That time Joan Jett told me how she was inspired to write “Don’t Surrender” by actress Jill Ireland

By Steve Newton

Back in January of 1992 I interviewed Joan Jett while she was promoting her latest album, Notorious.

At one point in the conversation we started talking about potential singles on the album, which led to her explaining the inspiration for her latest video/single, “Don’t Surrender”.

Turns out it was inspired by British actress Jill Ireland, who had succumbed to breast cancer two years earlier. The wife of tough-guy actor Charles Bronson, Ireland had befriended Jett after seeing her in a music video and thinking that, as Jett explains, she might be perfect to act opposite Bronson because of her strength and presence.

Have a listen:

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