Sid Vicious the artist

[Guest Len B'stard]

The Sex Pastels: How punk icon Sid Vicious painted flowers and sunsets

A gallery of pictures of flowers and sunsets painted by punk rocker Sid Vicious have come to light for the first time - and reveal the hellraiser's softer side.

The unseen artwork was created by the Sex Pistol's icon when he was a young student and was kept by his proud mum after he left to tour the world with the band.

The pictures include a delicately drawn buttercup and Dali-esque landscape in vivid red and orange, are a sharp contrast to the tearaway rocker he would become.

Other works show a mosque in shadow, backlit by a glorious sunset and a mobile of hanging figures reminiscent of Dali's surrealist sculptures.

Softer side: A painting of a buttercup by Sid Vicious

The paintings include sunsets & Dali-esque landscapes

The paintings have now been published for the first time in a new limited edition book to showcase Vicious' artwork.

The book also includes a handwritten playlist of songs thought to have been Vicious' favourites when he was aged 16.

The 15 songs, written out in red ink, include Wild World by Jimmy Cliff, Ride a White Swan by T-Rex and It's Wonderful to be Loved by You by Jimmy Ruffin.

It is accompanied by a sketch of a teddy-boy in a heavy black coat holding an umbrella, surrounded by the words 'Crombie Boys', 'Reggae', 'Aggro', 'Soccer', 'Bovver' and 'Doc's'.

Most of the work was created by Vicious, then known by his real name of John Simon Beverley, when he was a student at Hackney College of Further Education in the mid-1970s.

At the time, he took the coursework home to give to his mother Anne Beverley who kept them proudly in her house for the rest of her life.

When she died in 1996, they passed to the Sid Vicious estate.

The paintings have never been seen before but are now published in a book

The pictures include a list of Vicious' favourite tracks at the time

The book, called Sid Vicious' Book of Artwork signed by official biographer Alan Parker, is now being sold at auction and is expected to fetch up to 4,000 pounds.

Mr Parker, 45, from Maida Vale, west London, said: 'I was his official biographer and knew his family very well.

'These pictures were all done when he was at art college, aged 15 or 16, and were probably part of his course work.

Sex Pistols star Sid Vicious

'They are watercolours or sketches, and show a completely different side of the Sid Vicious people think of now.

'At that time he was just a skinny kid at college. He was pretty chilled out with greased back hair, always following the latest fashion.

'He didn't stand out as a troublemaker - the only distinguishing thing was that he was probably considered a talented artist.

'Now, people might think of him variously as a punk rocker, a drug addict, or a potential murderer who died at just 21-years-old.

'I think he was a sweeter guy underneath it all, even later in his life, but as with a lot of people you have to scratch away the veneer to find it.

'I would hope this gives people a bit of an insight into his younger self and I'm sure any punk fans would appreciate how incredible it is.'

James Wilkinson, of the London-based auctioneers the Fame Bureau, said: 'It shows the softer side of Sid.

'People tend to remember him standing on a stage, soaked in blood and sneering at the audience, but here he's painting flowers.

'Nobody has ever seen this side of him before, and the pictures have never been seen by the public. These are incredible important items for any punk fan. He was such an iconic figure, and these show a totally different part of his life.'

The book is being sold alongside a unique gold chain worn by Vicious as a teenager and it expected to fetch up to £4,000.

Also for sale is the last Sex Pistols' contract signed by Sid Vicious for the Sex Pistols' last concert in 1978. It has an estimate of £3,500.

Vicious died of a heron overdose in a New York hotel room in January 1979.

The auction takes place on April

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1373656/The-Sex-Pastels-How-punk-icon-Sid-Vicious-painted-flowers-sunsets.html#ixzz1Ilo2Dwcq

[Guest Len B'stard]

And that coming from a guy who everyone called stupid and lunk-headed..

[Zint]

Man I'd love to have one of those paintings!

[Guest Len B'stard]

Have you ever seen Dee Dee Ramone's artwork?

I have and its really good. Another example of someone who was widely lauded as dumb but was actually highly intelligent. I never bought that dumb shit anyway, you don't write songs like The Ramones came up with and not be sharp, people think its just like...dumb music but its actually just peppered with humor, so much of it is like...witty and satirical and this escapes people, its so frustrating cuz...i mean come on, first rule is don't talk to commies, second rule is be nice to mommy third rule is eat kosher salami...and thats like one example. Thats not to say there wasn't a lot of earnest exhuberance to it but The Ramones were super intelligent, one and all. If it wasn't for the stigma of punk if you look at their early albums all the way up to End of The Century they were basically like a 4 man hit factory, if it weren't for content and the bad image they had, those songs and wonderfully constructed pop masterpieces, like entire albums worth of number 1 hits.

Edited April 6, 2011 by sugaraylen

[Guest Len B'stard]

Have you ever seen Dee Dee Ramone's artwork?

I have and its really good. Another example of someone who was widely lauded as dumb but was actually highly intelligent. I never bought that dumb shit anyway, you don't write songs like The Ramones came up with and not be sharp, people think its just like...dumb music but its actually just peppered with humor, so much of it is like...witty and satirical and this escapes people, its so frustrating cuz...i mean come on, first rule is don't talk to commies, second rule is be nice to mommy third rule is eat kosher salami...and thats like one example. Thats not to say there wasn't a lot of earnest exhuberance to it but The Ramones were super intelligent, one and all. If it wasn't for the stigma of punk if you look at their early albums all the way up to End of The Century they were basically like a 4 man hit factory, if it weren't for content and the bad image they had, those songs and wonderfully constructed pop masterpieces, like entire albums worth of number 1 hits.

Dee Dee even wrote a novel- The Chelsea Horror Hotel. You should read it, if you haven't already. It's a trip!

I think there's more than one out there actually, or if not the others were like autobiographies. Is that the one where Sids ghost visits him or something? Y'know what you need to check out if you like Dee Dee if you haven't already? This:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp757cFbkzs

That