Malcolm McClaren

Punk rock, Musical Artist

1946 – 2010

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Who was Malcolm McClaren?

Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was a British musician, impresario, visual artist, performer, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provocative way.

Born into a dysfunctional family, he attended a number of British art colleges and adopted the stance of the social rebel in the style of French revolutionaries, the Situationists.

With a keen eye for trends, McLaren realised in the 1970s that a new youth style was needed, and largely initiated the punk movement, to which he supplied fashions from the Chelsea boutique 'SEX', operated with his girlfriend Vivienne Westwood. After a spell advising the New York Dolls in the US, McLaren managed the Sex Pistols, to whom he recruited the charismatic frontman Johnny Rotten. The issue of a controversial record, "God Save the Queen", satirising the Queen's Jubilee was typical of McLaren's shock-tactics, and he gained publicity by being arrested after a promotional boat trip outside the Houses of Parliament.

McLaren also performed as a solo artist, initially popularising hip hop and world music and later diversifying into funk and disco, the dance fashion for "vogueing" and merging opera with contemporary electronic musical forms.

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Born
Jan 22, 1946
Stoke Newington
Also known as
  • McLaren
  • Malcom McLaren
  • McLaren, Malcolm
  • Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren
Parents
Spouses
Children
Nationality
  • England
  • United Kingdom
Profession
Education
  • Goldsmiths College
Lived in
  • London
Died
Apr 8, 2010
Bellinzona
Resting place
Highgate Cemetery

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

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"Malcolm McClaren." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/malcolm_mclaren>.

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