Sandy West
Sandy West (* 10. July 1959 in Long Beach , California as Sandra Sue Pesavento ; † 21st October 2006 in San Dimas , California) was an American singer, songwriter and drummer. She was a founding member of the female rock group The Runaways .
Life
Sandy West was born in Long Beach and grew up in Huntington Beach, California. A typical Californian girl, she grew up between surfing and skiing. When Sandy was 15 years old, her grandfather bought her a drum kit. A huge fan of rock music of the 1960s and 70s, she began playing the music of her heroes and constantly improving her knowledge. Having a lot of talent, she quickly became a good drummer.
In addition, she had enough ambition and at the beginning of 1975 began to play with the idea of looking for female teammates in order to found a rock band. In 1975 she met producer Kim Fowley , who gave her the phone number of another young girl named Joan Jett . When they first met, they found mutual sympathy and decided to audition Kim Fowley. Together with Kari Krome as songwriter, Joan Jett and Michael Steele , the original line-up The Runaways recorded some demos in 1975, which were released years later under the name "Born To Be Bad". Michael Steele left the group, but later members Lita Ford , Cherie Currie and Jackie Fox quickly joined .
After four quick years with various record productions, tours and some personnel changes, the Runaways dissolved in 1979. Sandy West tried her luck in the rock n 'roll business, but without much success. For a while she worked as a bartender and veterinary assistant. In her spare time she continued to play drums with the Sandy West Band and the Queens Of Noise. Her past with the Runaways motivated her to stand up for criminalized young people in the last years of her life and to teach them alternatives for a different way of life.
The Runaways were Sandy West's child and she never overcame the breakup of her band.
In 2005 she was diagnosed with lung cancer. She died on October 21, 2006 at the age of 47.
Publications
Albums
- The Runaways, 1976
- Queens of Noise, 1977
- Waiting for the Night, 1977
- Live in Japan (live), 1977
- And Now ... The Runaways, 1978
- I Love Playing with Fire, 1979
- Flaming Schoolgirls ("odds-and-sods" compilation), 1980
- Little Lost Girls, 1981
- Born to Be Bad (early demos compilation), 1993
- Edgeplay: Film About Runaways (Soundtrack), 2004
Indy publications
- 7 "- F-13
- 4 song tape
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | West, Sandy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Pesavento, Sandra Sue (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American singer, songwriter and drummer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 10, 1959 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Long Beach , California |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 21, 2006 |
| Place of death | San Dimas , California |