Then through my friendship with Teddie Dahlin, I was pointed to Brett via his Facebook page, and later joined their Love Kills meets in London with many other fans, where a Sid and Nancy pub crawl ensued, visiting all of the Locations in London that were crucial to the lives of our heroes, sharing facts and stories with each other and a few social drinks. The fact that this has become a yearly event is testament to the impact two Punk Rockers have on our lives.
Brett told me of his book, many years in the making, titled Vicious White Kid, for release in 2016, that promises to be the last word on Sid and Nancy.......I admit, I was skeptical. I have read all the numerous biographies, some good, some awful, and some so incorrect it was offensive. Well, Brett sent me a sample, and I have to say, even though I have only got up to as far as the Sex Pistols, I was blown away by the detail and facts of Sid's early life so far that a self proclaimed super fan like me can clearly say this will be the greatest book on Sid and indeed Nancy, and even Sid's mum, Anne Beverly, who has a unique story herself.
Brett has kindly given us at Punk Globe the scoop on this book, so here is a fascinating chat with the man himself.
PUNK GLOBE:
Hi Brett, Thanks for doing this interview. Firstly, how did your love of the Pistols / Sid begin for you?
Brett Dunford:
My introduction to Sid began with the news reports of his death in the media. I was very young back then but it left a mark on me that I've never been able to wipe off. To me, death was something that only happened to old people, and here was a young man on the television who had died amidst a wave of controversy. And his name was "Vicious", too. So it did stay with me throughout my childhood.
The Sex Pistols entered my life a few years later, when a friend gave me a large pile of records that a relative had bequeathed. Among them was the eleven track Never Mind the Bollocks, and the Sid Vicious Heritage EP. When I first looked at the EP cover, there was an instant recognition, and I fell headfirst into it all quite quickly. I was about ten years old at the time. When I first dropped the needle on "My Way", I couldn't believe what I was hearing; I even changed it to 78 rpm because I thought it was playing at the wrong speed! A standout memory for me is being told off by my grandmother for singing "You cunt, I'm not a queer" while playing it in the kitchen on my portable record player.
Another thing is that I'm a Bromley native. I heard enough tales about the Contingent from music teachers at Secondary school that I sort of felt a residual link to the Pistols. That's how it all started really.
PUNK GLOBE:
Tell us all a bit about Love Kills - how did it begin, and its evolution to the meet ups.
Brett Dunford:
I created the Love Kills blog in 2009 and made it a goal to host every single photo and article pertaining to the history of Sid and Nancy in chronological order. I had my head in the sand when it came to copyright, though, and soon found myself on the receiving end of legal threats. That was when I branched out to doing exclusive articles and interviews, so to make things more legitimate on my end. A student friend of mine named Nathalie Lundevall was my "partner in crime" during this period, so she created a Facebook page to promote the blog, while I created the content.
Then I met my Sid bestie Clair Hart, and we took the brand to another level altogether. We started gaining decent numbers around 2012, and it attracted the attention of various people who knew or had a connection to our heroes. Alan Parker, director of Who Killed Nancy, was the first to reach out. That led to an interview with Teddie Dahlin, who was very close to Sid during the Pistols Scandinavian tour. And it just took off after that.
The intention to do sightseeing tours was there from the beginning. I do them for free purely to unite the fans and inform them of the reality. I think Alan was the first to suggest it to me; he actually came out for the first few meets. Fast-forward three years and we're still doing them annually, sometimes twice annually.
PUNK GLOBE:
One thing that angers me still, is the bad reputation Nancy has, the haters, the people who didn't know her. Why do you think people still give her the bad rap when they don't know much about her?
Brett Dunford:
Because it has become fashionable. I swear half of Nancy's trolls think she is the same as Chloe Webb's portrayal in Sid & Nancy! I've spoken to a number of people who knew her, and have enough positive anecdotes in my arsenal to shift the balance a bit, I feel. Sure, she was loud, was a drug addict, an attention seeker, and liked a bit of cock. Other than that, what was her real crime in life? And does it justify her death? Even I have friends who say unbelievably nasty things about her; often claiming that she "had it coming" or some such.
In my experience in dealing with them, a reoccurring whine is that she was responsible for getting Sid on the gear, but that's untrue. Even John Lydon said in Anger is an Energy: My Life Uncensored that Sid was using heroin intravenously way before meeting her. There are a few that accept this, yet still blame her for encouraging Sid's darker nature. Again, this is all stuff that was out there much prior. While he was cute and lovable, he also possessed a negative streak that was witnessed by many in and out of his circle. It has been documented enough in the past that he was prone to slashing himself, and spoke of dying young back in the pre-Pistols days without me having to illustrate it further.
What happened to Nancy in the media is exactly the same as what happened to Amy Winehouse, bless her. She expressed her right to not give a fuck and everyone shit on her for it. But what many people forget is that Nancy was just a kid, and was found stabbed to death under a sink in a hotel bathroom. That is no way for a twenty-year-old female to check out of this world. If anyone thinks she deserved that then they can fuck off, quite frankly.
PUNK GLOBE:
How did the idea of Vicious White Kid begin? There have been many books on Sid, Is there really much more to learn?
