"Club'ers" from the 70's-80's, can you answer this question?

[canadiantire]

Hi,


I have never really been to clubs outside a radius of 500 miles from my hometown but I know that as far as I can remember, there always been some time allocated by D.J.'s to play “slow music”.

Was it only in Montreal where the last 15 minutes before the club's closing, was dedicated to 2 or 3 “slows” in a row?

If not, does anyone know when and why this practice started?


- Marcus

[Dayna]

I worked @ a Club that always played a slow jam to close out the night.. This was so anyone that didnt have a "Trick" or "date" usually people that didnt have the nerve or the personality to just go up to someone and say ..Lets F*ck.or make love or what-Eva,It was a known fact in the club that if you asked someone to dance "The Last Dance" you were asking them to go home with you for the night without having to say the words. Thats basically the meaning behind Donna Summers "Last Dance" remember it was the 70's people seldom went home alone .

[pepper1dancer]

On alot of topics here on the board, I have read that DJ's played certain "slow songs (jams)", but as long as I have been clubbing, I have NEVER heard any slow stuff. It was always Dance dance dance music til the very end when they started turning on the house lights and everyone was still on the floor and others heading to the exits. So I have never heard any slow stuff. To tell you the truth, I dont think i would've liked to either. Slow songs are for other stuff and singing, not the Disco's, of course this is my opinion.

[canadiantire]

Thats basically the meaning behind Donna Summers "Last Dance" remember it was the 70's people seldom went home alone .

…last dance from Donna…

So obvious that I’ve should have known better.

The reply from pepper1dancer at least confirms to me that this “slow jam” rule was not reinforced all across North America.

I always had the impression that it was put there to change the pace, make a break in the mood in order to prepare people to “clear” the premises.

[kim58]

Hi All
It's been a long time but I seem to remember that nearly all the clubs I went to finished off the night with a couple of slowies. We used to call it the 'Erection Section' - for obvious reasons! Happy days.:icon_biggrin:

[QUINNY]

Well daahlings, it all depended on the location and type of crowd.

In the UK, to a hetero crowd, it was de rigeur to have slow sessions (yep, more than one during the course of the evening), so that peeps could get to know each other a little better. After all, those discos were just as much about boy meets girl, as being about the music AND there were always soooo many great slow tracks around. I must have at least 700 slowies I played, during my 14 years DJing in clubs. I was also an opportunity for a DJ to have a slightly less mundane life and get to know some gals too.

Certain UK hetero discos wouldn't have played as many and been totally into the music, but they were probably in the minority. We weren't dropping as much speed, or as many poppers as you guys, or snorting lines, so we weren't so intense.

[Dayna]

Well daahlings, it all depended on the location and type of crowd.

In the UK, to a hetero crowd, Certain UK hetero discos wouldn't have played as many and been totally into the music, but they were probably in the minority. We weren't dropping as much speed, or as many poppers as you guys, or snorting lines, so we weren't so intense.

:icon_eek: :icon_eek: Can You speak for all heterosexual Dj''s?
define you guys ? haha

[Giovanni]

In Italy it was a general rule to have a slow session of the night up till the mid 70s. After that date, as music became more and more disco, only a few djs still had a slow moment. It was all about your crownd and your location... the hot discos were totally upbeat, while you could find some periferic club still playing slow jams in the middle of the night. As a general rule, at the end of the night there were some chill out tracks to release the tension and almost every club or dj had his signature song

[remicks]

*****

In the bigger clubs .... like Studio One ... it was quite common to have a false ending so that if the crowd hooted and stomped the floor enough they were granted "one last one" .... maybe two if it were a really crazy night .... Demanding another song was sort of a way to express regard for the DJ's spinning that night ....like an encore at a concert....

During LAST DANCE' run ...when that song finished its last high horn blast ...the lights went out with the song ... but it was rare that a DJ was just going to end it with that ... and finally sure enough..... one more song .

But once the DJ played something like Judy Garland's OVER THE RAINBOW ....and the sound of gathering beer bottles overtook the room ....it was apparent the night was over and it was time to find your shirt .....


*****

[RetroRuss]

In the main West End clubs in the late 70's I really don't recall a 'slow session'. (Mind you that could be cause I was a little inebriated! ) They tended to be found in the suburban clubs.

