Joan Jett (guitar, vocals), Lita Ford (guitar, vocals), Sandy West (drums, vocals), Cherie Currie (vocals 1975-77), Jackie Fox (bass 1975-77), Vicki Blue (bass 1977-78), Laurie McCallister (bass 1978)
With a directness previously unheard from women in rock, the Runaways belted out statements of teen rebellion. Teenagers themselves, they championed for their g-g-generation the glories of rock-n-roll, late night partying, and sex, but the archetypal emphasis was on living to the max, true to your passions. And of course in a middle class world this meant being "bad".
The Runaways played loud, hard, heavy and...well. The rhythm section of Sandy West (drums), Jackie Fox (bass) and later Vicki Blue (bass), and Joan Jett (rhythm guitar) cooked, and provided a great foundation for Lita Ford's adept and aggressive lead guitar playing, which ambitiously reached for Jeff Beck/Jimmy Page heights.
The Runaways' moxie shocked many (including some critics?). But it also changed some male-female stereotypes, and spoke for a whole lotta girls, some of whom consequently turned to playing rock-n-roll too. Arguably, the Runaways made possible Chrissie Hynde, Pat Benatar, the Go-Gos, Girlschool and countless others.
If that end justifies the means, one cannot fault the Runaways for the way they were formed, produced and "directed" - largely by Hollywood Argyle-turned-rockmeister Kim Fowley. Most of the Runaways were very talented, and when they came to Fowley they were rockers looking to happen, not seals looking to be trained.
The story about the Runaways goes back to one of Alice Cooper's Hollywood parties in early 1975. A teen poetess named Kari Krome discussed lyrics with an impressed Fowley. He thought if a girl could write lyrics like this, then there must be some girls that could play it. Kari got in touch with her guitar-playing friend Joan Jett (real last name is Larkin). Meanwhile, Fowley met drummer Sandy West (real last name is Pesavento) in the Rainbow Bar parking lot. He put her in touch with Kari and Joan, and a jam session was arranged.
August 5th 1975. First Fowley determined that Krome was okay as a lyricist but not as a singer, and proceeded to bring in one Sue Thomas (later known as Micki Steele with the Bangles). Fowley found the vocalist when he saw Marie and Cherie Currie (twins) sitting on bar stools at a San Fernando Valley teen club called the Sugar Shack. He asked the first one (Marie) if she was interested in being in a band. She said "No!", so he turned to the other one (Cherie) asked her and she said "Yes!". Thomas was soon replaced by Jackie Fox, and Lita Ford arrived via "Back Door Man" magazine.
In February 1976, after rehearsing them and before a proposed one-off EP deal with Bomp Records could be sealed, Fowley signed them to Mercury, and produced The Runaways.
August 21th 1976, like most first albums it was raw like the ch-ch-cherry bomb of the opening track, "Cherry Bomb" (which by the way was the sort of number that tagged them as Jailbait Rock. Consider such lines as "Hey street boy...I'll give you something/to live for/Have ya, grab ya/'til you're sore"). Whenever the song was performed live, it was usually accopained by the spectacle of Cherie clad in stockings, suspenders and basque. Definitely not the stuff of Queen/Yes/Genesis-styled opuses, the music prevailing on album rock radio in the mid-70's.
Queens of Noise, the second LP, wasn't exactly subdued, but its songs and production were far more refined, with Earle Mankey (Sparks, the Beach Boys) brought in to co-produce. By this LP Joan's sphere had grown more dominant. Previously she'd written or co-written much of the Runaways' best material, now she sang much of it too. Yet the Runaways persisted as a group effort, and this is evidenced on their Live in Japan LP, an LP never released in America.
At the end of the Japan tour, Jackie decided to leave the band. Rumours of a suicide attempt in Japan were denied by both her and the band. Shortly thereafter the next shock came for the fans, Cherie was leaving too...
Back in the U.S. in 1977 the girls cut their third Fowley-produced studio LP, Waitin' for the Night. It was pretty much Joan's record, considering that both Cherie and Jackie earlier had left the band, and only Jackie had been replaced (by Vicki Tischler Blue). Once again, the Runaways propounded their essential pop/metal/punk style, but American radio refused them again, now lumping them with the Sex Pistols, Clash, Jam and whatever as an excuse not to admit that times had changed. The album was certainly more unified than "Queens", and boasted razor-sharp production. The storming "School Days" was the choice of single in most countries, but it failed to provoke much interest.
