Soap Factory Disco, The

All you can say is wow those where the days! A simple time of just having a good time. I remember the Moderns, Nines and that airplane hanging from the ceiling. Meeting new friends on the dance floor and I still am friends with them today. Going to college in P.A. and still coming home almost every weekend just to go to the Soap Factory!! Thank God for Rock and New wave today's music is worthless in my eyes.

I remember almost every thursday night seeing twisted Sister and Rachel . ya know Twisted was I think the first band to perform after the "DISCO" closed

Is their a place where I can order some of these shows from those days?

I remember going to Soap Factory Disco
every Sunday back In 1979 - They used
to play the best Disco Music. It was a
great place to meet friends. I remember
they had two dance floors, on the bottom
dance floor they had the airplane hanging from the ceiling. They had a
great sound system. I wonder who the DJ
was at the time?

This place turned into "Dancin'" back in the early to mid 80's and used to draw some pretty big crowds. The format went back to disco then. Then around 1990, it went back to rock, chaning the name to "Dancin' Rocks". Went in there one night after the change, and it was a ghost town. I heard it changed back to the Soap Factory after that, but by then it was all over but the shoutin'.

I WAS A REGULAR AT THE SOAP FACTORY AND IT JUST WARMS MY HEART TO SEE FROM MY PAST!

I remember The Soap in 1977 to 1980. It was one of the few-if not the only Disco- to have a local TV Show. It was a nice NJ crowd with a good DJ. Back in the day The Tramps, Loria Gaynor and a whole host of famous people performed on Tuesday and Thurday nites. The admission was $5 on weekends. I have great memories of The Soap Factory in the late 70's.

I LIVED ON HENRY ST IN 1975 AND WENT TO
THE SOAP FACTORY MANY TIMES WITH MY FRIEND SANDRA AND AND MANY OTHERS.
I WONDER WHATEVER HAPPENED TO EVERYONE.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW. I SAW ARCHIE BELL AND DRELLS ANOTHER PRETTY FACE.
WE HAD A BLAST!!!CAN'T BRING THOSE TIMES.

Thanks for some of the comments about the music....... I was the original DJ at the Soap Factory from 1975 thru 1980 when it turn to Rock and Roll. I still have great memories of the music and friends I haven't seen for many years. Beleave it or not, all those records are safe and sound in my basement. I still keep in touch with DJ Joe Batts who took over at Dancin in the 80ies when I was playing at Chicago's and Temptations in Seaside. Would like to hear from some of you guys, keep in touch.....

I met my wife there, great people, great bands.
I remember Jeremy, Heaven Gate, Another Pretty Face,
Good Speed. Best time of my life.
I would go to the soap, and I was the DJ at the Brass Bell right down Rt4

What you don't remember was that it was a MOB club that belonged to the GAMBINQ family. How about the bartenders that were killed for stealing? I helped open it. I know!

The Soap Factory was legendary for the amount of live talent that played there. Two to three different acts weekly. I was at THE COPACABANA in New York City, when the mobster who really owned it, "came into some property" in Palisades Park, an old Ivory Soap factory. They had it for a few years, just sitting there, empty, with nothing going on in it. About early February of 1974, they were talked into making it a DISCO, I told them that it be the biggest thing to hit North Jersey. I was right. We hired Lou to deejay , had a couple of other guys from New York that worked there as well. But the influence of the GAMBINO family was everywhere. A lot of old guys wearing Fadora's and sunglasses at night were seen everywhere in this huge, spacious factory. Never reached its full potential. La Costra Nostra was too violent, and there were always bodies of former employees being found near-by. The government soon got wise, and by 1986 it was pretty much out of there. The damage had been done, the Soap Factory was never the same. On a scale of 1 to 10, it only gets an 8.

I was the stage manager on the TV show! It was a lot of fun! I wish I had saved some copies of a couple of shows. Does anybody know if any are out there & if so where are they?

Director Joe Lo-Re where are you?

Hey John:
There is a Joe Lo-Re Production Co. in Bayonne where I live, I'll bet that's him!

I was a regular at the Soap Factory back in 1977 to 1979. My dance partner (Gail Trasso) and I danced in the weekly TV show several times. At the Soap Factory, I could only remember the best of times.

Did dancing on television bring you anything good? Serious Question. Did your future have anything to do with these times? Or is there just the memories left? I am not asking this question in any derogatory fashion, just curious!

