Malcolm McLaren, pioneer in fashion, music, and art passed away today after a brief battle with lung cancer. He was 64.
Bursting onto the scene in the 70s, Malcolm opened up a shop on London's King's Road that went through a series of name changes - Let It Rock, Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die, Sex, and Seditionaries. There he and Vivienne Westwood sold their punk designs inspired by bondage gear. It was here the Sex Pistols formed. Malcolm also played an integral part in shaping the musical careers of Adam Ant, Boy George, and Bow Wow Wow. He later produced his own music, releasing albums Duck Rock, Fans, Waltz Darling, and Paris. His song Buffalo Gals went on to influence many of today's rap and hip hop artists while Paris, Paris is the Gallic city's unofficial anthem. Malcolm was also an early innovator in the music mash-up genre releasing About Her which amalgamated The Zombies song with Bessie Smith.
Having had a stint in Hollywood in the 80s working for Steven Spielberg, Malcolm later went on to produce the 2006 film Fast Food Nation, based on the Eric Schlosser book of the same name. Being intelligent, creative and imaginative, Malcolm was a natural-born storyteller. He always had colorful and entertaining stories and anecdotes. In 2006, Malcolm wrote and narrated Musical Maps of London and Los Angeles for BBC Radio. In the hour-long segments, he regaled listeners with historical and autobiographical stories about the two cities. They are wonderful, elaborate and amusing accounts of the two hubs.
Most recently, Malcolm returned to his art school days at Goldsmiths and began producing musical portraits. He took obscure, vintage porn and advertising video footage and edited them down, pieced them together, created loops, and accompanied the visuals with his music. The effects were dreamy, amusing, and inventive. In 2008 Creative Time screened 9 of the 21 films from his series titled Shallow on a Jumbotron in Times Square. He recently completed work on his series Paris which he debuted at the Swiss Institute in New York in February.
I know people have mixed feelings regarding Malcolm, but speaking as someone who had the pleasure of knowing him for 10 years, I can say he was a witty, charming, fun, bright, curious, and generous friend. He was always ready to offer sage advice and always willing to help out a friend - whether it was to help find a new outlook on life, a new job, new mate, or a new pair of shoes. His infectious energy, quick wit, fascinating stories, impeccable eye, and innovative and artistic spirit will be sorely missed. RIP Malcolm. To learn more, read his obituaries in NYTs and The Independent.
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