few books here and there and they never much mentioned his playing abilities but he was perfect for the band at the time, Sex pistols were only good for one album imo, as they all went their sperate ways after the disasterous final tour - which was good because then we got Public Image Limited
 
#63
The_D said:
I read Lemmy's book and Lemmy actually tried to give him some lessons then told him it was hopeless cause Sid couldnt play a damn thing.

He bumped into him a few weeks later and Sid told him he had joined the Sex Pistols. I think they both had a good laugh about it.

Really good book btw every rock fan should read it. Lemmy has a bunch of funny stories :)
Click to expand...

Agreed. It's a quick, funny read and full of Lemmy wit.
 
#65
I love sid.

not for his bass playing, but for his image. he was the iconic punk rocker, an idol, a figurehead.

sure, he was a poser and he couldn't play bass, but he is certainly an idol, punk personified.

that been said Paul Simonon is my real idol :)
 
#68
FWIW, I love the white P Bass, I find it iconic because of guys like Simonon, Ramone, Farndon, et. al. A white bass looks bigger and fuller than a dark color (although I like Phil Lynott's black P with the mirror pickguard too).

Paul Simonon hated his bass. He hated carrying it around and having to wear it like a bad neck tie. He was coaxed into the band because of his killer punk looks and his stylistic flair, which manifested itself in the Clash wardrobe. Mick Jones taught Simonon most of the bass lines, and at the end of rehearsals, recording sessions, and performances, Simonon would often toss his bass around like an ugly rag doll. He did nasty things to it with sharp instruments as well. The reluctant rock star who hated his instrument, very genuinely punk.
 
#71
For the record, the tracks on 'Bollocks' that were originally found on the early singles featured Matlock. The remaining tunes recorded later to fill out the album were with Jones on overdubbed bass. There have been(unsubstantiated)rumors that Chris Spedding 'assisted' on guitar and possibly bass parts, but I think that's just part of the SP myth. Matlock wrote most, if not all the songs(apart from lyrics)and had been playing guitar/bass for quite some time before the Pistols solidified. He was a huge fan of The Small Faces, as was Jones. I saw Matlock a couple of years ago, playing guitar, with Blondie's Clem Burke on drums and Paul Fishman(Re-Flex, sessions)on bass, and surprisingly, he did minimal Pistols material, which was fine by me. I'm a huge Pistols fan, but the guy did other stuff, y'know? I'm fond of Iggy Pop's "Soldier" album, which he's all over. Anyway, he closed his set with a cover of Scott Walker's 'Montague Terrace", which I thought was a ballsy move.
 
#73
The movie Sid and Nancy is a disservice to both of them. And it's not at all clear that Sid was the one who stabbed Nancy.

There are many indications that Sid was trying very hard to learn to play in the last couple of years of his life. We'll never know if he might eventually have succeeded.
 
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#74
JennySuzuki said:
The movie Sid and Nancy is a disservice to both of them.
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Johnny Rotten doesn't hold back in his damning assessment of that film in his autobiography.

Sid seems to have been a gormless little boy idiot, not a monster or a psychopath. Johnny Rotten always talks about him, in interviews, as 'one of the Johns', a collective group of young guys that included Jah Wobble. I think losing 'one of the Johns' affected Rotten quite badly, as he had failed his friend by getting him snarled up in the group.
 
#77
I read Johnny Rottens Autobiography, "No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish." He actually said during their last tour as they were trying to keep Sid clean he actually was progressing as a bassist and that he would sit on the bus between gigs jamming with the Reggae tapes that Lydon brought with him on tour. He also called Sid a "Fashion Victim".
 

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