The Runaways
The Runaways don’t get the recognition they deserve. Created by Kim Fowley in 1975 as a male heavy rock wet dream, you have to give credit to the girls for just managing to continue and keep their dreams alive.
Aged around 15 the band revolved around the strong punky rhythm guitar of Joan Jett, the heavy metal lead of Lita Ford, the backbeat of Jackie Fox and the delinquent teen sex appeal of the prima donnaish Cherie Currie.
With their ages and the pressure of touring and recording, there were just too many personalities for all to survive. Cherie was the first to go then Jackie Fox then her replacements before they all called it a day.
Trailblazers for women in rock, they did it the hard way and suffered appalling sexism and discrimination but showed what you could do. Out of them all Joan Jett went on to become a musical icon and have a prolonged music career, hits and be a beacon again for women in music whether onstage or in the crowd.
The Runaways were formed in 1975 by Kim Fowley seeing an angle to have an all-girl rock band. In this case it was a very young barely legal all girl band. What is alleged to have happened to various band members is gone into detail elsewhere on the Internet, but suffice it to say it’s pretty horrific and only touched upon here.
The record industry even now is pretty much male-dominated and predatory towards females. The band given their ages and playing hard rock music in an all male preserve meant they would almost certainly be seen as jailbait with no possibility of respect for their music. They probably endured more taunts of ‘get them off’ than anyone, yet they were a group of musicians who were both sexy and could play. Fowley’s pre-tour training involved “..how to beat up guys with guitars and basses and drumsticks…they could take a bottle, brick or a stick and keep playing.”
It’s a sign of the times (has much changed?) that because they were young and female they were considered ‘available.’ But as Rat Scabies and Pablo La Britain (999) found out, hit on them too hard and you would find yourself punched out! That wasn’t all.
Jackie West We gave one guy who messed with us a popsicle that was 10% lemonade and 90% pee. We were smoking a joint and licking our popsicles when he goes ‘This tastes like shit. Without missing a beat Joan said. ‘You’re gettin’ close. Mojo, May 2000
Young, with an average age was 16, they were manipulated but somehow grew up through touring on the road. Their sound though was heavy as hell and their songs about sex, drinking and disobeying parents and authority figures, though typically American, pre-figured later punk. Cherry Bomb is a bona fide classic.
Dressed in tight lycra, corsets, stockings and hotpants meant that they would feature in music papers as eye candy rather than for musical ability; yet they could play. They also encountered animosity from male bands like Molly Hatchet, who they headlined over, and the pompous arseholes Rush who didn’t think girls should play rock’n’roll or even other bands who wouldn’t let them soundcheck. In contrast great tours with bands like The Ramones, Cheap Trick and Motorhead showed that all men weren’t dickheads.
Joan Jett I think we’re great, so fuck off anybody who thinks we suck ’cause we’re girls. Stop putting us down. Sounds, 1.7.78
From the start Lita preferred a more heavy rock sound to Joan Jett’s punkier leanings and eventually differences between Joan and Lita would see the band split up for good permanently.
Kim Fowley (in a line McLaren would have been proud of) would like to take all the credit for what the Runaways achieved “They were guests in my idea.” But it’s only half the story because it was the girls who made all the running and had the personalities while he was a sleazy little shit.
Cherie Currie and Jackie Fox were the first to leave even before the Live in Japan album came out. The band stayed as a four piece with Joan Jett taking over vocal duties.
Zero sales but cult status. Sexy, competent musicians and an attitude. No wonder The Slits hated them. The Runaways kicked down the doors for women in Rock and they looked good and sounded good while they did it. Cynically manipulated by Fowley (constant threats of sackings to keep them submissive) and various managers (one of them was shagging three of them making the 16-year-old Cherie Currie pregnant) they survived the odds and outgrew Fowley.
Joan Jett The concept was Kim’s. He wanted us to be young fuckable jailbait. Assholes still come up to us and think we get laid all the time. I just look at them and either I get angry or I think it’s really funny. If they only knew… Sounds, 1.7.78
They released four albums on Phonogram though with some questionable marketing from their company focussing on their young ages and some wholly inappropriate close-ups of parts of their anatomy. Eventually, the musical difrences between Joan Jett and Lita Ford split the band.
The Runaways though was the training ground for two successful solo careers.
Joan Jett is just pure rock’n’roll; Youth, sex, and rebellion all combine in her perfectly. It was Joan who got into punk when they toured England, mixing with the Pistols and overnight adopted the punk look and sound. The Runaways covered the Sex Pistol’s Black Leather on their last album.
