Turn Me On, Dead Man

Malcolm McLaren, best known as the manager of the Sex Pistols, died at age 64 after a long battle with cancer. John Lydon, who once called McLaren "the most evil man on Earth," said in a statement (signed Johnny Rotten) that McLaren was, "always entertaining and I hope you remember that." Lydon went on to say, "Above all else he was an entertainer and I will miss him, and so should you." The First Post offers a concise summary of views on McLaren by those in the know.

One thing I was struck by in looking over the reports of McLaren's death is the reaction from financial news publications. Obituaries appeared in Forbes and the Financial Times, and Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal both included articles pondering McLaren's legacy.

Clearly Malcolm McLaren was a key player in the development of punk and contributed to the commercial success of the Sex Pistols and punk generally. Having said that, I'm wary of claims such as John Savage's assessment that "Without Malcolm McLaren there would not have been any British punk." Such a claim would be easy to dismiss, except that Savage is the author of England's Dreaming, Revised Edition: Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock, and Beyond, an excellent account of the early history and significance of punk. The enduring interest in the Sex Pistols, however, is not because of the headlines they grabbed with their antics, which McLaren made the most of, but because they made great records, which had little to do with McLaren.

While he no doubt played a part shaping the image of punk rock, McLaren was also a destructive influence.  Under more conscientious management, the Sex Pistols and Sid Vicious may not have met such an early demise.  Or perhaps that's beside the point.  In any case, John Lydon is right, Malcolm McLaren was always entertaining.