The son of late Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and designer Vivienne Westwood has threatened to burn millions of dollars worth of punk memorabilia in protest of the state-backed “40th Anniversary of Punk” celebrations planned for later in the year in London.

In a statement, Joseph Corré said he plans to burn his entire punk collection, with an estimated worth £5 million, in Camden on the 26th November to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the release of the Sex Pistols’ debut single, Sex_Pistols_-_God_Save_the_Queen“Anarchy in the U.K.” He has invited others to bring their own punk memorabilia to destroy at the same time.

Joe Corré has been incensed by the corporate and state sponsorship of Punk.London, a year-long series of concerts, film screenings, talks and exhibits. Among its partners are the British Film Institute, the British Fashion Council, Live Nation, Universal Music, the Museum of London and the British Library. Punk.London has also received a £99,000 grant from the National Lottery and the support of the mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

In a statement, Joe Corré said: “The Queen giving 2016, the year of punk, her official blessing is the most frightening thing I’ve ever heard. 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.”

Sex Pistols singleThe irony doesn’t escape the Record Press author – after all the Sex Pistols infamously released their second single “God Save the Queen” in June 1977, to coincide with the Queen’s Royal Silver Jubilee celebrations. The track accused Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth of running “a fascist regime” and questioned her human credentials.

Corré continued in his statement: “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.”

In May through to September 2016, The British Library will be hosting Punk 1976-1978, an exhibition celebrating 40 years since the birth of Punk, in conjunction with Punk London, a city-wide celebration of the pioneering movement. Featuring a range of fanzines, flyers, artwork, clothing and recordings (including a bootleg copy of early Sex Pistols shows), the exhibition will realise all the mythology, creating the perfect physical expression of those two whirlwind years in British cultural history.

However punk was always about so much more than the music. Punk was a spirit, a life philosophy – the essence of which is summed up best in this top 5 best punk songs by the five leading proponents of punk –

 

Top 5 Best Punk Songs 1976-1978Buzzcocks_-_EverFallenInLove_-_SingleCover

1) Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen In Love? ( No12 1978 )

2) Sex Pistols – Pretty Vacant ( No6 1977 )

3) Jam – Down in the Tube Station ( No15 1978 )

4) Stranglers – No More Heroes ( No8 1977 )

5) Clash – White Riot ( No38 1977 )

 

What’s your favourite punk song & why? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

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