Joan Jett, after borrowing her haircut from Suzi Quatro, would help provide the look for Gaye Advert (see picture above). When The Runaways split, Joan produced The Germs and without doubt was a big influence on the 1977 US punk scene and for later bands like the Bangles (one of whose members Micki Steele was originally in The Runaways prior to signing with Mercury in 1975) and L7.
Having achieved little success with The Runaways, she deservedly reached the big time with ‘I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll’ and subsequent hits. She has knocked out some great songs including a great cover of ‘Pretty Vacant’. She still plays and still looks fabulous as hell. For a while she seemed to be veering kind of sexual leftfield as her cover art shows but thats her business.
Lita Ford last remembered for her puppy fat teenage years would re-emerge mid eighties as a perfectly figured American tanned blonde rock goddess with matching big hair to boot, have a hit album, sing with Ozzy Ozbourne, marry wildman Chris Holmes from WASP, divorce and disappear again.
Cherie Currie (on leaving the band) I’m not a tough punk. My stage image was strictly theatrical….I’m ready to come back as a solo artist…I’d also like to get into films…I’m just tired of punk rock. Sounds, 20.8.77
Cherie’s first project after leaving The Runaways was a solo album. The cover continued her being sold as a wet dream, was produced by Kim Fowley and sank like a stone.
In 1980 she was still releasing singles. The single right is with her sister Marie Messing With The Boys / Since You’ve Been Gone (a massive hit for Rainbow one year later). Later Cherie Currie got into acting in films and has had quite a few minor parts. Currently, she has taken up chainsaw carving and still looks fantastic!
The Runaways to reform? Rumors are always popping up. Joan Jett recently played again with Cherie Currie but seems uninterested in the whole thing. Vicki Blue made a film in 2004 called Edgeplay about the Runaways that stirred up animosity again as Joan Jett refused to be in or to let any of her Runaways tracks be used in it. A film called The Runaways starring Kristen Stewart (Joan Jett) and Dakota Fanning based on Cherie Currie’s excellent but harrowing book Neon Angel: A Memoir Of A Runaway came out in 2010.
Respect To Mojo magazine May 2000 and Ben Edmonds excellent article.
All of these albums are great (alright the last one patchy) and each contains some absolute classics whether it’s Cherry Bomb, Black Leather, Hollywood, Neon Angels or Queens Of Noise. Pick probably Queens Of Noise as a complete album.
The Runaways were groundbreaking gender wise but that shouldn’t even be an issue. They could play, they could write great songs and they looked fantastic. Deep Purple meets the Sex Pistols meets hormone frenzied girls on a wild rock’n’roll adventure! Click on the reviews to view larger readable ones.
The Runaways ( Mercury 1976)
All aged around 16 and to come out with an album like this is something else. Picks are the outstanding Cherry Bomb brimming with bitchiness and youth. Also check out Hollywood.
Queens Of Noise ( Mercury 1977)
It’s a fine tension between Joan Jet’s punkiness and Lita Ford’s rock out tendencies. Some good tunes here including Queens Of Noise, Born To Be Bad & Neon Angels. Arguably their most complete album. Lita’s heavy metal slog through Johnny Guitar is hard work. The production is incredibly loud and with an edge. God knows what they did on the recording of the drums for QON.
Play from Track 23-32
Above Sounds 21.2.77
Right NME 29.1.277
Live In Japan ( Mercury 1977)
The Japanese went absolutely crazy about the band, mobbing them everywhere they went and producing those weird semi-pornographic comics they seem to love there. Released after the departure of Jackie & Cherie. Good summary of the story so far.
Play Tracks 11-22
Waitin’ For The Night
First album without Cherie Currie and compositions from Joan Jett (90%) and Lita Ford that promised so much for the next album. It was their last for Mercury as the band was dropped and also the last involvement of Kim Fowley. Fantastic album with some of Lita’s more heavy metal proclivities kept in check and some solid hard rock punk tunes. Picks School Days, Wasted, Wait For Me & Schooldays.
And Now The Runaways…(Cherry Red 1978)
Frustrated by being unable to get a record out following being dropped by Phonogram, the band finally remerged with this patchy affair. The punkiness of Joan and the metal of Lita seemed to cause an imbalance. The album featured Slade and Beatle covers along with the first version of Black Leather written by Steve Jones and Paul Cook and that was it.
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