To answer your question, I was in High School at the time and dancing in the show was my only claim to fame. I met great people and had a great time. I now live in LA and what I did then is relegated to memory. What I'm doing now has nothing to do with those great times. I hope this answers your question. Does anyone know where I could get a copy of the TV shows?

Thanks for answering my question. Here is a possible answer to yours. Go to your non-affiliate T.V. stations(Not ABC, or CBS, or NBC) , in their Historical Station Files, find out which station ran this SYNDICATED show. Television stations keep a record of their past programing. Once you find out which station showed this show locally, you probably will be able to purchase a Video Tape of your shows. I hope that helps you out. There are other, HARDER ways as well, but try this one first. If not, contact me right here, I'll tell you another possible way. Good Luck!! I realize it maybe a lot of work, but where's there a will, there is a way! Remember, your local FOX station was probably an independent station back then, so you can call, or email them as well. Again thanks, and good luck!!

The Soap Factory Disco was THE place to be. I was fortunate enought to be the resident DJ when it changed over and after renovations became Dancin'. DJ Lou Capurso was a very big influence on my skills. I then went on to DJ @ Temptations, Montego Bay, Green Parrot and later on moved to California..It was a time of my life that I will NEVER forget...

Wow, those were the good days!! I danced at the Soap Factory many times with my dance partner, Rodel Policarpio and had a fabulous time doing so. We did dance on the TV show as well...it was a blast....

I was a regular dancer on the show with my partner Christina, does anyone know where to get videos of the shows?

Does anyone remember Jeff and Donna Shelly and their weekly Hustle lessons and dance routines?

My parents met at the soap factory! WOOOO

I lived at the Soap Factory Disco or so it seemed because I was there every night dancing til I dropped. I started out doing the bus stop in a 3 piece suit and graduated to the hustle in polyester. There will never be another club like the Soap Factory. It was the best of times with admission being only $3 dollars to get in and mixed drinks were $1.50. I remember Lou Capurso, the best DJ ever!

I saw The Tramps, Crown Heights Affair, Vicki Sue Robinson, Donna Summer, Franz Joli and KC & The Sunshine Band just to mention a few. I mostly hung out around the lighted dance floor. I came up to the main floor to keep tabs on my friends and make sure I still had a ride home.

I went to see a Tramp's retro show recently and after the show went back stage to get an autograph and I mentioned The Soap to the guys. They remember.

i only found out about the soap factory in 1980, it had already become a rock club. the story that i heard, was that the club was a disco util nov. 1979 when the group Twisted Sister played there and the crowd went wild. they ripped down alot of the disco decor and were even encouraged to do so by the band. The owners did a remodel after that. I remember the club even had a poster and pictures on the wall of the lobby where you entered, that showed the day nthat disco died. I was at the club about 6 times before I even knew that there was a stage downstairs. I was in the main room upstairs one night watching a band at the back of the club. The band stopped for a break, but I heard music coming from behind me, There was a floor level window about 4 foot square that looked down into the lower level. I looked in and couldn*t believe there was another band and a few hundred people down stairs! I found my way into the lower level and I can still remember my amazement at seeing the airplane hanging from the ceiling for the 1st time! I used to go almost every other week for about 3 years, especially when Condor played. I also liked to go when the groups like The Game and Backstreets played there. I was in my early 20s and my job paid s*** $ but i remember they had cheap admission on thursday nights with 1 dollar bottle beers. The tolls were alot cheaper then and it was a fast commute by car through the brooklyn battery tunnel and lincoln tunnel. I would drink beer all night and they would give you the bottle with the cap still on it. I would save the bottle caps in my pocket until I felt pretty buzzed. then I would go into the mens room and count the bottle caps as I tossed them from my pocket into the long urinal they had there. when I goy to about 16 bottle caps I knew I would be driving home above the law. I must have drove home from the club about a hundred times feelin real good and my ears ringing from the grat sound system they had. The last time I went to the soap factory, I was scared to get into my car because the cops were always waiting out side to see if you looked wasted. I would stand outside and wait till the cops checked someone else, the jump in my car and jet out of there. I m iss those crazy nights of loud music,wild women, and irresponsible drives back home. Can someone tell me when the club closed and why? Whatever happened to the band Condor?

For those that are looking for some old soap factory videos, go to youtube. I was born in'79, so i can only wish i ever went to a disco. I can only live through your memories. Anyway,good luck.

