April 8th, 2010
03:21 PM ET
Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren dies at 64![]() testing captions Malcolm McLaren, best known for managing the Sex Pistols and for helping kick off the '70s punk revolution, has died, CNN has confirmed. He was 64. McLaren's death was confirmed by his longtime girlfriend, Young Kim. The rakish McLaren was an art college graduate and clothing designer who opened a boutique, Let It Rock, with his partner, the designer Vivienne Westwood. By the mid-'70s, he had renamed the boutique Sex and taken on a band called the Strand. McLaren drafted a new frontman - John Lydon, who had been spotted wearing a Pink Floyd T-shirt with the words "I hate" added to it - and renamed the group the Sex Pistols. (Lydon became better known as Johnny Rotten.) McLaren's penchant for notoriety, combined with the Pistols' blunt lyrics ("I am the anti-Christ/I am an anarchist") and raucous power chords and performances, helped the group hit the top in Britain in 1977. They weren't the only punk rockers - a number of acts had been inspired by a Ramones performance on July 4, 1976, at London's Roundhouse - but they quickly became the most infamous. The group's "God Save the Queen" was a huge hit despite the BBC's refusal to play the song. The group crumbled amid arguments and accusations - some aimed at McLaren - and McLaren went on to manage Bow Wow Wow. He also created a handful of well-reviewed albums, notably the mixed-genre works "Duck Rock" and "Fans." |
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Buffalo Gals...brings back memories of Jr. High.
I don't see why everyone is acting so upset. He was a thief, he ripped off and exploited the pistols and sid's death.
"Too much of that snow white."
who?
Surely he had his faults (who doesn't?) but he did some great music and gave punk its Situationist stance (as he had been a Situationist) – he taught us the politics of boredom. I am saddened. RIP .Mr McLaren.
RIP To A True Music Pioneer
Are you guys crazy???!! The guy was a dick!!
May his soul rest in peace.
sid's going to kick your ass when you see him!
RIP Malc,anouska will know every about you!!! long live her God Father!!!!!!!
Dear MM,
Rot in Hell. You never had an ounce of talent. bloodsucker.
Chaos! Anarchy!! Rebellion!!! Revolution!!!! Ahhhh, the good old days!
Rot In Pieces, Malcolm! Punk saved Rock 'n' Roll in the seventies and we could sure use a boat load of that spirit now!!!!!!!
Somethings no longer Jumping in His Shirt... RIP you rule!
Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?
No, wait, never mind...
"Liar" was about David Bowie
With out Malcolm we probably wouldn’t have Afrika Bambaataa and many more artist that he helped bring out for all of us to enjoy, Thank you Malcolm Thank you RIP!!!!!!
Oh, another pioneer of our youth, gone! RIP Malcolm. (And thanks to those who mentioned Madame Butterfly, I'd forgotten that. Where ARE my records??)
He also had a #1 Dance Club Play (Billboard) hit in the late 80s with "Deep In Vogue".
Rock In Peace Malcolm
He also briefly managed New York Dolls before the Pistols. Dressed the band in red patent leather and hung commie flags behind them, a lame idea that killed off a dying group. He saw early punks in New York with short hair and ripped shirts, took the look back to London and the rest is history. RIP
Thank you Malcolm...we've enjoyed the mark you left on us. R.I.P.
Won't miss him a bit. I won't decry his memory too much, but I won't shed a tear for him. Look at the history – perhaps the greatest enabler of all time. RIP, SID, hope you take a swing at Malcolm when you see him.
Bloody Hell. RIP Malcolm.
DUCK ROCK is one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all-time!!!! During the spring/summer of 1983, that album got parties jumpin'!!!!!!
Going home to play it now!!!!!!
RIP Malcolm!!!!!!
Dude I will be listening to your album Paris for the rest of my life – thanks for that! Best wishes on your journey.
Didn't Johnny write "Liar" about MM? Now that's a dedication!
I can almost hear Sid's version of My Way whilst reflecting. RIP! Gonna spin some vinyl tonight!
RIP ya f****** c***!
Sad to hear. Much too soon for him to go. He will always be held in high esteem.
One more god of my youth, gone. Sad. What a visionary.
I always liked the song: Hey DJ, great bass line!! RIP
A month ago I re-discovered my old cd's; The World Famous Supreme Team Show, Fans, MM and The Bootzilla Orchestra-Waltz Darling and Duck Rock and they all still remain current! His music lives!
Welcome back to the US, Johnny and PiL . . . as a gift, we've killed Malcolm McLaren!!
Let's not forget that he also assisted in bringing the New York Dolls to the masses. The man mastered the art of marketing. RIP
He'll be manipulating and ripping off angels in no time. Or will it be demons?
Party at Lydon's house, everyones invited!
Thanks Malcom you will be missed.
Bollocks.......... RIP
A bit of stuff missing in that obit
The correct lyric is "I am AN Antichrist..."
"The great Rock n Roll swindle!!" The guy was a genius!! He made history and his legend will live on.
"Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"
You will be missed here los angeles.buffalo girls was the first breakdanc song I've ever heard you will be missed rip.
Oi ! Oi ! Oi !
/ / //\\ \
8\ – – /8
\ ~ /
After the S.P . and prior to Buffalo Gals, he made Madame Butterfly and Glover Garden in Nagasaki very, very cool:
Call me fool, call me stupid
Bend my arrow, kill this cupid.
The man who wrote that is/was a freaking genius.
Ummm .. he's dead ... he can't actually hear you.
Even middle-aged ladies in rusting Motown knew the man, what Brian Epstein started McLaren took to the greatest lengths to proclaim what punk grandfather Neil Young knew, hey hey, my my, rock and roll will never die. May his memory rock on...
I remember him most for "Madame Butterfly". awesome stuff. RIP.
Apparently he died from Mesothelioma – a type of cancer usually attributed to exposure to asbestos. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100408/people_nm/us_mclaren
Twit!
Rest in peace Mr. Malcolm
all that scratchin' is makin' me itch
rip
Hope he's raising some hell in heaven. Heart goes out to his family.
Anita @ModelSupplies
Life is full of uncertainties like that fateful day back in 77 when the King sat on his throne and took that last huge movement. RIP
RIP Malcolm! Thanks for all you did in so many genres.
Rage, rage, against the dying of the light.
You scoundrel, you carpetbagger, you charlatan, you genius.
We're worse off without you.
According to the Daily Mail, he had cancer. Shame.
Rest in peace....the music lives on
We'll miss you Malcom, you old sod!
"want some pizza johnny?"
buffalo gals go 'round the outside, 'round the outside!!
RIP
dude! if you remember when mtv first started out and the new wave music was in full effect, malcolm was the man!
"buffalo gals" and his stunning recreation of "madame butterfly" had no peer. and bow wow wow was on everyone's cassette walkman, too!
those were great days. the 2nd british invasion of the 80's influenced music, clothes, movies, television production styles (miami vice) and so much more.
malcolm was a pioneer. he will be missed by an entire generation of us who grew up listening to, and being shaped by, the music he created.
Sad day. One of the true fathers of punk.
Perpetrator of the Great Rock and Roll swindle...he changed us forever.
RIP
Wow. Of what?! Crikey.
RIP Malcolm!
RIP Malcolm. Say hello to Sid for me.
Malcolm also delved into hip-hop most notably with the World Famous Supreme Team of "Buffalo Gals" fame.