SANDY WEST TRIBUTE PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK

http://www.therunaways.com/sandywest/ also link to The Runaways official site

http://www.therunaways.com/

Widely believed at the time to have been a novelty act formed by producer Kim Fowley, who thought the notion of five teenage girls dressed in leather and lingerie performing rock and roll music was highly marketable, the truth of the band's origin is actually that the individual parts that made up the whole began with the most pure rock 'n' roll intentions.

Despite the apparent "jailbait on the run" gimmick pushed by their manager, the girls in the band were proficient at playing their instruments and wrote or co-wrote most of the band's material and, as later became obvious, were serious about their music. Their best known song is 1976's "Cherry Bomb" — Hello daddy, hello mom, I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb! — which has been covered by many other bands, including the Japanese pop-punk trio Shonen Knife, and Joan Jett's later band The Blackhearts.

It's a common misconception that The Runaways were a manufactured band, controlled by manager Kim Fowley -- in fact, The Runaways were formed in late 1975 by drummer Sandy West and rhythm guitarist Joan Jett, as well as songwriter Kari Krome, who was searching for girls to perform her songs. They had introduced themselves (on separate occasions) to producer Kim Fowley stating their ideas to form an all-girl band. Fowley, who was always looking for the next big thing, gave West Jett's phone number. The two met on their own to discuss the possibilities. After rehearsing together, the pair contacted Fowley to let him hear the results. Fowley then helped the girls find the other members.

Starting as a power trio with bassist Micki (Michael) Steele, The Runaways began the party and club circuit around Los Angeles. Eventually they added 16-year-old lead guitarist Lita Ford to the fray and lead singer Cherie Currie. Bassist Micki Steele left the group, later resurfacing in the hugely successful Bangles. After some trial and error Jackie Fox (who had originally auditioned for the lead guitar spot) was added on bass and the line up was complete.

Fame
The Runaways were signed to Mercury Records in 1976 and their debut album, The Runaways, was released shortly after. The band toured the US and played numerous sold out shows. They had opening acts for Cheap Trick, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, the Ramones, and Van Halen. In the film Edgeplay: A Film About The Runaways, it was said that each girl patterned herself after her idols: Currie patterning her look after David Bowie, Jett after Suzi Quatro and Keith Richards, Ford as a cross between Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and Jeff Beck, West after Queen drummer Roger Taylor, and Fox after Kiss frontman Gene Simmons.

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 east coast punk bands such as Blondie, The Ramones and The Dead Boys (via New York City's CBGB's) as well as the UK punk scene by hanging out with the likes of The Damned, Generation X and The Sex Pistols. Due to the band's constant touring, they were in the unique position of being in the middle of the punk scene as it was breaking in two different countries, thus cementing their place in punk history.

In the summer of 1977 the group arrived in Japan for a string of sold out shows. The Runaways were the number 4 imported music act in Japan at the time, only trailing behind Led Zeppelin, ABBA, and Kiss in terms of album sales and popularity. The girls were unprepared for the onslaught of fans that greeted them at the airport. The mass hysteria would later be described by guitarist Jett as being "like Beatlemania". While in Japan, The Runaways had their own TV special, did numerous television appearances and released a live album that went gold. While in Japan, bassist Jackie Fox left the band before the group was scheduled to appear at the Tokyo Music