The drumming of Sandy West, who has died of lung cancer aged 47, powered the mid-1970s female rock group, the Runaways. They achieved international notoriety with a self-titled debut album in 1976 as women in a then almost totally male-dominated rock world. That they were in their mid-teens, possessed a photogenic singer and were managed by a Svengali figure attracted media attention. Yet beyond the hype, and often sexist critical dismissals, existed a young band whose vision has proved highly influential.
West grew up in Long Beach, California, possessing great enthusiasm for surfing and skiing, animals and music. Her grandfather bought her a drum kit, and by the age of 13 she was the only girl in local bands who played at teenage parties. At 15, she met Kim Fowley, a notorious hustler/producer. Fowley put West in touch with 15-year-old guitarist Joan Jett. They jammed and agreed to form a band (briefly including Michael Steele, later of the Bangles). Guitarist Lita Ford, bassist Jackie Fox and vocalist Cherie Currie were recruited. Fowley named them the Runaways, co-wrote songs with West, Jett and Currie, and signed them to Mercury Records in February 1976.
Being so young and musically raw - West was the best musician - lent an edge to the group. Yet Fowley was known for hyping gimmicky acts, and his outspoken pronouncements meant many in the music industry dismissed the album. There was also the stage image of a lingerie-clad Currie, confirming suspicions that the band were being marketed as "jailbait on the run".
Yet the songs told something else: Cherry Bomb, Is it Day or Night, You Drive Me Wild are hard rocking, melodic and memorably direct. Young women singing of adolescent desire and alienation, getting high and casual sex, shocked many, and US radio stations refused to play them. Male critics dismissed the band with misogynistic loathing. "These bitches suck," declared Creem, while the liberal Village Voice dismissed them as "bimbos".
If the US sneered at the Runaways, in Europe they were welcomed by the nascent UK punk movement - Julie Burchill and Tony Parsons championed the band in the New Musical Express and in their musical manifesto, The Boy Looked at Johnny, as pioneers of what now could be called "girl power". In Japan they became huge stars, scoring No 1 hits, every album selling gold, playing stadiums.
In 1977 the band released their second album, Queens of Noise, and then a Live in Japan album. Yet the pressures surrounding five, unchaperoned young women, all attempting to live the rock lifestyle, were such that Currie and Fox left. Jett took over vocals and Vikki Blue was brought in on bass. The new line-up released a third album, Waiting for the Night, in late 1977 and continued to tour relentlessly.
When the group broke with Fowley, he claimed they were "guests in my concept". In the 1990s, the musicians sued him over financial discrepancies. "I owe him my introduction to the music business but he's also the reason I'm broke now," West said.
The band released album four, And Now ... the Runaways, in late 1978, but by early the next year they had disbanded. West was 19 and unemployed. Initially, she and Ford tried to carry on, but Ford embarked on a lucrative solo career managed by Sharon Osbourne and Jett became a big star of early-80s pop-rock.
West began working in construction while leading the Sandy West Band, which never achieved success. She appeared unable to escape the shadow of the Runaways and performed occasionally with Currie. The band influenced the LA hard rock and punk scene and inspiring women musicians to rock as hard as the boys. In the 1990s, all-women groups, such as L7, Shonen Knife and Bikini Kill, acknowledged the debt.
In 2004 the documentary Edgeplay: A Film about the Runaways told a sometimes disturbing story. "Even the rough times were good," said West. "How many teenage girls get to do what we did in a lifetime?"
She is survived by her mother, stepfather and six sisters.
· Sandy West, musician, born October 7 1959; died October 21 2006