- Title: Punk collection worth millions burns on River Thames
- Date: 26th November 2016
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (NOVEMBER 26, 2016) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** RIVER THAMES BOAT ON RIVER THAMES WHERE JOE CORRE, SON OF FASHION DESIGNER VIVIENNE WESTWOOD AND SEX PISTOLS MANAGER MALCOLM MCLAREN IS STAGING THE BURNING OF PUNK MEMORABILIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOE CORRE, SAYING (OFF CAMERA OVER PICTURES OF BOAT / FIRE AND CLIMATE CHANGE WORLD MAP): "Welcome to the final act in the establishment celebration of Punk.London. Forty years of Anarchy in the UK. Forty years of asset-stripping and sell off." (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOE CORRE, SAYING: "Welcome to the great punk rock swindle." BOAT ON THAMES (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOE CORRE, SAYING: "Punk was never meant to be nostalgic. And you can't learn how to be one at a Museum of London workshop. Punk has become another marketing tool to sell you something you don't need. The illusion of an alternative voice. Conformity in another uniform." CORRE SETTING FIRE TO PILE OF SEX PISTOLS MEMORABILIA VARIOUS OF MEMORABILIA BURNING FIREWORKS EXPLODING OVER EFFIGIES AS THEY ARE SET ALIGHT VARIOUS OF EFFIGIES BURNING PEOPLE WATCHING EFFIGIES BURNING CLOSE OF BURNING BURNING EFFIGIES ON BOAT VIVIENNE WESTWOOD ADDRESSING CROWD FROM TOP OF A DOUBLE DECKER BUS (SOUNDBITE) (English) VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, SAYING: "One million anti-people control seven billion. Do you know who that one million are? It's the banks, the conglomerate corporations and the politicians who serve them." WESTWOOD SPEAKING FROM TOP OF BUS (SOUNDBITE) (English) VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, SAYING: "Can you imagine, when half the country is on green energy the rotten financial system which is administered by our government would not be able to do what it does anymore, it would be completely undermined, it couldn't function." CROWD AROUND BUS (SOUNDBITE) (English) VIVIENNE WESTWOOD (PART OUT OF VISION - OVER PICTURES OF A FIRE ENGINE DRIVING BY) SAYING: "I never knew what to say before. Ever since punk. We never had a strategy then, that's why we never got anywhere. This is so ridiculously easy. Let's all have a laugh and stay alive. Bye." VARIOUS OF FIRE CREWS CORRE SURROUNDED BY CROWD BY BUS (SOUNDBITE) (English) JO CORRE, SAYING: "If they don't start moving in the way that they need to move that's agreed on by the international scientific community, if they don't start doing it then we've got to get them out. And we've got to get people in who are going to start doing it because they're not representing your kids, they are not representing your future. And punk rock is a side show it is not going to help." CORRE SURROUNDED BY MEDIA VARIOUS FIRE BOAT WITH HOSE PUTTING OUT FIRE ON BOAT
- Embargoed: 11th December 2016 19:19
- Keywords: crowd punk memorabilia burn vivienne westwood boat fire sex pistols effigies
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Music
- Reuters ID: LVA0015A2ZYOP
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: FILE FOOTAGE OF PUNK / WESTWOOD / MCLAREN CAN BE FOUND IN EDIT 4007-BRITAIN-MUSIC/PUNK FROM NOV 24
The son of Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and designer Vivienne Westwood set fire to millions of pounds worth of punk memorabilia on Saturday (November 24), as a protest against the musical scene's appropriation by the mainstream.
Joe Corre set alight Sex Pistols memorabilia, clothing and other ephemera on a boat on the Thames on the 40th anniversary of the release of the band's debut single "Anarchy in the UK".
Britain has organized a series of events to mark 40 years of punk under the banner "Punk.London" - an official celebration that has angered many veterans of the anti-establishment musical and cultural explosion.
"Punk was never meant to be nostalgic. And you can't learn how to be one at a Museum of London workshop, Corre said through a loud speaker on the boat as media and onlookers watched from the Embankment.
"Punk has become another marketing tool to sell you something you don't need. The illusion of an alternative voice. Conformity in another uniform," he said before setting light to the memorabilia, which is valued between five and ten million pounds ($6.24 million-$12.5 million), according to the co-founder of lingerie brand Agent Provocateur
Corre dressed effigies of leading British politicians with Sex Pistols clothing, including Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten's trousers and items designed by his mother.
One by one, he set fire to the likes of former prime ministers Tony Blair and David Cameron, current prime minister Theresa May and foreign secretary Boris Johnson as fireworks exploded from the effigies.
The stunt was perhaps in a nod to the Sex Pistols' infamous 1977 Thames boat concert to coincide with the Queen's Silver Jubilee. McLaren and others were arrested but there was no trouble on Saturday.
After the burning, which quickly saw several fire engines arrive and fire boats douse the scene with water, Westwood, Britain's grand dame of fashion who played an integral part of the 1970s punk scene, addressed the crowd from the top of a double decker bus.
Her message was for the world to fight back against the corporate and political elite.
"One million anti-people control seven billion. Do you know who that one million are? It's the banks, the conglomerate corporations and the politicians who serve them," she said as she encouraged people to channel their anger by switching to green energy to combat climate change.
"Can you imagine, when half the country is on green energy the rotten financial system which is administered by our government would not be able to do what it does anymore, it would be completely undermined, it couldn't function," she said.
"I never knew what to say before. Ever since punk. We never had a strategy then, that's why we never got anywhere. This is so ridiculously easy. Let's all have a laugh and stay alive. Bye," she said to cheers from the crowd gathered below.
Corre's entire punk collection, which he began burning a few days ago and will continue to destroy over the coming weeks includes rare Pistols recordings.
It's sparked anger by some die-hard fans and criticism from many, including Sex Pistols lead singer, the former Johnny Rotten now known as John Lydon, who told the British media Corre should sell the memorabilia and donate the funds to charity.
Corre said earlier this week that he would keep a few items of sentimental value, including clothing he helped his mother sew as a boy. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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