Vicious White Kids were an English punk rock band from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

that formed for only one concert on 15 August 1978, staged at the Electric Ballroom in London. The former bassist of

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

, Sid Vicious, was the lead singer. It was his final concert in England, as he died of a heroin overdose the following February. Recordings of the concert, which included covers of

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

's " My Way" and

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...

' " I Wanna Be Your Dog", 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.

Formation

Vicious was due to fly to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and needed money, 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. Matlock recruited his

Rich Kids Rich Kids were a short-lived new wave band from London, founded in 1977 by Glen Matlock following his departure from the Sex Pistols. The band also included future Ultravox member Midge Ure and Rusty Egan, who both later founded Visage toge ...

bandmate Stella Nova 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

Vicious White Kids; Live at the Electric Ballroom

The band performed in the Camden Electric Ballroom, a two-storey concert venue in

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

, London, England. The Vicious White Kids performed several cover songs by musicians and bands such as

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

, 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 The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...

, Frank Sinatra's “ My Way”,

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran (; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran's songs, such as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire ...

's “

C'mon Everybody "C'mon Everybody" is a 1958 song by Eddie Cochran and Jerry Capehart, originally released as a B-side. Background When Cochran recorded his lead vocal for the song, he also created an alternate version of the song called "Let's Get Together". ...

” 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 "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" is a rock song written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. It was first recorded by Paul Revere & the Raiders and appeared on their album '' Midnight Ride'', released in May 1966. The song is simple musically, with a ...

” 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 careers. Matlock has performed with a number of other artists, including

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

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 YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

, as well, with a 31-minute concert video of the band's performance.

Members

* Sid Vicious - lead vocals * Glen Matlock - bass guitar *

Steve New Stella Nova, born Stephen Charles New (16 May 1960 – 24 May 2010), was an English guitarist and singer who performed with a number of punk rock and new wave bands in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including the Rich Kids. In the 2000s, sh ...

- guitar * Rat Scabies - drums * Nancy Spungen - backing vocals (inaudible)

Selected discography

Their only concert has been released many times.

''The Vicious White Kids featuring Sid Vicious'', 1991

Track listing

# "

" [originally by

] # "

" riginally by The Monkees">The_Monkees.html" ;"title="riginally by The Monkees">riginally by The Monkees# "Don't Gimme No Lip" [originally by Dave Berry] # " I Wanna Be Your Dog" [originally by

] # " Belsen Was a Gas" [originally by

] # "Chatterbox" [originally by New York Dolls] # "Tight Pants (Shake Appeal)" [originally by

] # " Somethin' Else (Eddie Cochran song), Something Else" [originally by

] # " My Way" [originally by

] # xtra track on album reissuesInterview with Glen Matlock and Rat Scabies

References

External links

Interview with Rat Scabies concerning ''Vicious White Kids''
by the online magazine trakMARX {{Authority control Cover bands English punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1978 Musical quartets Musical groups from London