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THE RUNAWAYS THREAD


ZeppFanForever

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How's it going fellow die hard hard core ZEPPELIN fanatics? I hope the week has been treating all of you well. My overtime hours at work are about to overwhelm me so please forgive me if I cannot answer all of your posts/responses in a timely manner. My next thread is on a legendary all-female band that needs no introduction the world over. If my brain is correct, THE RUNAWAYS (Solo artists Joan Jett and Lita Ford included) are the ONLY all-female band to be included in the VH-1 Top 100 All-time Greatest Hard Rock Songs Ever. It would be inappropriate for me to mention all of the legendary female performers in Rock's glorious past without mentioning THE RUNAWAYS. So without further delay, AND AWAY WE GO!

THE RUNAWAYS will forever go down in Rock n' Roll history and be remembered for becoming the first true ALL-FEMALE Hard Rock band. Get a load of this line-up: Joan Jett (Born Joan Larkin) on Guitar, Lita Ford on Guitar, Cherie Currie on Lead Vocals, Jackie Fox (Born Jacqueline Fuchs) on Bass and the late Sandy West (Born Sandy Pesavento) on the Drums. Cherie Currie would actually beat out MADONNA in being the first female frontwoman to wear Lingerie as her regular wardrobe on a regular basis. Lita Ford would openly admit that numerous guys in many of their audiences, would throw condoms on stage. Vicki Blue A.K.A. Victory Tischler-Blue would later replace the departed Jackie Fox on Bass in the late 1970's in order to keep THE RUNAWAYS' sound fully intact. However, Blue's seizures would become one of the contributing factors that would lay THE RUNAWAYS to rest permanently. How unfair! THE RUNAWAYS' musical influences were the mighty LED ZEPPELIN, BLACK SABBATH, THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES, AEROSMITH, DAVID BOWIE, KISS, PINK FLOYD, THE WHO, THE KINKS and DEEP PURPLE. Put all of these influences together and you have some of the most Hard-driven, Guitar-driven Hard Rock n Roll ever recorded by an all-female band.

The Genesis of the most popular line-up of THE RUNAWAYS can be traced all the way back to Los Angeles in 1975. There were other vocalists and guitarists that were in THE RUNAWAYS but were soon replaced by the legendary line-up that we are all accustomed to. When the line-up of Jett, Ford, Currie, Fox and West joined forces, there was no looking back and this all-female Hard Rock band had one mission in life, "TO BLOW EVERYONE AWAY!" In reality, they did just that. And just think, while still in their teens, THE RUNAWAYS were the first all-female Rock Band that actually wrote their own songs and played their own instruments. It wasn't until THE RUNAWAYS met manager/hustler Kim Fowley that the band started to show signs of life and gain worldwide popularity.

When you think of THE RUNAWAYS, you think of their ass kickin' Hard Rockin' songs such as "Cherry Bomb," "Blackmail," "Secrets," "I Love Playin' With Fire," "Born To Be Bad," "Take It Or Leave It," "Queens Of Noise," "You Drive Me Wild," "Neon Angels On the Road To Ruin," "Wasted," "Wait For Me" and "Waitin' For The Night" to name a few. Believe me when I tell you that these songs do kick ass while Rockin'.

It is just too bad that THE RUNAWAYS officially disbanded in 1979. While still in their prime, THE RUNAWAYS was a great band that still had so much to give. This band was for real and still had so much to accomplish in Rock n' Roll. However, THE RUNAWAYS legend did not end in 1979. Female Rockers Joan Jett and Lita Ford would successfully move on in lighting up the Rock n' roll world by entertaining their audiences with their spectacular solo careers. Cherie Currie would successfully wind up recording a solo album with her sister Marie and take up a career in acting. Believe it or not, Bass player Jackie Fox would end up going to Harvard Law School and wind up becoming a very successful entertainment Lawyer. WOW! The late Sandy West would wind up becoming a Bounty Hunter and a Collector for Loan Sharks. WOW! When Sandy West died of Cancer on that fateful day of 21 October 2006, Rock n' Roll lost one of its premiere pioneer female drummers ever besides Karen Carpenter. Vicki Blue would eventually pursue a career behind the camera in film and TV. However, Blue would film a DVD Documentary entitled Edgeplay, The Story of THE RUNAWAYS! This film was made with the full cooperation of the band with the exception of Joan Jett! Word now has it that Joan Jett is filming a movie about THE RUNAWAYS with all of the band members' full participation and cooperation. THE RUNAWAYS, without a doubt, has forever left their mark in Rock n' Roll history and their legacy of music will never be forgotten as long as music still exists. And as the saying goes, "AND THE REST IS ROCK N' ROLL HISTORY," am I wrong? R.I.P. Sandy Pesavento A.K.A. Sandy West, Born 10 July 1959, Died 21 October 2006 at age 47. LONG LIVE ROCK N' ROLL! ROCK ON!

