Malcolm McLaren Dead

[mick2me 3,033]

Old Punks never die.

His web site contains just this...

Malcolm will return shortly...

To contact Malcolm McLaren, email: office@malcolmmclaren.com

[hippo girl 1,995]

had the honour of meeting him and vivienne many times in the early 80s, an unusual but interesting man..........

[firbeck 860]

They're claiming that Punk was invented by MaClaren, it wasn't, it came out of New York with the Ramones and even intitially Debbie Harry.

He was a great showman and manipulator, he was only interested in promoting himself and what he saw saw as a money making exercise, nowt wrong with that, he could come up with sparks of genius, his album featuring the the South African High School girls and the other wierdness that went along with it was inspired.

The Punk Era coincided with my move down to Essex, quite frankly, it was crap, the Sex Pistols were all about being 'Anti Establishment' only they didn't really know what that meant, apart from daring to say F### on live TV, wow, that was subtle wasn't it. They couldn't play and couldn't sing, but we are constantly being told that the ignorant, obnoxious, arrogant, Johnny Rotten was the business, no way, he was and remains a complete twat.

I hated that era of British music, I find it an embarrasment and a con, all thanks to Malcolm, but I really admire his ability to have persuaded the British public to accept it, well, some of them, but not me.

Great bands such as the Clash came out of this, but then Joe Strummer was a bloody genius, he had to start somewhere.

RIP Malcolm, trouble is you won't get the State Funeral that George Martin should be entitled to, but then he is a real, genuine, musician and understands music for what it's worth, not how it's to be presented to the public as a personal money go-round ending in us now having to suffer the manipulation of the industry by Simon's, Cowell and Fuller.

[Fynger 841]

The 'New York Dolls' were doing a version of 'punk' long before it became popular.

[.... 23]

I actually liked that era a lot but I was never under any misapprehensions about the punk genre itself. It lacked substance but I never felt that really mattered as it was high time for change and punk/new wave was the instigator of that. Rock music had become incredibly stuffy, perpetuated by some of the old dinosaur bands pumping out the same old up-their-own-ar*e stuff. Music need a blast of fresh air and that came along with the advent of punk and much more importantly in my view, 'new wave' that emerged from it.

I'd been a huge fan of The Who in the years before, now I could see devotee of the same stuff such as The Jam belting out stuff that sounded related to that and full of energy and passion. What's more they were my age too and I could relate to them. No more sitting cross-legged on the floor at a Yes gig witnessing them glorying in their own musicianship but suddenly a whole rash or bands that were picking up guitars, learning a few chords and saying things that mattered to me. Back to something like the spirit of rock and roll. Of course there were a good share of talentless bandwagon jumpers too but I do feel that the era introduced some fantastic and enduring artists amidst the inevitable dross.

I think that history will record that late seventies era as a very important one for rock/pop music.

A few words from me on that era:

1977 – I Got by in Time

[radfordred 6,284]

The 'New York Dolls' were doing a version of 'punk' long before it became popular.

Who McClaren managed way before the Pistols.

The world will a little more bland without him.

Rest in Peace.

[firbeck 860]

I agree Radred, we need people like him, the fact that I personally didn't like Punk is of no consequence, as Stu said, the British music scene needed a good kick up the backside to chuck out the pretentious crap we were suffering at the time. Unfortunately, the music industry today is ruled by people like the Cowells and the Fullers that have converted the industry into the banal media circus who like to vote on TV performances for whom the so called public love, but you and I no doubt hate all of this.

I grew up in an era when popular music was changing and growing in so any ways, all up front and original, in a way I really can't believe my luck at living in such a time. I don't know where we go from here, all I know is that X Factor is not the answer, nor is the terrible alternative thrash metal that our youth loves, but there you go, it's all a matter of taste in the end, whatever that means.

[radfordred 6,284]

Looks good tonight BBC 2 8:15pm to 9:00pm. Sky plus it.

Artful Dodger.

A tribute to the inspirational manager and artist who revolutionised the music business in the 1970s with the Sex Pistols and punk fashion. McLaren later brought us Duck Rock and managed Bow Wow Wow. With previously unseen interviews with McLaren and contributions from members of the Sex Pistols, Adam Ant, son Joe Corre, Jonathan Ross, The New York Dolls and many others.