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Click here for Runaways Discography
I would like to thank everyone who
has visited my pages on the Runaways, their letters and
comments really mean a lot to me. Please bear with me, and
continue to keep the counter increasing.
LITA FORD WILL BE PUTTING OUT A NEW ALBUM AND TOURING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 15 YEARS
I apologize for having done no work on these pages in well over a year.
That will hopefully change. One of the first things I am going to do is
answer all of the e-mails that I have gotten from you. Yes I still have
them all!
I apologize for not having updated this page in a long time.
I will be working on it again (would anyone like to help?) I will
also be replying to all of the e-mails I have received. Yes I still
have them!
As soon as I get them I will be posting pictures of the
Runaways so please keep checking back. Anyone who has
e-mailed me and I have an e-mail address for, I will notify
when they do go up and when I make any significant changes to
any page.
On this page I will TRY to keep some
kind of accurate record of the history of the Runaways. If
you have any information regarding this please let me know
at:kensternation2@hotmail.com
Please send comments, additional links...
Serious renovations coming soon.
I will be adding pictures soon.
Thanx to my anonymous contributor (You know who you are)
First, let's get one thing straight: despite rumors to the
contrary, the band did not suck and they were more than
pawns of Kim Fowley. They were a great band that was ahead
of their time, not outdated before they started, as some
would have you believe. This is in reply to some other web
sites that have inaccurate, unkind pages dedicated to the
Runaways. With that said... Onto the real history...
1975
The Beginning
As far as I can tell, it all started when 14
year old Kari Krome approached Kim Fowley at an Alice
Cooper party in 1975. She discussed lyrics with Kim and
he was impressed, but Kari wanted them sung by girls her
own age. All that was needed was a couple of girls to
play the music.
Enter, Kari's 17 year old friend Joan Larkin
(A.K.A. Joan Jett) whom she met at Rodney Bingeheimer's
English disco in Hollywood, and Sandy Pesavento
(A.K.A. Sandy West) was met by Fowley in the parking
lot of the Rainbow Bar. Kari was to be the lead
singer with Joan on guitars and Sandy on Drums.
The three girls played together and on August 5, 1975
Fowley decided that while Kari was a great lyricist, she
couldn't sing. So Kim brought in Sue Thomas (A.K.A. Micki Steele).
The band started seriously looking for a lead guitarist and
bassist. When they couldn't find any Kim found someone to
teach Joan to play lead and got Steppenwolf's Nick St.
Nicholas to teach Micki to play bass.
Their first gig, I think, was at the home of "Phast Phreddie" in
Torrance, in Sept. of 1975.
The First Recording
The three of them- Joan, Sandy, and Micki recorded a demo
album, later titled Born to Be Bad. While the band was
together this album was not released. I believe it saw its
first release in America in 1991.
Lita Ford was auditioned through Backdoor magazine, a trade
periodical. Some time later Joan and Kim (yes she was still
involved) were at the Sugar Shack (an underage disco) where
they met Marie and Cherie Currie. First they asked Marie to
join, she said "No", so they asked Cherie.They liked her
looks (she's Blonde), auditioned her, hired her and fired
Micki. According to another report Micki left because she
didn't like the toughness of the band's image. Either way
don't feel to bad for her she later found her fifteen
minutes with the Bangles.
To round things out and add a little maturity to the band
they also hired a nineteen year old bassist named Peggy.
Supposedly about two weeks after Peggy joined she and
Cherie had an arguement as to who was going to sing lead
on a ballad called "I'm Your Fantasy", which became
"You're My Fantasy" (Ironic considering it was never released).
After the argument Peggy left (so much for Bassist
number two).
Jacquline Fuchs (AKA Jackie Fox), who had earlier
auditioned to play Lead Guitar, was asked by Kim Fowley,
with whom she had kept in touch, if she could play Bass, in
early Dec. '75. Well, she didn't tell him "No" which might
have been the truth, as she had never actually played one
before. (Some people say that this was a compromise as
Jackie reporedtly threatened to start her own all-girl band.)
1976
The "Original" Lineup is Established;
Record Deal Struck
A couple of weeks before Jackie joined the Runaways a
recording deal was made with Bomp Records (Born to be Bad was,
eventually, released on Marilyn Records, which is a subsidiary
of Bomp Records). Mercury, however became interested, after
seeing them play at a teenage nightclub in Cedar Grove, Ca
and in Febuary 1976 a contract was made and "The Runaways"
album was produced, in May '76:With Cherie as the lead singer;
Joan on Rhythm Guitar; Sandy on Drums; Lita on Guitars;
Jackie on Bass.
Enter "Jailbait Rockers." With songs like Cherry Bomb and
Cherie appearing on stage in stockings, suspenders and
lingerie that stereotype was inevitable.
Second Album;
Live;
Band begins to breakup
Earle Mankey, the producer of "Sparks" and the "Beach Boys"
Was brought in to co-produce the Runaways' second album titled
"