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  • This Day in Rock History: February 26

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    In 1965, Feb. 26 was the day sales of 45 rpm singles outperformed sales of 78 rpm record version for the first time. The smaller 45s were introduced in 1949, and the interest continued to grow. Did the growing popularity of rock music have anything to do with this change in preference? We’d like to think so. Let’s discover more rock history trivia from Feb. 26 that has left its impact on the industry.

    Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

    Several rock bands had breakthrough hits and milestones on Feb. 26, and these are a couple you might find interesting:

    • 1983: Michael Jackson’s Thriller album made it to No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart, mainly due to the success of the “Billie Jean” single. It spawned seven singles in total and spent an astonishing 37 non-consecutive weeks at the top spot.
    • 1966: “These Boots Are Made for Walkin‘” by Nancy Sinatra climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Since its release, the song has been covered by several bands and featured in many movies.
    • 1977: From their fifth studio album, Hotel California, the Eagles hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with “New Kid in Town.” This was the band’s third No. 1 hit in the U.S.

    Cultural Milestones

    Over the years, these cultural milestones that happened on Feb. 26 have influenced rock music:

    • 1928: Rock and roll pioneer Fats Domino was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. His debut single, “The Fat Man,” is widely considered to be the first-ever rock and roll single to sell over a million copies.
    • 1932: Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas. He grew up listening to gospel music, and he started a stellar career in the mid-1950s, after serving in the Air Force for four years.
    • 1980: After watching U2 perform at Dublin’s National Boxing Stadium on Feb. 26, Rob Partridge and Bill Stewart from Island Records decided to offer the Irish rock band a contract. The group signed the contract within a month, released their first single by May, and debuted their first album in October.
    • 1987: For the first time, The Beatles released albums on CD. Four of their albums came out on Feb. 26 — Please Please Me, With The Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night, and Beatles for Sale — but the albums were only released in mono.

    Notable Recordings and Performances

    Your favorite music genre had these notable recordings and performances on Feb. 26:

    • 1965: Jimmy Page released his debut solo single, “She Just Satisfies” b/w “Keep Moving,” in the UK via Fontana Records. He sang on the track, played all instruments except drums, and was also its producer.
    • 1979: The Sex Pistols released their album The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle. It would later become the soundtrack to a movie of the same name about the band.
    • 1995: To promote their reunion album No Quarter, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin launched their world tour, playing the first show of the tour in Pensacola, Florida.

    Industry Changes and Challenges

    It took these rock industry changes and challenges occurring on Feb. 26 to get this popular genre to where it is today:

    • 1991: The nonfiction interview show Rockline premiered on MTV. The 30-minute show included interviews with a wide range of musicians and rock stars.
    • 1998: Just hours after Tommy Lee of Motley Crue was arrested on domestic abuse charges, his wife Pamela Anderson filed for divorce for the second time. She cited the reason for the divorce as having irreconcilable differences with Lee.

    As the rock music landscape continues to evolve, you can be sure that the past events of Feb. 26 played a part in shaping the genre’s future. Without the breakthrough hits, milestones, cultural changes, notable recordings, and challenges that occurred on this day in rock history, we wouldn’t know rock music as it is today.

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    Dan Teodorescu

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  • This Day in Rock History: January 31

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    From breakthrough hits, unbelievable milestones, and cultural changes to killer recordings and performances, this day in rock history has had its share of momentous happenings. Led Zeppelin would perform for the first time in North America, and Blondie topped the Billboard 100 singles chart for the third time. Check out these other cool facts about what happened on Jan. 31 in rock music history.

    Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

    Have you heard any of these breakthrough hits or rock music milestones that occurred on Jan. 31:

    • 1970: The Jackson 5’s debut single, “I Want You Back,” got to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This began a streak of four consecutive chart-toppers for the band.
    • 1976: After spending nine weeks at the No. 1 spot on the U.K. singles chart, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” was knocked back by ABBA’s “Mama Mia.” Interestingly, both songs use “Mama Mia” in the lyrics.
    • 1981: Making it to No.1 for the third time, Blondie topped the Billboard 100 singles chart with their song “The Tide is High.” The hit had a reggae style that blended sounds from horns and strings.
    • 1984: Queen’s iconic song “Radio Ga Ga” entered the UK charts at No. 4. Although the song reached No. 1 in 19 other countries, it only peaked at No. 2 in the UK singles charts.
    • 1987: Paul Simon’s Graceland album returned to No. 1 on the UK albums chart after initially reaching the top spot in late 1986. The album was a huge global success, eventually selling over 14 million copies worldwide.

    Cultural Milestones

    The culture of rock music was forever affected when these Jan. 31 events happened:

    • 1956: Sex Pistols’ frontman Johnny Rotten was born in Finsbury Park, London, England. He fronted the band since their inception in 1975 until 1978, and on various reunions since.
    • 1970: Blues pioneer Slim Harpo died at the age of only 45. Although he was never a full-time musician, he’s seen as one of the best swamp blues players ever and inspired many other artists, including the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, and Van Morrison.
    • 2001: During their farewell tour, founding member Peter Criss announced he would leave KISS. Eric Singer replaced him for the remaining tour dates.
    • 2010: Bruce Springsteen walked away from the GRAMMYs with the Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance award for his song “Working on a Dream.” Kings of Leon got a Grammy for Best Rock Song for their hit “Use Somebody.”

    Notable Recordings and Performances

    From its beginnings, rock music has seen many notable recordings and performances, and here are a few from Jan. 31 you may or may not remember:

    • 1969: Playing at the Fillmore East in New York City, Led Zeppelin performed their first show on their North American Tour. They put on a show so powerful that the headlining band, Iron Butterfly, refused to follow them.
    • 1969: While Led Zeppelin was rocking it in North America, the Beatles were performing at Apple Studios in London. They were filming the Let It Be documentary and needed to capture the songs “Two Of Us,” “Let It Be,” “The Long And Winding Road,” and “Step Inside Love.”

    Industry Changes and Challenges

    Rock music wouldn’t be what it is today without these industry changes and challenges of the past Jan. 31st:

    • 1979: Saxophone player for Blood Sweat & Tears, Greg Herbert, died of an accidental drug overdose. He was a mere 30 years old at the time.
    • 2007: The spirit of Jim Morrison came back to fight in the Global Cool campaign 35 years after he died. A previously unreleased poem that The Doors singer wrote and recorded, titled “Woman in the Window,” was put to music and used to raise awareness about the event.

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    Dan Teodorescu

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  • This Day in Rock History: December 25

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    Lots of things have happened in the rock world on Christmas Day throughout the years. It’s when Santa got Ringo Starr his first drum kit and Led Zeppelin first set foot in the U.S. but sadly also when the music world lost two titans. So, find a cozy place, grab a glass of eggnog, and keep reading to discover all the major events that happened on this day in rock history.

    Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

    Some of the biggest and most influential bands in history had milestone moments on Christmas Day. Some of them include:

    • 1966: The Beatles’ sixth studio album, Rubber Soul, reached the top of the U.K. album charts, where it spent nine consecutive weeks. The album holds a special place in the band’s history, as it marked a shift from their pop-oriented style to deeper and more experimental music and lyrics.
    • 1968: Led Zeppelin arrived in the U.S. for the first time to start their North American tour. The first stop was Denver, Colorado, where they were scheduled to perform on Dec. 26.
    • 1977: The Sex Pistols played their final shows in the U.K. The venue was Ivanhoe’s nightclub in Huddersfield, and they played two different sets: a matinee for children of firefighters who were on strike at the time and an evening show for their usual audience.

    Cultural Milestones

    Dec. 25 is also the anniversary of some important moments in rock history — though not all of them were fortunate. These are some of them:

    • 1957: Richard Starkey, later known as Ringo Starr, received his first real drum kit as a Christmas present from his stepfather. It was a used, worn-out, and mismatched kit, but it ignited his passion for drumming.
    • 2006: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and “Grandfather of Soul” James Brown passed away at age 73. He rose to fame in the mid-1950s and had a stellar career, influencing countless other musicians of different genres.
    • 2016: The music world lost another icon on Christmas Day when George Michael passed away from pneumonia-related complications at age 53. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.

