Sandy West, co-founder of all female seventies rock band The Runaways has died at the age of 47 from lung cancer.
Colleague Joan Jett said: "I started the Runaways with Sandy West. We shared the dream of girls playing rock & roll. Sandy was an exuberant and powerful drummer. So underrated, she was the caliber of John Bonham. I am overcome from the loss of my friend. I always told her, we changed the world."
Fellow bandmate Cherie Currie added, "Sandy West was by far, the greatest female drummer in the history of rock & roll. No one could compete or even come close to her, but the most important was her heart. Sandy West loved her fans, her friends and family almost to a fault. She would do absolutely anything for the people she loved. It will never be the same for me again to step on a stage, because Sandy West was the best and I will miss her forever."