Duran Duran would have never existed.
Before Malcolm being a musician in England meant you had to read music, and clock up years of dues and motorway miles, hours of practice and play interminable solos wherever possible.
Malcolm's attitude changed everything. Without him, no punk rock revolution, no 'Anarchy in The UK', no 'Never Mind The Bollocks..' No Sex Pistols, no Clash.. No Duran Duran.
Punk was just the beginning for Malcolm. His exposure to the beginnings of hip-hop in New York in 1981 caused him to produce his solo masterpiece 'Duck Rock', the single from which, 'Buffalo Gals' introduced the rest of the world to 'All this scratchin' is making me itch..' and graffiti art.
Malcolm and Vivienne Westwood created, time and again, the most successful marriages of music and fashion ever.. Bow Wow Wow's pirate style, Sex, Seditionaries.. for his contribution to fashion alone he shall be remembered as the greatest rock stylist of the twentieth century. An extraordinarily complex character with intense passion and curiosity, just check out the playlist on the jukebox of 'Sex':
That will give you an idea of where Malcolm's head was at in 1975.. or this:
To see how ahead of his time Malcolm was in 1982 check this out:
...ahead of Paul Simon by a few years..
He was a true artist, and a continual restless source of inspiration. There will never be anyone quite like him again.
John Taylor, April 8, 2010
