Great new text on Disco - and what visuals!

[JussiK]

Run to a newstand that sells international magazines and demand the December issue 39 of the French publication Numero. This is a glossy, Vogue cum Wallpaper style monthly celebration of fashion, trends etc, with superb photography and layout. Number 39 has a glittering silver and gold cover with the word DISCO and promises interviews with Giorgio Moroder, Gloria Gaynor and Paco Rabanne plus coverage on clubs and all things disco. The magazine does deliver. The articles are wonderful and the photospreads as glamorous as they get. Giorgio talks about his career and the troubles he had with Donna Summer when she got religious and could not stomach gays, Ian Schrager rhapsodises about his clubs and so on. Visually, the magazine gives the best yet approximation of the more glamorous side of the disco phenomenon - just perfect with all the flash and glitz from haute couture fashion houses. - So, in France, Disco is very much on the map now. They also are going to be treated to a massively publicised concert by Cerrone called The Hysteria Party, with guest dj Spiller. The event takes place Jan the 31th at the prestigious Olympia venue.

The year changed in a very disco-ey vibe in Paris. Tv 2 had it's traditional variety show with the usual suspects Precious Wilson, Patrick juvet, Gibson bros etc. doing their hits and people screaming their heads off. The Pariscope guide listed the Gibus Disco party as THE event of the new year, placing it above the rest of the club happenings at places such as Nouvelle Casino at Oberkampf. The Gibus had djs such as Sami and Talluah from London's Heaven spinning Upside Down by Diana Ross, and at huge venues Le Queen as well as at La Coupole the music was classic disco as well. All was VERY glittery.

Back to books. There's another publication out as well, called NAKED VINYL, by Tim O'Brian and Mike Savage, Chrysalis Books, UK. This is a collection of cheesy lp covers plus supposedly humorous liner notes. They have a chapter on disco, with an excellent choice of images. The text, however, is the usual. In other words, the authors claim disco by the likes of Cerrone, Love and Kisses etc. was completely undistinguished. The book is also filled with mistakes - on two occasions, they claim that Jerry Hall entered Studio 54 on a white horse. Moroder is spelled "Morodier" and so on. They do contain a chapter on Fausto Papetti and Gil Ventura, so it's worth the not too steep price.

[Nano]

You mean a book with all the covers of Fausto Pappetti's 70's albums with the nude chicks??? Boy, are you lucky!!! Tanto tempo senza una donna da "raccolta"!
More seriously, do you know if that Numero magazine has a website?

[NickNack]

For those of us who won't be able to get the magazine, at least here's Giorgio's article:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/clive.h...2002/index.htm

[markydefad]

Interesting article. Jussi has always maintained that according to Giorgio, Donna did have a problem with gays after she became born-again. This interview seems to confirm that.

Ah well. It's a "Rashomon" situation, I guess. He says, she says....who knows what the truth is. My guess is that her born-again experience did make her intolerant for a time. Whether she ever said anything publicly to that effect, as has been asserted, I have no idea. :roll: