Biography
Malcolm McLaren first gained attention through his role managing the Sex Pistols, the leading punk band of the late 1970s. During the following decade he stepped forward as a recording artist, creating varied musical projects that found particular favor across Britain.
Born to Peter and Emily Isaacs McLaren, he was raised instead by his grandmother Rose Corre, who provided his schooling at home through 1955. Following the path of many future music figures, he pursued studies at multiple English art institutions, starting with St. Martin's College of Art in 1963 and Harrow Art College the next year. Further attempts at South East Essex in 1965 and Chiswick Polytechnic in 1966 ended in expulsion, after which he continued at Croyden College of Art in 1968 and Goldsmith's College from 1969 to 1971. During this period he developed a strong interest in the little-known Situationist movement from France, whose members promoted disruptive or even nonsensical acts as forms of both political protest and artistic expression. Established in the 1950s, the group reached peak visibility amid the French unrest of 1968 before disbanding. McLaren, who failed in an attempt to reach Paris during the May 1968 disturbances, later adapted Situationist principles to pop music promotion, an approach examined in Greil Marcus's 1989 volume Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century.
While still at Goldsmith's he began creating clothing designs, and upon leaving without completing his degree he launched his initial London shop in 1972. Alongside Vivienne Westwood he also contributed costumes to the 1974 films Mahler and That'll Be the Day. During a New York boutique event McLaren encountered the proto-punk outfit the New York Dolls, assuming their management late that year and outfitting them in red leather while incorporating the Soviet hammer-and-sickle emblem into their stage setup and promotional images. The imagery proved ill-suited to an American audience still wary of Communist associations, though the Dolls were already nearing the end of their run regardless. McLaren returned to his London clothing enterprise in May 1975 and applied lessons from the Dolls experience when forming the Sex Pistols.
Observers continue to debate how far McLaren shaped the band's short, high-profile trajectory. From their debut single in November 1976 until their dissolution in January 1978, they appeared regularly on both the British charts and the front pages of tabloids, celebrated by supporters for tracks such as "Anarchy in the U.K." and "God Save the Queen" yet denounced by critics as signs of declining standards. The 1979 documentary The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle portrayed McLaren as the mastermind behind the entire episode; he made his own recording debut on the accompanying soundtrack by performing "You Need Hands."
With his managerial standing established, McLaren sought additional British acts to represent, briefly guiding the then-unknown Adam Ant before taking Ant's supporting musicians and pairing them with the 14-year-old Burmese vocalist Annabella Lwin to create Bow Wow Wow. McLaren contributed to writing their first single, "C'30, C'60, C'90, Go," which reached the British Top 40 in 1980. Subsequent releases "Go Wild in the Country," featuring his lyrics, and a cover of the Strangeloves' "I Want Candy" both entered the U.K. Top Ten in 1982, though the group dissolved the following year after McLaren briefly added a second vocalist, George O'Dowd, under the name Lieutenant Lush—an individual later known as Boy George who would form Culture Club.
Around the same time McLaren launched his solo recording career with the single "Buffalo Gals," which fused traditional folk elements and hip-hop. Issued under the name Malcolm McLaren & the World's Famous Supreme Team, the track climbed to the U.K. Top Ten and prepared the way for the late-1982 album Duck Rock, which reached the Top 20 while yielding the Top 40 single "Soweto" and the Top Five hit "Double Dutch." Both "Buffalo Gals" and "Double Dutch" appeared on the American dance charts in 1983, and the 1984 remix mini-LP D'Ya Like Scratchin' marked his first entry on the U.S. album listings. He next explored opera with an adaptation of "Madame Butterfly" that placed in the British Top 20 in 1984 and served as the centerpiece of his second album, Fans. The 1985 release Swamp Thing compiled leftover material to fulfill a contractual requirement while McLaren relocated to Hollywood in pursuit of film opportunities. He resumed recording in 1989 with a move to Epic Records for Waltz Darling, whose title track and "Something's Jumpin' in Your Shirt" both reached the U.K. Top 40; the album included guest vocalists along with instrumental contributions from Jeff Beck and Bootsy Collins.
Paris appeared in Europe in 1994, reflecting McLaren's relocation to France. A reworking of "Buffalo Gals" titled "Buffalo Gals Stampede," credited to Malcolm McLaren & the World Famous Supreme Team Versus Rakim and Roger Sanchez, returned to the British charts in October 1998. Throughout the 2000s he participated in film and art projects, among them co-producing the screen version of Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation. Late in the decade he contended with cancer, a fact kept private until his health declined sharply and he entered a Swiss clinic, where he died of mesothelioma on April 8, 2010, at age 64. His film montage Paris: Capital of the 21st Century had premiered in the United States at the Swiss Institute in New York two months earlier, on February 15.
