The Runaways
| The Runaways | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Hard rock , punk |
| founding | 1975 |
| resolution | 1979 |
| Website | therunaways.com |
| Founding members | |
Guitar , vocals |
Joan Jett |
Bass , vocals |
Michael Steele (until 1975) |
Drums , vocals |
Sandy West |
| Last occupation | |
guitar |
Joan Jett |
bass |
Laurie McAllister (died 2011) |
Lead guitar |
Lita Ford (1976-1979) |
Drums |
Sandy West (died 2006) |
| former members | |
singing |
Cherie Currie (1976-1977) |
Bass, vocals |
Jackie Fox (1976-1977) |
Bass, vocals |
Vickie Blue (1977-1978) |
The Runaways was a rock band that existed from 1975 to 1979. Stylistically, The Runaways can be classified between rock 'n roll , punk rock and glam rock . The band, along with musicians such as Debbie Harry and Suzi Quatro , was a pioneer for the Riot Grrrl movement. The singer and rhythm guitarist Joan Jett is still successful in the music business and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 with her band Joan Jett & the Blackhearts . Former lead guitarist Lita Ford was a successful hard rock musician in the 1980s and 1990s who is also still musically active.
The band was not, as often reported, started by producer Kim Fowley . He was correct in his assumption that five teenage girls who play hard rock are optimally marketable, but the actual founding members were Joan Jett and Sandy West, who worked closely with songwriter Kari Krome and eventually met Kim Fowley. The young women wanted to found an all-female band and were looking for a suitable bassist and singer. This part was initially taken over by Michael "Micki" Steele.
history
The beginnings
Sandy West's vision of an all-female rock band started the Runaways. She came across Kim Fowley , who was in contact with 14-year-old Kari Krome, who had already written various song lyrics. Kari Krome wanted the lyrics to be sung by girls her age, so Fowley was on the lookout for potential new rock stars.
He brought Sandy West together with Joan Larkin, then 17. She had taught herself to play the guitar. She named herself Joan Jett after her parents divorced . Since Fowley was impressed by Kari Krome's lyrics, but could not sing them particularly well, he brought Sue Thomas (who later renamed herself Michael "Micki" Steele ) in their place in the band.
The band recorded a demo album, but it was never released. Later, Lita Ford on guitar and Cherie Currie as singer. Micki Steele left the band because she was dissatisfied with their tough image; for her came Jackie Fox in December 1975.
successes
The runaways were only moderately successful in the USA. Presumably that was partly due to the image that Kim Fowley had given the band. Young women who sang about sex, alcohol and life on the street were rarely played on the radio. In contrast, the Runaways were very popular in Japan. Their concerts there were regularly sold out and their song Cherry Bomb made it to the top of the Japanese charts. The album Live in Japan emerged from the Japan tour .
separation
In July 1977 Jackie Fox left the band during the Japan tour due to tension between the members, followed by Cherie Currie in the same year. Fox was then replaced by Vicki Blue. The band then recorded the album Waiting for the Night , which never made it into the US charts, and Fowley, who had since lost interest in the band, resigned as their manager. Slowly, musical differences emerged in the band as Joan Jett was interested in punk and glam rock , while Sandy West and Lita Ford tended towards hard rock and heavy metal .
In September 1978 the band released their last album, And Now ... The Runaways , which was originally only released in Europe and Japan. Vicki Blue got out and was briefly replaced by Laurie McAllister until the Runaways finally disbanded in April 1979.
Joan Jett then started a solo career and founded the band The Blackhearts and the Blackheart Records label with producer Kenny Laguna in the 1980s . Lita Ford had a few pop metal hits in the 1980s, worked with Ozzy Osbourne , among others , released seven albums by 1995 and then three greatest hits albums by 2004. Jackie Fox, on the other hand, studied law and became a lawyer. Vicki Blue made the 2004 documentary Edgeplay about the Runaways. Sandy West continued to make music with the Sandy West Band. She died of lung cancer on October 21, 2006 after a long illness. On December 9, 2006, a memorial concert was celebrated with bands / artists such as The Sandy West Band, Cherrie Currie, The Bangles and The Donnas . Laurie McAllister, who replaced Vicki Blue on bass in the group in 1978, passed away on August 20, 2011.
Filming of the band's history
The Runaways story was filmed in 2009 under the same title, starring Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett, Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie, Stella Maeve as Sandy West, Scout Taylor-Compton as Lita Ford and Michael Shannon as Kim Fowley. Directed by Floria Sigismondi . The film was released on DVD in Germany on October 22, 2010. Stewart and Fanning sang all of the band's live songs themselves in the film. Only the songs I Love Rock'n'Roll and Bad Reputation (in the credits) were originally played by Joan Jett.
Discography
- 1976: The Runaways
- 1977: Queens of Noise
- 1977: Waiting for the Night
- 1977: Live in Japan (live)
- 1978: And Now… The Runaways
- 1980: Flaming Schoolgirls ("odds-and-sods" compilation )
- 1993: Born to be Bad (early demos compilation)
- 2004: Edgeplay: Film About Runaways ( Soundtrack )
literature
- Gillian G. Gaar: She's A Rebel. The History of Women in Rock'n'Roll. Seal Press, Seattle 1992, ISBN 0-7137-2379-3 .
- Irwin Stambler: The Encyclopedia Of Pop, Rock And Soul. St. Martin's Press, New York 1989, ISBN 0-312-02573-4 , pp. 590f.
Web links
- Official website
- The Runaways (January 13, 2007 memento on the Internet Archive ) on Rhapsody.com
- The Runaways on Metaladies.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Geoffrey Himes: From Ruaway to Riot Grrrl. In: The Washington Post. The Washington Post, July 8, 1994, accessed September 23, 2019 .
- ↑ filming The Runaways in the Internet Movie Database