It’s been confirmed during the last hour that former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren lost his battle with cancer this morning in New York. He was 64.
Having briefly managed the New York Dolls in 1974/5, McLaren decided to put together his own anarchic band who started life as a walking advert for his SEX clothes shop, and ended up altering the course of British rock ‘n’ roll history.
When the Pistols themselves imploded, he returned to New York where he discovered the streetwise inspiration for his Duck Rock album, which included top 10 singles ‘Buffalo Gals’ and ‘Double Dutch’.
Along with his on-off solo music career, he made a film called Fashion Beast with comic book writer Alan Moore; courted controversy again with Bow Wow Wow; directed The Ghosts Of Oxford Street for Channel 4; tried but failed to manage the Red Hot Chili Peppers; appeared as a “celebrity hi-jacker" on Big Brother; and unsuccessfully ran for Mayor of London.
He also spoke at length on several occasions to Hot Press, with one particularly memorable 1994 interview to be found at [link]www.hotpress.com/archive/479255.html[/link]. Of all the rogues we've met, he was definitely one of the most lovable!