马尔科姆·麦克拉伦

Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English fashion designer, entrepreneur and music manager. He was a promoter and a manager for punk rock and new wave bands such as New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, and Bow Wow Wow, and was an early influencer of the punk subculture.

McLaren was brought up by his grandmother after his father, Peter, left the family home. He attended several British art colleges in the 1960s, where he became involved in underground art and left-wing activism. From 1974 to 1976, he operated the Chelsea boutique Sex with his girlfriend Vivienne Westwood, which helped shape early punk fashion and became an early hub for the subculture in London. After a period advising the New York Dolls in the United States, McLaren managed the Sex Pistols, for which he recruited frontman Johnny Rotten. The issue of a controversial record, "God Save the Queen", satirizing the Queen's Jubilee in 1977, was typical of McLaren's shock tactics, and he gained publicity by being arrested after a promotional boat trip outside the Houses of Parliament.

In the 1980s, McLaren continued managing other London-based acts and performed as mainly a solo artist, initially focusing on hip-hop and world music, and later diversifying into funk, disco, and electronic dance music. When accused of turning popular culture into a cheap marketing gimmick, he replied that he hoped it was true. His first album, Duck Rock, was certified silver in the UK and spawned the top-ten singles "Buffalo Gals" and "Double Dutch".

In his later years, he lived in Paris and New York City and died of peritoneal mesothelioma in a Swiss hospital.

Early years

McLaren was born on 22 January 1946 to Scottish-born engineer Peter McLaren, an upper-middle-class Londoner who was at that time serving with the Royal Engineers, and Emily Isaacs, the daughter of tailor Mick Isaacs and independently wealthy Rose Corré Isaacs.

"We've talked to Malcolm's mum. Even she doesn't like him." — Judy and Fred Vermorel, 1984

At age 16, McLaren left Orange Hill with three O-levels and was briefly employed in a handful of jobs before attending classes at St Martin's School of Art and then undertaking a foundation course at Harrow School of Art. Other arts institutions attended by McLaren over the next seven years included the South East Essex School of Art in Walthamstow and Goldsmiths.

Fashion design and music

430 King's Road, Vivienne Westwood and New York Dolls

In October 1971, McLaren took over the back part of the retail premises at 430 King's Road in Chelsea, West London, and sold rock and roll records, refurbished 1950s radiograms and deadstock clothing under the name "In the Back of Paradise Garage". With the assistance of art school friend Patrick Casey, McLaren converted the entire ground floor into the store and renamed it Let It Rock, initially selling clothing (dead stock, military surplus) and objects he had sourced. When the shop became a success, he enlisted the help of his then-girlfriend Vivienne Westwood who customized and repaired original clothing and made facsimiles.

Let It Rock was patronised by teddy boys and McLaren and Westwood's designs also appeared in such theatrical and cinematic productions as The Rocky Horror Show and That'll Be The Day. In spring 1973 the store was renamed Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die and began selling original 1950s-inspired leather clothing. Among the commissions were costumes for Ken Russell's film Mahler. In August 1973, McLaren and Westwood visited New York to participate in the National Boutique Fair, where they began an association with the New York Dolls, supplying them with stage wear and joining their group on tour in the UK and France. In October 1974, he renamed the outlet Sex to reflect its move towards fetish fashion and provocation. In January 1975, McLaren and Westwood designed red patent leather costumes for the New York Dolls and used a Soviet-style hammer and sickle motif for their stage shows in the US as an attempt to attract attention through provocation. This ploy was not successful and the Dolls soon broke up, with guitarist Johnny Thunders specifically naming McLaren as "the reason why we broke up." McLaren instead blamed Thunders and drummer Jerry Nolan's drug addictions for the split. In May 1975, McLaren returned to Britain.