NRG or Hi-NRG

[SandraDee]

Youre right Discodisk that there are probably fewer gay clubs now (certainly here in manchester) than in the 80's because the gay & straight scenes are forever merging & 'integrating' since the early 90's which alot of people think is a good idea but I cant help feel its gay club owners trying to maximise their profits rather than a glorious 'coming together' of different cultures (call me cynical :roll: ). The gay scene just isn't special anymore. :cry:

[QUINNY]

I've never thought it's good for people to be 'ghettoised'. Hence I don't go a bundle on the different categories on these boards nowadays. You don't gain other people's respect, love, understanding by deliberately marginalising yourself, do you? Yeah, I should know eh?

[bobbchap]

Now that I think of it, there aren't as many gay clubs here in Columbus. By that I mean totally gay. Back in the 80's I remember lots,.... there were lots of "just gay" places to hang out. Now there are lots of clubs but as I think about it they're mixed, gay and straight. This isn't a bad thing, I'm glad people are getting along better, but like it was said...the gay clubs aren't like they use to be. As far as the gay people being in closets until around 84, I guess this depends on where you lived. Of course in big cities like San Fran. L.A. and the likes, gay people were really being....well, just gay. It seemed like it was great to be gay, or at least people were starting to say it was ok. In the early 80' you had people taking chances with the public with who they were and being accepted. {By some I should add} Like Boy George, after he popped up in the music scene, everybody started dressing wild. Seems music groups started to dress with "BIG HAIR" {God, remember the BIG HAIR?} and tons of make-up. Sometimes you couldn't tell the men from the woman, I'm not saying they were all gay, but straight men started to touch on there "soft side" without fear of being called "gay" and it was just, ok. I think that's why the eighties were so much fun..and the 70's, life seemed to be getting much better for gays and straights. People weren't worried about all that, they just wanted to dance and have fun. Sure there were people against gays, but it seemed like it was getting better. Then something happened that slammed the door on gays, or at least for awhile...aides came along. It was said..by a certain few, that it was a gay sickness, and that really hurt the way a lot of people looked at gay people. I think now people are finally seeing that it ISN'T just a gay thing, that it effects everyone. These are my personal views about this subject....{was this a subject? or did I get on another track?} :D Anyway, maybe others can express their views. Like I said, it was different all over. Anyway, like I said, it's great gays and straights can come together in a bar and share it, but sometimes I like to go to a bar and check out the guys....and I don't want to find out they're going home with their "girlfriend"... :cry:

[NickNack]

Originally Posted by QUINNY

It's Raining Men by the Weather Girls was, for example, an absolute giant with the mainstream UK Disco crowd and to this day will fill a dance floor of non regular club goers. I'm not so sure it wasn't dropped like a brick by the Gay community once it crossed over. Anyone enlighten me on this?

:lol: :lol: No, Quinny, we didn't drop this one. If we had, Martha Wash and RuPaul wouldn't have had any reason to do, "It's Raining Men... The Sequel". :lol:

BTW --- The bulk of 'The Record Shack' catalog worked gay clubs BIG TIME.

[QUINNY]

NickNack and others: Re Wearther Girls That's really interesting to know that it wasn't dropped by you. Perhaps it was just little old me that gave it the lead balloon treatment. :) To be fair it did earn me a lot of money, but I could have lived without it. It was just too darned fast......... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. I can hear what you're saying....Change the record!!!!!!

[SandraDee]

Sorry to be arrogant here but, as Frankie Knuckles once said, gays always got there first regarding music, fashion, culture. art etc.etc. but now we're more accepted by the mainstream that coolness has been so watered down. That's life isnt it- when something good happens something bad has to happen- its a basic law!

[MiaBocca]

I think that's true Steely Dan

The most famous Gay clubs in the UK now play chart/mainstream dance mixes - no longer underground.

I know there is a small electro scene in London which is quite gay/mixed - electroclash and all that, but nothing seems to be able to burst through any more the way the music industry is now. :-?

[SandraDee]

Never mind Mia, we've got all those zillions of brilliant records from the 70', 80's & early 90's to play & enjoy; who needs the current scene!

[BelieveInTheBeat]

This has been an interesting thread to read again. I had made some of the original posts as Move2This, and I've now rejoined under a new name.

I agree with an earlier post regarding the big different between Canada and the US regarding HiNRG. I've come to understand now what a great contribution Canada made to the genre e.g. Lime, Tapps, Eria Fachin, Gino Soccio, Watson Beasley.

As an interesting aside, I've just heard one of those "history of disco" type programmes that are broadcast periodically here in the UK. This one was a radio production, and in the last episode, it dealt with the demise of classic 70s disco, and followed through briefly to what came after.

Imagine my astonishment when HiNRG got no mention whatsoever. This is really amazing because, to the best of my memory, what came after disco was HiNRG, nothing anything else. In this programme, in one sentence they were talking about how Nile Rogers couldn't get anyone to issue his records after summer 79 (he obviously became very persuasive only a year later to get all those Diana Ross tracks issued :roll: ), and in the next breath we'd suddenly fast-forwarded to about 1985 talking about early house tracks.

I guess I should have just made the programme myself! :-?

[NickNack]

Originally Posted by BelieveInTheBeat

This has been an interesting thread to read again. I had made some of the original posts as Move2This, and I've now rejoined under a new name.

Nice to have you back with us. Stick around and don't get lost this time.

[SandraDee]

Yes, I've often noticed how the early 80's gets glossed over in these sort of programs. Its a shame 'cos it was a highly creative time in dance music with many different styles & it was before the house era when dance music was hijacked by the type of people who would've been into rock music in previous eras.