Roller Disco

[paul]

Did any of you get into disco roller skating? Back in the day I never really got into it, in part cause I can't skate :icon_mrgreen: Now I did notice nice looking girls at the rinks and they were having a good time out there. The other thing though was I was just more into the club setting and I felt the rinks appealed to a younger crowd.
I'm bringing this up because I caught the movie Roll Bounce a few times now. The movie was about the roller disco craze around 1978. By the way, the soundtrack is really nice in this movie.

[Videoskooter]

Nope, I never skated in my whole life! No ice-skating, no roller-skating, no skateboard. It never appealed to me and I never knew a Roller Disco in Belgium till YSL pointed out that there was a big one in Brussels.

I've seen a few pics BITD but even then it didn't give me the feeling I missed much! I like normal dancefloors, clubseats, chocolate girls in golden jumpsuits, loungin', king size cigarettes, high heeled boots, dressed for success, moonflowers, glitterballs, smokemachines, lighted floors, blondes in leather tangas, only wearing Chanel n°5 (yes ladiez, that does da trick with me!), silk satin shirts, Cartier watches, Plato's Retreat (I never went there but I have a vivid imagination), Mira Sorvino in red lingerie, Dupont lighters, Thereza Bizarre playing a Noosha Foxx record, go-go girlz in hot pants, dark balconies but...no rollerskates!

Paulie is this the pic ur talkin' about?

[needlefingers]

I used to rollerskate and even DJ'd at a rink for a short time. The music was more funk and R&B than I would say high BPM disco or Hi-N-R-G.

There was fast skate, usually by the sexes, where faster music is played. And couples only. Also backward skating.

Firecracker by Mass Production was a big song at the time. Kool and the Gang always worked too. Shalamar, Whispers, Chic.....

But big songs like So Many Men..., High Energy, or Lime was good for fast skate.

I like the movie Roll Bounce. And I bought the soundtrack. Half of the songs are remakes though. Not badly. Just a heads up.

During the spring, summer and fall, there is a big skating party in Central Park here in New York City every Saturday and Sunday. They bring in a DJ to play the old school stuff. Some Sunday's, I just go and hang out there.

But I haven't taken the time to learn in-line skating yet.

[paul]

Johan, I can't see the pics on my slow work computer. I'll confirm when get home.
Now make sure the wife don't read this, ok.:icon_biggrin: I'll hook you up with some chocolate girls in SoCal with jumpsuits optional :icon_biggrin:
I also prefer that club settinng to a rink. It would seema little too awkwark to be stoned and have sex there I'm sure they'll like he idea if having Belgian in the morning :icon_lol:
Hey needlefingers. I'm glad you one or 2 songs were original, I think. I wonder what happened? Anyway, I liked the scene with Sweetness skating to "I'm Your Boogie Man."
I still have some friends in the city. I'll see if they go down to Central Park to check out the skating. New York is so much fun in the summer :icon_cool:

[qdearl]

...Roller Disco?!

....Oh YeaH!...

That was our life from like '81- '87:icon_lol:

If you were already an adult around '78 or '79 you probably weren't partaking in this wonderful pastime:icon_mrgreen:

This is what the younger generation did because we were too young to get into the discos, so we had to get our groove on somehow:icon_cool:

The movie Roll Bounce, that was me and my friends, we had a name (which I will never....ever say out loud again....) matching t-shirts, and skating routines, we went skating at least once a week, sometimes 2 times (that depended on just how much of the allowance was left...) during the late 80's once I could drive and bought a car, I was there up to 3 times every week.
The best known rink in our area was "Twin City" roller rink, and once they closed their doors, there was U.S.A Skates, Bergenfield and Skate 22, on any given night the place would be just as packed as any bar or disco, you had your neighborhood stars (usually able to do a 360 and land without falling) your groupies (we met many a female during those days:icon_cool: ) and your rivals, just like in the movie. But mostly it was fun, and the music was great.
Rink favorites include
MFSB - Love is the Message (played at least 3 times a night)
Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express (played for 3 or more "Trains")
Rinder & Lewis - Lust - ("Men Only")
Donna McGee - It ain't No Big Thing (Ladies Only)
for couples, it was usually whatever songs were hot at the moment:icon_lol:

most of the people who were there then, are still skating, I haven't been in about a year, but when I do, there's no time lost, a lot of familiar faces, plus the new crop, unfortunately I still prefer the music of the 70's and 80's and don't really get into the new stuff, which is what they tend to play more of, unless you're there on nights geared just for the older lifelong skaters.
But make no mistake they're still out there rockin!

