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The son of former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren is making headlines for the same kind of outrageous acts his father did.
According to The Guardian, last Saturday aboard a ship near Albert Bridge in West London, Joe Corré burned purportedly $7 million worth of punk-rock memorabilia. Items included rare Sex Pistols recordings, a Sid Vicious doll and clothing once belonging to Johnny Rotten and Corré’s mother, legendary punk fashion designer Vivian Westwood.
Corré undertook the stunt as a protest against the commercialization of punk, specifically Punk London, an official series of events celebrating the movement's 40th anniversary.
In a statement, Corré called the idea of the Queen of England giving punk her official blessing "the most frightening thing I've ever heard." He added, "Talk about alternative and punk culture being appropriated by the mainstream. Rather than a movement for change, punk has become like a f****** museum piece or a tribute act."
Corré has been criticized for burning the memorabilia rather than selling it and donating the money to charity. But he tells The Guardian, "We have charities where people are earning £250,000 a year to sit on the board, these things are becoming corporations in their own right."
Westwood also was on hand Saturday, reading a statement in support of her son. As for his father, who died in April 2010, Corré thinks he would have appreciated the attempt to comment about the co-opting of punk, adding, "Whether or not he would have agreed with burning all the stuff -- and I think he probably would have done -- I think he’d think it was kind of hilarious."
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