Editing Sid Vicious (section)

==Early life==
Simon John Ritchie was born in [[Lewisham]] to John and Anne Ritchie (''née'' McDonald; later named Anne Beverley; 1936–1996).<ref>{{cite book |last=Parker |first=Alan |title=Sid Vicious: No One Is Innocent |publisher=Orion Books |page=11}}</ref><ref name="Anger">{{cite book |last=Lydon |first=John |title=Anger Is An Energy: My Life Uncensored |date=27 November 2023 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-1-4711-3719-8 |pages=51}}</ref> Anne had dropped out of school and joined the [[British Army]], where she met Ritchie's father, a guardsman at [[Buckingham Palace]] and a semi-professional trombone player on the London jazz scene. Shortly after Simon's birth, he and his mother moved to [[Ibiza]], where they expected to be joined by his father, who did not appear and provided no financial support—Anne reportedly sold marijuana to get by.<ref name="auto3">{{cite web |last=Robinson |first=Charlotte |title=So Tough...June 2006 |url=https://www.popmatters.com/060809-sidvicious-2496104849.html |date=15 June 2006 |website=PopMatters |access-date=2 February 2022}}</ref> With the help of the [[British Embassy]] in Spain, Anne returned to England and, in 1965, married Christopher Beverley, who died six months later of kidney failure. Anne and Ritchie settled in [[Tunbridge Wells]], Kent, where they lived from 1965 to 1971, and where Ritchie attended Sandown Court School (later renamed [[The Skinners' Kent Academy]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Tunbridge Wells turns down red plaque... |url=https://louderthanwar.com/tunbridge-wells-turns-red-plaque-former-citizen-sid-vicious/ |website=Louder Than War |date=3 July 2017 |access-date=16 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Butt |first1=Malcolm |title=Sid Vicious: Rock 'n' Roll Star |date=27 November 1997 |publisher=Plexus, London |isbn=0-85965-234-3 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Parker |first1=Alan |last2=Bateson |first2=Keith |title=Sid's Way: The Life And Death of Sid Vicious |publisher=Omnibus Press |page=13 0.7119-2483-X |edition=1998}}</ref> In 1971, the pair moved to [[Stoke Newington]] in [[London Borough of Hackney|Hackney]], East London, where Ritchie attended Clissold Park School (later renamed  [[Stoke Newington School]]). At this time, Ritchie began using the name 'John Beverley'.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sid Vicious Rare "John Beverley" Signed Sex Pistols Concert Contract Rider |url=https://www.gottahaverockandroll.com/sid_vicious_rare__john_beverley__signed_sex_pistol-lot28376.aspx |website=gottahaverockandroll.com |publisher=Gotta Have Rock and Roll |access-date=7 January 2025}}</ref>

By 1973, Anne's life was consumed by her addiction to [[heroin]], to the point where, as Ritchie's friend [[Jah Wobble|John Wardle]] claimed in a 2009 interview, she was unaware that her son was attending Kingsway College of Further Education (later known as [[Westminster Kingsway College]]), which was a community and vocational school for students with difficulties. While at Kingsway, which he was likely attending to complete his [[O levels]], Ritchie told a counsellor that he was contemplating suicide. When Ritchie turned 16 that year, Anne kicked him out of her home. In a 1988 interview, Anne said: "I remember saying to him: 'It's either you or me, and it's not going to be me. I have got to try to preserve myself and you just fuck off.' He said: 'I've not got anywhere to go,' and I said: 'I don't care.'{{thinspace}}"<ref name="auto7"/>

In 1973, Ritchie met fellow Kingsway student [[John Lydon]], who introduced him to his friends John Grey and [[Jah Wobble|John Wardle]]. All four, who became known locally as 'The Four Johns', quit school and began squatting in various dingey locations. Three of the four Johns would then take nicknames: Lydon nicknamed Ritchie "Sid Vicious" after Ritchie was bitten by Lydon's hamster Sid (named after [[Syd Barrett]]);<ref>{{cite web |title=John Lydon: 'I Really Love Pink Floyd' |url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b_-ihUq7M4A  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/b_-ihUq7M4A| archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live|via=YouTube |date=27 August 2013 |access-date=26 September 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Lydon was dubbed "Johnny Rotten" by his bandmate, guitarist [[Steve Jones (musician)|Steve Jones]]; and Ritchie nicknamed Wardle "Jah Wobble".<ref name="auto7"/>

The four young men started hanging around the [[King's Road]] in [[Chelsea, London]] which was a centre for music and fashion.<ref>{{cite web |title=Whatever happened to the King's Road? |url=https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/features/whatever-happened-to-the-kings-road |website=allinlondon.co.uk |publisher=All in London |access-date=2 February 2022}}</ref> A favourite spot was [[Malcolm McLaren]] and [[Vivienne Westwood]]'s clothing store, [[Sex (boutique)|Sex]]. There, Vicious met American expatriate [[Chrissie Hynde]], before she formed her group the [[Pretenders (band)|Pretenders]]. According to her 2015 autobiography ''[[Reckless: My Life as a Pretender]]'', Hynde convinced Vicious — by paying him £2 — to join her in a [[sham marriage]] to enable her to get a [[work permit]] and remain in the country, after John Lydon had already declined. The plan was thwarted by the [[Register office (United Kingdom)|register office]] being closed the day the 'happy couple' turned up.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/why-chrissie-hynde-nearly-married-sex-pistols/|title=Why Chrissie Hynde nearly married members of the Sex Pistols|date=20 February 2022|website=faroutmagazine.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzgFOb9mtx4&feature=emb_title&ab_channel=MTV  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/PzgFOb9mtx4| archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live|title='Chrissie Hynde's Vicious Love'|publisher=MTV |date=14 July 2014 |access-date=19 January 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> According to Lydon, he and Vicious took up [[busking]], with Lydon singing and occasionally playing the [[violin]] and Vicious playing a [[tambourine]] or an [[acoustic guitar]]. They would play [[Alice Cooper]] covers, and people gave them money to stop.

In 1975, Lydon, Steve Jones, [[Glen Matlock]] and [[Paul Cook]], with McLaren as their manager, formed the [[Sex Pistols]], the band Vicious would eventually join. Vicious was photographed watching the band attack their audience at the Nashville Rooms in [[Kensington]] in 1976.<ref name="auto7"/>
Vicious then began his own musical career.