[paul]

Well Marcus,
I never went to disco in NYC where I actually stayed till it closed, and we're talking past 3/4 AM. :icon_biggrin:
As for New England discos, generally they would not play a slow song as the last one or two. If there was a signature closing song I would say it was "Last Dance."

[Videoskooter]

For me, there's a distinction between slows and slow records. Slows (Champaign, Floaters, etc.) were always played during the set, usually 2 or 3.

We usually observed the couples and if we saw some kissing going on with a few of them ,we started the slow motion and dimmed the lights, usually ended by a record that started with a 1st gear intro (f.i. "Off the Wall") and then we fired the engine up.

I always stopped my sets with something spacey by Cerrone. Mostly "In The Smoke" or something from the "Brigade Mondaine" soundtracks. Then people knew it was not hugging time but time to go home.

[kim58]

Maybe Headlamp hit the nail on the head as far as UK clubs were back then. I did my clubbing in the West London suburbs and the Home Counties with the occasional trip to Essex and slowies were always welcome and expected at the end of the evening. What happened when we ventured into the Big City is lost in the mists of time.

[QUINNY]

In the main West End clubs in the late 70's I really don't recall a 'slow session'. (Mind you that could be cause I was a little inebriated! ) They tended to be found in the suburban clubs.

Very true indeed, but as always the number of clubs in Londinium only ever equated to a fifth or so of the total number of clubs in the whole country. The capital (especially the upfront clubs) would have been more into non-stop music that's for sure and the capital had a great deal of 'music' clubs, but I remember hearing slowies in the Valbonne, Tramp, (dare I say it) Stringfellows and many others in the West End, even Gullivers. Certainly once you headed out to say,Tottenham, clubs were very much more suburban.

Dayna: Don't I write in English? Guys is a generic term for peeps and as most of the people who regularly post here are either American or Gay, take your pick.

Question: Did it take more or less balls/understanding/confidence/ to programme some slow records, knowing that a crowd could be worked up again? Just askin'. I'd rather hear some class slowies than half a dozen, more mediocre dancers, wouldn't you?

[Mixmachine]

it all depended on the location and type of crowd.

Exactly.

In my travels aroung Miami and surrounding areas, usually larger “New York” type Discos never played any slows or Ballads at all, it was all non-stop stomping until the closing theme song, many clubs used –for a while anyway--- “Last Dance” as the closing song (for me this practice quickly became so predictable and tired that I avoided using this song at all cost unless someone really requested it )

Other smaller, more intimate clubs, usually private (thirty something) and/or catering to a different clientele (i.e. lots of couples) enjoyed and requested Ballads (and forking out good tips to the DJ to get their way).


The Dj had to be careful and aware of the time of night when inserting a Ballad in any club , after the slow song set (Usually a couple of songs long) He had to be able to recovered the Floor and not completely kill the club’s party mood and energy and sent everyone packing prematurely to the nearest Hotel/Motel.

As a general rule I’d never played any slows at all a couple of hours before closing time in any club, doing this IMO was not a very smart move (in most clubs during peak nights anyways) as many people took this “Low” in the energy level to check the time and call it a night or leave for another club.

Here in Miami many of this smaller private clubs also played short “Salsa music” sets, so using a couple of ballads ( “Europa” by Gato Barbieri was always a winner) after this sets and before moving on to the heavy bmp Disco music sets was a safe programming choice, but never to close to closing time.

My favorite closing song was “I’m in the mood for love” by King Pleasure, I heard it used in some club in the mid 70’s (used by many Djs at the time) and instantly became a die hard fan of this song, for me this cut is the best song ever to play after a night of parting.

For a while I also used for closing “Good night sweet heart, goodnight” the original 50’s version by The Spaniels, (I think ther was a more updated version I can't remember :icon_confused:)also used the ’77 Tavares version of “Goodnight my love” , but by far in the 80’s I used “New York, New York” by Frank Sinatra.

[Videoskooter]

Funny, in Belgian clubs you simply had to play a few slows!!!!! Couples would have killed ya if you didn't :icon_biggrin:

For the others it was the perfect time-out to make a pitstop without missing a part of the boogie action! And right after the little slow set, they cheered when the beats invaded the floor again!

So everybodaaaay was happaaaaay!