    From a young teen in Liverpool getting his first drum set to music icons leaving us, Christmas Day has been a pretty busy time of year in rock. Make sure to come back tomorrow and discover what happened on that day in rock history.

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    Dan Teodorescu

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  • This Day in Rock History: November 26

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    Nov. 26 has been an eventful day in rock history, when legendary names such as The Beatles, Cream, and Led Zeppelin achieved major milestones. Keep reading to discover all the noteworthy rock music events that happened on this day.

    Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

    On Nov. 26, a new punk rock anthem was released, and heavy metal fully broke into the mainstream. These are the main milestones and breakthrough moments from this day:

    • 1976: The Sex Pistols dropped their debut single, “Anarchy in the U.K.,” through Electric and Musical Industries Records. This release was seen as a pivotal moment in punk rock history. The song was later included on the band’s sole album, Never Mind the B******s, Here’s the Sex Pistols.
    • 1983: Quiet Riot’s third studio album, Metal Health, climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and replaced The Police’s Synchronicity. This was the first-ever heavy metal album to top the charts, and it paved the way for many other metal acts.

    Cultural Milestones

    Two iconic figures in rock history share a birthday on Nov. 26:

    • 1939: Two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Tina Turner was born in Brownsville, Tennessee. She became famous in the 1960s as part of the duo Ike and Tina Turner and had a successful solo career that earned her 12 GRAMMY Awards and many other accolades.
    • 1945: British bass guitarist John McVie was born in Ealing, Middlesex, England. He began his music career as a member of John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers and then joined Fleetwood Mac in 1967.

    Notable Recordings and Performances

    Some memorable performances and recordings took place on Nov. 26, such as:

    • 1962: The Beatles recorded the songs “Please Please Me” and “Ask Me Why” at London’s EMI Recording Studios, now called Abbey Road Studios. The resulting single, with “Please Please Me” on the A-side and “Ask Me Why” on the B-side, reached No. 1 on the New Musical Express singles chart, giving the band a taste of chart-topping success.
    • 1968: Cream played their final concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It was the last show of their farewell tour, which included 22 stops across the U.S. and two final shows in London.
    • 1982: Led Zeppelin released their ninth and final studio album, Coda, which is also their first compilation album. It includes eight tracks from various recording sessions throughout the band’s 12-year history and was praised by critics and the general public. The album has been certified Platinum in the U.S.

    From the birth of punk rock to Led Zeppelin’s final release, these are the most important rock music events associated with Nov. 26. Visit this website tomorrow to find out what happened on that day in rock history.

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    Dan Teodorescu

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  • This Day in Rock History: October 28

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    Oct. 28 is a big day in rock history associated with many legendary album releases and performances from iconic names such as Queen, Elvis Presley, ZZ Top, and The Allman Brothers Band. Here’s a rundown of all the major events that happened on this day in rock history.

    Notable Recordings and Performances

    On Oct. 28, several iconic albums were released, and rock fans enjoyed unforgettable concerts:

    • 1956: Elvis Presley made his second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Presley was presented with a gold record for his single “Love Me Tender,” and he performed “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Love Me Tender,” “Love Me,” and “Hound Dog.”
    • 1977: Queen released their sixth studio album, News of the World, via EMI Records in the U.K. and Elektra Records in the U.S. It went 4x Platinum in the U.S., and it includes two of the most famous songs in music history, “We Are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You.”
    • 1977: The Sex Pistols released their first and only studio album, Never Mind the B******s, Here’s the Sex Pistols. It went Platinum in the U.K. and the U.S., and it’s widely considered one of the most influential albums in history.
    • 1977: Journey played their first show with lead vocalist Steve Perry. Although some band members were initially hesitant about Perry joining, this move led to the band’s most successful era.
    • 1985: ZZ Top released their ninth studio album, Afterburner, through Warner Bros. Records. Despite not reaching the heights of their previous release, Eliminator, the album was a commercial success and sold over 5 million copies in the U.S. alone.
    • 2014: The Allman Brothers Band played their final show at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. They released it as a live album 10 years later, under the name Final Concert 10-28-14.

