Live recordings
Every surviving live recording preserves a performance that would otherwise exist only in memory.
This section brings together the currently known live recordings and studio sessions by The Runaways, documenting the surviving legacy of the band's live career.
Thanks to dedicated fans and collectors, as well as professional recordings made throughout the band's career, performances from nearly every tour have survived in one form or another. Some recordings were captured professionally, while many others were taped by audience members using the equipment available at the time.
Although the recording quality varies considerably, every recording has its own historical value. Whether it is a professionally recorded broadcast or a distant audience tape, each one captures a unique moment in the band's history and helps preserve performances that would otherwise have been lost.
Live In Japan analysis
Live In Japan is the only live album released by The Runaways during their active career. It was compiled from recordings made at three concerts in Tokyo during the band's 1977 tour of Japan: two shows at Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan on June 5th and 6th, followed by a third at Shibuya Kokaido Hall on June 12th.
For many years, the exact concert source of the individual tracks remained uncertain. This analysis compares the available recordings from all three shows to identify which performance was used for each track on the album.
Several songs recorded during these concerts were omitted from the final version of Live In Japan but later appeared on other releases. The live tracks included on the British I Love Playing With Fire compilation are the same recordings previously released on Flaming Schoolgirls. Likewise, the live tracks featured on The Best Of The Runaways originate from Live In Japan.
There were also long-standing rumors that the Japanese All Right You Guys single featured a performance from a different night than the album version. A comparison of the recordings shows that this is not the case. Both releases use the same performance and the same edits. The only difference is Cherie's introduction - “…it's called All Right You Guys!” - which appears on the single but was omitted from the album.
| Song: | Portion length: | Recorded at: |
|---|---|---|
| Queens Of Noise | 0:00 - 3:20 | Shibuya Kokaido Hall - June 12th, 1977 |
| California Paradise | 0:00 - 2:54 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 5th, 1977 |
| All Right You Guys | 0:00 - 0:54 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 6th, 1977 |
| 0:54 - 1:01 | Shibuya Kokaido Hall - June 12th, 1977 | |
| 1:01 - 3:37 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 6th, 1977 | |
| Wild Thing | 0:00 - 3:40 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 6th, 1977 |
| Gettin' Hot | 0:00 - 2:58 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 6th, 1977 |
| 2:58 - 3:33 | Shibuya Kokaido Hall - June 12th, 1977 | |
| Rock And Roll | 0:00 - 3:58 | Shibuya Kokaido Hall - June 12th, 1977 |
| You Drive Me Wild | 0:00 - 3:16 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 6th, 1977 |
| Neon Angels On The Road To Ruin | 0:00 - 3:29 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 6th, 1977 |
| 3:29 - 3:32 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 5th, 1977 | |
| I Wanna Be Where The Boys Are | 0:00 - 1:23 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 5th, 1977 |
| 1:23 - 2:53 | Shibuya Kokaido Hall - June 12th, 1977 | |
| Cherry Bomb | 0:00 - 2:11 | Shibuya Kokaido Hall - June 12th, 1977 |
| American Nights | 0:00 - 4:02 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 6th, 1977 |
| C'mon | 0:00 - 4:10 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 6th, 1977 |
| Song: | Portion length: | Recorded at: |
|---|---|---|
| All Right You Guys | 0:00 - 0:57 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 6th, 1977 |
| 0:57 - 1:04 | Shibuya Kokaido Hall - June 12th, 1977 | |
| 1:04 - 3:36 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 6th, 1977 | |
| Blackmail | 0:00 - 3:17 | Shibuya Kokaido Hall - June 12th, 1977 |
| Song: | Portion length: | Recorded at: |
|---|---|---|
| Intro | 0:00 - 0:21 | Shibuya Kokaido Hall - June 12th, 1977 |
| Blackmail | 0:00 - 3:10 | Shibuya Kokaido Hall - June 12th, 1977 |
| 3:10 - 3:54 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 6th, 1977 | |
| Is It Day Or Night? | 0:00 - 2:38 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 6th, 1977 |
| I Love Playin' With Fire | 0:00 - 4:07 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 6th, 1977 |
| Secrets | 0:00 - 3:32 | Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan - June 6th, 1977 |
Spotting the overdubs
It is not unusual for live albums to be edited or overdubbed before release, and Live In Japan is no exception. Identifying every studio alteration made to the album may be difficult, but several overdubs and edits can be clearly heard when compared with the original concert recordings. So far, the following have been identified:
All Right You Guys:
The first noticeable edit on the album occurs during the first half of the song, between 0:54 and 1:01. The guitar riff in this section sounds entirely different from the audience recording of the original performance, while the rest of the song matches perfectly. A comparison with the other surviving recordings reveals that this short segment was replaced with a recording from the June 12th concert at Shibuya Kokaido Hall.
I Wanna Be Where The Boys Are:
This is possibly the most heavily edited song on the album. At the end of nearly every chorus, Joan's “Yeah!” scream following “…I Wanna Be Where The Boys Are” was altered to sound longer and more powerful than it did during the original performance.
Another major edit occurs during the first guitar solo, between 1:23 and 1:54. The solo is entirely different from what Lita originally played that night, and a comparison with the surviving recordings reveals that it was replaced with the guitar solo from the June 12th concert at Shibuya Kokaido Hall.