Thursday, April 22, 2010

'Too fast to live, too young to die': Former lover Vivienne Westwood leads mourners at funeral of Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren

By Daily Mail Reporter

The horse-drawn carriage carrying the coffin of Malcolm McLaren, best known as the manager of the Sex Pistols, and marked with the words 'too fast to live too young to die', makes its way through Camden


The 'architect of punk rock' Malcolm McLaren was given a suitably flamboyant send-off today in a coffin emblazoned with the words: 'Too fast to live, too young to die.'

His funeral cortege, led by a horse-drawn carriage, paraded through the what has become the spiritual home of the punk movement, Camden in north-west London, in front of thousands of people.

The slogan was the name of McLaren's shop on King's Road, before it was renamed 'Sex'.

A green double-decker bus, with 'Nowhere' as the destination, was also parked outside the church, St Mary Magdalene's in central London.


People take pictures as a hearse carrying the coffin of Malcolm McLaren, music impresario, Sex Pistols manager and fashion guru, passing by London's Camden market


The funeral cortege passes beneath the world famous Camden Lock bridge in bright sunshine


Vivienne Westwood wipes away a tear at her former partner Malcolm McLaren's funeral


On the side of the bus was written 'cash from chaos' - one of McLaren's favourite slogans and a lyric from The Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Swindle by the Sex Pistols, the band he managed which that propelled the 1970s punk revolution.

Mourners included Sir Bob Geldof, 80s pop star Adam Ant, artist Tracey Emin and McLaren's partner Young Kim.

Dame Vivienne Westwood, McLaren's former partner, was joined for the funeral by the couple's son - Joseph Corre - and his stepson Ben Westwood.

She addressed the congregation during the service, recalling how they had met through her brother, and how he had helped her make jewellery for her market stall.


Punk mourners: Adam Ant and Dame Vivienne Westwood, McLaren's former partner. Ant is wearing a pair of the fashion designer's bondage trousers. The singer attended the first-ever Sex Pistols in November 1975... but only because he was playing bass in the headline act, the long-forgotten Bazooka Joe


The horse-drawn carriage carrying the coffin of Malcolm McLaren, best known as the manager of the Sex Pistols, makes its way through the streets of Camden


Mourners on the double-decker bus to 'Nowhere- were all smiles for the onlookers


'I was teaching and I had a little boy, and he used to keep me awake, I was absolutely exhausted and he insisted on telling me his life story all the time, I never told him mine,' she said to laughter.

Vivienne, who was wearing a 'Chaos' headband, reflected on the culture of rebellion which ran through the punk movement, but concluded that rebellion needed ideas to continue.

She said: 'I am very, very sad that unbelievably Malcolm is dead and I just wanted to say on this cruel, cruel day... get a life, do something with it.'

Joseph read out tributes to his father from those who could not attend, including one from Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones.

Joking about McLaren's fall-out with the band over royalties, the letter said: 'Dear Malcolm, did you take the money with you? Is it in the coffin? Do you mind if I come back tomorrow and dig you up?


A Camden punk touches the hearse carrying the coffin of Malcom McLaren, music impresario, Sex Pistols manager and fashion guru


Celebrating a life: Former Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldoff and Brit Artist Tracey Emin after the memorial service in north-west London this afternoon


Emotional tribute: McLaren's stepson Ben Westwood, who was with him at the time of his death, also spoke at the service


'I always had a soft spot for you. You showed me a lot when I was 17... and I owe you a lot for showing me a different side to life.'

As McLaren's cortege arrived in Camden, hundreds of people lined the streets.

Members of the funeral party threw leaflets from the top level of the double decker bus to fans below.

The last vehicle in the cortege to pass Camden Lock Bridge had a simple message to those watching.

'Malcolm was here,' it read.

McLaren's family called on the public to observe a 'minute of mayhem' at midday to honour a music impresario who enjoyed spreading anarchy wherever he went.

He died on April 8 in a Swiss hospital at the age of 64 after losing a battle with cancer.

McLaren was best known as manager of the Sex Pistol.


A man participates at the funeral procession of Malcolm McLaren


McLaren's carriage was emblazoned with an 'Anarchy' wreath


The coffin arrives at Highgate Cemetery this afternoon. McLaren takes his place in the historic cemetery alongside luminaries such as Karl Marx, George Eliot, Henry Moore and Douglas Adams


Dame Vivienne pays her final respects at the graveside this afternoon

Their anti-establishment single God Save The Queen stormed the charts at the time of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee in 1977.

The next year, the band toured the United States but split acrimoniously with lead singer John Lydon, otherwise known as Johnny Rotten, blaming the erratic behaviour of bass guitarist Sid Vicious as well as McLaren's mismanagement.

Ben Westwood has previously said some of the criticism levelled at McLaren had been unfair.

'He didn't stop Johnny doing what Johnny wanted to do,' he said.


Here he lies: Eddie 'Tenpole' Tudor helps with McLaren's headstone


Primal Scream singer Bobby Gillespie with fashion designer Pam Hogg outside the memorial service. A punk rocker pays his respects as the double-decker bus passes by


Original Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook, left, and bassist Glen Matlock, wait for the service to start. Cook was in the very first incarnation of the band, when they went under the name 'The Strand' in 1972. When they asked McLaren for help in 1975, the band was re-named and a movement was born


Back in the day: Left to right, Sex Pistols manager Malcolm Maclaren, Steve Jones, Johnny Rotten (John Lydon), Glen Matlock and Paul Cook


'Johnny got a platform, and a bloody good one. Malcolm's idea of the band was that he was not interested in making money or having fans. I think it was an art thing.'

He said that the flamboyant music producer was far from the perfect father figure in his early childhood.

'When I was younger he got in between me and my mum and he didn't want me around,' Westwood said following his death.

But he also had fond memories of a man he always looked up to as 'one of the bravest people on the planet', and with whom he reconciled in recent years.

'I think he's a lovely person and he made our lives so colourful and made lots of others' lives so colourful as well. The Sex Pistols stuff was great and very dynamic.

'He really inspired a lot of people to get up and do what they can do.'


source: dailymail

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