“Regine told us all about her punk parti; New Jimmys last night at which she served beef stew in dog dishes and chocolate mousse in a toilet bowl. She was thrilled to death by the fact that some real punks crashed and started fighting with the fake punks and she had to call in the real police. "

Bob Colacello OUT—in Paris Society Interview, July 1977

Halston and Diane von Furstenburg havent been there yet, but Andy Warhol went to CBGBs to see the Talking Heads and the Ramones.

In London, lords and ladies dress in punk outfits at their dinner parties, and there was a punk band (not as well received as the disco music, naturally) at Lou Lou de la Falaises (shes Yves St. Laurents Best Friend) Paris wedding reception.

When I returned from London last December, filled with enthusiasm about bands like The Sex Pistols and The Clash, not too many record industry people (with the exception of a few; they know who they are) were interested. Now, Sex Pistols videotapes are shown at fashionable Manhattan dinner parties.

Its happened. I should have known it would. Punk slumming.

Last year Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty went to the Roxy for Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen. This year, what? To the Elgin for Richard Hell?

The co-opting of rock culture is nothing new. Not so long ago Tommy, the film, had its premiere party in the New York subways and rounded up were the usual Women's Wear Daily suspects as Peter Townshend sat in a corner and looked bewildered, i

With punk, its just that much more perverse, because some of the people who have jumped on its bandwagon are more than ever the ones who the bands say they hate.

And some of the punk publicity has been ridiculous. A TV “Weekend" program about punk sounded very like those old “Rock Around the Clock" films, complete with the attitude about “filthy, violent music."

The English punks seen on the show (probably straight out of Central Casting) were jumping around and strangling each other in London pjubs. Now unless this scene has radically changed since I saw it in December, this may h.ave been the usual, blown out of proportion, straight media story.

(Following that program, Ramones manager Danny Fields said that when the band checked into a Cincinnati motel, the register read: “This is a punk rock band. Strange and violent. ")

As for Time Magazines story on punk, Fields summed it up: “You cross your fingers and hope that those stories dont have any results. As usual, they get everything wrong."

Of course, many were pleased to see Tom Verlaines lyrics infiltrate Time, but Richard Hell...“the Mick Jagger of Punk"??

I havent seen those punk boutiques in Bloomingdales or Macys, but I dont have to. Its just a pity that Jim OConner and Pamela Motown—who came from London and have struggled in New York for a few years now (and who used to design some interesting stuff)—have made their “name" on basic black “Punk" t-shirts.

Zandra Rhodes is beneath contempt for those $600 ripped “punk" dresses, but what can you do, someone was bound to do it.

Depending on your point of view, this is all slightly revolting, or amusing. The bands, so far, seem pretty oblivious to the jet set, they just like seeing their own names in the paper. (And I may be wrong, but I dont think Stones records

suffer because of who Jagger lunches with.)

But whats ahead?

Are these bands having their 15 minutes of fame?

Will punk bands soon be part of political campaigns—like Bella Abzugs very showbizzy New York mayoral push??

If the Sex Pistols move to Hollywood, will they be relevant? Does anyone in

Hollywood care if they hate the Queen?

Will they blow it by showing up at movie producer Allen Carrs (whose appropriate solution to L.A.s water shortage was “let them drink Perrier") parties and snorting cocaine??

Stay tuned...

(Portions of this article appeared in Lisa Robinsons syndicated “Rock Talk" column.]