And REAL Skaters don't use inline skates!!:icon_mrgreen:

[paul]

So qdearl, were you "Sweetness"?

[Eman]

So qdearl, were you "Sweetness"?

Hey All!
I loved the movie Roll Bounce. Roller Disco was big in the Philippines in 1979...thanks to the movie called Skatetown U.S.A. The disco roller rink which was in the upscale mall was also called Skatetown. I remember being 15 and skating to:
I've Got The Next Dance
Ring My Bell
Boogie, Oogie Oggie
Come To Me
Pick Me Up I'll Dance
Any number of Village People songs
and of course...Good Times by Chic
Then for a couples only skate...they would play:
I Wanna Be Closer/There'll Never Be by Switch!!!

Fun fun days.....I think I'm gonna go watch Roll Bounce again...I also miss my headphone radio!!!

[qdearl]

So qdearl, were you "Sweetness"?

:icon_lol: Nah, the would be my boy Terae, he was the one who could do all the trick skating, I had my own style, and recognized for it, but all the "flashy" moves we left to him, lol

[Salsoul1975]

Growing up in Queens, NY in the early '80s, me and my older sister went to Oasis Roller Rink in the Ridgewood section. Remember skating to Evelyn King's "Love Come Down" and for slow skating, it was Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing". Another crowd pleaser was the country pop tune "Nobody" by Sylvia. This was back in 1982-83; went to many a birthday party here.

[FlyRobinFly]

No, I have never ever skated in my life. I can skateboard though! :icon_lol: I know why I never rollerskated but that's a story for another day.

[paul]

flyrobinfly, why didn't you rollerskate?
Johan, I finally saw the youtube links. That's the movie. I think you'll like it.

[KoolChris]

...Roller Disco?!

....Oh YeaH!...

That was our life from like '81- '87:icon_lol:

If you were already an adult around '78 or '79 you probably weren't partaking in this wonderful pastime:icon_mrgreen:

This is what the younger generation did because we were too young to get into the discos, so we had to get our groove on somehow:icon_cool:
...
And REAL Skaters don't use inline skates!!:icon_mrgreen:

In the '80s, I moved to Paris, France, and started rollerskating, and I loved it ! My new friends and I would meet at the "Trocadéro", which was not a transfer nor lemon blue, but a great marble-floored area across the Seine river from the Eiffel Tower, with series of steps. It was the hangout for rollerskaters. I would go there on Saturdays, Sundays, and weekdays after school. We were up to 20 regulars (out of maybe 200 skaters on weekends), great skaters (some of my best friends turned professional: Taig Chris is now a regular at the Xgames), and we would set up barriers atop or below a 9- or 5-step staircase, and jump both either straight ahead, doing a 360, or a 180. People and "buffoons" (beginners) would gather around, leaving a line to race through, and applaud each time one of us did a stunt. Climax came when 4 or 5 of us jumped at the same time, doing different moves.

Of course, no in-lines then, just Variflex plates, ACS 500 trucks, Kryptos wheels fitted with precision ball-bearings: that was the ****. Jumping the stairs in a tight white t-shirt (my fave was with the original navy winged SIMS logo) and faded worn out Levi's, made us popular (!!) with the chicks, and that's exactly what you want, especially at that age. You could just see the snail trails they left behind.

I only went there for a short period of time, but there was a roller disco called "La main jaune" (the yellow hand), where you took a ramp to go down to the dancefloor/rink. There were always too many slow, clumsy people, hence the not going there anymore.

