[The Runaways'] second album, Queens of Noise was released in 1977 and the band began a world tour. The Runaways quickly became lumped in with the growing punk rock movement. The band (already fixtures on the West Coast punk scene) formed alliances with mostly-male punk bands such as Blondie, The Ramones and The Dead Boys (via New York City's CBGB) as well as the British punk scene by hanging out with the likes of The Damned, Generation X and The Sex Pistols.

In the summer of 1977 the group arrived in Japan for a string of sold out shows. The Runaways were the number 4 imported music act in Japan at the time, behind only ABBA, Kiss and Led Zeppelin in terms of album sales and popularity. The girls were unprepared for the onslaught of fans that greeted them at the airport. The mass hysteria was later described by guitarist Jett as being "like Beatlemania".[4] While in Japan, The Runaways had their own TV special, did numerous television appearances and released the live album Live in Japan that went gold. Also in Japan, Fox left the band shortly before the group was scheduled to appear at the 1977 Tokyo Music Festival.[5] Jett temporarily took over bass duties and when the group returned home they replaced Fox with Vicki Blue.

Currie then left the group after a blow-up with Ford during a photo session in the fall of 1977. Jett, who had previously shared vocals with Currie, took over lead vocals full time. The band released their fourth album, Waitin' For The Night and started a world tour with their friends The Ramones. Currie released a solo LP, Beauty's Only Skin Deep, produced by Kim Fowley, and began a separate U.S. tour, which included her identical twin sister Marie. Mercury Records chose not to release Currie's album Stateside, although it was available as a pricey import via France.