The Runaways

The Runaways

Shown in the photo are (clockwise from top left): Lita Ford, Sandy West, Jackie Fox, Joan Jett, and Cherie Currie
Background information
Origin United States
Genres hard rock[1], glam rock, punk rock
Years active 1975–1979
Associated acts Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
Lita Ford
The Bangles
Sandy West Band
Currie-Blue Band
The Orchids
Website therunaways.com
Past members
Joan Jett
Sandy West
Micki Steele
Peggy Foster
Cherie Currie
Lita Ford
Jackie Fox
Vicki Blue aka Victory Tischler-Blue
Laurie McAllister

The Runaways were an American all-girl teenage rock band that recorded and performed in the second half of the 1970s. The band released two studio albums carrying their best known songs "Cherry Bomb", "Queens of Noise", "Neon Angels (On the Road to Ruin)", "Born to Be Bad" and the cover of Velvet Underground’s "Rock n Roll". The Runaways were later a sensation in Japan where "Cherry Bomb" was a hit single and their tour was greeted with hysterics by their fans. The Runaways influenced many later acts.

Contents

History

Early years

The Runaways were formed in late 1975 by drummer Sandy West and rhythm guitarist Joan Jett. They had introduced themselves (on separate occasions) to producer Kim Fowley stating their ideas to form an all-girl band. Fowley, who was always looking for the next big thing, gave Jett's phone number to West. The two met on their own to discuss the possibilities. After rehearsing together, the pair contacted Fowley to let him hear the results. Fowley then helped the girls find the other members. Although Fowley would continue to take credit in the press for creating the band and the music, he would later admit, "I didn't put The Runaways together, I had an idea, they had ideas, we all met, there was combustion and out of five different versions of that group came the five girls who were the ones that people liked".

Starting as a power trio with singer/bassist Micki Steele, The Runaways began the party and club circuit around Los Angeles. In 1975, they added lead guitarist Lita Ford and lead singer Cherie Currie to the lineup. Singer/bassist Micki Steele left the group, later resurfacing in The Bangles. A local bassist named Peggy Foster took over on bass but also left after a month. Finally, Jackie Fox (who had originally auditioned for the lead guitar spot) was added on bass, and the line up was complete.

Fame

The Runaways were signed to Mercury Records in 1976 and their debut album, The Runaways, was released shortly after. The band toured the U.S. and played numerous sold out shows. They headlined shows with opening acts such as Cheap Trick, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Van Halen. The documentary Edgeplay: A film about The Runaways, directed by former Runaway bassist Vicki Blue aka Victory Tischler-Blue revealed that each girl patterned herself after her idols: Currie patterned her look after David Bowie, Jett after Suzi Quatro and Keith Richards, Ford as a cross between Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and Jeff Beck, West after Queen drummer Roger Taylor, and Fox after Kiss bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons.[2]

Their second album, Queens of Noise was released in 1977 and the band began a world tour. The Runaways quickly became lumped in with the growing punk rock movement. The band (already fixtures on the West Coast punk scene) formed alliances with mostly-male punk bands such as Blondie, The Ramones and The Dead Boys (via New York City's CBGB's) as well as the British punk scene by hanging out with the likes of The Damned, Generation X and The Sex Pistols.

In the summer of 1977 the group arrived in Japan for a string of sold out shows. The Runaways were the number 4 imported music act in Japan at the time, behind only ABBA, Kiss and Led Zeppelin in terms of album sales and popularity. The girls were unprepared for the onslaught of fans that greeted them at the airport. The mass hysteria was later described by guitarist Jett as being "like Beatlemania"[3]. While in Japan, The Runaways had their own TV special, did numerous television appearances and released a live album that went gold. Also in Japan, bassist Jackie Fox left the band shortly before the group was scheduled to appear at the 1977 Tokyo Music Festival.[4] Jett temporarily took over bass duties and when the group returned home they replaced Fox with Vicki Blue.

Singer Cherie Currie then left the group and Jett, who previously shared vocals with Currie, took over lead vocals full time. The band released their 4th album, Waiting For The Night and started a world tour with their friends The Ramones. Currie released a solo LP Beauty's Only Skin Deep, produced by Kim Fowley, and began a separate U.S. tour, which included her identical twin sister Marie.

Dissolution

Due to disagreements over money and the management of the band, The Runaways and Kim Fowley parted ways in 1978. The group quickly hired new management, who also worked for Blondie and Suzi Quatro. When the group split with Fowley, they also parted with their record label Mercury/Polygram, to which their deal was tied. In the Edgeplay documentary, members of the group (especially Fox and Currie) as well as the parents of Currie and West, have accused Fowley and others assigned to look after the band of broken promises as to schooling and other care, using divide and conquer tactics to keep control of the band, along with the verbal taunting of band members.

Bassist Vicki Blue left the group and was briefly replaced by Laurie McAllister. The band reportedly spent much time enjoying the excesses of the rock n' roll lifestyle during this time. They partnered with Thin Lizzy producer John Alcock, after Jett's future partner Kenny Laguna turned down the job, to record their last album And Now ... The Runaways.