A cool track to post here would be Citi - "Can you do it on skates?", from the LP "Roller Disco"

[FlyRobinFly]

flyrobinfly, why didn't you rollerskate?

You really want to know? :icon_smile: My feet were too big! When my younger siblings got skates for Christmas I didn't get none because they didn't have them in my size. I was growing up and wearing ladies' sizes and then I thought I was too old to skate with the little kids so I forgot about skating. Then, when all the older teens were going to the skating rinks, I felt left out and embarassed to let anyone know that I never learned to skate.

[paul]

That's funny. So were feet were too big :icon_biggrin: Well, at least they didn't keep you from dancin!

[FlyRobinFly]

Aha! Maybe that's why I dance so well still. ;)

[Videoskooter]

Johan, I finally saw the youtube links. That's the movie. I think you'll like it.

Mmh, yes maybe but I'm a little concerned about the posts that stated that the songs used are not the originals! And I'm very sensitive for such things.

That' why I use Uiercrème for that comfortable and soft feeling. Uiercrème keeps my skin young and vital. It gives me that je-ne-sais-pas-quoi-feeling when I come back from the rollerdisco.

Members can order it at a special introductionprice from

1-800-Whyvideoskooterissuchahunk

[paul]

Johan, with the last song being the exception, all were the originals. Kinda like "54" where all but one song was original. Unlike 54 though, they gave you a lot more of the music.

[Videoskooter]

I like the movie Roll Bounce. And I bought the soundtrack. Half of the songs are remakes though. Not badly. Just a heads up

Morning Paul, I've just got out of bed so I'm not 100% concentrated but it was this post from Needle that worried me! I don't know since it's not in Belgian theatres yet.

Roll Bounce: Music: Original Soundtrack
Amazon-U.S. | Amazon-U.K. | Amazon-Germany | Amazon-France

1. Boogie Oogie Oogie -Brook Valentine w/ Fabolous & Yo-Yo
2. Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll-Vaughan Mason and Crew
3. Pure Gold-Earth Wind and Fire
4. Wishing On A Star-Beyoncé
5. Quit Actin’-Ray J (feat. R. Kelly)
6. Superman Lover-Johnny Guitar Watson
7. Hollywood Swingin'-Kool & The Gang (feat. Jamiroquai)
8. Let's Stay Together-Michelle Williams
9. Lovely Day-Bill Withers
10. I Wanna Know Your Name-Keith Sweat
11. Get Off-Foxy
12. Le Freak-Chic

[paul]

Yeah Johan, I remember when needle mentioned that. I don't understand why they do these sorts of things but the actual movie soundtrack is better. For example, the movie has I'm Your Boogie Man, and He's The Greatest Dancer. Neither songs made it to the cd soundtrack. Those songs in the movie by the way were the originals.

[needlefingers]

There's a variety of reasons why they do it.

One is cost effectiveness. It's cheaper to re-record than to pay the price for an original track to appear on their cd. They had to pay a seperate price (sync-licence) for it to appear in the film. Also, the artist doing the re-recording stands to gain a hit or attention to maybe have a hit. The Boogie Oogie Oogie by Brooke Valentine was released as a 12 inch. Now she has a bunch of singles out. (BTW, the Boogie Oogie Oogie here is a rap.)

Two, is to make the soundtrack more appealing to different audiences. It has both "mom and pop's" music, but with Beyonce or Jamiroquia, a younger audience might be drawn to it. This film, in particular, was geared toward families along with the black community, disco/old school heads and, of course, skaters.

Third, is availability. Some owners of original recordings don't mind it being in the movie, but if it is on the soundtrack, it can pull from sales of the artist's cd's. And the artist makes more money on a sale of his cd over a soundtracks. Especially if they have produced their own greatest hits cd's.

They can also want to be careful to not give over exposure, thus lowering it's value or being overlooked by future film,television or commercial projects.

