The best-remembered lineup of the Runaways: (left to right) Jackie Fox, Joan Jett, Sandy West, Cherie Currie, Lita Ford
In this episode, Cherie Currie and Jackie Fox join the Runaways and co-founding member Kari Krome leaves. Meet Hollywood punk icon Pleasant Gehman, and hear about the most mythologized aspect of Runaways’ lore: the writing of “Cherry Bomb.”
Content warning: This episode discusses sexual violence.
SOURCES
This season of Bad Reputation would not be possible without the work of journalist Evelyn McDonnell and her book Queens of Noise. If you are looking to learn more about the Runaways, this is a must.
Other sources for this episode include:
Neon Angel by Cherie Currie
Living Like a Runaway by Lita Ford
We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk by Marc Spitz and Brendan Mullen
We Were Going to Change the World: Interviews with Women from the 1970s and 1980s Southern California Punk Rock Scene by Stacy Russo
Mayor of the Sunset Strip (documentary)
Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways (documentary)
SUPPLEMENTAL READING
“Journalist Jason Cherkis Discusses His Investigation Into Kim Fowley Rape Allegations” by Jessica Hopper
“I Woke Up in a Parallel Universe” by Jackie Fuchs (Jackie Fox)
“‘I'd known there was a possibility this had happened’: Runaways biographer Evelyn McDonnell on rape charges” by Scott Timberg
“What Should We Say About David Bowie and Lori Maddox?” by Jia Tolentino
“Lobotomy: LA’s Greatest Unknown Punk Rock Fanzine” by Howie Pyro
I read, watch, and conduct as many interviews as possible to make Bad Reputation, but this is a self-funded passion project. Only a fraction of the interviews I find or conduct appear in episodes, but all voice-acted parts are dramatizations of real quotes or interactions described in interviews.
If you have a question about where a specific piece of information came from or would like to provide a source for correcting something, please reach out.
Belinda Carlisle, Pleasant Gehman and Wyline. Photo by Theresa Kereakes.
CREDITS
Culture doesn't exist in a vacuum, and my voice actors are the people whose ideas, influence, and encouragement shape my work. If you like this podcast, you will probably like many of their projects, too.
Cat DeBacker (Cherie Currie) is a culture writer.
Scott Plant (Kim Fowley) plays in the band Droids Blood.
Kat Buckley (Lita Ford) is an art historian and curator.
Johnna Jackson (Joan Jett) is a writer and organizer.
Molly Claire Berkson (Jackie Fox) is a print artist.
Culture writer KT Hawbaker was the developmental editor for this episode.
Bad Reputation's logo photo is by photographer Martin Sorrondeguy aka Martin Crudo. You may know him from Limp Wrist or Los Crudos, though he has played — and continues playing — in many bands.
MUSIC
All music that appeared in this episode is from a royalty-free music library or the Creative Commons, with the exception of the outro, which is “Wavelengths” by Death Valley. The soundbyte of Kim Fowley describing himself as sexually abusive is from The Mayor of Sunset Strip.
Jackie Fox was into surfing — in part because it was a sport not many women participated in. Jackie didn’t just like trying new things; she lived to trail blaze.