Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains

Ladies and Gentlemen… was a film made in 1981, featuring members of the Sex Pistols, The Clash, Ray Winstone and a 15-year-old Diane Lane.

Lane played the lead singer of proto riot grrrl group The Fabulous Stains (motto: “We don’t put out”) who rose to fame, in a stupendously meteoric week. And then fell from grace even faster.

Some shabby performances, shaky camera work and naïve plot are all outweighed by the zest, raw emotion and lust for life in the movie. I love it. Here’s a great scene, where the Stains, who by now have a growing army of fans who dress like them, play a shopping mall. A shopping mall!

The film has never appeared on DVD, or been shown on TV in the UK. What a crying shame.