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Review by GREG MAKI
Cherie Currie is not a household name today—a fact
few music fans would have believed 35 years ago. She was born
with show business in her blood. Her parents and older sister
were all actors, but growing up in Los Angeles in the 1970s
with her twin sister, Marie, music called to her first. David
Bowie was more than her hero—he was her god, and her
life changed after seeing him live on his Diamond Dogs
tour at her first rock concert.
Currie’s life changed again when, at an under-21 nightclub,
she met guitarist Joan Jett and manager Kim Fowley, who offered
her a chance to audition for the band they were forming. A
few days later, Currie was the lead singer of the teenage,
all-girl rock band The Runaways.
Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway is based on Neon
Angel: The Cherie Currie Story, a young adult version
of Currie’s autobiography co-written by Neal Shusterman
and published in 1989. It also is the basis for the feature
film The Runaways, starring Dakota Fanning as Currie
and Kristen Stewart as Jett.
The bulk of the book focuses on Currie’s time with
The Runaways, a four-year period starting in 1975. Spurred
on by the novelty factor (a bunch of rebellious teenage girls
with guitars was virtually unheard of at the time) and the
hit single “Cherry Bomb,” which was written on
the spot specifically for Currie at her audition, The Runaways’
star quickly rose. They played sold-out shows across the United
States, encountered frightening punk-rock crowds in Europe
and were treated like the second coming of The Beatles during
a wildly successful tour of Japan.
How big were The Runaways? Bands like the Ramones, Van Halen,
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Cheap Trick and Blondie opened
for them.
Regarding her bandmates, Currie writes extensively—and
tastefully—of her friendship with Joan Jett and has
positive words for drummer Sandy West. The others do not fare
as well. Bassist Jackie Fox comes off as a constant annoyance,
while lead guitarist Lita Ford is portrayed as borderline
evil. I have no idea if that’s accurate, but you can
see why Ford wanted nothing to do with the Runaways
movie.
Though there certainly were good times, Currie was mostly
miserable throughout the Runaways’ wild ride, her drug
use always escalating and the band’s manager, Fowley,
controlling their every move and assuring their hard work
was rewarded with as little money as possible. Worst of all,
following her dream pulled Currie away from her family, a
fragile unit that was crumbling around her.
This is a well-written book that tells a complete story with
a beginning, middle and end—a difficult feat for an
autobiography. Currie is blunt and frank in discussing her
troubled past, which in addition to addiction includes two
horrific rapes.
The story continues after her departure from The Runaways
(she recorded only two studio albums with the group, as well
as a live record documenting the Japanese tour). It follows
Currie’s acting career—she co-starred with Jodie
Foster in Foxes (1980) and appeared in Twilight
Zone: The Movie (1983)—and her current passion,
chainsaw carving. It even includes her thoughts on the Runaways
movie.
In the end, Currie’s tone is hopeful, triumphant even.
She has experienced several lifetimes worth of joys and even
more sorrows, and she’s still here today, happy and
successful. Neon Angel is among the best rock ‘n’
roll memoirs I have read.
®2010 Live-Metal.net
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