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1[[quoteright:323:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rws.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:323: Clockwise from top left: Lita Ford, Sandy West, Jackie Fox, Joan Jett, Cherie Currie ]]
3''Not to be confused with Creator/MarvelComics' {{ComicBook/Runaways}}.''
4
5The Runaways were an all-female, Los Angeles-formed HardRock band from TheSeventies. Despite having a very short career, The Runaways hold the distinction of being the first successful all-female rock band, thus opening the door for a ton of other similar all-female/female-fronted bands. They have been cited as an important influence on the RiotGrrrl movement.
6
7The band's members were:
8* Cherie Currie - vocals, keyboards (1975-1977)
9* Music/JoanJett - guitar, vocals
10* Music/LitaFord - lead guitar
11* Sandy West - drums, vocals
12* [[Music/TheBangles Micki Steele]] - bass (1975)
13* Peggy Foster - bass (1975)
14* Jackie Fox - bass (1975-1977)
15* Vicki Blue - bass (1977-1978)
16* Laurie [=McAllister=] - bass (1978-1979)
17
18The band was initially put together by Sandy West and Joan Jett, who met producer Kim Fowley and managed to get him interested in the concept of an all-female rock band. Fowley helped them recruit the other members - Currie, the 16-year old guitar wiz Ford and, after a succession of bass players, Fox - and produced their debut album, the hard rock/glam rock ''The Runaways''. Released in 1976, ''The Runaways'' became a success with critics and the record-buying public alike, and gave the band its signature song, "Cherry Bomb". Soon, the band found itself headlining shows alongside bands like Music/CheapTrick, Music/TheRamones and Music/VanHalen.
19
20Despite being saddled with a "jailbait on the run gimmick" (whether this is Fowley's fault or theirs is still a matter of dispute), The Runaways proved to be skilled musicians and soon won an audience among the emerging PunkRock movement and [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff in Japan]] - they were the fourth most popular foreign band in Japan at the time and Jett compared their reception there to [[Music/TheBeatles Beatlemania]]. After a long tour of Japan, Currie quit in 1977 and Jett assumed lead vocal duties.
21
22The Runaways acrimoniously parted with manager and producer Kim Fowley in 1978, accusing him of being [[TheSvengali controlling as well as verbally and sexually abusive]]. This also caused them to leave their record label. After another, more tepidly-received solo album and tour, the band disbanded in 1979.
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24Out of all the members, [[BreakupBreakout Jett and Ford]] had the most success after the band's breakup - the former made a name for herself with her band The Blackhearts and her cover of "I Love Rock 'N' Roll", and the latter reemerged as a successful HairMetal musician in TheEighties.
25
26Fox left the performing side of the music business and went on to attend [[UsefulNotes/IvyLeague Harvard Law School]], where UsefulNotes/BarackObama was among her classmates. Now going by her birth name of Jacqueline Fuchs, she's an entertainment attorney, but concentrates on representing movie and TV people.
27
28A {{Biopic}} dealing with the band's career, named ''The Runaways'', written and directed by Floria Sigismondi, was released in 2010. The film features: Creator/KristenStewart as Jett, Creator/DakotaFanning as Currie, Stella Maeve as Sandy West, Scout-Taylor Compton as Ford and Creator/MichaelShannon as Fowley.
29
30Discography:
31* ''The Runaways'' (1976)
32* ''Queens of Noise'' (1977)
33* ''Live in Japan'' (1977)
34* ''Waitin' for the Night'' (1977)
35* ''And Now... The Runaways'' (1978)
36
37----
38!!Tropes:
39
40%%* BadassBoast: "Cherry Bomb"
41* CoverVersion: "Rock and Roll" by the Music/VelvetUnderground. Also, "Wild Thing".
42* CulturalRebel: [[SarcasmMode What?! An all-female hard rock band?! Most unorthodox!]]
43* InNameOnly: In 1987, Kim Fowley put together a new Runaways. None of the original members were involved.
44* IntercourseWithYou: Quite a bit.
45* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Lita comes across this way in Cherie's autobiography. [[Film/TheRunaways The movie]] makes her a straight up JerkAss which is probably why Lita doesn't care for it.
46* MusicalWorldHypotheses: Lampshaded in "Dead End Justice".
47* NobodyLovesTheBassist: The band just couldn't seem to hold onto one. In [[Film/TheRunaways the movie]], the bassist is a CompositeCharacter, Robin Robbins, who has no spoken lines.
48* OfCorsetsSexy: Cherie Currie wore a corset/basque, with garters and stockings, as her on-stage ensemble. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjd01Cup8yw&feature=related Oh my.]]
49* PowerBallad: "Heartbeat".
50* PrecisionFStrike: "You're Too Possessive".
51* SpokenWordInMusic: "Dead End Justice".
52* StageNames:
53** Joan decided that Jett would be a more fitting name for a rock star than Larkin. She had it legally changed not long after the band broke up.
54** Sandy West was the stage name of one Sandra Sue Pesavento.
55** Downplayed with Jackie Fox, whose stage name was just an anglicised version of her real name, Jacqueline Fuchs. After she left music entirely, she went back to using her real name.
56* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Sandy West sang lead vocals on their cover of "Wild Thing".
57* TokenMinority: Back when they began, they were the only all-female rock band to gain major success.
58* TropeCodifier: First all-female rock band that was known by the general public (Goldie and the Gingerbreads and Fanny came before, but who remembers them?). Music/LitaFord has commented in interviews, such as on Creator/{{NPR}}'s ''Fresh Air'', that she hears a lot of the Runaways in both all-female acts and in [[MaleBandFemaleSinger female-led acts]] such as Music/{{Halestorm}}. And possibly for UnderwearOfPower in music.

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