"Fake Friends" by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts

Song#:  1525
Date:  07/09/1983
Debut:  68
Peak:  35
Weeks:  10
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  A year and a half after she hit it big with the #1 "I Love Rock n' Roll," Jett and her band were ready to introduce their new platter simply titled Album. This first single kicked things off, but it the results weren't what Jett & Co. were hoping for. The track fizzled at Rock getting to a low #18 while barely making it into the Pop Top 40. Producer/co-writer Kenny Laguna later said in an interview that he fought against this song being the first single, but the label saw it otherwise and issued the tune. Sadly, Laguna was right and the lack of a hot first single made the album stall at #20. It would be a gold seller, but following the platinum #2 I Love Rock n' Roll, it was a big disappointment.

ReduxReview:  I'd have to agree with Laguna here. While the tune is a good rocker, it's just not in the same league as her other three charting hits. It actually sounds like a remake of a smart British-leaning pop song by an artist like Kirsty MacColl (which would have been really cool to hear). Any single Jett released was going to have a tough road. She might have been better off to issue her cover tune of "Everyday People" first. Instead, we got this and it kind of sunk the album. It's just not a good single.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Jett's first band, the all-female The Runaways, became well known for launching the careers of Jett and Lita Ford. Lead singer Cherie Currie later wrote a memoir title Neon Angel: The Memoir of a Runaway in 1989. The book would serve as the basis for the 2010 film The Runaways. In it, Dakota Fanning portrays Currie while Kristen Stewart play Jett. Despite failing at the box office, the film and its stars received favorable reviews.

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