a letter from England..

[crimsoncurrent]

I?ve been trying to describe ?the Runaways? to the uninitiated on ?qqrenegades? and I described them as a cross between ?the Sweet? and ?the Clash?. I still think of them as somehow quintessentially english somehow. Right now the evening sun is setting here in Worsley Woods and Suzi Q is doing her Thursday Rock n?Roll Show and she?s playin? ?Dion and the Belmonts?. It could almost be Cherie herself on there. Very similar attitude, nice personality and a down to earthiness that?s kept their feet on the ground every step of the way. I?m sure there?s loads of people in Britain that remember them with fondness.

<font color="#007FFF" size="1">[ May 20, 2004 04:19 PM: Message edited by: greg young ]</font>

[crimsoncurrent]

And continuing the Letter from England I?d like to thank Gus Danger for his enthusiasm and for bringing California weather with him. Yeah, it?s absolutely true, England is going through a spring of ?almost ? Los Angeles weather! And I reckon it was Gus and not Global Warming that brought it to us!

Which reminds me, Cherie, you really shouldn?t excite our imaginations further by telling us that you were being interviewed naked by your swimming pool in the downloaded ?radio broadcast?. It resulted in a frenzy of excitement not seen since I first ventured out to the record store to buy the first ? Runaways? album.

Have some pity on us ? we?re only human!

p.s.Lest we forget, I want to thank the rest of the group for their back-up ? every singer knows you are only as good as the band backing you up ? and the Runaways were very good musicians!

[gus danger]

Hi Greg,
I'm glad I finally could get over there and find that topic about Cherie and The Runaways.
Just wanted to clear up my location. I'm in the blistering hot city of Tucson, Arizona where we are one of the few spots in the USofA that doesn't observe Daylight Savings Time [img]graemlins/clock.gif[/img] so it is the same time right now at Cherie's house as it is right here on my Mickey Mouse watch.
I love that NAKED interview on The Runaways.Com web site too btw! [img]redface.gif[/img]
I just came from there myself were I was listening to Cherie singing The Star Spangled Banner. An awesome rendition 4 sure!
I know you like to think of The Runaways as somehow quintessentially english but I'm sorry, to me they are All-American All The Way and Cherie is the quintessential California Girl!!! That's why I am a California Dreamer from way back and I always will be, for that matter!
Catch ya later dude! (or should I say bloke?)
[img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] [img]biggrin.gif[/img]
Gus

[DWIG]

Just to add my comments, as an Englishman who has loved Cherie and the Runaways since the beginning, I love Cherie and Joan and Lita toa certain extent...

Roll on Cherie's next release!!!

[crimsoncurrent]

I agree totally with your comments, Gus. There is absolutely no doubt that all the band are ?All-American Girls?, in fact coming from L.A. district one could almost say they were the original ?Valley Girls? of Frank Zappa repute ? only far more intelligent and street savvy (he added quickly!).

Certainly any Vocalist who is chosen to belt out a version of ?the Star Spangled Banner? in front of millions of T.V. viewers requires a steady nerve and an excellent voice. Although I think at this point we should all try to erase the version by Roseanne Barr out of our memories for ?crimes against America? and to be ruthlessly honest ?crimes against music as a whole?!!. Sadly, I can?t seem to get her squeeling banshee wailing out of my unconscious, her mangling of the National Anthem remains an unforgettable and truly awful sight.

Fortunately for us, we have an English Anthem of such mind-boggling tedium that the mere sound of it renders all listeners to enter a comatose state worthy of the Sleeping Beauty. And speaking of ?beauty? I think only a rock?n?roll rendition by Cherie herself could inject any enthusiasm and energy in what is an essentialy dreary anthem ? I mean we don?t even LIKE the Royal family apart from the dear departed Princess Diana (God Rest her Soul!).

I?ve got to run soon so I would first like to thank the warm welcome of the people here and Cherie herself and quickly try to better explain precisely what I was implying in the original post.

As I recall it ? and it may just be mythology made up by Fowley ? Kim Fowley had a ?British Disco? in Los Angeles that played Glam-Rock bands such as Sweet, Mud, Slade etc. Cherie and the rest of the band were regular dancers at the Club so when they formed the Runaways they did a kind of american take on ?Glam-Rock? which hadn?t really taken off in the States unless you count Alice Cooper. As all our Brit bands were extremely ugly ? apart from Marc Bolan ? he had the bright idea of adding a bit of american glamour to the proceedings. They toured Europe a number of occasions but the only problem was that they just failed to get the No.1. hit which would have projected them into superstardom.

