I am in love with Peaches! I don’t know how I have missed out on this phenomenal woman.

Peaches is an iconic, in your face, punk rock, sex positive, feminist performing artist who is now in her late 50s. This documentary takes a celebratory look at her life and musical shenanigans over the last few decades.

What becomes clear is she is a woman who believes strongly in her right to express herself without apology. This might mean performing in a hair costume, or with a dildo, or naked, or in a T-shirt that says ‘Thank God for Abortion’. She has songs like F*ck the Pain Away, Diddle my Skittle and albums called Impeach my Bush and Fatherf*cker. There is something deeply cathartic about seeing a woman celebrating herself and unafraid to not only take the spotlight but to share it with other people.

It’s not surprising that she is a queer icon as her ability to confidently assert her identity regardless of how that fits with other peoples’ expectations is something that will resonate with anyone who is marginalised. It’s also not surprising that her break came in Berlin where her particular punk rock weirdo vibe was right at home.

The documentary hangs on her preparing for a 20th anniversary tour of her breakthrough album The Teaches of Peaches. She’s now 58 and she and her partner Black Cracker talk about the challenges of maintaining the same energy and rage now that many of the things she was doing and saying have become mainstream. It’s fascinating watching how she presents herself now and, as someone who is her contemporary, it feels empowering to see a 58-year-old body in granny pants and nipple pasties and an extreme mullet look so astonishingly fierce and gorgeous on stage. She makes you want to just go out and create. 

The cinema was packed with lots of fans of a variety of genders, ages and fashion statements. They called out and applauded at the end of musical numbers as if they were at a concert and the warm love and adoration was palpable.