Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood’s Son Joe Corré to Burn $7 Million of Punk Memorabilia

Photo by Brian Cooke / Getty Images

Joe Corré, founder of British lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur and the son of punk icons Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, has announced plans to burn his £5 million (approx. $7 millon) collection of punk memorabilia, as Crack points out. He’s also asking other dissatisfied punk fans to join him in burning their own punk stuff. The ceremonial burning will take place  in London’s Camden district on November 26, which will mark the 40th anniversary of the Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy in the U.K.” (McLaren managed the Sex Pistols, and is widely credited with organizing them into existence.)

Corré is particularly unhappy with Punk London, a series of events celebrating the 40th anniversary of punk that will be staged in London this year. It’s sponsored by British institutions such as the BFI, the British Library, and the Museum of London. “The Queen giving 2016, the Year of Punk, her official blessing is the most frightening thing I’ve ever heard,” he said in a press release. “Talk about alternative and punk culture being appropriated by the mainstream. Rather than a movement for change, punk has become like a fucking museum piece or a tribute act.”

He added, “A general malaise has now set in amongst the British public. People are feeling numb. And with numbness comes complacency. People don’t feel they have a voice anymore. The most dangerous thing is that they have stopped fighting for what they believe in. They have given up the chase. We need to explode all the shit once more.”

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