The Runaways were an American rock band that recorded and performed in the second half of the 1970s. The band was formed in late 1975 by drummer Sandy West and rhythm guitarist Joat Jett. Starting as a power trio with singer/bassist Micki Steele, the Runaways began the party and club circuit around Los Angeles. They soon added lead guitarist Lita Ford, who had originally auditioned for the bass spot. Steele was fired from
the group, replaced by local bassist Peggy Foster, who left after just
one month. Lead singer Cherie Currie was found and recruited in a local teen nightclub called the Sugar Shack, followed by Jackie Fox (who had originally auditioned for the lead guitar spot) on bass.
The Runaways were signed to Mercury Records in 1976 and their debut album, The Runaways,
was released shortly after. The band toured the U.S. and played
numerous sold-out shows. Their opening shows included headlining acts
such as Cheap Trick, Van Halen, Talking Heads and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The album starts with their best-known song "Cherry Bomb".
Their second album, Queens of Noise,
was released in 1977, and the band began a world tour. The Runaways
quickly became lumped in with the growing punk rock movement. The band
(already fixtures on the West Coast punk scene) formed alliances with punk bands such as the Ramones, the Dead Boys, the Damned, Generation X and the Sex Pistols.
In the summer of 1977, they went to Japan, where they played a string of sold-out shows.
The Runaways were the number four imported music act in Japan at the
time, behind ABBA, Kiss and Led Zeppelin in album sales and popularity. While in Japan, the Runaways had their own TV special, did numerous television appearances and released the album Live in Japan, which went gold. Also in Japan, Fox left the band shortly before the group was scheduled to appear at the 1977 Tokyo Music Festival. Jett temporarily took over bass duties.
When the group returned home, they replaced Fox with Vicki Blue.
Currie then left the group after a blow-up with Ford in the fall
of 1977. Jett, who had previously shared vocals with Currie, took over
lead vocals full-time. The band released their fourth album, Waitin' for the Night, and started a world tour with the Ramones.
Due to disagreements over money and the management of the band, the Runaways and Kim Fowley parted ways in 1977.They also parted with their record label Mercury/Polygram, to which their deal was tied. Fowley, and others assigned to look after the band, were accused of broken promises as to schooling and other care, using divide and conquer tactics to keep control of the band, along with the verbal taunting of band members. Fowley was also accused of rape by Fox. The band released their last album And Now... The Runaways in 1978.
Disagreement between band members included the musical style; Joan Jett wanted the band to take a musical change, shifting towards punk rock and glam while Lita Ford and Sandy West wanted to continue playing hard rock and heavy metal music. Finally, the band played their last concert on New Year's Eve 1978 at the Cow Palace near San Francisco and officially broke up in April 1979.
