The other evening, Monorail film club showed
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (Lou Adler, 1981) at the GFT. Starring Diane Lane (
The Outsiders, Rumble Fish), Laura Dern (
Blue Velvet, Wild At Heart), Ray Winstone (
Scum, Sexy Beast) - as well as Steve Jones and Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols and The Clash's Paul Simonon - it tells the story of 3 teenage girls who, dissatisfied with their lives, start a punk band called The Stains who carry the motto "We Don't Put Out!".
Lead character Corrine Burn's costumes and hairstyle, which quickly become slavishly imitated by the band's legion of female fans calling themselves 'Skunks', are but a few of the things that helped make the film acquire a cult following of its own, with fans such as Courtney Love and the underground filmmaker Sarah Jacobson. If you haven't seen The Fabulous Stains, I urge you to hunt down a copy NOW.
