Nevermind The Bollocks, There Goes Malcolm

Malcolm McLaren, the man who pioneered punk rock by unleashing the Sex Pistols onto an unsuspecting world, was laid to rest today after a funeral march through the streets of London attended by hundreds.

Photo: AP Photo

Malcolm McLaren’s funeral procession winds through London’s streets.

During the mid-1970s, McLaren ran a S&M-styled clothing store called “SEX” and managed a band named The Strand when his assistant spotted a young man sporting green hair, torn clothes and wearing a Pink Floyd T-shirt with the words “I hate” scribbled on it. The assistant brought the man – John Lydon – to McLaren’s attention. Impressed with the man’s attitude and appearance, McLaren inducted him as the band’s new frontman, dubbed him Johnny Rotten, changed the name of the group to Sex Pistols, and the rest, as the old saying goes, is history.

McLaren died in Switzerland April 8 from a rare form of cancer called mesothelioma. He was 64.

McLaren received a proper sendoff today as his funeral traversed the streets of London. On the side of his coffin atop a horse-drawn carriage was spray-painted the name of a shop he once ran – Too Fast To Live Too Young Too Die – while a green bus blasted out the Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy In The U.K.” The side of the bus featured one of his favorite slogans – “Cash From Chaos” – which could also be found on charity T-shirts sold by his son, Joe Corré, according to London’s Times newspaper.

Photo: AP Photo

McLaren’s coffin rides through London.

Mourners at the funeral included Bob Geldof and Adam Ant, whom McLaren once fired back in the day. However, Ant, whose real name is Stuart Leslie Goddard, didn’t hold any hard feelings against the deceased music legend.

“He was Danton and Robespierre and the French Revolution all rolled into one,” Ant told the Times. “He was the Terror. He was a f***ing grenade.”

Click here to read the full account in the Times.