Malcolm McClaren was a genius; as a pioneer of punk and a true artist, he influenced so many of the people alive in the UK today. At the age of 64, he sadly lost his battle against cancer. At first, many of our Dollis Hill escorts didn’t realise how much the man had affected their lives; McClaren was known predominantly for being the ‘Godfather of Punk’, having shot the Sex Pistols to fame in the 1970s. However, he is also responsible for stocking our blonde escorts‘ knicker drawers!

Having opened ‘the Sex Boutique’ on Kings Road in London with his then girlfriend, designer Vivienne Westwood, McClaren made his way into the fashion world clothing Londoners with safety pins, studs and Union Jacks. The couple had a son, Joe Corre, who went on to found the famous lingerie brand ‘Agent Provocateur’ – a favourite with many of our escort girls!

Born on 22nd January 1946 to a Scottish Engineer, Malcolm McClaren was raised in Stoke Newington, London. His grandmother Rose raised him, and at the age of 18 he went to Harrow Art School. This is where he met Westwood, who was 5 years older than him and took his virginity. He went on to drift around various different art schools, developing his influential and subversive personality.

The couple’s fashion boutique originally opened in 1971, but went through a number of names before settling on ‘Sex’. It started out as ‘Let it Rock’, moving to ‘Too Fast to Live Too Young to Die’.

McClaren went to New York in 1975, and developed a fixation with the band New York Dolls, a group of men who wore high heels and played glam metal. They had just signed a record deal and were becoming popular on the underground scene, with a promising future ahead of them. McClaren managed to convince the band to hire him as their manager; always wanting to make a stir, he got the New York Dolls to perform wearing Maoist Red Guard Outfits, playing in front of a hammer and sickle emblazoned flag. The people of New York were not impressed, and two of the band members quit soon afterwards.

Not deterred, McClaren moved back to London and soon the Sex Pistols were born, who influenced a whole generation, provoking ‘anarchy in the UK’. Although the band lasted just 2 years, their influence is still remembered. McClaren went on to work with Bow Wow Wow and Adam and the Ants.

The music and fashion mogul may have been controversial, but he will never be forgotten.