Joe Corre will burn his collection of punk memorabilia worth $7 million as a protest
March 17, 2016
What is happening with music industry? More precisely, what is happening with punk music? This is the question Sex Pistols’ manager’s son, Joe Corre, is trying to draw public attention to by planning a bizarre act: Corre said he is going to burn his collection of punk memorabilia worth $7.2 million in total, as a sign of protest to what punk has become.
Corre is the son of Malcolm McLaren, Sex Pistols’ late manager, and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. The punk devotee claims he intends to burn “vast amounts” of clothing from the punk times as a protest against the celebration of 40 years of punk planned by the British Library and British Film Institute. Corre explained in a press release: “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.”
The burning act is expected to take place in London on November 26, the 40th anniversary of the Sex Pistols’ first single, ‘Anarchy in the UK,’ informs Pitchfork. “People are feeling numb. And with numbness comes complacency,” Corre told Crack magazine. “The most dangerous thing is that they have stopped fighting for what they believe in… We need to explode all the s— once more.”
Media opinions on Corre’s statements are quite polarized: while some see the act as the self-expression of a real punk soul, with its philosophy of rejection and going against the stream, others think it is just meaningless burning of precious punk memorabilia and is nothing but a publicity trick, as Corre is the co-founder of the lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur.
What is your opinion on Corre’s planned protest? Do you agree punk music is indeed “being appropriated by the mainstream”? Share your thoughts in the comments, and join Alterock Facebook and Twitter to stay tuned for rock and metal news.
