Malcolm McLaren – Responses To His Death

As has been reported widely, former Sex Pistols manager and pop culture pioneer Malcolm McLaren died on last week at his home in New York after a battle with cancer.

McLaren was a leading figure in the punk rock scene. As well as the outrageous Sex Pistols, who spearheaded British punk rock, he managed other bands including the New York Dolls and Bow Wow Wow.

McLaren was a former partner of flamboyant British designer Vivienne Westwood and the couple set up a clothes shop on London’s King’s Road in the 1970s, which they renamed Sex and sold rubber and leather fetish gear.

They had a son, Joseph Corre, the co-founder of lingerie shop Agent Provocateur.

McLaren also had a notable music career of his own, including the 1983 Duck Rock album. The record helped spread the word about hip-hop to some far flung corners of the globe, and back to the United States as his “Buffalo Gals” single became a much-sampled staple. His other single from that album, “Double Dutch” paid warm tribute to a group of high-school age New York skipping champions.

New York Dolls members Sylvain Sylvain and David Johansen have paid tribute to McLaren.

“Malcolm McLaren was such a marvelous amalgam of exuberation, sensuality, culture and literacy, says NY Dolls’ lead singer David Johansen. “All of this was salted with the essential recognition of his own rascality. He was the perfect preservation against stuffiness and a lack of humanity. We are going to miss him terribly.”

“Malcolm opened up the doors for punk music around the world,” adds Sylvain Sylvain, the Dolls’ original founding guitarist. “He was a visionary and took what was going on in New York City and made it global. He was a massive influence on everyone who ever had a punk shop or a punk band. His passing represents the final chapter in an era when music was exciting.”

Sylvain also had this to say in a separate piece he wrote.

“For you guys in the UK, there wouldn’t have been punk without him. He was really turned on by the scene when we went back to New York – bands like Patti Smith, Television, The Ramones, Blondie – and he took it to the UK. He really turned the whole world onto it by that point. Even with The Sex Pistols, Malcolm was probably the most important star and band member. It’s not that punk wouldn’t have been the same without him – it would have been null. It just wouldn’t have happened.

“When I remember Malcolm, I think that he taught me the idea that if you don’t like something, you’re the only one that can change it. That’s the mentality people need to make things happen. It takes a spark to build a fire, and Malcolm was definitely that spark.

Sex Pistols’ frontman John Lydon also paid tribute to his former manager.

In a statement, Lydon said that he will “miss” the punk mogul, adding that he was “always entertaining”.

“For me Malc was always entertaining and I hope you remember that,” Lydon said in a statement he signed under his Sex Pistols’ name Johnny Rotten. “Above all else he was an entertainer and I will miss him, and so should you.”

Film-maker Julien Temple, who directed the Sex Pistols movie “The Great Rock’n'Roll Swindle,” called McLaren “an incredible catalyst,” adding: “At that time to be in the room with him was just to be bombarded with energy.

“He was an amazing teacher. Teachers are lucky to inspire one or two people in their class, but Malcolm really inspired generations across the world. He was a phenomenal force to be reckoned with in the late ’70s and early ’80s.”

Here Comes The Night – David Johansen

Listening to the New York Dolls comeback album recently reminded me of what a great rock n’roll singer David Johansen was (and remains). I’m struggling to remember exactly where Here Comes The Night falls in the chronology of post Dolls solo albums that Johansen made, but its always been my favorite.

The key to this album was that Johansen found a great collaborator in Blondie Chaplin (The Band, The Beach Boys, Rolling Stones), who co-wrote most of these songs and played guitar across the album.  The album contains an inner sleeve photo of Chaplin on acoustic guitar and Johansen playing a little squeezebox that seems to capture the basic nature of the songwriting, even though the album is completely electric.

There’s a sense of urgency about these songs and they seem to benefit from a thin production that makes the album sound like a live band playing without the benefit of multiple overdubs.

The album wasn’t a huge commercial success but it contains some of Johansen’s most distinctive performances and surprisingly gave a couple of pointers to his later incarnation as Buster Poindexter. Side One closes with Marquesa De Sade, which adapts a hint of latin and calypso to the punky flavour of the rest of the album.

The title track is a barnstormer of party-pop indulgence and its matched by equally decadent sounding songs such as Bohemian Love Pad and She Loves Strangers. But it’s the bitter and biting Johansen that works best and You Fool You and My Obsession are classics within this sub-genre.

The second side of this album loses a little of its punk rock edge. There’s a little bit of reggae in Side Two’s Party Tonight and on Rollin’ Job but it’s a style that only just suits him and certainly doesn’t match his more edgy songs.

But Johansen still manages to conjure up some magic on Side Two via the closer – a seemingly standard ballad named Heart of Gold. Despite its clichéd title when Johansen intones “You think I’m a whore/But I got a heart of gold/And I need protection from the cold/I’ve been bought and I’ve been sold/And I need protection from the cold.” – you cant help but believe him. It’s a great vocal performance and together with all of Side One and the title track makes Here Comes The Night a wonderful genuine rock n’ roll record from one of its relatively unsung heroes.

New York Dolls Album Complete

New York Dolls were the highlight of last years V Festival and their sideshow at the HiFi in Melbourne was one of the shows of the year.

They have hardly been prolific over the years as a recording act though. They had two albums in the 70s, New York Dolls (1973) and Too Much Too Soon (1974), before breaking up in 1977.

They reformed in 2004 and two years later recorded their third studio album One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This.

Now the new line-up which includes the effervescent Steve Conte on guitar (who has slipped into Johnny Thunder’s spot like a hand in a glove) will release their 4th album in 35 years in May.

Cause I Sez So was recorded in Hawaii with producer Todd Rundgren.

“It was amazing working with Todd again, and I think we were able to evoke the special sound of our first album and drag it by the hair into the present,” said David Johansen.

For the record, the band has re-recorded the song Trash, originally heard on their 1973 debut.

New York Dolls will preview the album with showcase gigs at SXSW in Austin in a few weeks where they play at Maggie Mays and at a party with The Hold Steady .

Here’s the full song list

‘Cause I Sez So
Muddy Bones
Better Than
Lonely So Long
My World
Ridiculous
Temptation To Exist
Making Rain
Drowning
Nobody Got No Bizness
Trash
Exorcism Of Despair