Edited by ZeppFanForever
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I saw them in '77 at Cobo Arena. They were backing up J. Gelis, I believe. They may have even been the third band on the bill behind Heart. Don't remember much about it except that it was a very short set. Those spandex jumpsuits made them look like an 80's hair band ahead of their time.

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Hey, what would bands like The Donnas and Sahara Hotnights be without The Runaways!

The Runaways - I love playin' with fire

How's it going "Swede?" Long time no hear. How's it going in Sweden? How true "Swede!" Where JANIS (The Queen of Rock n' Roll had an ALL-MALE back-up band.) ended, THE RUNAWAYS' contribution pretty much took over and opened the doors for ALL-FEMALE Hard Rock bands that were soon to follow. ROCK ON!

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I saw them in '77 at Cobo Arena. They were backing up J. Gelis, I believe. They may have even been the third band on the bill behind Heart. Don't remember much about it except that it was a very short set. Those spandex jumpsuits made them look like an 80's hair band ahead of their time.

How's it going "Bong-Man?" Hollywood needs to make a movie about you "Bong-Man!" Yeah, those wild spandex jumpsuits and Lingerie that Cherie Currie and the band were wearing were far ahead of their time. ROCK ON!

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One day I really need to sit down and listen to them. They're a band I think I would like. I've been wanting to read Cherie Curie's book, but I know it's been out of print for a while.

How's it going "Roxie?" You would definitely love this band, this band was truly for real. Despite being in their teens, this all-female band were wilder than most all-male bands. Had JANIS lived, she would have been proud. JANIS would have corrupted THE RUNAWAYS even more and they would have loved every minute of it. ROCK ON!

Edited by ZeppFanForever
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Good write up ZeppFanForever but have you forgotten 2 all girl rock bands from the early 70s ........... Fanny and Bertha...........I can't remember much about them though, maybe someone else can ?

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Good write up ZeppFanForever but have you forgotten 2 all girl rock bands from the early 70s ........... Fanny and Bertha...........I can't remember much about them though, maybe someone else can ?

How's it going "johnthomasmoby?" I am truly glad that I have all of you around to correct me when I f*c* up and this is truly one of them on my part. I owe both you and "danelectro" a great deal of gratitude for reminding me about FANNY and BERTHA. I have TOTALLY forgotten about them. There are so many bands and very few brain cells or as Robert Plant once said: "Give or take a brain cell!" I guess that I'm going to have to write a thread on them in the future. Thanks again for the reminder. ROCK ON!

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Yeah Fanny were definitely pre Runaway's and honestly I always thought the Runaways had more in common with the punk movement anyway.

Fanny rocked pretty hard and yeah the Runaways were damn cool too.

How's it going "danelectro?" I admit, I TOTALLY forgot about both FANNY and BERTHA. I owe both you and "johnthomasmoby" a great deal of gratitude for reminding me. Now I'm going to have to write up a thread on FANNY and BERTHA in the future. Thanks again for the reminder. ROCK ON!

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How's it going "johnthomasmoby?" I am truly glad that I have all of you around to correct me when I f*c* up and this is truly one of them on my part. I owe both you and "danelectro" a great deal of gratitude for reminding me about FANNY and BERTHA. I have TOTALLY forgotten about them. There are so many bands and very few brain cells or as Robert Plant once said: "Give or take a brain cell!" I guess that I'm going to have to write a thread on them in the future. Thanks again for the reminder. ROCK ON!

No f**k up on your part ZeppFanForever.The memory banks deepen as we all get older and sometimes you have to dive a little deeper to retrive those old memories...Like it came to me earlier on today that the Bertha LP I heard way back when was called "Bertha - Has Balls" ..... As for Fanny i think..but not sure that they supported the Stones at some point......Now that could be a false memory... but who knows ?

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No f**k up on your part ZeppFanForever.The memory banks deepen as we all get older and sometimes you have to dive a little deeper to retrive those old memories...Like it came to me earlier on today that the Bertha LP I heard way back when was called "Bertha - Has Balls" ..... As for Fanny i think..but not sure that they supported the Stones at some point......Now that could be a false memory... but who knows ?

How's it going "johnthomasmoby?" Thanks again for your understanding. ROCK ON!

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  • 8 months later...

I love the Runaways. Queens of Noise is a pretty rockin' album, but I love the rawness of their debut, The Runaways. Dead End Justice always gets me. I definitely prefer them when Cherie Currie and Jackie Fox were still in the band, though they had their moments later on - Black Leather, Don't Go Away and Saturday Night Special. My favourites just have to be Take It Or Leave It and I Love Playin' With Fire. Pretty fuckin-a for an all-girl teenage rock band.