I remember the Soap Factory!
I started going there about the time of the Disco-to-Rock turnover. I remember the posters and T-shirts that read “Disco died at the Soap Factory – October (or November?) 1979”. BUT, on weekend afternoons they still taped the disco TV show and had a no-alcohol teen-disco in the downstairs room. You only needed to be 18 to drink in NJ back then. So I could get into the teen-disco afternoons, and then come back a few hours later to get back in for Rock & beer! At the time they had the big room with 5 bars, lighted dance floor & main stage, large game room, and bathrooms with the horse-trough urinals. I saw Twisted Sister there just before they became nationally famous, and there was a brawl between singer Dee Snider and one of the patrons who was heckling him while onstage. Downstairs they had the smaller lower-level room with the airplane hanging for the ceiling. In this room they had a DJ who still played some disco or new wave (upstairs was strictly rock), sometimes there would be a lesser-known live band. They also had a great car-show outside once a year.

In the early 80’s it became “Dancin”. It wasn’t classic disco, but more like the 80-90’s Jersey-Guido danceclub scene. The crowd was much younger, a bit stuck-up, and not as friendly as the Disco/NewWave/Rock crowd. I wasn’t into it.

I remember when it became “Dancin-Rocks” Probably to compete with NJ-Roxx which was about a mile away, and it’s main competitor “Mothers” over in Wayne, NJ who was also going through the rock-disco-rock transformation. Soon after they went back to the Soap Factory name, although the lower level had become a sports bar and you couldn’t go back & forth anymore. I went there to see the original Good Rats’ first reunion in 1991. The DJ announced them as “this band, hasn’t played this club, since the decade before last!” A great show.

Sometime in the 90’s they took the rear half of the big room, and made that into another separate venue. I heard it was a strip-club, but didn’t last very long. I haven’t been there in years, but I hear that now it’s an Asian-American dance club.

The one negative memory of the era that I have was how so many rock clubs and local establishments were on this "Disco Sucks" campaign. Even as a teenager, I was offended by the small mindedness of the "let's diss someone else to make ourselves feel better" mentality. The couple of times that I was able to go the Soap Factory I did have a nice time.

I danced on the show as a regular dancer. I was discovered in Wildwood New Jersey dancing in the Sundance Disco when some female from the show asked me to come on. I had been dancing in clubs all over New York and New Jersey and people compared me to the fictional character Tony Manero. Cherrys and Uncle Sams in Long Island as well as Strawberrys,Peach Trees,Milky Way,2nd floor,L'amour,New York New York,Studio 54,Copa,Fun House,Lemon Tree,and Eliphas were just some of my favorite discos in N.Y. You see my name is really Tony and I was the same age and Italian. I also won a trophy dancing in one of my discos. I also was pretty good looking and from the Bronx with a DA haircut,gold disco dancers beside St. Anthony on a chain on my neck, which really mimicked the character. But the movie really mimicked me and what was my life back then. I used to have friends like that and when we went to a favorite disco I was like Elvis had just walked in. I also had an ex girlfriend like the character in the movie since her mom worked for TV and was grooming her to be an actress. We met when she was a waitress at Cherrys but would always fight over dancing since she was my partner too and they always had a dance contest. What you saw in the movie was really what I did as soon I was in the disco. After being welcolmed by employees and other dancers I would hit the floor. I would do a solo routine for a few minutes and I just performed. I did the same the first time I came to the show. I did a routine in the background the first night which must of been seen by the Producer, Andrew since the next Monday he said he was trying to get in touch with me. Right there I became a regular dancer. Soon after the few shows I did a solo routine for the show. Musique was performing that night doing Push,Push,in the Bush. I will treasure my time,memmory and short friendships I had with Tony and Sue,Jeff and Donna, Malcolm,some of my dance partners like Cindy and Bobbi and also Joey the disco roller skater. They were great. Cindi was adorable. In fact Joey became a good friend after me and him defended the show from some rowdies who wanted to barge in one Monday night. Soon after he introduced me to his friends in Brooklyn who had become friends of mine and shared many laughs and good times on spring break vacations in Florida and Mexico. Years later Joey and the crew which I called them attended my wedding. Joey who I later gave the nick name "Joey the Book" is now a successful lawyer. The shows taping was something we always looked foward to. I even got hurt on the show doing a split and was away for two months with torn ligaments in my knee. Slipped on those bubbles! The celebrities were fantastic. Melba Moore,Karen Young,A young Stephanie Mills,Anita Ward and even Blondie. Debra Harry really gave Andrew the producer fits when she didn't want to come out of the dressing room. Even more so when she didn't want to be close to me or Malcolm when she had to sing Call Me to both of us. But I also have the say Peaches and Herb were my favorite. They were the nicest and friendliest people I met. I was saddened when the show got cancelled and I went to Fred Astaire for a short time and performed in some competitions. So after 30 years I could look back and say I had a blast and I still dance a little especially at weddings. In fact my relatives would come look for me. Now I live down the Jersey Shore not to far from one of my favorite discos was,Montego Bay, in Belmar. I work for Frito Lay as a driver and mostly in central New Jersey as well as Staten Island. I will always have these fond memmories.

