Malcolm McLaren R.I.P

[Greg Wilson]

Not a Disco artist, but he highlighted a hidden aspect of Disco culture 12 months before Madonna introduced it to the mainstream:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVLFLLKIgzg

Love him or loathe him, there’s no denying that we’ve lost one of the mavericks of our times, and a true cultural catalyst.

I wrote my tribute to McLaren back in 2003. It's called ‘Never Mind The Bollocks Here’s The Bronx – On The Unlikely Origins Of The UK Hip Hop Movement:
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/ar...falo_gals.html

9 years earlier, I recounted the first time I played the ‘Buffalo Gals’ video in my sleevenotes for ‘Classic Electro Mastercuts’:

By 1983 the wonders of Hip Hop had reached national TV via Malcolm McLaren’s breathtaking Buffalo Gals video, and things would never be quite the same again. For here, before our very eyes, was scratch mixing, graffiti art, and the most amazing sight anyone could remember - a man spinning on his head! The age of the breakdancer had arrived. Etched on my memory is a night in Huddersfield when I first played the video, the audience was quite literally stunned and everyone sat down on the dancefloor to watch! I must have played it continually for over an hour. Seeing the dazed expressions on people’s faces, I realised the meaning of the term culture shock! McLaren, the clown prince of punk, had done it again, introducing us to the full phenomenon of Scratching, Breakdancing, Planet Rock, The Bronx.

I elaborated on this in 2006 at the Red Bull Music Academy in Melbourne – it’s about 57 minutes in:
http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/l...it_to_the_edit

As you can see / read ‘Buffalo Gals’ had a tremendous impact on me and many others, and Malcolm McLaren, by virtue of this, was an undoubted inspiration.

R.I.P and thanks for the trip.

[paul]

Sad news but that's how life is.
Anyway I must have played Buffallo Gals so many times back in the day it's probably unlistenable now. Although stuff like scratching had been around a few years before, that song introduced it to a larger audience.

[Davicillo]

Greg, I agree. I awalys play 'Double dutch' and people love it! Personally I like the 'Waltz Darling' album, especially the 12" version of 'Deep in vogue'. Another sad loss.

[the disco kid]

I'll remember him for many things, The Sex Pistols (manager), The double Paris LP, and one of my favorite songs "Somethings Jumpin' In My Shirt"... brilliant man...

[JussiK]

Malcom Mclaren & mademoiselle Catherine Deneuve in "Paris Paris", one of the most scintillating nu-disco tracks ever, and along with "la Vie En Rose", the definitive anthem to the gorgeous city:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuRe4...eature=related

[Cdnbob]

Sad to hear this. I always loved "Deep In Vogue".