Laurie McAllister
(the site this came from has some excellent photos of The Runaways)
Best job ever.
Laurie Hoyt, stage name Laurie McAllister, was born in Eugene, OR. (b. 6/26/57 – d. 8/25/11.)
She was a bassist who is perhaps best remembered for being the last one to play in the influential 1970s all-girl rock band, the Runaways. She was asked to join the band to replace Vicki Blue. The line-up at the time was Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, and Sandy West. McAllister became the 6th bassist in the band’s four year history.
Laurie never had the chance to record with The Runaways but appeared onstage with them at their final shows in California during the last weeks of December 1978. She quit in January 1979, three months before the band officially parted, reportedly due to musical differences; Joan Jett wanted the band to shift towards punk rock/glam rock, while Lita Ford and Sandy West wanted to continue playing hard rock/heavy metal music. The band played their last concert on New Year’s Eve 1978 at the Cow Palace near San Francisco.
McAllister went on to play in another Kim Fowley affiliated all-girl rock band, The Orchids, who released one album on MCA Records in 1980. The Orchids were formed rather ironically from two Bomp Records manager Fowley was producing at the time, “Vampires From Outer Space” and “Hollywood Confidential.” Laurie Bell had recorded the track ‘If You’re Gonna Change Your Heart’ for Vampires. The album also featured Laurie McAllister playing bass and singing lead on a Baby Roulette And The Rave Ons tune entitled ‘Black Orchids’. Laurie was also featured as lead vocalist on a tune called ‘On Suburban Lawns’ on Hollywood Confidential, that was billed as The Runaways.
After The Orchids broke up in 1980, McAllister moved to Amsterdam.
After retiring from music, McAllister became a veterinary technician and eventually settled back in the countryside of her hometown of Eugene. Laurie McAllister died from complications of asthma on August 25, 2011. She was 54.
Source: rockandrollparadise.com
Official website: none found
Laurie with The Runaways:
Laurie with The Orchids:
Tao Talk 
Thanks for letting us know about her. So many talented people had to leave business. It’s tough out there.
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My pleasure, Randy. I believe it is cutthroat.
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Wow! I’d forgotten I had their album. I get confused with another band of the same name.
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The other band called The Orchids were from the 80s
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So many branches from the Runaways tree. I like that Orchids song.
Sustaining that life is hard. Even the classical musicians I know mostly ended up teaching; it’s almost impossible to make a living otherwise.
And way too young to die. (K)
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I like that song also. Back in the day artists had patrons, but now everything is so danged expensive there aren’t enough patrons who can pay enough. Yet there always seems to be enough $$ for military equipment, bombs, etc.
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Or for tax breaks for corporations and billionaires.
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The Orchids don’t sound bad either. You have taught me more about the Runaways than I ever knew ths month. They had more good songs than Cherry Bomb….that is for sure.
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I’m glad to have taught you more about the band and their offshoots. They had a lot of good songs, you’re right!
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Until your series I never realized how many different line-up The Runaways had within their relatively short 4-year lifetime. Looks like Joan Jett and Sandy West were the only constant members. I had never heard of The Orchids. “Sunshine Fire” is a cool song.
When you search Wikipedia for The Orchids, a Scottish band comes up, who apparently were formed in 1985. Well, at least the two groups didn’t exist at the same time, which I assume would have led to legal issues!
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Glad you like The Orchids song. I learned so much about the band while writing these up. Happy to do so. Sorry that it appears history (internet history anyway) has forgotten so much.
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I liked the Orchids song, too. Vocals are a good complement to the music. The live version of “Black Leather” is a real high-energy thrasher!
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:)
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I like the Orchids cut. Reminds me of early Blondie live.
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:)
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