Malcolm McLaren

The Sex Pistols sued McLaren following their separation over unpaid royalties and disputed management practices. Sources report approximately £880,000 held in Glitterbest accounts and an out-of-court settlement in 1986, with a sum approaching £1 million returned to the band.

State of the evidence

Settlement

Attribution

Accused

The album 'Duck Rock' was praised for bringing hip-hop and South African sounds to a wider audience, but criticised for using Black music and performances without adequate credit. Puleng's publishers brought legal proceedings that were settled out of court; the credits remained unchanged.

State of the evidence

Settlement

Attribution

Directly implicated

McLaren, Bow Wow Wow's manager, devised a cover inspired by 'Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe', featuring 14-year-old singer Annabella Lwin nude. According to the photographer, Lwin only discovered the concept at the photoshoot. Her mother reported the matter to police, leading to a Scotland Yard investigation into the exploitation of a minor.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Person targeted by the proceedings

Scotland Yard

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

At the end of their 1978 American tour, the Sex Pistols broke up amid internal conflicts. McLaren publicly framed the break-up as another artistic provocation and subsequently turned his version of events into 'The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle', while Lydon and others denounced manipulation and exploitation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Following the scandalous television interview in December 1976, the Sex Pistols faced cancellations and the termination of their contract with EMI. McLaren openly embraced a stance of social rebellion and deliberately exploited negative publicity, making provocation central to the band's management.

State of the evidence

Reported by the press

McLaren devised the Sex Pistols' boat concert during the Queen's Silver Jubilee. On arrival, police boarded the boat and McLaren was arrested alongside several members of the entourage following a particularly tense confrontation.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Together with Vivienne Westwood, McLaren transformed their King's Road boutique into 'SEX', a centre for bondage clothing and explicitly provocative imagery. Contemporary press reports noted masks and clothing featuring deliberately shocking references, central to the emergence of punk aesthetics.

State of the evidence

Reported by the press

Attribution

Directly implicated