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Sex Pistols manager McLaren dies

Malcolm McLaren, the former manager of punk group the Sex Pistols, has died aged 64, his agent has said.

McLaren, the ex-partner of designer Vivienne Westwood, was believed to have been diagnosed with cancer a while ago.

He set up a clothes shop and label with Westwood on London's King's Road in the 1970s and was later a businessman and performer in his own right.

The couple had a son, Joseph Corre, the co-founder of lingerie shop Agent Provocateur.

His agent told the BBC that McLaren passed away on Thursday morning. He died in Switzerland, according to his family.

Spokesman Les Malloy said he expected McLaren's body to be returned to the UK for burial Highgate Cemetery, north London.

He said McLaren died after his condition suddenly got worse.

He said the artist's family was "devastated" and "in shock" and said: "He had been doing very well, it's a sad day. I have spoken to his partner."

Westwood paid tribute to her former partner and said Joe and her other son Ben were with McLaren when he died.

"When we were young and I fell in love with Malcolm, I thought he was beautiful and I still do.

McLAREN'S INFLUENCE Lizo Mzimba, Entertainment correspondent, BBC News

Malcolm McLaren will be remembered as a figure who had a tremendous influence on British culture.

In terms of music, punk was one of the most important developments of modern times. And without Malcolm McLaren, punk may never have exploded in the way that it did.

He was instrumental in selling the idea and image of punk to the public, especially through the Sex Pistols. He helped to create the band's unique look as well as their publicity-attracting attitude.

McLaren famously organised a boat trip down London's River Thames so the Sex Pistols could perform their version of God Save The Queen outside the Houses of Parliament, during the week that the Queen was celebrating her Silver Jubilee.

The boat was raided by the police, and McLaren was arrested. The headlines that inevitably followed helped to fortify his and the band's controversial reputation.

For many artists he embodied the idea they could successfully challenge the musical establishment. It is an idea that inspired a generation of musicians, and still endures today.

"I thought he is a very charismatic, special and talented person. The thought of him dead is really something very sad."

McLaren also managed a number of other bands, including the New York Dolls and Bow Wow Wow before producing his own records including the much-sampled track Double Dutch from the 1983 album Duck Rock.

McLaren emerged from art school in the 1960s and, with Westwood, set up Let It Rock - a fashion store specialising in rubber and leather fetish gear.

It was later, infamously, renamed "Sex" and he and Westwood defined punk fashion.

Under McLaren's management, the Sex Pistols courted controversy.

After their debut single Anarchy in the UK was released in December 1976, the band became a household name when they swore on Bill Grundy's TV show.

Their concerts faced difficulties with promoters and authorities and they were fired by both EMI and A&M records.

In 1977, their single God Save the Queen was banned by the BBC. The band broke up at the end of a US tour in January 1978 and McLaren then created his disputed film version of the Sex Pistols' story, the Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle.

But there was a falling out with the band members and he later lost a court case over royalties.

After retreating from the music scene, McLaren dabbled in politics and at one point toyed with the idea of entering the race to be mayor of London.

In 2007, he pulled out of an appearance on the reality show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, after changing his mind about the show.

Between December last year and this January, the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead hosted an exhibition by McLaren of "musical paintings" on the issue of sex.

Music journalist Jon Savage said: "Without Malcolm McLaren there would not have been any British punk.

"He's one of the rare individuals who had a huge impact on the cultural and social life of this nation."

Mr Savage, who wrote a definitive history of the Sex Pistols and punk, England's Dreaming, said McLaren was a "complex" and "contradictory" character who had influenced British culture in many ways.

"He could be very charming, he could be very cruel, but he mattered and he put something together that was extraordinary.

"What he did with fashion and music was extraordinary. He was a revolutionary."

The BBC's creative director Alan Yentob said he was saddened by the news but McLaren was "clearly suffering" during his last months.

They became friends after meeting in the 1980s.

He said McLaren was a "significant figure" in British music: "Without Malcolm, despite what people say, the punk era would never have been the kind of focus that it did become.

"Malcolm loved the idea of it and it was he, who, in a way, sold the idea to the public and understood what it meant."

He said: "Malcolm was a man of ideas really - he was fascinated by ideas. He was always thinking about the next one. He was always ready to say something provocative.

"I think he famously said that his grandmother told him you needed to be a bad boy to survive - it was good to be bad. He wanted to shock and surprise you."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/u ... 610423.stm

In terms of music, punk was one of the most important developments of modern times