“We have been going to be The Fabulous Stains for actual.” How a cult film that includes Diane Lane, Ray Winstone, and individuals of The Intercourse Pistols and The Conflict impressed a brand new era of ladies to play punk rock

“It was once a actually excellent enjoy – and rather excellent cash, too.”

Talking to The Face mag in February 1981, The Conflict’s bassist Paul Simenon had simplest excellent issues to mention about his enjoy appearing in All Washed Up, the movie that he and previous Intercourse Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Prepare dinner had just lately completed filming in Vancouver. In a somewhat unimaginative piece of casting, the 3 musicians were employed to play an English punk band, The Looters, fronted by way of Ray Winstone (‘Billy’), and it gave the impression that a great time were had by way of all all the way through filming.

“It was once actually humorous,” Simenon instructed The Face. “Me ‘n’ Steve ‘n’ Paul have been staying in the similar resort in Vancouver – they made it in Canada as a result of it is inexpensive than doing it in Hollywood – as the remainder of the folk operating at the movie. We have been meant to pay for our stay out of our charges, however as an alternative we charged the whole thing we ever had there to the movie corporate – we might signal for issues with names like [Spurs and Northern Ireland football legend] Danny Blanchflower. We will have to have had hundreds of bucks value of stuff and I don’t believe they each and every discovered who was once doing it.”

The unique story-line of the movie – “lovely excellent” in keeping with Simenon – was once in accordance with a script by way of Nancy Dowd, in session with Melody Maker journalist (and the bassist’s former female friend) Caroline Coon.

It instructed the tale of juvenile sisters Corinne and Tracy Burns (performed by way of 15-year-old Diane Lane and Marin Kanter) and their cousin Jessica McNeil (performed by way of 13-year-old Laura Dern) who, after seeing The Looters open up for fabulously-named arduous rockers Steel Corpses, come to a decision to shape their very own punk rock band, The Fabulous Stains. When the guitarist of Steel Corpses overdoses at a gig, The Looters are promoted into the headline slot at the excursion, and The Fabulous Stains are recruited as the hole band. Tensions between the 2 bands mount on the other hand, because of the headline band’s misogynist attitudes, and to show the English punks a lesson, The Fabulous Stains play one in all The Looters songs, Sign up for The Execs (in truth written by way of Steve Jones for his post-Pistols band with Prepare dinner, The Execs) at a pageant held at a shopping center, the place it turns into evident from the choice of lookalike Stains enthusiasts within the viewers that the improve act have began to eclipse the headliners in recognition.

“She’s imitating me now!” says an outraged ‘Billy’, gazing Corinne Burns onstage.

“She’s doing a fucking higher task than what you do,” says Looters guitarist ‘Steve’ (Jones), throwing in a vintage Steve Jones “You wanker!” jibe as an advantage.

Cue the break-up of The Looters, and The Fabulous Stains happening to turn out to be superstars.

In keeping with Caroline Coon, the movie was once meant to be finish with women throughout Britain taking inspiration from the teenage trio to shape their very own punk rock bands, however this denouement was once it sounds as if vetoed “by way of the director’s Hollywood misogyny.”

Without a last scene, the movie was once in truth shelved for 2 years, till director Lou Adler added a brand new finishing, a pretend track video, implying that the crowd was world pop stars, having followed a extra audience-friendly New Wave taste. Regardless of this frothier finishing, when it (in short) hit cinemas, the movie, now re-titled Women and Gents, The Fabulous Stains, bombed, taking simply $25,000 on the field workplace… perhaps now not a lot more than Simenon, Jones and Prepare dinner’s room provider expenses.