‘ello, Malcolm! RIP

Malcolm McLaren, the one time manager of the Sex Pistols has died of cancer at age 64.

I hit the tail end of the punk era. My musical time was the new wave eighties, but I’ve always been fascinated by the Sex Pistols and the musical genre as a whole. Then again, I’ve always been fascinated by WWII and the mafia, so take from that what you will.

But the Sex Pistols have always held a particular interest. I had there record and the sound track to the “Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle” and was in the minority in thinking the music was actually pretty good. Even today when I hear “Anarchy in the UK,” my bunk develops a hunch and I view the world through glassy, cynical eyes.

Much has been said of how Malcolm created the Sex Pistols and their short turbulent history of the band. His influence on Punk Rock is arguable. Some day he was the Father of the genre, while others claim he merely profited from it.

I suppose to profit, you must market, and in his way, along with fashion designer and former lover Vivien Westwood and former lover, he did just that. Whatever your opinion of McLaren, he was a player in a brand new genre of music. A testament to his standing can be seen in the length of this article from the BBC Online.

In the words of Johnny Rotten, “Above all else [Malcolm] was an entertainer and I will miss him, and so should you.”