This is absolutely unreal. I'm not sure why I thought of searching for this, but I am amazed that the Soap Factory still lives, in some respect, on the internet.

I can't imagine that real people from that time will reply, but I used to go to the Sunday teen-age sessions that are talked about by others. I lived in Hudson County and would get a ride on Sundays. Are there any others teens from those years that went there at that time? It would be a blast to hear anyone else's great memories.

People mentioned the airplane, and the lighted dance floor. But do you really understand what lighted means? The floor had embedded, colored chase lights under a translucent plexiglass-type floor, like the floor in Saturday Night Fever, but better! That had to be the freaking coolest thing back then! I wish that floor could have been preserved some how - too cool! It should be in the Smithsonian.

Of course, I recall the music so well. I knew there was a show for a couple of years, and I know that popular bands played there, but I didn't realize WHAT bands - Blondie, the Trammps, the Crown Heights Affair - never knew! I guess they played in the "adult" sessions. Too bad I wasn't old enough. The Blondie video on YouTube with the big "Soap Factory" sign in the background blows me away! I remember that sign well - although it was on the stage of the upper dance floor, which wasn't really opened on Sunday afternoons.

Actually, the first time I heard the song "Dreaming a Dream" by Crown Heights Affair was at the Soap. I didn't know the group, but knew the song well. It was one of those songs that got the "kids" rushing out on the floor, since they all loved it. Teens who were there know what I mean - like the way the song "Souvenirs" (by Voyage) did many months later.
"Dreaming a Dream" had several versions, including vocal and purely instrumental versions. The Soap used to play both, and I recall the vocal version. I tried finding it on CD, and I finally did, but I had to by an import CD to finally get it. After buying two CDs looking for it but failing to find it, I thought I had gone nuts and that the vocal version didn't exist - but of course, it does. I recall hearing it on AM radio (77 WABC - remember when it had music?) once or twice and that's it. It was very rare to hear on the radio.

I would have never thought back then that in 2009 (30 years ago!!!), I'd be listening to that very song on an MPEG on a home computer (which I'm doing as I write this), while reading a web site about the Soap Factory. It's freaking surreal. I have a bunch of the great songs of that time, and was thinking of making a Soap Factor playlist. Perhaps there's a Soap DJ around that could post his or her playlist? Heck - someone should compile a Soap Factory CD, or collection of CDs.

Hey - if you were there, and know what I'm talking about - write back and tell your best memories!

I see a post by the original DJ at the Soap (Lou Capurso). If you are reading this back, could you please post a playlist? Was the playlist the same for the Sunday teen session as it was for the adult session?

HI!!!!!!!!!I stumbled across this site. I was a skater on the TV series for almost the entirety, and brought Joey, Cheryl, Anna, and a few other disco skaters along the way.

I would say I know most of the dancers from the show as well. If you are looking for copies of the series , I have EVERY show taped!

Does anyone remember a guy who was a regular patron,
he would hang-out all alone and dance by himself, sometimes staring into one of the mirrored walls. He acted very strange. People thought he was crazy.
I saw him every single time I was there no matter Rock or Disco.

The rumour was, that one night in the late 70's he was there with a few friends, they all got very drunk and were in a bad accident on the way home.
He was the only one that survived, but he sort of had mental breakdown from the trauma or guilt, and ever since, he went to the Soap Factory EVREY Friday & Saturday nights for many years afterward.
Does anyone know who this guy was, and if the story was true?

IIRC "Soap Factory Disco" was broadcast on WPIX, channel 11 in New York City. The station is still under the same ownership (Tribune Corp), with the same call letters. But I doubt they saved the videotapes of a long forgotten dance show.

Soap Factory was The place to be and be seen. Loved it there! Also, anyone here from North Jersey remember the Jade Fountain in Paramus, on Monday nights, Gary and the Travelers...but the Soap was the best!! Great Memories...

Copies of Soap Factory Disco TV Show were donated to Historic Films of NY. However, they do not sell for private home use.