She walks onto the screen with her hair in wild curls, her long fur coat exuding coolness, her purple, rounded frame sunglasses and her name is Penny Lane. She peers through her sunglasses and quotes, “We are not Groupies. Groupies sleep with rock stars because they want to be near someone famous. We are here because of the music; we inspire the music. We are Band Aids.”
You might be wondering who this Penny Lane is we are referring to. Well, Penny Lane is the iconic groupie or band-aid character played by Kate Hudson in the movie “Almost Famous.” Set in 1973, “Almost Famous” is based on a true story, telling the tale of teenage music journalist William Miller, who followed around the fictional band Stillwater, where he would interview and write about what the rockstars life was like behind all the Rock n’ Roll.
The true story of “Almost Famous” is based on the writer and director of the movie, Cameron Crowe. Though instead of following Stillwater, Crowe followed big names, such as Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan, and became a staff writer for the Rolling Stones at only the age of 16.
In an interview with NPR, Crowe reflected on his time interviewing young rockstars, “But as a young guy, you’re kind of in this position where this person is allowing me to ask them whatever I want to about music that I love. And it was a blissful time, and I still love writing about it,” Crowe said.
While following bands around the country, Crowe met lots of interesting people who inspired the characters of his movie, like Penny Lane.
Penny Lane has become the heart and soul of this movie for her freeing personality and eagerness to live life to the fullest. She has become a social media trend throughout the years, with people racing to find the perfect Penny Lane coat paired with bell-bottom ’70s jeans. Suddenly, “Almost Famous” had a revival after its 25 years of release. Though the character is a trend, there is a real-life band aid behind the vision of Almost Famous’s Penny Lane.
Her name is Pennie Lane Trumbull. Trumbull even has her own website. Trumbull and Crowe met each other in Portland, Oregon, in the early ’70s, as Trumbull was a part of a “groupie” group, different from most groupies.
Groupie culture was huge in the ’70s and was stereotypically known for forming sexual relationships with the rock stars of the band, but Trumbull had a different motive. Trumbull’s reason for meeting these rock stars was not the sex and drugs but her burning passion and undeniable love for music. Trumbull and three of her closest friends called themselves “The Flying Garter Girls.”
After three years of touring, taking in the music of the most legendary bands, and creating friends with the most interesting, Trumbull decided her love for music had been fulfilled. She took off and decided that her days as a “Flying Garter Girl” were satisfied.
She returned to her hometown of Portland, Oregon, attended college, had a career in marketing and later opened her secret “Pennielane” farm located on Sauvie Island. Her farm was kept secretive amongst the general public, but was used as a place to invite celebrities when visiting Portland.
In 2000, Trumbull got the call from her old friend Crowe, whom she had not seen in over 27 years. He called to tell her of the movie he had written, “Almost Famous,” and it was her whom he was turning to for inspiration.
“Almost Famous” continues to tell the story of the music scene of the ’70s. The character Penny Lane will always represent the love people of the ’70s had for music.