The Runaways - Cherry Bomb.mpg

The Runaways were an American all-girl teenage rock band that performed in the 1970s. The band is best known for the songs "Cherry Bomb", "Queens of Noise", "Rock n Roll", "Neon Angels (On the Road to Ruin)", and "Born to Be Bad". The career of the band was short (1975–1979), successful, and tempestuous.

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 bassist Micki Steele, The Runaways began the party and club circuit around Los Angeles. In 1976, they added 16-year-old lead guitarist Lita Ford and lead singer Cherie Currie to the lineup. Bassist Micki Steele left the group, later resurfacing in The Bangles. An unknown local bassist named Peggy Foster took over on bass but also left after only a few weeks. Kim Fowley then brought Ann Boleyn, who later went on to perform with Hellion and Detente, as the bass player. Finally, Jackie Fox (who had originally auditioned for the lead guitar spot) was added on bass, and the line up was complete.


Rare ad classic

Joan Jett
Joan Jett 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 the first female recording artist to found her own record label. 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, and appeared in the 2000 Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show as Columbia.

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 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.

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 Sharon'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, and other hard-rock festivals during the summer of 2008. She is due to release Wicked Wonderland, her first studio album in 14 years, on 6 October, 2009.

Cherie Currie
Cherie Currie went on to start an acting career. She appeared in movies with Jodie Foster (Foxes), Demi Moore (Parasite), and The Twilight Zone: The Movie, as well as others and released a 1978 solo music album entitled Beauty's Only Skin Deep and a 1980 duet album with her sister Marie and the band Toto called Messin' With The Boys. Currie 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.

Jackie Fox
Jackie Fox went to Harvard and became a lawyer. She has lived abroad and is an amateur photographer.

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 - 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.[10] 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 Guitarista, an animated series that Sacred Dogs Entertainment 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.

Rare and a classic