Born to Peter and Emily Isaacs McLaren, he was raised instead by his grandmother Rose Corre, who provided his schooling at home through 1955. Following the path of many future music figures, he pursued studies at multiple English art institutions, starting with St. Martin's College of Art in 1963 and Harrow Art College the next year. Further attempts at South East Essex in 1965 and Chiswick Polytechnic in 1966 ended in expulsion, after which he continued at Croyden College of Art in 1968 and Goldsmith's College from 1969 to 1971. During this period he developed a strong interest in the little-known Situationist movement from France, whose members promoted disruptive or even nonsensical acts as forms of both political protest and artistic expression. Established in the 1950s, the group reached peak visibility amid the French unrest of 1968 before disbanding. McLaren, who failed in an attempt to reach Paris during the May 1968 disturbances, later adapted Situationist principles to pop music promotion, an approach examined in Greil Marcus's 1989 volume Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century.
While still at Goldsmith's he began creating clothing designs, and upon leaving without completing his degree he launched his initial London shop in 1972. Alongside Vivienne Westwood he also contributed costumes to the 1974 films Mahler and That'll Be the Day. During a New York boutique event McLaren encountered the proto-punk outfit the New York Dolls, assuming their management late that year and outfitting them in red leather while incorporating the Soviet hammer-and-sickle emblem into their stage setup and promotional images. The imagery proved ill-suited to an American audience still wary of Communist associations, though the Dolls were already nearing the end of their run regardless. McLaren returned to his London clothing enterprise in May 1975 and applied lessons from the Dolls experience when forming the Sex Pistols.
Observers continue to debate how far McLaren shaped the band's short, high-profile trajectory. From their debut single in November 1976 until their dissolution in January 1978, they appeared regularly on both the British charts and the front pages of tabloids, celebrated by supporters for tracks such as "Anarchy in the U.K." and "God Save the Queen" yet denounced by critics as signs of declining standards. The 1979 documentary The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle portrayed McLaren as the mastermind behind the entire episode; he made his own recording debut on the accompanying soundtrack by performing "You Need Hands."
With his managerial standing established, McLaren sought additional British acts to represent, briefly guiding the then-unknown Adam Ant before taking Ant's supporting musicians and pairing them with the 14-year-old Burmese vocalist Annabella Lwin to create Bow Wow Wow. McLaren contributed to writing their first single, "C'30, C'60, C'90, Go," which reached the British Top 40 in 1980. Subsequent releases "Go Wild in the Country," featuring his lyrics, and a cover of the Strangeloves' "I Want Candy" both entered the U.K. Top Ten in 1982, though the group dissolved the following year after McLaren briefly added a second vocalist, George O'Dowd, under the name Lieutenant Lush—an individual later known as Boy George who would form Culture Club.
Around the same time McLaren launched his solo recording career with the single "Buffalo Gals," which fused traditional folk elements and hip-hop. Issued under the name Malcolm McLaren & the World's Famous Supreme Team, the track climbed to the U.K. Top Ten and prepared the way for the late-1982 album Duck Rock, which reached the Top 20 while yielding the Top 40 single "Soweto" and the Top Five hit "Double Dutch." Both "Buffalo Gals" and "Double Dutch" appeared on the American dance charts in 1983, and the 1984 remix mini-LP D'Ya Like Scratchin' marked his first entry on the U.S. album listings. He next explored opera with an adaptation of "Madame Butterfly" that placed in the British Top 20 in 1984 and served as the centerpiece of his second album, Fans. The 1985 release Swamp Thing compiled leftover material to fulfill a contractual requirement while McLaren relocated to Hollywood in pursuit of film opportunities. He resumed recording in 1989 with a move to Epic Records for Waltz Darling, whose title track and "Something's Jumpin' in Your Shirt" both reached the U.K. Top 40; the album included guest vocalists along with instrumental contributions from Jeff Beck and Bootsy Collins.
Paris appeared in Europe in 1994, reflecting McLaren's relocation to France. A reworking of "Buffalo Gals" titled "Buffalo Gals Stampede," credited to Malcolm McLaren & the World Famous Supreme Team Versus Rakim and Roger Sanchez, returned to the British charts in October 1998. Throughout the 2000s he participated in film and art projects, among them co-producing the screen version of Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation. Late in the decade he contended with cancer, a fact kept private until his health declined sharply and he entered a Swiss clinic, where he died of mesothelioma on April 8, 2010, at age 64. His film montage Paris: Capital of the 21st Century had premiered in the United States at the Swiss Institute in New York two months earlier, on February 15.
Albums
Paris
1997
Round The Outside! Round The Outside!
1990
Waltz Darling
1989
Swamp Thing
1985
Fans
1984
Duck Rock
1983
Singles
