Sid Vicious replaced Glen Matlock in the Sex Pistols, and in his previous statements, Matlock didn’t talk very fondly of the late musician. In his recent interview with the Rockman Power Hour, the bassist reflected on his complicated relationship with Vicious and also recalled their gig together after the disbandment of the Sex Pistols.
Not long ago, during a chat with the Times, Matlock had discussed that he felt very annoyed when he heard that his Pistols bandmates had tried out Vicious to replace him on the bass. According to the musician, the balance in the band had been lost when Sid wanted to front, leading the band to split. He had also argued that they may have continued if he had stayed.
In a new conversation, the host told Matlock they were friends with Vicious and even played a show together. The bassist admitted that they were acquaintances but not close. They were just neighbors, as Sid resided over the corner from his home. One day, they encountered each other in a local pub near and agreed to do a gig together.
Then, they started talking about possible musicians to add to their show. Matlock convinced Sid to sing while he played the bass. So, in 1978, Vicious and Glen Matlock took the stage together at the Electric Ballroom in London as the Vicious White Kids, a one-off live band, also featuring the drummer Rat Scabies and the guitarist Steve New.
When told if they were friends and reminded of their show together, Matlock said:
“It was kind of, in terms of acquaintances. They lived around the corner from me. If you look out the window, I live in this house, and out the back, there is a muse. Do you know what my muse is? It’s where people used to have a whole big house. That’s where I used to keep their horses stable. Sid used to live over the back, so I’m kind of overshadowed, but I said even to the day.
He was a neighbor; the Pistols were broken up. I used to bump into the local pub then. He said, ‘Well, you know, people think we’re enemies,’ and I said, ‘Well.’ We are sitting there, and he went, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘We can do a gig.’ He said, ‘Who would we get?’ I said, ‘[We can get] Steve New and Rat Scabies.’ He said, ‘Who’s gonna play bass?’
I said, ‘Sid, look, I’m not gonna sing.’ He went, ‘Oh, who’s gonna sing then?’ I said, ‘You sing, and I play bass.’ That was it, we just did a gig for a laugh, and we just did all cover versions. When we put the word out, that was like so on Thursday, and then the next Wednesday, we did the Electric Ballroom. Back then, word of mouth was pretty cool, and it sold the place out.”
The pair’s only concert together was also Sid Vicious’ final concert in the UK, as he died of a heroin overdose several months later. The band performed the Sex Pistols song, ‘Belsen Was a Gas,’ along with covers from the Stooges, Ramones, Frank Sinatra, and the New York Dolls. The one-time concert has been released and rereleased multiple times by DeLorean Records, Receiver Records, Castle Records, and Sanctuary Records.
