Jamie Reid | Never Mind the Bollocks, promotional poster, owned by Sid Vicious

Jamie Reid

Never Mind the Bollocks, here's the Sex Pistols, promotional poster for their first album, released on 28 October 1977

(1525 x 925mm.), framed, red liquid stains to lower end of poster, some tears, markings from see through adhesive tape, creasing

This poster was owned by Sid Vicious, and has been identified as one of a group of posters pinned to his wall at the Chelsea Hotel in New York. Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen moved into the hotel on 24 August 1978, after the collapse of the Sex Pistols and filming for The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. They lived there together until 11 October, when Nancy Spungen was found dead from a stab wound. Sid Vicious was charged with her murder, but did not go to trial as he was found dead from a heroin overdose in February 1979. The identity of the murderer has never been confirmed.

Alan Parker, biographer of Sid Vicious, has identified this poster as being one from a group of around 12 posters “carried round by Sid and Nancy between various […] London addresses and then on with them to New York and The Chelsea Hotel. [They] had been used at various times to empty the couples ‘works’ and these posters all contained blood and water marks on the front and/or back of the image[.]” (private communication, 7 September 2000)