The band played their last concert on New Year's Eve Day of 1978 and broke up in April 1979.

Line-ups

Year[5] Month Drums, percussion & vocals Rhythm guitar & vocals Bass guitar Lead guitar Vocals & keyboards
1975 8-10 Sandy West Joan Jett Micki Steele - -
10-11 Lita Ford
11-12 Peggy Foster Cherie Currie
12 Jackie Fox
1976 1-12
1977 1-6
6-7 Joan Jett
7-8 Victory Tischler-Blue
8-12 -
1978 1-9
9-12 Laurie McAllister
1979 1-4

Post-breakup

Joan Jett

Joan Jett arguably achieved the most success after the Runaways. She went on to become a partner and work with producer and former Shondell Kenny Laguna. After being rejected by 23 record labels, they formed their own label, Blackheart Records, in 1980. In doing so, Jett became one of the first female recording artists to found her own record label.[6] The label continues to release albums by The Blackhearts, and also other new up and coming bands. Jett went on to have massive success with a cover of The Arrows song "I Love Rock 'N' Roll", as well as other hits such as "Crimson and Clover", "Bad Reputation" and "I Hate Myself For Loving You". Jett also co-starred in the 1987 film Light of Day with Michael J. Fox,[7] and appeared in the 2000 Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show as Columbia.[8] Jett is also on Rolling Stone magazine's List of Top 100 Guitarists Ever.

Sandy West

Sandy West continued her association with John Alcock once the group disbanded. She and Lita Ford attempted to record some music, but nothing materialized. She formed the Sandy West Band and toured California throughout the '80s and '90s. She also did session work with John Entwistle of The Who and became a drum teacher. West was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005 and, after many treatments, succumbed to the disease in October 2006. A memorial tribute concert featuring The Sandy West Band, Cherie Currie, The Bangles, The Donnas, Carmine Appice, Vinny Appice, and several others, was held in Los Angeles[9].

Micki Steele

Micki Steele joined the all girl band The Bangles in the early 1980s and went on to huge success with songs like "Walk Like an Egyptian" and "Eternal Flame".

Lita Ford

Lita Ford returned as a solo artist to Polygram in the 1980s, where she released several albums before pairing with manager Sharon Osbourne. She also had success with songs like "Kiss Me Deadly" and "Close My Eyes Forever" (the second a duet with her manager's husband Ozzy Osbourne). She is currently married to former Nitro singer Jim Gillette. They have two young sons. After a long hiatus, Ford staged a comeback, performing at Rock The Bayou,[10] and other hard-rock festivals during the summer of 2008. She released Wicked Wonderland, her first studio album in 14 years, on 6 October 2009. During 2009, Lita toured as a special guest during many shows of the American Soldier tour for the ever-enduring progressive metal band, Queensryche where she performed 2 songs from Wicked Wonderland and reprised her duet "Close My Eyes Forever" with Queensryche lead singer, Geoff Tate.

Cherie Currie

Cherie Currie's career never really took off due to her drug addiction. Upon leaving The Runaways, she released a 1978 solo album entitled Beauty's Only Skin Deep and a 1980 duet album with her sister Marie called Messin' With the Boys. She also appeared in a number of films, most notably Foxes with Jodie Foster. Throughout the 1990s, Currie worked as a drug counselor for addicted teens and as a personal fitness trainer. She married actor Robert Hays; they have a son together, and split up in 1997.

Currie still performs and records but her current passion is chainsaw carving. She has an art gallery in Chatsworth, California where her works are currently on display. She is also currently under contract with Joan Jett's label 'Blackheart Records'.

Jackie Fox

Jackie Fox graduated from UCLA summa cum laude, with a B.A. in Linguistics and Italian, and received her J.D. from Harvard becoming a lawyer, focusing on entertainment.[11] She has lived abroad and is an amateur photographer. Fox has photographed many other famous actors such as James McAvoy and George Clooney. She co-wrote "Delilah's Scissors" with Tischler-Blue and executive-produced and appeared in Edgeplay, Tischler-Blue's 2005 documentary about the Runaways.[2]

Vicki Blue

Vicki Blue, now known as Victory Tischler-Blue, briefly had a band with singer Cherie Currie in the early '80s (Currie-Blue Band), but never released an album, though they did appear together in the film This is Spinal Tap. After leaving The Runaways, she shifted her focus to film and television production eventually becoming a producer/director for several reality and magazine based television shows, including Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood & Real Stories of the Highway Patrol—receiving an Emmy nomination along the way. She went on to form Sacred Dogs Entertainment Group—a motion picture production company and released a documentary on The Runaways called Edgeplay: A Film About The Runaways. Edgeplay went on to win numerous awards and became the highest rated rock documentary film on the Showtime Networks. In 2005, Victory Tischler-Blue directed "Naked Under Leather", a documentary about fellow female rocker, Suzi Quatro.[12] Focusing on music driven productions, she is currently executive producing a network special: The Bee Gees "Unbroken Fever"—The 30th Anniversary of Saturday Night Fever (2007). Additionally, Tischler-Blue and former bandmate Lita Ford have teamed up together with Ford recording music for El Guitarrista, an animated series that Sacred Dogs Entertainment Group is producing.

