The book that inspired the film, The Runaways.
Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway by Cherie Currie (co-written by Tony O’Neill) published by Harper Collins
Cherie Currie, lead singer of the legendary Runaways, recently debuted an updated version of her memoir, Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway. Despite ending her music career pretty early on, Currie continued with a modestly successful acting career, followed by work as a drug counselor, fitness trainer, world-class chainsaw artist, and author. Seemingly on a perpetual soul quest, Currie is stunningly insightful and recalls some of her most painful moments as a teenage rockstar in the late ’70s.
Who doesn’t love a story about a rockstar going awry? It’s what one would expect from a crash and burn lifestyle, fueled by drugs, and angst. Her parents divorced when she was young then her mom moves to Indonesia with her husband-to-be, leaving Cherie to fend for herself while tangling with vicious manager, promoter, and self-declared owner of the Runaways, Ken Fowley. Through some of the difficult memories in the memoir, the darker side of rock and roll is clearly illustrated, dashing visions of being on stage, dredging raucous rock and roll during new wave’s seminal era.
The memoir is pregnant with memorable scenes, such as Fowley’s lessons on how to fuck or a terrible kidnap and rape scene, brutally described. There are also light-hearted moments, such as the development of Joan Jett’s and Currie’s relationship among the drug-addled ruins carved by the band. The last half of the memoir is a desperate clawing through the pages, hoping for a happy ending. It gets dark and hopeless and heartstrings will be tugged for this spitfire woman who refuses to quit life.
And if you were wondering, yes, the bathroom of CBGBs is mentioned.
