Malcolm McLaren the former manager and schemer behind the Sex Pistols died today. As many of you know, the Sex Pistols were one of the biggest influences in my life. My daughter Vivienne is named after Malcolm’s ex Vivienne Westwood who did all the fashion for the Pistols. Jamie Reid, the Sex Pistols graphic artist and a college buddy of Malcolm’s, was one of my first art and graphics influences. Malcolm was a brilliant strategist and media manipulator for the Sex Pistols. His love of “the spectacle” as inspired by The Situationist movement has been an influence on many pranksters including Banksy. Malcolm attended a couple of my art shows and we ended up having dinner together a few times too. The conversation from one of the dinners ended up being an article in Swindle magazine(named after the Pistol’s album and movie “The Great Rock ‘N’ Roll Swindle). It was hard to get a word in with Malcolm, but his insights and grand ambitions were often profound, and always entertaining. Malcolm and the Sex Pistols not only changed the ENTIRE music culture of the 70’s in ways that can still be felt, but they changed my life. Thanks and farewell Malcolm.
-Shepard

To read more about Malcolm here is a feature from SWINDLE MAGAZINE:
http://swindlemagazine.com/issue05/malcolm-mclaren/

To download a PDF of the feature please click here.

photo by Ryan Murphy