    Industry Changes and Challenges

    Some changes and challenges in the music industry occurred on Oct. 28, including:

    • 1953: Songwriter and producer Desmond Child was born in Gainesville, Florida. Some of the singers and bands he’s written songs or produced albums for include Kiss, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Alice Cooper, Meat Loaf, and Dream Theater.
    • 2022: Rock pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis died aged 87 at his home in Nesbit, Mississippi. He started his professional career in 1952 and was one of the first-ever rock stars in the 1950s. Lewis released hits such as “Great Balls of Fire,” “Breathless,” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.”

    These are the notable events that took place on Oct. 28 over the years. Come back tomorrow to explore the most important moments from that day in rock history.

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    Dan Teodorescu

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  • Music Is A Turn On Like Sex And Marijuana

    Music Is A Turn On Like Sex And Marijuana

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    An anthem of youth and counterculture has been sex, drug and rock and roll.  Since the 60s it has been been part of concerts, colleges, and early post school life.  Deadheads, Blockheads and the Sex Pistols all rode the wave.  Now science agrees music is a turn on like sex and marijuana.

    Now,  landmark research from McGill University in Montreal demonstrates the opioid system in human brains is directly involved in musical enjoyment.

    “This is the first demonstration that the brain’s own opioids are directly involved in musical pleasure,” says cognitive psychologist Daniel Levitin, senior author of the paper.

    RELATED: 4 DJs Share Their Favorite Cannabis Strains

    While previous work by Levitin’s lab and others had used neuroimaging to map areas of the brain which are active during moments of musical pleasure, scientists were able only to infer the involvement of the opioid system.

    “The findings, themselves, were what we hypothesized,” Levitin said. “But the anecdotes — the impressions our participants shared with us after the experiment — were fascinating. One said: ‘I know this is my favorite song but it doesn’t feel like it usually does.’ Another: ‘It sounds pretty, but it’s not doing anything for me.’ ”

    Photo by Eric Nopanen via Unsplash

    Although the neural underpinnings of music cognition have been widely studied in the last 15 years, the study found relatively little is known about the neurochemical processes underlying musical pleasure. Preliminary studies have shown both performing and listening to music modulate levels of serotonin, epinepherine, dopamine, oxytocin, and prolactin. Music can reliably induce feelings of pleasure, and indeed, people consistently rank music as among the top ten things in their lives bring pleasure, above money, food and art. 

    RELATED: Most Marijuana Users Smoke To Unwind While Listening To Rock Music

    Aside from the strong findings, the study also suggests musical therapy may be much more effective than previously known. And musical therapy is not a “new-wave” form of treatment for improving mental health. It is one of many types of therapy.

    According to the American Music Therapy Association:

    “The idea of music as a healing influence which could affect health and behavior is as least as old as the writings of Aristotle and Plato. The 20th century discipline began after World War I and World War II when community musicians of all types, both amateur and professional, went to Veterans hospitals around the country to play for the thousands of veterans suffering both physical and emotional trauma from the wars.

    marijuana in music
    Photo by Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash

    “The patients’ notable physical and emotional responses to music led the doctors and nurses to request the hiring of musicians by the hospitals. It was soon evident that the hospital musicians needed some prior training before entering the facility and so the demand grew for a college curriculum. The first music therapy degree program in the world, founded at Michigan State University in 1944, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1994. The American Music Therapy Association was founded in 1998 as a union of the National Association for Music Therapy and the American Association for Music therapy.”

    RELATED: The Day Bob Dylan Turned The Beatles On To Weed

    The McGill University study proved to be “the most involved, difficult and Sisyphean task our lab has undertaken in 20 years of research,” according to Levitin. “Anytime you give prescription drugs to college students who don’t need them for health reasons, you have to be very careful to ensure against any possible ill effects.”

    Music’s universality and its ability to deeply affect emotions suggest an evolutionary origin, and these recent findings “add to the growing body of evidence for the evolutionary biological substrates of music,” the researchers write.