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There's going to be a movie made about them coming out sometime next year. Kirsten Stewart(Twilight) will play Joan Jett, and Dakota Fanning will play Cherrie Currie.

Can't wait for this movie. Judging from the stills that have been released so far, it seems it has the potential to be a good flick. Kinda eerie how Kristen looks almost identical to Joan Jett. I hope the trailer gets released soon. I just found out it was was directed by Floria Sigismondi who's one of my favorite music video directors. That's a bonus!

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The Runaways are really cool.

There's going to be a movie made about them coming out sometime next year. Kirsten Stewart(Twilight) will play Joan Jett, and Dakota Fanning will play Cherrie Currie.

Ought to be interesting.

:peace:,

Jo

How's it going "pagemccartney95?" I hope all is well with you. Is the movie still moving ahead on schedule as planned? I thought that I read something that metioned that the movie was cancelled due to a Lawsuit that was brought on by Joan Jett. Have you heard anything about this? I'll do some research and find out. When I find out, I will post a comment here on the Forum. Thank your for your comment, have a great weekend and ROCK ON!

LATE EDIT! I remember now, Joan Jett was suing former RUNAWAY Jackie Fox (Who is now an Attorney in Los Angeles) over certain legal issues. I will still have to do some further research on this matter and I will post it here soon.

Edited by ZeppFanForever
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I kinda like The Runaways. The girls and the band was really hard rocking back in the day. I like the way they played hard rock. I mean they showed that the girls can rock too. :)

How's it going "Black_Dog_90?" I hope all is well with you. I realize that there were other female bands before THE RUNAWAYS but I consider THE RUNAWAYS the first true all female Hard Rock band that would appear in the 1970's. THE RUNAWAYS proved once and for all, that foxy ladies can kick ass by taking Hard Rock to another level. Thank you for your comment and ROCK ON!

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I love the Runaways. Queens of Noise is a pretty rockin' album, but I love the rawness of their debut, The Runaways. Dead End Justice always gets me. I definitely prefer them when Cherie Currie and Jackie Fox were still in the band, though they had their moments later on - Black Leather, Don't Go Away and Saturday Night Special. My favourites just have to be Take It Or Leave It and I Love Playin' With Fire. Pretty fuckin-a for an all-girl teenage rock band.

How's it going "longdistancewinner?" I hope all is well with you. When you think about it, THE RUNAWAYS were far ahead of their time. This was a young teenage all-female Hard Rock band that just wanted to kick ass and ROCK OUT! The band's manager, Kim Fowley, f*c*ed the whole thing up and ruined THE RUNAWAYS into breaking up in 1979. What a terrible loss for Rock n' Roll. R.I.P. Sandy West. Thank you for your comment and ROCK ON!

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Can't wait for this movie. Judging from the stills that have been released so far, it seems it has the potential to be a good flick. Kinda eerie how Kristen looks almost identical to Joan Jett. I hope the trailer gets released soon. I just found out it was was directed by Floria Sigismondi who's one of my favorite music video directors. That's a bonus!

How's it going "Roxie?" I hope all is well with you. I'm going to do some research and find out what is going on with the movie. I hope that the movie is moving forward on schedule as planned. I'll let you know soon. In the mean time, thank you for your comment, have a great weekend and ROCK ON!

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How's it going "longdistancewinner?" I hope all is well with you. When you think about it, THE RUNAWAYS were far ahead of their time. This was a young teenage all-female Hard Rock band that just wanted to kick ass and ROCK OUT! The band's manager, Kim Fowley, f*c*ed the whole thing up and ruined THE RUNAWAYS into breaking up in 1979. What a terrible loss for Rock n' Roll. R.I.P. Sandy West. Thank you for your comment and ROCK ON!

Hey, ZFF, all is well with me, thank ye kindly. Hope you're the same.

The Runaways were light years ahead of their time. And they mixed up what was a very male orientated business. That's why I love them. Because they were the first of their kind and they sound so good.

Kim Fowley, undoubtably, fucked them three ways to Sunday, but he had a hand in making them, just as much as breaking them.

Sandy was an amazing drummer.

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Hey, ZFF, all is well with me, thank ye kindly. Hope you're the same.

The Runaways were light years ahead of their time. And they mixed up what was a very male orientated business. That's why I love them. Because they were the first of their kind and they sound so good.

Kim Fowley, undoubtably, fucked them three ways to Sunday, but he had a hand in making them, just as much as breaking them.

Sandy was an amazing drummer.

How's it going "longdistancewinner?" I hope all is still well with you. How's the weather in England? Yeah, Kim Fowley not only f*c*ed them outside the bedroom, he also f*c*ed them in the bedroom three ways as well. Ha Ha! Thank you for your comment and as the late great John Lennon once said, "Give my love to England!" ROCK ON!

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