The Runaways Live

In January 1978, The Runaways embarked on their first major North American tour in support of Waitin' For The Night. The tour was organized in cooperation with The Ramones' management, as both bands were touring the country at the same time and shared the bill for most of the scheduled concerts. The Runaways served as the opening act for The Ramones on most dates, although the running order was occasionally reversed, with The Ramones opening for The Runaways.

After nearly two months away from the stage following the North American tour, The Runaways played a handful of concerts in California in early June before departing for their next European tour. These performances gave the band an opportunity to rehearse and test their new set list in front of a live audience.

For these performances, the set list was completely revised. Concerts typically opened with School Days, followed by Gotta Get Out Tonight. All Right You Guys also returned to the set list for the first time since the Japan tour in 1977. In addition, Waitin' For The Night made its live debut. The encore usually consisted of Queens Of Noise and Wasted.

Summer Vacation was the official name of The Runaways' second European tour in support of Waitin' For The Night. The alternative title European Invasion 1978 appeared only occasionally in promotional materials and other contemporary documents.

Compared to the previous European tour, the itinerary placed greater emphasis on Scandinavia, where the band had built a particularly strong following. More concerts were also scheduled in Germany, while only a handful of shows took place in the United Kingdom.

The set list changed at least once during the tour. Early concerts typically opened with I Wanna Be Where The Boys Are and Gotta Get Out Tonight. Compared to previous tours, considerably more material from the album Waitin' For The Night was included in the set list. Midway through the tour, the opening sequence was revised, with concerts beginning with School Days, California Paradise, and I Wanna Be Where The Boys Are. Encore performances continued to feature songs from the band's first two studio albums, and the shows usually concluded with Wild Thing.

The Runaways performed at a charity event celebrating the Los Angeles premiere of the Broadway musical Annie. The event was held to raise funds for the Park Century School in Century City, California.

The band's final tour was organized in support of their last studio album, And Now... The Runaways. It also proved to be The Runaways' last tour before the band disbanded in early 1979. By this time, Vicki Blue had already left the group and was replaced by Laurie McAllister. Although neither bassist appears on the album, as all of the bass parts were recorded by Lita Ford, Laurie performed them live throughout the tour.

The set list was completely revised to feature several songs from the new album. Concerts typically opened with Mama Weer All Crazee Now, California Paradise, and I Love Playin' With Fire. Although Wild Thing was no longer performed, Sandy West once again took lead vocals, this time on Right Now. Interestingly, the album Waitin' For The Night was represented by only one song, while most of the older material came from the band's first two studio albums. Born To Be Bad also returned to the encore on most dates, alongside Queens Of Noise, after being absent from the set list since late 1975 or early 1976.

Plans for the 1979 European tour

Shortly before the band's breakup, an extensive European tour was scheduled to take place between February 21st and May 15th, 1979. Numerous concerts had already been booked, including performances at the Winter Gardens in Malvern, England, on March 28th and the Volkshaus in Zurich, Switzerland, on April 27th. However, the entire tour was cancelled in early 1979, and none of the scheduled concerts took place.