I have talked to music supervisors and budget is considered along with the publicity value the music can generate. Have you ever noticed that commercials for a movie will contain an old song that does not show up in the movie or soundtrack? Two or three times each summer, some movie will use Thelma Houston's Don't Leave Me This Way in their commercial, only to entice customers to the movie. But, the song isn't in the movie. That's because they paid to use it for advertising, which can also be cheaper than to place it in the film.

Also, a music supervisor is sometimes self-paid out of the whole music budget. Therefore, the less he spends, the more he makes for himself.

[paul]

Thanks needle. Gee, you know your tutorial sounds Quinny style :icon_cool:

[needlefingers]

Thanks needle. Gee, you know your tutorial sounds Quinny style :icon_cool:

Thank you Paul, for that …..:icon_rolleyes:errrr…..:icon_cry:complimen t?
(:icon_cool: lol)

And let me acknowledge that there are many female music supervisors too. I didn’t mean to refer to them as only “he”.

[Videoskooter]

The movie never got into our theaters but last week I found it on DVD and I thought well, who am I to doubt monsieur Paul's judgment and taste.

So I bought it, and we've just seen it and....yeah! Of course it's a sort of SNF for teens but the acting is believable, the 1978 atmosphere is there and the music is GOOD! Much better indeed than the official soundtrack. Good variety of songs and all original, except the rappin' on "Boogie Oogie".

There's some awful disco skating in it and the venue is cool!

Now, does it make me regret that I've never skated? Nope, it just ain't my thing.

But I recommend it to people who love that era!

BTW, I can't find the thread anymore, but wasn't there a guy who posted and said he was working on a Disco drama series for HBO or some other big channel? Is that already on tele in the US of A?

[disco1999]

Roller disco ? hell yeah!
The timing was perfect, disco music was getting huge, night clubs were multiplying everywhere and several rollerskate rinks were being built in the late 70's to allow teenagers like me to make it to an alcohol free nightclub.
I went skating 2-3times a week, enjoying the music, the ladies and the videogame frenzy as well. After some time spent making friends with some DJs of the Roller Disco scene, I've had my chance replacing them occasionally spinning disco records on SL-1400mk2's, best years of my life!

Just before the early 80's one of the major DJ's of the Montreal clubbing scene Robert Ouimet, had been spinning at the Limelight (1254 Stanley) the busiest clubs in Canada (3 floors filled). On every Monday, he was driving to Manhattan to buy the hottest music to be played at the Limelight on the next weekend, his music was aired live every weekend on the radio, he had lots of influence.
After a while he got fed up playing disco for over 6 years, decided to try something different, a new sound had to be tested. He brought some newwave records to the club. He recalls playing Planet Claire for the 1st time and managed to empty the dance floor, most disco purists were fleeing the place. On the next week, new wave really got started in Lime Light and the rest of the other clubs of the region followed the trend. This trend was obviously followed within the roller discos where new wave almost took over disco music and sadly led nearly all the skating rinks to eventually shut down within the next 2 years.

These are some of the tracks that I always associate with roller disco :
Belle Époque - Miss Broadway
Patsy Gallant - Sugar daddy
Cerrone - Supernature
Lectric funk - Shangaied
Ferrera - Love attack
Miracles - Love machine
Rod Stewart - Da ya think I'm sexy
Amii Stewart - Knock on wood
Nightlife Unlimited - Just be yourself

Some New wave music that I associate with roller discos:
Gruppo sportivo - Superman
Lene Lovich - Lucky number (my all time fav. newwave tune)
Gary Numan - Cars
New musik - Straight lines
The cure - I dig you
M Factor - Made in Munichj
Peaches & Herb - Shake your groove thing
Geno Washington - That's why Hollywood loves me

[paul]

So I guess you enjoyed the movie Johan :icon_biggrin: I have watched it a few times now and like it more each time I watch it.
As for that disco drama series, I kind a take that stuff with a grain of salt. I remember a few years ago someone mentioned doing some movie or something, and wanted our input. I haven't heard anything else about it.