After 30 Years, The Runaways' Cherie Currie Buries the Hatchet with Kim Fowley

Documented in both the Rodney Bingenheimer bio-pic Mayor of the Sunset Strip and former Runaways bassist Vicky Tischler-Blue’s rock doc about the seminal LA punkettes called Edgeplay (not to mention countless print interviews over the years) the feud between the man who helped create them, Kim Fowley and front-person Cherie Currie has included accusations of abuse, exploitation and downright evil doings.

So when the two unexpectedly came face to face last Friday at a bash in the Hollywood Hills right before our eyes, we almost ran for cover and waited for the (Cherry) bomb to drop. Shockingly, there was no need, as Currie warmly reached out to the statuesque, face-paint-sporting songwriter/Svengali with a hug “for the first time in decades,” and apologized to him for her past rancor, blaming it on her years as “a drunk.” Fowley glanced our way as to make sure we recognized the significance of the moment, but there was no need. We’ve interviewed both over the years and were very much aware of their treacherous relationship.

"Just because somebody rolls a camera and somebody says, 'Oh, this is how it was.' That was their interpretation at the time. The people who go to movies ultimately need to be entertained, and every movie needs a hero and villain."

Fowley gave us the above quote for an LA Times story we did about Edgeplay back in 2004, and though Currie’s willingness to bury the hatchet doesn’t necessarily mean her past claims were untrue, it seems the now-sober blond babe (who famously played a druggie in the film Foxes ) is now happy, healthy and ready to put the past behind her. Well, not the all of it. She told us she’ll be commenting on the Fowley/Joan Jett penned classic “Cherry Bomb” for an upcoming VH1 special, and even asked Kim to join her.

Unfortunately, fans waiting for the much-buzzed-about Runaways movie will have to wait a little longer. Fowley (who's been busy with his Sirius Satellite radio show) says the project was put on hold after the Writer’s Strike.

UPDATE: Just heard from Joan Jett's PR people, and the film is in fact, in pre-production with Art and John Linson producing. No actresses attached yet, but we'll let you know when we there is.

Read more about the party (at the Houdini Mansion) and the pair’s makeup session in this Thursday’s Nightranger column.