Why ?Cherie Bombe? failed to become a hit is a mystery that has baffled the worlds greatest intellectual thinkers to this day ? even qqrenegades cannot find the answer. The question is on a par with ?Why are we here?? and ?How did the Universe Begin??.

So, in essence, the Runaways were All-American Girls with a unique and still unequalled ability to take the influences of British Glam-Rock and Punk and give it there own brand of American teenage angst and imagery. ?American Nights? is the prefect example..?it?s hot tonight!? would be odd coming from England. Fortunately, Gus has been kind enough to not only post on the qqrenegade board but as an additional present he brought the hot Arizona Sun with him. Good Ole? Southern hospitality at its best!

And after that rather long letter I shall soak up the Sun in the back-garden of Worsley Towers ? I can assure everybody I will NOT be naked. I?m surrounded by far too many nosey neighbours to take that chance - although if it was the still delectable Cherie I suppose I could charge them a considerable amount of money for a brief peep!

<font color="#007FFF" size="1">[ May 24, 2004 06:40 AM: Message edited by: greg young ]</font>

[crimsoncurrent]

Well Gus Danger?s arrival on the old qqrenegade board has stirred up a ?hornets nest? and some furious debate resounding throughout every Pub throughout the land. With excellent timing he asserted that ?the Beatles? were undoubtedly one of the greatest ? probably THE greatest band of our times. And personally I couldn?t agree more and will stand shoulder to shoulder all the way!

I must say I have enjoyed Gus?s brief messages and must say that he is welcome back anytime he pleases. Over here in England we are enjoying almost Californian weather and I feel sure that it?s due to Cherie ?blowing? the warm winds of her climate over to Manchester in the fashion of a Greek Goddess.

Now if I could just get her over here to saw down a few tree?s that are messing up the foundations of my house, the day would be complete. Sadly, the tree-cutter who was supposed to do the job has cried off.

I was going to mention the arrival of Belinda Carlisle on a Reality T.V. Show over here that should be coming to the US of A. shortly. I don?t have time as yet but what I can tell you is that it involves a large number of swear words and that ?although Belinda is lovely ? there isn?t any doubt that not only is Cherie even lovelier but she is probably a far better cook.

[gus danger]

Hi Greg,
A hornet's nest eh? Well that's what happens when people diss the BEEatles around MWAH! LOL! //oo\\
I can't IMAGINE anyone thinking their music is without soul!
[img]graemlins/sun.gif[/img] What rock and roll planet do they live on? [img]graemlins/moon.gif[/img]
Thanks for backing me up on that thread (and on that other one too) because I couldn't keep up with all those British comparisons. I'm just too American, I reckon!

BTW, I have no idea how good of a cook Belinda is but when Cherie once posted her SALMON recipe on this board, my mouth was watering for weeks.

Catch ya later bud!
[img]graemlins/dish.gif[/img] [img]biggrin.gif[/img]
Gus

<font color="#007FFF" size="1">[ May 27, 2004 01:41 AM: Message edited by: gus danger ]</font>

[ellanoize]

I thought I saw a link to the qqrenagades site, but now I can't find it, could you repeat it for me or take my hand and guide me to the link. Thanks.

<marquee>My name is Roger, but you can call me Rog</marquee>

[gus danger]

Here ya go Mr. Ella!

http://qqrenegades.proboards22.com/

[img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] [img]biggrin.gif[/img]
Gus

[crimsoncurrent]

Well the news is full of Iraq as usual so guess we are in the same boat as you guys. I?d like to add my commiseration?s about the poor guy who died needlessly over there and wasn?t even involved in the fighting. A lot of us are wondering what exactly we are doing over there in the first place but that?s a hot potato over here as they say!

On a brighter note we?ve had a long stretch of hot, sunny weather, which is unusual over here ? Cherie will know all about that!

The board is going well, I ought to say it isn?t MY board but it?s getting a lot more musical over there with discussions about 1st record ever bought, best album cover and also a song title game that maybe you could introduce over here on CC.

Start off with a track?let me think..hmm, difficult!

?You Drive me Wild? - Runaways

then use one word exactly to carry on.

?Wild Thing? - Troggs

?Wild is the Wind? - Bowie

?The Wind Cries Mary? - Jimi Hendrix

etcetera..etcetera..and before you know it, you got a whole NEW set of Compilations!