michael steele

The Runaway Runaways, Ep. 2: Yesterday's Kids

Micki Steele, Sandy West, and Joan Jett in the original lineup of the Runaways

Micki Steele, Sandy West, and Joan Jett in the original lineup of the Runaways

At their inception, the Runaways were a trio of raw sound and teenage ambition. But Micki Steele, their original bassist and lead singer, was quickly pushed out of the band. Almost 10 years later, she found a home in the Bangles, a band that gave her more commercial success and creative satisfaction than the Runaways ever could. But what happened between leaving the Runaways and joining the Bangles?


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:

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

Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash by Brendan Mullen, Don Bolles, and Adam Parfrey

VH1’s Behind the Music - The Bangles

“Sweetheart of the Sun & Modern Art: Chatting with the Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs and and Matthew Sweet” by Mike Ragogna

“With a Little Help From Friend Prince, The Bangles Have Become Queens of Post-Psychedelic Pop” by Michelle Green

“Origins of the Bangles” by Kelly McCartney

“It’s Time to Recognize the Ronettes as Rock and Roll Pioneers” by Hilarie Asheton

Various interviews on Micki-Steele.net

This episode also relied on some articles accessed through paid databases.


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.


Susanna Hoff’s flyer for attracting soon-to-be Bangles members

Susanna Hoff’s flyer for attracting soon-to-be Bangles members

CREDITS

Culture doesn't exist in a vacuum, and my voice actors are among the people whose ideas, influence, and encouragement shape my work. If you like this podcast, you will probably like many of their projects, too.

Clementine Wink (Susanna Hoffs) plays in the band Civic Center.

Eli Harvey (Sandy West) is a writer and comedian.

Josh Watkins (Phast Phreddie Patterson) is a writer.

J.R. Nelson (heckler) is a music critic.

Scott Plant (Kim Fowley) plays in the band Droids Blood.

KT Hawbaker (Michael Steele) is a culture writer. They also worked as developmental editor on 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.

I used two clips from audio interviews with Michael Steele: one from an interview on BBC6 in 2003 and the other from the Bangles episode of VH1’s Behind the Music.

The Runaway Runaways, Ep. 1: I Wanna Be Where the Boys Are

Micki Steele, Sandy West, and Joan Jett in the original Runaways lineup

Micki Steele, Sandy West, and Joan Jett in the original Runaways lineup

The Runaways were the first all-female hard rock band to achieve mainstream success, but they had a famously abusive manager. How did this affect the band’s development, and where did women who refused to work with the Runaways’ manager end up? Meet Kari Krome, Joan Jett, Sandy West, and Micki Steele — and get a taste for how their rock ambitions paved the way for Los Angeles punk.


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.


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

Mayor of the Sunset Strip (documentary)

Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways (documentary)

"Rodney's Remembered" by Kari Krome

"Have You Ever Been a Teen?" by Lena Lecaro

"Kim Fowley: The Original Mayor of the Sunset Strip" by Kim Fowley


Additional articles from a paid database were used to research this episode.


Sandy West, Joan Jett, and Micki Steele

Sandy West, Joan Jett, and Micki Steele

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.


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.

Scott Plant (Kim Fowley) plays in the band Droids Blood.

Cat DeBacker (Cherie and Marie Currie) is a culture writer.

Hayley Jane Blackstone (Kari Krome) plays in the band Red Delicious.

Josh Watkins (Phast Phreddie Patterson) is a writer.

Johnna Jackson (Joan Jett) is a writer and organizer.

J.R. Nelson (Ritchie Yorke) is a music critic.

Eli Harvey (Sandy West) is a writer and comedian.

Kat Buckley (Lita Ford) is an art historian and curator.

Educator, artist, and publisher Dushko Petrovich was a 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.


Rodney Bingenheimer (center) stands outside Rodney’s English Disco, his small Los Angeles club that served as a foothold for glam rock and helped connect some of the innovators of the L.A. punk scene.

Rodney Bingenheimer (center) stands outside Rodney’s English Disco, his small Los Angeles club that served as a foothold for glam rock and helped connect some of the innovators of the L.A. punk scene.

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.

Audio clips were also taken from the movies Almost Famous and The Runaways.