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    Amy Hansen

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  • Handicapping the odds of seven beloved bands reuniting for one last rodeo – National | Globalnews.ca

    Handicapping the odds of seven beloved bands reuniting for one last rodeo – National | Globalnews.ca

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    Before the internet, a band could break up, its members retire, and still be a profitable venture.

    The Beastie Boys, for example, sold so many records that they could count on albums like Licensed to Ill and Ill Communication to each sell a million or two copies a year. The Doors’ catalogue went gold again and again. Same with Led Zeppelin and scores of other heritage acts. All the members had to do was cash fat the royalty cheques that showed up in the mailbox like clockwork. It was like having an annuity or an RRSP that paid handsomely and reliably.

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    Those days are gone. Physical sales are a tiny fraction of what they used to be and that lovely mailbox money has dried up. Meanwhile, streaming doesn’t pay like physical sales. If you’re an artist of a certain vintage, what do you do?

    Two options: (1) Sell your catalogue to a company like Hipgnosis Song Fund, Primary Wave, or the dozens of other entities buying up the publishing rights of successful composers. And (2), get the band back together, go on tour, and top up the retirement fund for everyone involved.

    There’s a lot of money to be made in taking nostalgia on the road. Anytime Bruce Springsteen regroups with the E Street Band, that’s good for another couple hundred million. Even though only 60 per cent of the classic lineup is participating, Guns N’ Roses continue to rake in cash that started with the Not in This Lifetime tour in 2016. By the time the current global road trip ends later this year, the band will have raked in a gross somewhere around US$1 billion since that reunion. And The Rolling Stones have grossed over US$1.2 billion this century alone. Even the death of founding member Charlie Watts hasn’t slowed them down.

    Amphitheatres and arenas need to be filled. Boomers and Zoomers have shown that they’re prepared to part with their money to relive their youth. Younger people consumed with FOMO want to see these great acts before too many of them die off. Promoters are willing to offer heritage bands sweet guarantees if they will get back together.

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    These groups are on so many wish lists. What are the chances of them putting aside any past differences or reservations for one more go-round?

    1. Oasis

    Oasis broke up and reconciled half a dozen times between 1994 and 2009 before Noel Gallagher walked out for good just before the band went onstage for the Rock En Seine festival in Paris on Aug. 28, 2009. The last straw came when Liam threw a plum at his brother backstage (he missed). Since that splat, Liam and Noel have been chirping at each other, much to the chagrin of their mother, Peggy, who really wants her boys to make up while she’s still alive.

    Every six months or so, stories surface — usually from a less-than-reputable U.K. tabloid — about a possible reunion. We’re in the midst of such a silly season right now. But to some, this round of rumours feels different. Peggy Gallagher is getting old. Noel continues to see plenty of songwriting royalties but his marriage to Sara MacDonald has ended after 22 years. That’s going to cost him. Liam doesn’t see much in the way of royalties from Oasis (at least compared to Noel) and while his current solo career pays fine, it’s not Oasis money.

    While Liam has been periodically up for a reunion, Noel has remained against it. Then again, in 2021, he publicly stated that he’d reform the band for £100 million. Then again, he dropped that price last week to £8 million “delivered in an Adidas bag.” And lately, I get the feeling that he might be leaning towards … something. These latest rounds of rumours say that dates are already being organized for four nights at Knebworth in June 2025 (yes, two years from now). There are also rumours about a hometown gig being planned for Etihad Stadium in Manchester. So is this for real?

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    Odds of a reunion: 25-75 at best. I’ll believe it when I see both brother step onstage and start playing.

    2. The Sex Pistols

    Back in 1995, they did it for the money with the aptly-named Filthy Lucre Tour, reconciling (barely) for the first time since January 1978. Since then, Johnny Lydon has maintained a great distance from Steve Jones, Paul Cook, and Glen Matlock, occasionally battling them in court over one thing or another.

    Then again, Johnny says he’s now “seriously in a state of financial ruin.” Touring has been tough for him because he was a constant caregiver to his wife Nora who suffered from dementia. But now that she’s gone — she died on April 6 — maybe Johnny will want to leave the house. Then again, Nora was the heiress to a German publishing fortune, so…

    Odds: 10 per cent at best. The animosity runs pretty deep.

