Is Sid Vicious on Never Mind The Bollocks?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by blackdograilroad, Feb 25, 2018.

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  1. blackdograilroad

    blackdograilroad Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Devon, UK
    .......various answers have been given;

    1. He plays on Bodies.

    2. He plays on Bodies. He also plays on God Save The Queen, mixed down low, under a bass overdub by Steve Jones.

    3. He plays on Bodies, mixed down low under a bass overdub by Jones. He also plays on God Save The Queen, mixed down lower still, under a bass overdub by Jones.

    4. He doesn’t appear on the finished album at all.

    Chris Thomas has said 2; Steve Jones has said 3; the 40th anniversary release of NMTB says 4.

    Anyone got inside info?

    (BTW the 40th ann Bollocks has 3 NMTB outtakes/alternates with bass by Vicious and the playing although rudimentary seems adequate).
     
  2. This isn't going to help you, but I'll just throw in that my understanding was that Vicious only played on "Bodies", but his part was either mixed out or mixed low and buried by Jones.
     
    notesfrom, Zoot Marimba and Neonbeam like this.
  3. Andrew

    Andrew Chairman of the Bored

    Considering how awesome that album is, I'd guess #4 myself.
     
  4. SonicBob

    SonicBob Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Virginia
    I always heard that Sid was on God Save the Queen, only. But according to wikipedia, Sid is on Bodies, while Glen Matlock is on Anarchy in the U.K. I think I read in Rolling Stone that Steve Jones claimed Sid played on "Queen" but that Jones later overdubbed a bass part during the recording of the album and that Jones played the rest of the bass on the finished album. I didn't know about Sid on Bodies, so that's news to me.
     
  5. blackdograilroad

    blackdograilroad Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Devon, UK
    Anarchy was recorded while Matlock was still in the band- that’s definitely him, and there was no need to add to the bass at all.

    In a 2016 interview Jones said “Sid is fumbling about underneath Bodies and God Save The Queen......”

    Chris Thomas claimed that Sid played on Bodies, and on GSTQ as a kind of sub-sonic rumble, with Jones playing “the percussion of the [bass] note....” on an overdub......

    It’s generally accepted that all the tracks on Bollocks apart from Anarchy, Bodies and GSTQ feature bass by Jones alone.
     
  6. JuanTCB

    JuanTCB Senior Member

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    I coukd have sworn I read somewhere that he's buried somewhere in "Sub-mission", too.
     
  7. SonicBob

    SonicBob Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Virginia
    Sid wasn't really known for his musicianship in the Pistols. Granted, Bollocks is a classic as it was recorded, with Jones doubling up on bass and guitars, but I always wondered if Glen had remained on for the recording, how that would've turned out. I know, it's probably irrelevant, but it's something that always crossed my mind.
     
  8. PretzelLogic

    PretzelLogic Feeling duped by MoFi? You probably deserve it.

    Location:
    London, England
    Did I read somewhere that Jones played the bass part on his guitar by downtuning the low E string, allowing
    him to play the bass and rhythm guitar parts simultaneously? Can’t remember where I saw that, mind.
     
    mdm08033 likes this.
  9. lwh1

    lwh1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, England
    It has been claimed by Chris Thomas and the late Bill Price that Matlock was hired as a session man after his exit from the band but for some reason (I suspect money) he didn't get to to it.
    Thomas told the BBC Record Producers series that he got Jones to play through the bass parts of the songs "so we could play it back to him and he could work out what to do. And he just went all the way through from beginning to end, he played the root note of the chord...he was just pumping the bottom note all the time."
    I always thought that apart from "Anarchy In The U.K." and "I Wanna Be Me" (Matlock) and the burried sub-sonic noise on "Bodies" all of the Pistols bass parts were played by Jones.
     
  10. noahjld

    noahjld Der Wixxer

    In spirit if not physically.
     
  11. The Elephant Man

    The Elephant Man Forum Resident

    IMO, Sid was a poor excuse for a musician and a punk.
     
  12. Maestro63

    Maestro63 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Georgia
    True! Not the real deal like billie joe Armstrong huh
     
  13. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA

    So the two people who were there and would likely know both agree he plays on Bodies and GStQ. I don't see there's much room for discussion here.
     
  14. The Elephant Man

    The Elephant Man Forum Resident

    You must think I’m a teenager, HUH?
    Sid was a joke.
     
  15. mongo

    mongo Senior Member

    Trouble with Sid was he was pure punk and pure clueless.
     
  16. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Matlock says in his book that he agreed to do it and demanded to be paid upfront for the job. McLaren agreed and paid him, but then he deliberately didn't turn up for the sessions in order to screw them over.
     
    Larry L, JoeRockhead and lwh1 like this.
  17. Vdigital

    Vdigital Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Netherlands
    To paraphrase Tom Petty : a rebel without a clue
     
  18. Derek Slazenger

    Derek Slazenger Specs, rugs & rock n roll

    This is all news to me. I was always under the impression that Sid had nothing to do with the album.
     
    Hey Vinyl Man and Jimmy B. like this.
  19. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Sid was a pretty good punk singer imo. He could have been a frontman if....well.
     
  20. Vdigital

    Vdigital Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Netherlands
    Syd has made no musical contribution to the sex pistols
    All pose no talent
     
  21. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Yeah, I do think he was a pretty decent singer, and even Steve I know thought so, and since Steve has never pulled punches when it comes to Sid's musical shortcomings, that ought to say something.

    Back to the topic at hand, I knew about him being somewhere on Bodies, GStQ is news to me.
     
    DTK likes this.
  22. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Well of course Syd wasn't contributing to the Sex Pistols, he wasn't even contributing to Pink Floyd anymore. :D
     
  23. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Well he sings a few tunes pretty well on the Swindle soundtrack.
    I never get why we have to hate on the guy...he's dead.
     
  24. Vdigital

    Vdigital Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Netherlands
    I don't hate him i have an opinion
     
  25. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Expressed rather forcefully.
     
    moodyxadi and Dodoz like this.
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