Malcolm McLaren's Funeral To Include A 'Minute Of Mayhem.'

 

From NME News: The funeral details for former Sex Pistols manager and punk impresario Malcolm McLaren have been announced. 

McLaren passed away aged 64 at a Swiss clinic on April 8 after battling a rare form of cancer. 

His funeral will be held in London next Thursday (April 22), and will be preceded by a public procession leading to Highgate cemetery, where he will be laid to rest in a private ceremony. 

A statement posted on human rights charity Humanade's website, which is run by McLaren's son Joseph Corré, said that members of the public are invited to pay their respects by observing the funeral procession, which takes place from 1:15pm (BST) to 2:15pm on Thursday. It will travel through Camden High Street, Chalk Farm Road, Ferdinand Street, Malden Road and Southampton Road, before ending at Highgate Cemetery. 

In addition, people are also asked to observe a 'minute of mayhem' in McLaren's honour at noon on Thursday. "Put on your favourite records and let it RIP!" the message on Humanade instructs.

 

Corré, McLaren's son with former partner Vivienne Westwood and founder of lingerie company Agent Provocateur, has also paid tribute to his late father by releasing a limited edition 'Cash From Chaos' t-shirt based on the design worn by McLaren in his 1980 film 'The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle.' 

Proceeds from all sales of the shirt will go to the charity. 

Photo: Bernardo Rodriguez/EPA via guardian.co.uk

Malcolm McLaren, Without Whom.

 

I gasped when I read the headline yesterday that Malcolm McLaren had passed and sat in silence in complete disbelief staring at the screen for what seemed like hours. This could not be, he was only 64 years old. I owe a lot to this man. For without Malcolm McLaren, all of the music that I adore, this blog and all that it champions, sometimes against great odds, simply would not exist. 

Malcolm McLaren's long-reaching influence on this blog began in 1976 when his assistant Bernie Rhodes spotted a green-haired John Lydon walking down London's King's Road with his "I HATE Pink Floyd" t-shirt. I guess the rest is our history. 

1978 was the end for the Sex Pistols, and many wondered whether John Lydon had thrown it all away, effectively abandoning the audience he'd mobilized and who were now looking for leadership. The forming of Public Image Ltd. was the beginning of that leadership; the beginning of the first wave. Public Image Ltd. was the beginning of what this blog is all about.

1984 then officially closed the door on the first wave of postpunk music, the "new wave," the door having been opened by Malcolm McLaren. His influence is beyond compare; after he invented the Sex Pistols, managed an early incarnation of Adam and the Ants, and assembled BOW WOW WOW, he essentially brought hip-hop music to the UK. With his very own Duck Rock, he also hand delivered one of the earliest releases in the multi-cultural world music movement, preceding others by almost ten years. 

Of all the fond tributes to Malcolm, this one is by far the best: 

Before Malcolm being a musician in England meant you had to read music, and clock up years of dues and motorway miles, hours of practice and play interminable solos wherever possible. 

Malcolm's attitude changed everything. Without him, no punk rock revolution, no 'Anarchy in The UK,' no 'Never Mind The Bollocks...' No Sex Pistols, no Clash... No Duran Duran. 

Punk was just the beginning for Malcolm. His exposure to the beginnings of hip-hop in New York in 1981 caused him to produce his solo masterpiece "Duck Rock," the single from which, "Buffalo Gals" introduced the rest of the world to "All this scratchin’ is making me itch..." and graffiti art. 

Malcolm and Vivienne Westwood created, time and again, the most successful marriages of music and fashion ever...Bow Wow Wow's pirate style, Sex, Seditionaries...for his contribution to fashion alone he shall be remembered as the greatest rock stylist of the twentieth century. An extraordinarily complex character with intense passion and curiosity. 

He was a true artist, and a continual restless source of inspiration. There will never be anyone quite like him again. 

John Taylor, April 8, 2010 

So I tell you goodbye Mr. McLaren. I tell you goodbye with great sadness, for we have come to the end of a road. I tell you goodbye with great sadness, for you have told me that music matters. 

Photo: Fantastic Man via Vino NYC 

Material: Waist High 

John Taylor courtesy: duranduran.com

Happy 25th Birthday Duck Rock.

Recorded in 1982 and released in 1983, Duck Rock was one of the earlier releases in the multi-cultural 'world music' movement, preceding others by almost ten years.

After inventing the Sex Pistols, managing an early incarnation of Adam & the Ants, and assembling BOW WOW WOW, this album was Malcolm McLaren's very own.

Mixing up influences from "Africa, Central and South America and the USA," the album proved to be highly influential in bringing hip-hop music to a wider audience in the UK. "When rap music had made its first impact in the mainstream, the bigwigs weren't sure what to make of it, and only a small handful dared to touch it. But it was a different story in Europe, where many would embrace the poetic side of the lyrics."

Two of the singles from the album, "Buffalo Gals," and "Double Dutch," became major chart hits on both sides of the Atlantic.

"McLaren has said that the first time he discovered hip-hop for himself was when he saw Afrika Bambaataa walking down the street with a pink Sex Pistols T-shirt. He met Bambaataa and Bam asked McLaren if he was interested in hearing one of his sets. It could be said that Duck Rock is a musical interpretation of the diversity Bambaataa was known for, and what Bambaataa wanted to share through his records."

Guest musicians on the album include Trevor Horn, Anne Dudley, and J. J. Jeczalik. "Side recordings that these three artists did in-between Duck Rock takes would eventually become the first album for Art of Noise. Clips of the World Famous Supreme Team radio show appear between songs" as well.

Material: wikipedia.org & John Book via rapreviews.com