Date: Fall 1975
On the bill: The Runaways

The Runaways were a rock and roll phenomenon in the1970s. Lingerie- and leather-clad, the group was the ultimate schoolboy dream: girls who were hot and could rock.

Joan Jett was 15 when she formed the Runaways in 1975 with drummer Sandy West. The group was completed by Cherie Currie on vocals, Lita Ford (guitar), and Jackie Fox (bass). Within the year, the Runaways were signed to Mercury Records and working on their debut album.

Producer/manager Kim Fowley pushed the “jailbait rockers” image. But the band’s first single, “Cherry Bomb,” hinted that the girls were more than a “manufactured” band—they were serious about their music. They wrote or co-wrote most of their material, and they were good musicians.

Joan Jett, Lita Ford, and Cherie Currie enjoyed further success after the Runaways disbanded in 1979. In 1981, Cherie starred with Jodie Foster in the movie “Foxes.”  Lita had two mega-hits—“If I Close My Eyes” and “Kiss Me Deadly.”

With her band the Blackhearts, Joan has had nine Top 40 singles, including “I Love Rock and Roll,” “Bad Reputation,” “Crimson and Clover,” and “I Hate Myself For Loving You.”

From the very beginning,, the Runaways were breaking down barriers. They had no problem asserting themselves in the male-dominated world of rock and roll. Within 2 months of forming, the California girls were playing at the Whisky—on the same stage where legends (Doors, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and the Mothers…) were made.

Joan Jett wore the peacock T-shirt at one of the Runaways’ first Whisky shows, before her jet-black dye job that would soon define her look.