Laurie McAllister

Laurie McAllister joined another Kim Fowley all-girl band, The Orchids, who released one poorly received LP in 1980. The original Orchids members were Laurie Bell on drums, Jan King on vocals, Laurie McAllister on bass, Sunbie Sinn, and Sandy Fury. Che Zuro replaced Sandy Fury (see: Risciso) who went on to appear on New Wave Theatre as The Clique with bassist Mark Frere from Steppenwolf. Laurie McAllister lives in Oregon and no longer performs music.

Influence

The Runaways' success paved the way for many successful female artists and female bands over the past 30 years, including The Go-Go's, Sahara Hotnights, L7, The Donnas and new French rock and roll girl band Plastiscinesto enter the male-dominated arena of rock music. They are named as influences by several male and female artists, including Germs, Courtney Love, The Adolescents, Ashlee Simpson, Pink (singer),Taylor Momsen, Miley Cyrus, White Flag,[13] and Rhino Bucket who acknowledged The Runaways' influence on their music during their performance at the December 2006 tribute concert honoring Sandy West.

Film

A biographical film about the band inspired by Cherie Currie's memoir was released in 2010. Joan Jett was one of the executive producers for the film. Actresses Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning starred as Jett and Currie, respectively. Michael Shannon played their manager Kim Fowley. None of the band's former bass players were featured in the film; Jackie Fox didn't want to be involved in any part of the film, and requested that her name be changed in the story.[14] The film was written and directed by Floria Sigismondi,[14] and was released to limited theaters on March 19, 2010.[15] [16]

The film received mostly good reviews and currently holds a 65% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

New Runaways (1987)

In the early eighties, Gayle Welch, an ambitious 13-year-old girl from Kaitaia, New Zealand, wrote a song "Day of Age", and recorded it in Mandrell Recording Studios in Auckland, New Zealand. The resulting tape found its way to the desk of Kim Fowley. He played the Welch tape for colleague and Los Angeles deejay legend Rodney Bingenheimer who played the song on his show on radio KROQ and included it on his annual compilation of his most-liked music for the year. Also on that compilation was a song that featured Chicago guitarist Bill Millay.

It didn't take long before Fowley, who still owned the "Runaways" trade mark, was putting together a new "Runaways" band built around Gayle Welch. Missy Bonilla was recruited from the typing pool of CBS records, Denise Pryor came from Compton and Kathrine Dombrowski ("Kathy DiAmber") was also added. Gayle was present only on tape and only on the first song on the CD, "I want to Run With the Bad Boys". Millay played guitar, David Carr was on keyboard and a drum machine rounded out the team. Glenn Holland[17], also from New Zealand, a friend of both Bingenheimer and Fowley, facilitated. The album, Young and Fast[18] was released in 1987, and was a minor hit. Welch and Millay subsequently married.

Use in media

Discography

References

  1. ↑ "The Runaways > Overview". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:difwxqr5ldke. Retrieved 2010-06-15. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Edgeplay: A film about The Runaways at the Internet Movie Database
  3. ↑ notes and information from Edgeplay: A film about The Runaways at the Internet Movie Database
  4. ↑ All Right You Guys (VIDEO)
  5. ↑ Runaways Timeline | TheRunaways.com | The Official Runaways Website
  6. ↑ Sauro, Tony. "Q&A with Joan Jett and Kenny Laguna" Stockton Record April 24, 2008
  7. ↑ Light of Day at the Internet Movie Database
  8. ↑ Joan Jett at the Internet Movie Database
  9. ↑ Sandy West Memorial Concert details and list of performers.
  10. ↑ Rock The Bayou
  11. ↑ http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.reuters.com/behind-runaways-film-legal-battle-simmers-reuters
  12. ↑ Naked Under Leather (2004) at the Internet Movie Database
  13. ↑ White Flag's Official site, and their Myspace web sites
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Fleming, Michael (March 4, 2009). "Dakota Fanning fronts 'Runaways'; Actress also set to play vamp in 'New Moon'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118000849.html. Retrieved March 20, 2009. 
  15. ↑ The Runaways (2010) at the Internet Movie Database
  16. ↑ "Kristen Stewart: Jett-ing Through A Twilight Adventureland". SuicideGirls.com. 1 April 2009. http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Kristen%20Stewart:%20Jett-ing%20Through%20A%20Twilight%20Adventureland/. Retrieved 2009-04-01. 
  17. ↑ "Glenn Holland personal web site". http://glenn-holland.net. 
  18. ↑ Young and Fast The Runaways at Allmusic

External links

The Runaways
Joan Jett · Sandy West · Micki Steele · Peggy Foster · Cherie Currie · Lita Ford · Jackie Fox · Victory Tischler-Blue · Laurie McAllister
Studio albums
The Runaways • Queens of Noise • Waitin' for the Night • And Now... The Runaways • Flaming Schoolgirls
Live albums
Live in Japan
Films
Edgeplay: A film about The Runaways (2005) • The Runaways (2010)