I always referred to him as Talcy Malcy – it was what the music press used to call him, in a sort of love/hate way. There was a kind of unwilling affection there.
I was absolutely stunned to hear of Malcolm’s death the other night – I’m still feeling pretty shocked about it. It seems strangely bizarre that such a total icon for a generation – a true iconoclast in this country, one of the very few who can claim to be so – can actually die.
Malcolm always lived life as a larger-than-life character. I tended to dislike the man, but I find myself really quite upset that he’s gone. It’s only now struck home to me what a vital part of my life he was, how much he shaped my political beliefs and value system, how much of the punk attitude and view of life was shaped by him. Without him, the Sex Pistols would not have existed, and it’s very doubtful that Punk would have been the cultural tsunami it was.
Life in Britain has never quite been the same again since the Sex Pistols blasted their way into public consciousness, hurling abuse at the monarchy and the System – at a time when when to say a word against the queen was to invite a beating. Genuinely. It’s hard to believe now, but to be an individual and stand up for what you believed in was a brave thing to do back then.
The ideals of Punk shaped a generation, certainly the best minds of that generation. It gave this country a kick in the pants into the modern world. A kick that now desperately needs repeating by some young snotbags, bu that’s another story…
One of the true makers of the modern world has passed on. Not a very nice man certainly, perhaps even a bastard, as some have suggested. But he was undoutedly a great man, one of those who have a massive effect on the world. A mover and a shaker, a radical and an eccentric, a visionary and a catalyst – but above all, an iconoclast.
I say RIP in respect, although I guess resting in peace is not Malcolm’s style, and suspect he is already kicking against the traces, wherever it is he has ended up! 
The world is poorer without him
RIP Malcolm