Tour history:
From local clubs in California to sold-out halls in Japan, this section documents every known concert performed by The Runaways between 1975 and 1978.
Although The Runaways existed for only about four years, they built an impressive live career, performing more than 230 known concerts across the United States, Europe, and Japan. Reconstructing that journey has not always been straightforward. Many performances were poorly documented, some concert dates have been reported incorrectly for decades, and information about numerous shows remains incomplete or has been lost over time.
This section brings together the most complete chronology of The Runaways' live career currently available. Concerts are organized chronologically by year and tour, allowing you to follow the band's evolution from their earliest club performances in California to their final concerts in 1978. Each tour includes a short introduction providing historical context, while every concert has its own dedicated page containing all currently known information, including venue details, lineup, setlists, live recordings, photographs, and other related material whenever available.
Like the rest of this archive, the tour history is continually reviewed and updated as new discoveries help improve our understanding of the band's live career.
Please select a year below to begin exploring The Runaways' tour history...
| Date: | Venue: | City: | Country: |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 12th | Phast Phreddie's parents' house | Torrance, California | USA |
| September 27th | Hilltop Theater | Tujunga, California | USA |
| September 28th | Whisky A Go Go | Los Angeles, California | USA |
| September 29th | Whisky A Go Go | Los Angeles, California | USA |
| October 13th | Whisky A Go Go | Los Angeles, California | USA |
| October 31st | South Coast Theater | Laguna Beach, California | USA |
| November 22nd | Wild Man Sam's | Garden Groove, California | USA |
| December 5th | Wild Man Sam's | Garden Groove, California | USA |
| December 6th | Wild Man Sam's | Garden Groove, California | USA |
| December 19th | Wild Man Sam's | Garden Groove, California | USA |
| December 20th | Wild Man Sam's | Garden Groove, California | USA |
| December 24th | Wild Man Sam's | Garden Groove, California | USA |
| December 25th | Wild Man Sam's | Garden Groove, California | USA |
| December 26th | Wild Man Sam's | Garden Groove, California | USA |
| December 27th | Wild Man Sam's | Garden Groove, California | USA |
| December 31st | Wild Man Sam's | Garden Groove, California | USA |
| Concerts: 16 | |||
As you can see, only a handful of concerts from this period have been documented, although Kim Fowley once claimed that The Runaways had already played 68 shows before their famous January 28th, 1976 performance at the Starwood. At that time, the band had existed for only a few months and had not yet signed a recording contract, so Fowley arranged as many performances as possible at local theaters, small clubs, and private house parties throughout Southern California.
The story of how The Runaways came together is well known. However, despite several memoirs written by former band members, numerous interviews, and a handful of contemporary newspaper articles from the 1970s, the details of the band's earliest months remain surprisingly inconsistent. Dates, venues, and even the order of events often differ from one source to another. Even people who attended some of these early performances rarely remember specific details. As a result, reconstructing the band's concert history from 1975 has been particularly challenging. While this chronology cannot be guaranteed to be completely accurate, it represents the most reliable reconstruction currently possible based on all available evidence.
One particularly interesting story appeared in the November 1977 issue of the Back Door Man fanzine. It describes a concert on the rooftop of an unidentified apartment building in Huntington Beach, believed to have been the first performance featuring Cherie Currie on lead vocals and Peggy Foster on bass. According to the article, the police interrupted the show before it was completed. Later that same night, the band reportedly played another performance at Wild Man Sam’s in Huntington Beach around midnight. The exact date of these concerts remains unknown, but they are believed to have taken place in late November 1975. Peggy Foster left the band shortly afterward.
During this early period, The Runaways regularly performed several original songs that were never officially released. Among the best-known examples are Who Do You VooDoo and Me ’N You. The remainder of their set lists consisted primarily of songs that would later appear on the band's first two studio albums, along with a few cover versions, including Lou Reed's Rock And Roll and The Troggs' Wild Thing, the latter being the only song sung live by Sandy West. Until Lita Ford joined the group in October 1975, Joan Jett was the band's only guitarist. Since her strengths lay in rhythm guitar and lead vocals rather than guitar solos, these early performances featured relatively simple guitar arrangements.
Changes in the band:
The band's lineup underwent several significant changes during these first few months. The Runaways were originally formed in August 1975 by Joan Jett and Sandy West. Shortly afterward, Micki Steele joined as lead vocalist and bassist. In October, Lita Ford completed the lineup as lead guitarist.
Only a few weeks later, in early November, Micki Steele was dismissed because, according to Kim Fowley, she did not have the right “rock ‘n’ roll look.” She was replaced by Cherie Currie as lead vocalist and Peggy Foster as bassist. Peggy remained with the band for only a short time before leaving in late November 1975. In early December, Jackie Fox joined as the band's new bassist, completing the lineup that would soon record The Runaways' debut album.