Former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren may have been exposed to deadly asbestos-related cancer while smashing up his shop, the Independent on Sunday reported.
It’s believed the punk rock guru came into contact with the dangerous material as he deliberately vandalized his London-based fashion store, Sex, in the 1970s, to make it look more cutting edge.
McLaren, aged 64, died in Switzerland on Thursday from the rare cancer mesothelioma after being diagnosed last year.
His partner Young Kim, 38, revealed: “When Malcolm created Sex he broke open the ceiling to make it look like a bomb had hit it.
“I always suspected that shop because it was the only place Malcolm ever really spent any serious length of time in, and there was a lot of construction and changing things.
“It was board asbestos and it was in the early seventies so there was a lot of it left, and I don’t think anyone really did anything about it.”
The punk impresario’s body is expected to be returned to England this week before being buried at Highgate cemetery in north London.