Godfather of punk dies at 64

Malcolm McLaren, the man who created The Sex Pistols, died...

09:15 09 April 2010

Malcolm McLaren, the British icon who boasted that he invented punk rock after creating The Sex Pistols, has died aged 64.

McLaren succumbed to a lengthy battle with rare cancer mesothelioma. McClaren's partner Young Kim, 38, stated: "He changed the world and is a lasting influence."

Kim was at his bedside when he died, alongside Agent Provocateur co-founder Joseph Corre – his son with fashion designer Vivienne Westwood.

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

"The thought of him being dead is very sad. We hadn't been in touch for a long time."

McLaren had his first taste of fame when he opened a clothes shop with Vivienne on London's King Road in the early 1970s. After he briefly managed the New York Dolls in America, McLaren returned to the store and renamed it Sex, selling fetish. It became a popular hangout for what became the punk scene.

Around the same time, McLaren started managing a young British band who went on to become the Sex Pistols, scoring massive counter-culture hits like Anarchy in the UK and God Save the Queen.

No stranger to a publicity stunt, McLaren had the Sex Pistols sign a recording contract outside Buckingham Palace and to play a gig on a boat beside the Houses of Parliament. The police stormed the boat and arrested McLaren.

After The Sex Pistols, McLaren publicised music genres as diverse as rap and opera, and famously quit I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here branding it "fake".

Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) paid tribute: "For me, Malc was always entertaining, and I hope you remember that.

"Above all else, he was an entertainer. I'll miss him and so should you."