    3. The Jam

    The Jam was one of the most successful English singles bands of the 1980s and singlehandedly made being a Mod a thing again. But in 1982, Paul Weller bailed and has since worked mostly as a solo artist. Meanwhile, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler have stuck together, performing Jam songs but remained estranged from Weller, apparently not even speaking for 20 years. There was a thaw between 2006 and 2009 which resulted in Foxton appearing with Weller on his albums and even onstage at least once.

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    Odds: Zero. If it hasn’t happened by now, it’s not going to happen.

    4. Talking Heads

    Talking Heads never really formally broke up. They just kind of faded away after their 1988 album, Naked. There was no announcement, no farewell. David Byrne went off on a world music jag before getting into stage productions and writing books. Chris Franz and Tina Weymouth had the Tom Tom Club and their producing gigs. Jerry Harrison has been busy producing records for other people.

    Few bands achieved such artistic quirkiness. Would they be interested in revisiting that? I don’t get the sense that Byrne does. Franz suffered a heart attack in 2020 and now has three stents. Then both he and Tina were in a bad car crash with a drunk driver in 2022. Harrison is happy with his wife in Mill Valley, Calif.

    Odds: Zero. There was a buzz about something in the spring of 2016, but nothing came of it. As much fun as a Talking Heads reunion would be, it all hinges on Byrne. He’s never been a guy who looks back.

    5. R.E.M.

    Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, and Peter Buck kept the lights on after original drummer Bill Berry retired in 1997 to become a hay farmer outside of Athens, Ga. But in 2011, they realized that it was time to hang things up. Stipe got deeper into photography and activism. Both Mills and Buck continue making music on their own with friends. Berry continues to farm but in 2022 dug out his drums to play in a band called The Bad Ends.

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    I’m not sure how well R.E.M.’s back catalogue is doing in terms of generating income. Where, for example, are all the big expansive box sets like we’ve seen from some of their contemporaries? A reunion tour is probably their best route to topping up the bank accounts.

    Odds: Close to zero. I quote Michael Stipe: “We decided when we split up that that would just be really tacky and probably money-grabbing, which might be the impetus for a lot of bands to get back together.”

    6. The White Stripes

    Jack White’s solo career is doing well. Money keeps rolling in from the use of Seven Nation Army all over the world. And as an entrepreneur, he’s also just fine. Meg White, however, was always a shy and very reluctant rock star. Nothing much has been heard from her since the band’s breakup in 2011.

    Odds: Zero. In fact, less than zero. Jack is fine (“Absolutely no chance,” he told The NME in 2012) and Meg is the introvert’s introvert. As far as anyone knows, the two haven’t been in regular contact for years. And despite serious attempts to track her down for an interview, she’s refused all requests with Elle magazine being recently disappointed.

    7. The Smiths

    The band’s famous Morrissey-Marr nexus fractured spectacularly in the fall of 1987. Since then, many, many efforts have been made to put the pieces of the Smiths together again, including a rumoured offer US$75 million to play Coachella. No one took that bait.

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    Odds: So much less than zero that you’d have a better chance of calculating the square root of -2. Given Morrissey’s mercurial disagreeableness, who would underwrite such a thing?

    —

    Alan Cross is a broadcaster with Q107 and 102.1 the Edge and a commentator for Global News.

    Subscribe to Alan’s Ongoing History of New Music Podcast now on Apple Podcast or Google Play

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    Alan Cross

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  • Vivienne Westwood, U.K.’s rebel fashion designer, dead at 81 – National | Globalnews.ca

    Vivienne Westwood, U.K.’s rebel fashion designer, dead at 81 – National | Globalnews.ca

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    As the person who dressed the Sex Pistols, Vivienne Westwood, who died on Thursday at the age of 81, was synonymous with 1970s punk rock, a rebelliousness that remained the hallmark of an unapologetically political designer who became one of British fashion’s biggest names.

    “Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London. The world needs people like Vivienne to make a change for the better,” her fashion house said on Twitter.

    Climate change, pollution, and her support for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange were all fodder for protest T-shirts or banners carried by her models on the runway.

