I didn't really know much about Malcolm McLaren, except that he had some sort of fashion boutique called "Sex" and that he put the Sex Pistols together. A Rolling Stone article marking his death referred to him as a "Punk Renaissance Man." Yeah, that works. Before the Pistols he was the manager of the New York Dolls. That's one hell of a frakking noise pedigree if you ask me.
But it was about more than noise. McLaren seemed intent on pissing people off. Yeah, right, so stupid. Eh, whatever. I've always thought it was kind of funny. Putting together a band that could barely play. Choosing the most abrasive individual he could find to front them. Johnny Rotten. The whole "God Save The Queen" stunt on the river Thames. Gawd, they were a mess.
And yet...
I do remember that night when I saw the segment about the Sex Pistols on the newscast (pretty sure it was Walter Cronkite). The hair stood up on the back of my neck as Lydon brayed "God Save The Queen" over the band's squall. I'd never heard anything like that. My parents hoped they never would again. They did not get their wish. The album hit the States and I sure as hell got my hands on a copy. The band never really went anywhere, with a tour that imploded in true punk rock fashion.
Still, despite the mess that they were, that one record was truly influential. There will always be debates about who the first punk rock band was. My money is on The Ramones, but it doesn't really matter. So many of that generation were influenced by the mass of garage rock that came before them. They don't call Iggy the Godfather of Punk for nothin'. The Pistols surely influenced me to check out all sorts of other punk noisemongers including the Ramones, The Dead Boys, The Dictators, and The Clash.
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
For my money, McLaren's defining moment (at least musically) was "Buffalo Gals."
2 - Josh Hathaway
Is there anything more Friday than the Sex Pistols?
3 - EvaO
thanks for the video, nice graphics..
though the music is not for me...
4 - Eric Olsen
thanks Mark! He also managed Adam and the Ants and Bow Bow Wow and that freaking burundi beat. And, as Glen says, he had a couple fo extremely influential solo albums as well
5 - Greg Barbrick
I imagine John Lydon would have eventually surfaced in the music world somehow, but there is no way the Pistols would have come together without McLaren. His situationist stance towards the media was way ahead of it's time, and he is to be missed.
Besides The Pistols and "Buffalo Gals," the Bow Wow Wow album When The Going Gets Tough was a great one. RIP Malcolm.
6 - Ed Welch
I agree with Glen Buffallo Gals did it for me. Those girls skipping intime to the music.
Just great. Punk? Not my taste.
7 - zingzing
duck rock is a magical album. so many great ideas. some daffy ideas as well... but as far as creativity goes, it's hard to beat.
8 - Dennis
Malcom represents a time that can't be replaced. RIP