Brett Dunford:
It should be asked if there's much more that we can unlearn. And the answer is yes. Read every single biography on Sid in a row, and, while factually satisfying overall, you'll still be wondering who the hell he was because they all conflict with each other. Sid killed Nancy, then so-and-so killed Nancy; Sid killed himself, then so-and-so killed Sid. And it's still going on now! Vicious White Kid will unfortunately follow suit, but it'll be the first time that the timeline has been compiled to such a comprehensive level. You will begin the journey with the birth of his mother in 1932, follow your way through full biographies on Sid, Nancy, the Pistols, the events of the Hotel Chelsea, back to Anne during her later years, and right up to the present day; it is a vast undertaking.
The embryo formed in late 2007. I chipped away at it over a couple of years as a hobby, and had a near complete document by 2009. Then I got involved with Love Kills, and, fuck knows why, I just quit. When I revisited the book in 2012, I was so disappointed that I never finished it. The text was a little outdated and required a minor rewrite at the most. I swore that I would finish what I had started at the earliest opportunity, but a stint writing for the Manchester-based music website, Mudkiss Fanzine, nudged the project onto the backburner.
All was forgotten until late 2014, when I was sitting in a pub with Alan and I came out with it: I was finally going to release the book. I expected resistance but he couldn't have been more supportive. As I sifted through the document, the more I leaned towards a total rewrite. That August, I was introduced to a publisher and we discussed angles. Other publishing doorways opened in 2015, so there seems to be interest in another book on Sid, whatever the situation. A sampler has been fired off to all parties and was met with approval. The current status is about half-way, give or take.
I'm certain there will be people thinking why another book on Sid, and why me? All I can say to that is that I have over thirty years research under my belt. I know all the biographies religiously, have read the books of those connected to him, interviewed some of these people, own an extensive collection of photographic and journalistic media, and help maintain two leading social media communities with 70,000 fans combined. However, the reason that I think qualifies me the most is that I love the boy to bits. I want nothing more than to represent him accurately, and to close the lid on the subject for as long as humanly possible thereafter.
PUNK GLOBE:
"Sid couldn't play bass" - although I disagree, even former band members say this, whats your take on it?
Brett Dunford:
That's another fashionable statement. When Sid joined the Pistols, his playing ability was nil, but he learned the instrument to a basic level by mid-77 at the latest. Listen to his performances on the Never Mind the Bollocks box set DVD, and in the American shows - he was competent no two ways about it. He wasn't John Entwistle, but competent nonetheless.
PUNK GLOBE:
The success of a biography is in the research, and you have done such a lot of that, do you have a "go to" list of people on the subject that can chip in and help flesh out your own exhaustive research?
Brett Dunford:
During the writing process thus far, I've not relied on my own archive of interviews so much. For example, the first chapter, which is about Anne Beverley for a spell, I've had to stick strictly to the biographies, with additional information sourced from historical documents and ancestry websites. It's quite the lecture, as you know. I have reached out in later chapters, though only minimally, and with no "go to" list. The facts are speaking for themselves just fine, I guess.
Walking to Sids House
PUNK GLOBE:
If you could describe Sid and Nancy in 5 words each to get the real them across to someone, what words would they be?
Brett Dunford:
My five words for both would be creative, flawed, intelligent, misunderstood and normal.
PUNK GLOBE:
Where can people stay up to date on the book?
Brett Dunford:
You can find me at the official Vicious White Kid Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/viciouswhitekidbook
PUNK GLOBE:
Tell us more about your other writing away from VWK. I also know you co run some pages on George Romero films, and like me have an interest in Horror and Video Nasties.
Brett Dunford:
George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead is my favourite film of all time, so I celebrate his work online in a similar way to Love Kills; and it receives the same kind of attention from those who were involved in it. That is the necessary evil with social media.
And yes, I love video nasties! Anything with people being eaten alive and I'm happy. Sid was a horror fan, too. Did you know his favourite movie was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and subjected friends who owned a VCR to relentless viewings of a bootleg videotape? As for me, while my cinematic interests are not grounded in the genre heart and soul, you might find my name in the credits of one or two documentaries and books; especially when it comes to Romero.
PUNK GLOBE:
Any projects on the way after the completion of VWK?
Brett Dunford:
There is one that I'm raring to go with but my hands are tied for the next year or so. I have also been encouraged to write a book on a subject that I don't feel comfortable talking about in full right now. Let's just say it involves a person from my past who committed a crime. And a fucking huge one at that!
PUNK GLOBE:
Finally, the $64.000 question.......What do YOU think happened in Room 100 of the Chelsea Hotel on October 12th 1978?
Brett Dunford:
That's another thing I probably shouldn't discuss at this stage. I'm not certain if I will go down the route of presenting my own opinion in the book either, so we'll see. What I will say is that piecing the details from the media at my disposal, the events of Room 100 and 63 Bank Street are an absolute clusterfuck; they really are. I was discussing this with Danny Garcia one afternoon on Facebook, and it seems there may be a hard shift back to a more traditional theory coming our way. As you know, Danny is in the middle of making a documentary on Sid and Nancy called Sad Vacation, and was the chap behind that recent Johnny Thunders film, Looking for Johnny. I hope it is released before the completion of Vicious White Kid because I think it would benefit from the information he's collected.
The events of that night will remain with the people who were in that room at the time. The only other way I can see us getting anything resembling a real answer is if the case is reopened. Not only would a final ruling underscore the whole mess definitively, it would also bring a lot of closure to people who deserved the truth in the first place. Perhaps it is down to us to make that happen?