    Read more:

    Vivienne Westwood returns with dose of politics at London fashion show

    She dressed up as then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher for a magazine cover in 1989 and drove a white tank near the country home of a later British leader, David Cameron, to protest against fracking.

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    The rebel was inducted into Britain’s establishment in 1992 by Queen Elizabeth who awarded her the Order of the British Empire medal. But, ever keen to shock, Westwood turned up at Buckingham Palace without underwear – a fact she proved to photographers by a revealing twirl of her skirt.

    “The only reason I am in fashion is to destroy the word ‘conformity’,” Westwood said in her 2014 biography. “Nothing is interesting to me unless it’s got that element.”

    Instantly recognizable with her orange or white hair, Westwood first made a name for herself in punk fashion in 1970s London, dressing the punk rock band that defined the genre.

    Together with the Sex Pistols’ manager, Malcolm McLaren, she defied the hippie trends of the time to sell rock’n’roll-inspired clothing.

    They moved on to torn outfits adorned with chains as well as latex and fetish pieces that they sold at their shop in London’s King’s Road variously called “Let It Rock,” “Sex” and “Seditionaries,” among other names.


    Click to play video: 'Vivienne Westwood’s son Joe Corre burns over $8 million worth of punk memorabilia'


    Vivienne Westwood’s son Joe Corre burns over $8 million worth of punk memorabilia


    They used prints of swastikas, naked breasts and, perhaps most well-known, an image of the queen with a safety pin through her lips. Favourite items included sleeveless black T-shirts, studded, with zips, safety pins or bleached chicken bones.

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    “There was no punk before me and Malcolm,” Westwood said in the biography. “And the other thing you should know about punk too: it was a total blast.”

    “BUY LESS”

    Born Vivienne Isabel Swire on April 8, 1941, in the English Midlands town of Glossop, Westwood grew up at a time of rationing during and after World War Two.

    A recycling mentality pervaded her work, and she repeatedly told fashionistas to “choose well” and “buy less.” From the late 1960s, she lived in a small flat in south London for some 30 years and cycled to work.

    When she was a teenager, her parents, a greengrocer and a cotton weaver, moved the family to north London where she studied jewelry-making and silversmithing before re-training as a teacher.

    While she taught at a primary school, she met her first husband, Derek Westwood, marrying him in a homemade dress. Their son Ben was born in 1963, and the couple divorced in 1966.

    Now a single mother, Westwood was selling jewelry on London’s Portobello Road when she met art student McLaren who would go on to be her partner romantically and professionally. They had a son, Joe Corre, co-founder of lingerie brand Agent Provocateur.

    After the Sex Pistols split, the two held their first catwalk show in 1981, presenting a “new romantic” look of African-style patterns, buccaneer trousers and sashes.

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    Read more:

    Lady Gaga, Vivienne Westwood top theatrical day at London Fashion Week

    Westwood, by then in her forties, began to slowly forge her own path in fashion, eventually separating from McLaren in the early 1980s.

    Often looking to history, her influential designs have included corsets, Harris Tweed suits and taffeta ballgowns.

    Her 1985 “Mini-Crini” line introduced her short puffed skirt and a more fitted silhouette. Her sky-high platform shoes garnered worldwide attention in 1993 when model Naomi Campbell stumbled on the catwalk in a pair.

    “My clothes have a story. They have an identity. They have character and a purpose,” Westwood said.

    “That’s why they become classics. Because they keep on telling a story. They are still telling it.”

    The Westwood brand flourished in the 1990s, with fashionistas flocking to her runway shows in Paris, and stores opening around the world selling her lines, accessories and perfumes.

    She met her second husband, Andreas Kronthaler, teaching fashion in Vienna. They married in 1993 and he later became her creative partner.

    Westwood used her public profile to champion issues including nuclear disarmament and to protest against anti-terrorism laws and government spending policies that hit the poor. She held a large “climate revolution” banner at the 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony in London, and frequently turned her models into catwalk eco-warriors.

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    “I’ve always had a political agenda,” Westwood told L’Officiel fashion magazine in 2018.

    “I’ve used fashion to challenge the status quo.”

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