Punk rocker Malcolm McLaren passes away at 64

London (ANI): Malcolm McLaren, the icon who boasted that he invented punk rock, died yesterday in Switzerland after a long battle with cancer. The manager of the Sex Pistols, McLaren unleashed the band on the world. Pistols frontman John Lydon, dubbed Johnny Rotten, said: "For me Malc was always entertaining, and I hope you remember that. Above all else he was an entertainer. I'll miss him and so should you."

After his death, McLaren's agent Les Molloy said pals and family were "in shock", reports The Sun. He added: "It's a sad day. He'd been suffering cancer for some time, but recently had been full of health, which then rapidly deteriorated. We are expecting his body to be brought back to London and buried in Highgate Cemetery."

McLaren's partner Young Kim, 38, confirmed he had died of the rare cancer mesothelioma. She said: "He changed the world and is a lasting influence." Kim was at the punk mastermind's bedside as he died, along with Agent Provocateur co-founder Joseph Corre, his son with fashion guru Vivienne Westwood.

Vivienne, 69, said: "When we were young and I fell in love with Malcolm, I thought he was beautiful - and I still do. I thought he is a very charismatic, special and talented person. The thought of him dead is very sad. We hadn't been in touch for a long time." Joseph, 42, called his father "a real beacon of a man for people to look up to".