“I blame Robert Plant”: When Joan Jett was arrested in the middle of the first Runaways tour
As a general rule of thumb, Joan Jett lives by the mantra that all aspects of life are valuable—the good, the bad, and the ugly. In her world, this means always embracing the moment and never regretting mishaps. This mindset made her one of the most authentic punk rockers in history and led to a brief brush with the law—a slip-up she blames on a certain Led Zeppelin alumnus.
Jett was just 16 years old when she entered the industry as part of The Runaways. From then on, she learned firsthand what it meant to have your own back. Especially as a woman who didn’t exactly look “the part”, Jett wasn’t always embraced as willingly as her male peers, and even those within the audience who did appreciate her didn’t exactly go about showing it in the right way.
For instance, if the usual sexist industry tropes didn’t surround her, she was being treated questionably by her own audience, who took a particular liking to spitting to show they were as authentically punk as the next person. Jett, of course, didn’t necessarily appreciate this development, but she knew it was an unfortunate part of the job she couldn’t always control.
“It’s difficult to get across to people what it’s like to be spat at,” she once reflected to The Irish Times. “After the gig, I would be dripping in spit and just put my head in my hands and cry out of sheer frustration.” While ignorance only pushed her so far, Jett eventually felt frustrated and disillusioned by the whole thing, leaving her uncertain about where to venture next.
Beneath the exterior was also someone who knew what it meant to have fun the right way. For instance, despite her anarchic edge, Jett did well to avoid any real trouble. She knew exactly where the boundaries were, which made her exchange with problematic fans scratch even deeper. While her music was her art, it became difficult to come to grips with the fact that these lines were often crossed, and people neglected to respect her as a person beneath it all.
As a result, she enjoyed pushing it in smaller ways, despite such a mindset once briefly landing her in jail. She had learnt from Robert Plant that claiming small objects while on the road was one of the most satisfying things a musician could do, as it served as a reminder of their trip and allowed them to keep a small piece of it for reflection later. However, taking this on meant she once stole a handful of hotel keys while in the UK, only to be stopped at customs and reprimanded.
As she explained to The Guardian: “In England, on the first Runaways tour, about to catch the ferry to France. I blame Robert Plant, because we once asked him what souvenirs we should get on the road; he said he took hotel room keys.” She continued: “In England, the keys were big, ornate, metal things. I had four. At customs, the guy said, “Hmm, sticky fingers, you’re under arrest”, and put me in a jail cell.”
While the “crime” in question wasn’t necessarily serious, the allure of rock ‘n’ roll souvenirs far outweighed the consequences, giving rise to another amusing anecdote for her broader legacy. Some might say they once spat on Jett with a knowing smirk and faux bravado, but Jett insisted on living on her own terms, knowing that their shortcomings paled in comparison to her own flavour of fun.
