Malcolm McLaren

It is with some surprise and shock that I heard that Malcolm McLaren died today in New York after battling cancer for some time. Malcolm is forever immortalised in the history of punk music and rebellion and fashion in the '70s and '80s and he has his moment in social history. That moment probably coincided with the Sex Pistols releasing 'God Save The Queen' in the summer of 1977, the Jubilee year, and all the fuss that was unleashed in the media.

I won't claim to think about him often but he looms ever near John Lydon and The Sex Pistols and, whenever I've seen the Pistols or PiL, John has a word to say about him. I wonder if he'll change when he hears the news?

Malcolm also played his part in introducing us to scratching and African music in the early '80s with 'Buffalo Gals' and 'Double Dutch' and then to opera with 'Madame Butterfly'. I'm not sure what he got up to after that, but I expect the many obituaries over the next few days will tell me.

Malcolm deserves to be recorded in The Plastic Bag - it wouldn't be here without him. I hope he's looking down on us waiting for the next outrage to erupt with a wry smile on his face.

UPDATE: There was a nice tribute to Malcolm on the BBC1 News at 10 programme tonight.

UPDATE2: From JohnLydon.com: "For me Malc was always entertaining, and I hope you remember that. Above all else he was an entertainer and i will miss him, and so should you" - Johnny Rotten