“For me Malc was always entertaining, and I hope you remember that. Above all else he was an entertainer and I will miss him, and so should you.” — John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten (through his publicist), pays homage to his discoverer Malcolm McLaren, who died today.

Most people will remember McLaren for the entertainers he promoted and tried to stage-manage with different degrees of success, but he was also a wannabe performer.

Which performer did he try to emulate? The answer might surprise you.

The performer Malcolm McLaren really wanted to be, was Serge Gainsbourg.

He even released a conceptual album about Paris, which was his lush tribute to Gainsbourg, his aura and his women years before Beck's Sea Change or the constant repackaging of Gainsbourg's catalogue.

Here's McLaren the performer getting his Serge on, big time:

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