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Reuters, Business Insider

Why the Son of a Punk Rock Pioneer Plans to Burn His $7 Million Collection of Punk Memorabilia

Mar 17, 2016  •  Post A Comment

The son of one of the chief architects of the punk rock revolution of the 1970s says he will burn his collection of punk memorabilia, as a planned celebration of punk appears to have at least one major detractor.

Reuters reports that Joe Corre, the son of former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and punk designer Vivienne Westwood, is protesting an event that was supposed to be a tribute to punk rock. He reportedly intends to burn a punk collection valued at $7 million in defiance of “Punk London,” an event celebrating punk throughout the city.

Punk London coincides with the declaration by various British institutions that 2016 is the Year of Punk, a declaration that has reportedly been sanctioned by the Queen of England — decades after the Sex Pistols targeted the British monarch in their punk anthem “God Save the Queen.”

Business Insider quotes Corre saying: “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 f—ing museum piece or a tribute act.”

Reuters notes: “The Sex Pistols formed in 1975 and sparked controversies galore, with their appearances often resulting in chaos. The BBC refused to air the 1977 song ‘God Save the Queen,’ released during Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee.”

Corre says he will burn his punk collection on Nov. 26, the 40th anniversary of the release of the Sex Pistols’ first single, “Anarchy in the U.K.”

God Save the Queen

2 Comments

  1. Burning a $7M “memorabilia” collection – now that’s Punk!

  2. Why don’t I take that nasty bit of crud off your hands, I’ll burn it for you..yea,yea, that’s the ticket, I’ll burn it for you! Trust me, I know fires, I’ll have the biggest best fire you’ve ever seen, with the best firefighters in the Country standing by!

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