Chrissie Hynde recently opened up about her past proposals to Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious. In an interview with The Guardian, she shared the real reason behind these proposals.
Hynde addressed a question about what life might have been like if either of the punk icons had accepted her proposal. She revealed that her intentions were practical rather than romantic.
When asked, “If in 1976 Johnny Rotten or Sid Vicious had accepted your proposal to get married, what would life together have been like?” Hynde responded candidly.
“That was just so I could stay in the country. Life with either of them would have been chaos,” she said. “I knew Sid before the Pistols. One night, we were walking along the street, and he said: ‘John’s asked me to join the band.’ I said: ‘But it’s like you’re already in them.’ And he went: ‘Yeah, I know.'”
Hynde reflected on Sid Vicious’s early days and his transformation over time.
“I watched him learning to play bass on speed for three days, listening to Ramones records. He was lovely. Then along came drugs, alcohol, and violence. He changed rapidly once he met Nancy [Spungen]. He had a great voice. I think he was more talented than he ever got to show,” she continued.
Hynde’s comments provide a glimpse into her personal history with the punk rock legends and the chaotic world they inhabited.
Hynde was part of the early London punk scene and became friendly with the Sex Pistols’ inner circle, including Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious. Rhino reported that in her 2016 memoir and interviews, she recounts that both Rotten and then Vicious agreed at different times to marry her so she could stay in the UK due to visa issues, but the weddings never happened — one registrar office was closed and other chaotic events intervened.
Hynde has spoken fondly of Vicious from that period, describing him as honest and sweet before drugs and violence took over, though she acknowledged how quickly he changed after meeting Nancy Spungen. Her interactions with Rotten included wild punk-era moments, like once piercing his ear with an earring in a toilet, and she has said that although Rotten spent the night at her squat, nothing sexual came of it.
