Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon says he admires Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger for helping Sid Vicious when no one else would.
The controversial performer, once known as Johnny Rotten, gives Jagger credit for paying legal fees while tragic Vicious was accused of murdering his girlfriend Nancy Spungen in 1979. He died after overdosing before the case went to court.
Lydon, who is currently fronting PiL, tells the Daily Record: “Nancy was a hideous, awful person who killed herself because of the lifestyle – and led to the destruction and subsequent death of Sid and the whole fiasco.
“I tried to help Sid through all of that. I feel a certain responsibility because I brought him into the Pistols thinking he could handle the pressure. He couldn’t. The reason people take heroin is because they can’t handle pressure. Poor old Sid.”
He describes his late bandmate as a “lost case” who found himself “wrapped firmly” in the machinations of Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren.
“It became ludicrous trying to talk to him through the drug haze because all you would hear was, ‘I’m the real star around here,’” Lydon recalls. “Great. Carry on. We all know how that’s going to end. Unfortunately that is where it ended. I miss him very much.
“The only good news is that I heard Mick Jagger got in there and brought lawyers into it on Sid’s behalf. I don’t think Malcolm lifted a finger; he just didn’t know what to do.
“For that, I have a good liking of Mick Jagger. There was activity behind the scenes from Mick so I applaud him. He never used it to advance himself publicity-wise.”
-Classic Rock
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