[garrybcoston]

I know back in the day (I'm talking mid to late 70's when I was really hitting the clubs/discos), when the discos were about to close, they always played slow music, maybe 2 or 3 songs. In just about every disco I went to this was standard practice; I don't know who started it, but remember, when the big boys do something in NY or LA, everyone else follows suit, and I suspect that is one of the reasons why this became the norm.

They (the DJ's back in the day), and DJ's now, want you on the floor dancing while all the craziness is going on. It's really no different now than then, except the music has changed and of course it's called dance or techno (or industrial, house, garage, etc.), and I don't think any slow music is played.......I don't go out to clubs much anymore, so my question is, do they play any slow music at all in today's dance clubs? I would go on a limb and say no because all of the dance and techno that I've heard is fast, nothing slow at all.

Hope this helps a little.

Garry:icon_smile:

[mrkick20000]

In Japan, there used to be ''cheek-to-cheek dance time'', a slow music session, at many discos at intervals for cooling down and letting customers make couples in 70s and 80s. The tracks like Peaches & Herb--Reunited, Wham--Careless Wisper, Mauris White--I Need You, Klymaxx--I Miss You, etc. were often played, as I remember. But in the late 80s, the custom became obsolete because cusotmers got to get out when the slow time started.

[canadiantire]

What I really meant by "slows" gets closer to what kim58 is describing: an intimate rubbing session with a desired individual.

The typical closing songs (to name just a few) were something like these:

Commodores - Three Times a Lady
Manhattans - Kiss & Say Goodbye
Al Green's - For The good Times
Barry White - Just The Way You Are

These classics were usually long enough to trigger something...


Also:

Leo Sayer - When I need You
Feelings - Morris Albert
Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love
The Stylistics - You Make Me Feel Brand New
A taste of Honey - Sukiaki
Madleen Kane - You and I
Larry Graham - A One In A Million
Santa Esmeralda - You're My Everything


Wow! What a flashback...

- Marcus

[Dayna]

Our Dj would play songs like
You and I -Madleen Kane
Flowers-The Emotions
For The Love Of My Man-Celi Bee
Somewhere In My Lifetime-Phyllis Hyman
Sometimes a Love Goes Wrong-Carrie lucas
etc.
I was too busy picking up glasses ,empty popper bottles
and other items to get that last dance..But there was always the bottle club..aka After hours bar..This is where the real party started for us Club employees..

[disco-disc]

Yes most definately an Er* Section occurred over in England...:icon_lol:
It was expected that the SLOWIES would be put on at the end of the night, and off we went......:icon_lol:

[Summerlover]

Me & my partner were reminiscing about the days of the slow-dance at the end of the night 'back in the day' & we both thought it was a shame this never happens anymore , although really, what would be played today?
We were spoiled for love songs back in the 70's & 80's!

[ALBATROS]

It seems that slow dance was predominantly european phenomenon...
From as far as I could remember, it was MUST to put some slow songs (ussualy at 1:00 or so...). This section should last for some 20 to 30 minutes
and there was latter another one before end of night...
My playlist was something like Canadiantire proposed... When 80's finished, this policy also went out of fashion. Today it is impossible to play ANYTHING
slow at any occassion...shame. People today are really into very energetic (I prefer word "aggresive" as more apropriate...) music.
And YES, the main reason for "slow cuts" was mating.

Albatros

[buckaroo]

...Certainly once you headed out to say,Tottenham, clubs were very much more suburban.

Yeah.

I don't think a club such as Elton's in Holloway would've been the same as the ones in the West End.

[marmite7]

Well daahlings, it all depended on the location and type of crowd.

In the UK, to a hetero crowd, it was de rigeur to have slow sessions (yep, more than one during the course of the evening), so that peeps could get to know each other a little better. After all, those discos were just as much about boy meets girl, as being about the music AND there were always soooo many great slow tracks around. I must have at least 700 slowies I played, during my 14 years DJing in clubs. I was also an opportunity for a DJ to have a slightly less mundane life and get to know some gals too.

Certain UK hetero discos wouldn't have played as many and been totally into the music, but they were probably in the minority. We weren't dropping as much speed, or as many poppers as you guys, or snorting lines, so we weren't so intense.

It was also de rigeur for slowies to be played at the end of gay clubs too you know ;)


Double the ere*tion special

Barbara Mason - Another Man
Phyllis Nelson - Move Closer
etc etc

Home on a bone............. :icon_mrgreen: