“It was a really good experience – and quite good money, too.”
Speaking to The Face magazine in February 1981, The Clash's bassist Paul Simenon had only good things to say about his experience acting in All Washed Up, the film that he and former Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook had recently finished filming in Vancouver. In a fairly unimaginative piece of casting, the three musicians had been hired to play an English punk band, The Looters, fronted by Ray Winstone ('Billy'), and it seemed that a good time had been had by all during filming.
“It was really funny,” Simenon told The Face. “Me 'n' Steve 'n' Paul were staying in the same hotel in Vancouver – they made it in Canada because it's cheaper than doing it in Hollywood – as the rest of the people working on the film. We were supposed to pay for our keep out of our fees, but instead we charged everything we ever had there to the film company – we'd sign for things with names like [Spurs and Northern Ireland football legend] Danny Blanchflower. We must have had thousands of dollars worth of stuff and I don't think they every found out who was doing it.”
The original story-line of the film - “pretty good” according to Simenon - was based on a script by Nancy Dowd, in consultation with Melody Maker journalist (and the bassist's former girlfriend) Caroline Coon.
It told the story of teenage sisters Corinne and Tracy Burns (played by 15-year-old Diane Lane and Marin Kanter) and their cousin Jessica McNeil (played by 13-year-old Laura Dern) who, after seeing The Looters open up for fabulously-named hard rockers Metal Corpses, decide to form their own punk rock band, The Fabulous Stains. When the guitarist of Metal Corpses overdoses at a gig, The Looters are promoted into the headline slot on the tour, and The Fabulous Stains are recruited as the opening band. Tensions between the two bands mount however, due to the headline band's misogynist attitudes, and to teach the English punks a lesson, The Fabulous Stains play one of The Looters songs, Join The Professionals (actually written by Steve Jones for his post-Pistols band with Cook, The Professionals) at a festival held at a shopping mall, where it becomes obvious from the number of lookalike Stains fans in the audience that the support act have started to eclipse the headliners in popularity.
“She's imitating me now!” says an outraged 'Billy', watching Corinne Burns onstage.
“She's doing a fucking better job than what you do,” says Looters guitarist 'Steve' (Jones), throwing in a classic Steve Jones “You wanker!” jibe as a bonus.
