Vicious White Kids

Vicious White Kids were an English punk rock band from London that formed for one concert on 15 August 1978, staged at the Electric Ballroom in London. The former bassist of Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious, was the lead singer. It was his final concert in England, as he died of a heroin overdose the following February.[1]

Vicious White Kids
L-R: Matlock, Scabies, New, Vicious
Background information
OriginLondon, England
GenresPunk rock
Years active1978
Associated actsSex Pistols, The Rich Kids, The Damned
Past membersSid Vicious
Glen Matlock
Steve New
Rat Scabies
Nancy Spungen

Recordings of the concert, which included covers of Frank Sinatra's "My Way" and The Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog",[2] have been released multiple times: in 1991 on DeLorean Records, in 1993 on Receiver Records, in 2002 on Castle Records, and in 2007 on Sanctuary Records. The 2007 release includes an interview with Matlock and Scabies.[3]

Formation

Vicious was due to fly to New York City and needed money,[4] so after bumping into ex-Pistol Glen Matlock one day, he decided to play a gig with him. Matlock, who Vicious had replaced in the Sex Pistols, saw it as an opportunity "to show there was no animosity" between them, he later commented.[3] Matlock recruited his Rich Kids bandmate Steve New on guitar, and The Damned's Rat Scabies completed the line up on drums. Vicious' girlfriend Nancy Spungen sang backing vocals, but after hearing her at rehearsals, Matlock made sure her microphone was not plugged in on the night of the gig. The name of the band came from an amalgamation of Sid Vicious, The Rich Kids and Rat Scabies' part-time outfit The White Cats.

Music Style

The Vicious White Kids are described as heavy punk rock, much like Matlock and Vicious’ former band, the Sex Pistols.

Vicious White Kids; Live at the Electric Ballroom

The band performed in the Camden Electric Ballroom, a two-storey concert venue in Camden Town, London, England.

The Vicious White Kids performed several cover songs by musicians and bands such as The Stooges, Ramones, Frank Sinatra, and The New York Dolls. They also performed the controversial Sex Pistols song "Belsen Was a Gas".

Other songs performed by the band during their concert included “Chatterbox” by The New York Dolls, “Tight Pants” by Iggy and the Stooges, Frank Sinatra's “My Way”, Eddie Cochran's “C'mon Everybody” and “Somethin' Else”, and Dave Berry's “Don't Give Me No Lip”. The Vicious White Kids also performed “I Wanna Be Your Dog” by the Stooges and “(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone” by the Monkees.

Disbandment

The Camden Electric Ballroom concert would be the one and only complete concert that the Vicious White Kids would perform as a band. Following the concert, the band became almost completely inactive in the music world. They would permanently disband when Spungen was stabbed to death in a hotel room in October 1978, and Vicious was arrested for her murder. Vicious died of a heroin overdose in February 1979.

After the Vicious White Kids broke up, Matlock, Scabies and New all moved on with their career. Matlock has performed with a number of other artists, among them being Iggy Pop and the London Cowboys. Scabies has played in various bands as a drummer over the years. New was minimally active in the music business after the band broke up, and died of cancer in 2010.

The band's one concert has been released and re-released many times. It was released in 1991 by DeLorean Records, by Castle Records in 2002, and Sanctuary Records in 2007. The band's one concert has been fully released onto YouTube, as well, with a 31-minute concert video of the band's performance.

Members

Selected discography

Their only concert has been released many times.

Track listing
  1. "C'mon Everybody"
  2. "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"
  3. "Don't Gimme No Lip" [originally by Dave Berry]
  4. "I Wanna Be Your Dog"
  5. "Belsen Was a Gas"
  6. "Chatterbox" [originally by New York Dolls]
  7. "Tight Pants (Shake Appeal)" [originally by Iggy and the Stooges]
  8. "Something Else"
  9. "My Way"
  10. [extra track on album reissues] Interview with Glen Matlock and Rat Scabies

References
  1. Guzman, Rafer (13 March 2006). "The Sex Pistols Shoot Down Respectability". Newsday. Melville, New York: Newsday Media. p. B4.
  2. Takiff, Jonathan (4 March 2002). "Jimmy Buffett, On His Own". Philadelphia Daily News. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Media Network. Knight Ridder News Service. p. 39.
  3. Mervis, Scott (24 March 2014). "Never mind the legacy: Here's the Sex Pistols". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Block Communications. p. G1. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  4. "OMM: Reviews: Reissues etc: Other releases: Sid, say hello to Shabba..." The Guardian. London, England: Guardian Media Group. 20 May 2007. p. 67. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
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