Still, Joan, Lita, Sandy and Vicki clung together, and in 1978 they parted ways with Kim Fowley and, since their deal was tied to Fowley, Mercury. In now was Suzi Quatro and Blondie's manager at the time, Toby Mamis. Mamis then turned to ex-Thin Lizzy producer John Alcock, and in September 1978 they cut And Now...The Runaways!, as it was titled in Europe. (The LP wouldn't find release in North America until 1981 as Little Lost Girls. It was supposed to have been recorded a month earlier in London, but Phil Wainman, their slated producer, was frightened off and hastily beat it to the South of France for a premature holiday.
It was during these sessions that the differences set in that would tear them apart, with Lita and Sandy on one side (heavy metal) and Joan on another (punk). Joan complained: "How can she not like punk? Me, I hate all those guitar solos like Rainbow, who she loves." Vicki Blue, meanwhile, was sidelined with a medical condition (not drugs), leaving Lita to record many of the bass parts on the album. She was pictured on the cover because a replacement for her hadn't been found yet. The album was completed, with help on keyboards from Duane Hitchings (of Rod Stewart's band) who introduced the girls to his downstairs neighbour, a girl bass player named Laurie McCallister. Once the album was completed, Laurie joined the fold officially.
While making plans and beginning rehearsals for touring, a movie agent introduced them to a low budget movie company, they wanted to make a feature film about an all-girl band. In the middle of a meeting with the producers, Sandy and Lita refused to participate. This precipitated a major crisis and resulted in endless meetings, during which Lita and Sandy brought in John Alcock to represent their interests (vs. the interests of the Runaways as a group). Before long, things got so polarized within the band that they were breaking up in front of everyone's eyes.
In the middle of all this, there were two weeks of gigs in California. During one gig Laurie had just about the worst case of the flu in history. Mid-set, she threw-up onstage, managing to sneak behind her amplifier, and then raced to the dressing room. She wasn磘 much better on New Year's Eve when they flew to San Francisco. So, after checking into the hotel, a doctor was summoned. The doctor gave Laurie some "snake serum" as medicine. The show that night at the Cow Palace went extremely well for both Laurie and the band. But shortly thereafter she quit.
That left the Runaways pared to three. With complete disagreement over the movie deal ( Joan filmed "We're All Crazy Now" with actresses playing the other Runaways, but the movie was never completed. Unless it isn't "duBEAT-e-o" released 1984.), the last album's lack of commercial success in Europe, and less than mild interest from U.S. major labels, the Runaways came to an end in Spring 1979.
And where are The Runaways now?
Joan: Found success with her Blackhearts. She was seen in "Light Of Day", "duBEAT-e-o" and "Highlander, (TV-version)".
Lita: After pursuing a succesful solo career she has now formed a new band with her husband, Jim Gillette, called "Rumble Culture".
Sandy: Found her hard rock Sandy West Group and performs occasionally.
Cherie: Cut two solo albums Beauty's Only Skin Deep and Messin' with the Boys. Recorded one unreleased (?) LP with Vicki in the Currie Blue Band. Acting in films, did "Foxes", "Parasite","Wavelength", "Twilight Zone: The Movie", "The Rosebud Beach Hotel" and "Rich Girl". She also did an appearence in an "Murder She Wrote" episode and most recently in "Dr Giggles".
At the end of 80s, Cherie Currie was a supermarket checkout girl in Los Angeles and a voluntary worker at a centre for drug addict rehabilitation.
In 1989 she published her autobiography Neon Angel.
In 1990 she signed with SBK Records, and at the same time started performing with a new repertoire as Cherie Currie & The Boys. In the middle of 1994, though, her comeback album had not yet materialized.
Jackie: After Harvard Law School she's now an attorney (as Jacqueline Fuchs).
Vicki: Played in Currie Blue Band with Cherie and recorded an unreleased album with Laurie McCallisters' ex-boyfriend. She was seen in "This is Spinal Tap" movie. She now works on the TV show "Stories of the Highway Patrol".
Laurie: Co-founded the Orchids, a Runaways-inspired group that broke up after one album for MCA Records.
