El Sid

by Dalton, David

When the Sex Pistols took the stage in the summer of 1996, Sid Vicious - Punk's catastrophic masterpiece - was conspicuously absent. Yet Sid lives on, disturbing and triumphant, casting his specter over an entire era. Rock iconographer David Dalton has penned an astonishing monograph on this rock 'n' roll Anykid. To outsiders, Sid's life was a cautionary tale of Punk excess. To the press, he was the inadequate youth who turned a tasteless gimmick into fame and fortune. To his fans, he lived an exemplary life - the standard-bearer of Punk. Stripped of all the confusing attributes - dexterity, talent, sanity - Sid Vicious embodied rock's primal impulse in its purest form. He was the ultimate rock star, unburdened by talent or compromise.