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1979 Sid Vicious dies of a drug overdose in New York City
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To the New York City Police Department and Medical Examiner’s Office, he was John Simon Ritchie, a 22-year-old Englishman under indictment for murder but now dead of a heroin overdose in a Greenwich Village apartment. To the rest of the world, he was Sid Vicious, former bassist for the notorious Sex Pistols and the living embodiment of everything punk rock stood for and against. His death, which likely came as a surprise to very few, came on this day in 1979.
Sid Vicious was the last member to join the Sex Pistols, taking over for fired bassist Glen Matlock in early 1977. What he famously did not bring to the table was musical ability. Vicious faked his way through early gigs with the band, reportedly with his amplifier occasionally unplugged on stage by his own band mates. What he didn’t have to fake was the attitude. Sid Vicious was the perfect living embodiment of the punk esthetic, a street kid who really did walk around London with a swastika on his chest, a padlocked chain around his neck and a gigantic chip on his shoulder. As his good friend the critic and author Alan Jones put it, “Sid, on image alone, is what all punk rests on.”
Seven months into his tenure as a Sex Pistol, Sid Vicious was introduced to a troubled American girl on the London punk scene named Nancy Spungen. Almost immediately, they began a relationship that led to both of their deaths. By all reports, they were very much in love, but their shared heroin addiction led to repeated instances of violence between them. Sid’s addiction may have hastened the dissolution of the Sex Pistols midway through their first U.S. tour in January 1978, and it certainly contributed to the still mysterious events surrounding Nancy’s death by stabbing on October 12 of that same year in the Chelsea Hotel room she shared with Vicious in New York City.
Freed on bail after his arrest for the Spungen murder, Sid landed himself back in jail in December 1978 for assaulting Patti Smith’s brother in a bar with a broken bottle. After seven weeks of detention and detox in the Rikers Island jail, Vicious made bail again on February 1, 1979. Late that same night, at a party, he would put heroin into his system that the Medical Examiner would later estimate to have been 80% pure. Sid Vicious died in the early morning hours of February 2, 1979.
Source: www.history.com
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Local businesswoman arrested in Hood County on TABC warrant
Tawni Jones Ledbetter was arrested on July 10 by law officers in Hood County on a warrant for making a false statement to the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission.
Ledbetter was released from jail on $10,000 bond. While the former owner of The Rack lists Bowie as where she lives, she also remarried earlier this year to a man who resides in Granbury.
The TABC complaint could be handled as a misdemeanor according to the public information office, but additional details were unavailable as of presstime. The PIO indicated it depends on the specific type of case and he did not have the warrant information at the time of the call.
Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.
CORRECTION – In the Wednesday Bowie News this article in the print edition stated Ledbetter was the owner of The Rack, this is incorrect. She is no longer owner of this business. We apologize for this error.
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Bowie News print deadline moved up due to holiday
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Due to the July 4th holiday this week, The Bowie News will be printing early in the week. Deadline for any news or ad for the July 6 paper will be noon on July 2. The Bowie News office will be closed on July 4.
COUNTY LIFE
Mildred McCraw to lead 2024 Pioneer Court
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Meet the ladies of the 2024 Jim Bowie Days Pioneer Court as they prepare for the crowning on June 28.
Hosted by the Bowie Amity Club, the crowning and pioneer reunion begins at 2:30 p.m. on June 28 at the Bowie Community Center, middle section.
Mildred McCraw, known to many as the “Chicken Lady,” as well as Bowie’s biggest cheerleader, has been selected to serve as pioneer queen. Her duchesses will be Doris McGuffey longtime local business woman and radio air personality at KNTX Radio, and Margaret Long, longtime bank official with Sanger Bank.
See the full stories from these ladies in your weekend Bowie News.
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