When people talk about the Runaways — and, indeed, when the movie was made — the focus tends to be on Cherie Currie and Joan Jett, and that’s fair. But hell, guitarist Lita Ford has a story to tell. Not only did she have a very successful hair metal career in the ’80s thanks to singles such as “Kiss Me Deadly,” “Close My Eyes Forever” (with Ozzy Osbourne) and “Shot Of Poison,” but she pretty much disappeared for a decade following her ’95 album Black, having married Nitro frontman Jim Gillette. Nobody in that relationship is speaking about it fondly today, so it’s fortunate that Ford is out of it and able to put out excellent new material while performing killer shows. Much like those former Runaways bandmates, she remains a force of nature.

Lita Ford plays with The Hard Way, Madysin Hatter, icky baby, Blue Midnight, Jeff Carlson Band and Malou Toler at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 17 at the Whisky A Go-Go.

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