Help with a 70s Disco Themed Party

[discodevil]

I am having my 50th birthday disco themed party.:icon_biggrin:
I am going to have a group of mirrorballs and white pin lights.:icon_cool:
Im thinking all silver foil strands etc around the room.:icon_cool:
I would like to have real disco music not the usual "I will survive" stuff.
So if members have any suggestions on decorations and music I would love them.

[Cdnbob]

You should get your friends to dress up in the clothing and hair styles of the era.

[FranceJoliFan]

I am having my 50th birthday disco themed party.:icon_biggrin:
I am going to have a group of mirrorballs and white pin lights.:icon_cool:
Im thinking all silver foil strands etc around the room.:icon_cool:
I would like to have real disco music not the usual "I will survive" stuff.
So if members have any suggestions on decorations and music I would love them.

Tantalizing invitations are a must. Maybe something classy/Studio 54 logo inspired. Or something hinting at trashy excess. And give your guests ideas on how to dress (insist that all the men wear tight polyester slacks and bikini underwear, and the women wear sequin tube tops.)

Silver foil strands is good (I spread silver glitter for my disco party, and it was nearly impossible to remove afterward.) And a few strands of Christmas lights go a long way. I like to stuff them in fishbowls and glass vases and create sparkly disco lamps.

Strobe lights are good, but use them sparingly.

Dry ice is a good idea in theory. But a smoke machine works better. They're pretty toxic, though. But I love the effect. And your guests will be impressed.

I got the best feedback from displaying old album covers. The tackier the better. I even scanned one and had Kinko's print out an enlarged poster.

Have some old disco dancing instruction manuals on hand. Maybe you can inspire your guests to try some old hustle moves.

Of course, you need a posh VIP lounge. Which could be a sofa covered in a satin sheet with lots of throw pillows. Or yards of gold lame' lining the walls. A place to enjoy drinks served by your shirtless bartender (on roller skates?)

Orchestral disco sets a nice mood for cocktails (Boris Midney, etc.) This is a chance to play more obscure music. Then for dancing, go a little more conventional. (As sophisticated as your guests probably are, they'll still get most excited when you play Dancing Queen. Never fails.) But as they get drunk, you can pretty much sneak in anything you like. I say, play the songs you like. The ones you remember dancing to back in the day.

Take lots of pictures. It's fun to go low-tech with a Polaroid camera. Set up a corner, and do it like a senior prom. Have glitzy cardboard folder frames for the photos. Your guests will love the instant gratification. Which is so 70's.

[SandraDee]

Don't forget the cocaine, qualudes & rampant promiscuity!:icon_mrgreen:

[RetroRuss]

I DJ at loads of these!! From my experience it all depends on your budget! I have DJ'ed where the people were mega-wealthy - it was a themed disco night...although elements weren't authentic...there weren't too many clubs that had lasers back in 1978!! However this room (in a big mansion) had several as well as the latest light show - but no smoke machine!! Also I find generally that if you go too deep into the music i.e. play tunes that are quite obscure you'd tend to lose the dancers..so I generally have to keep it on the commerical lilt - but hey you know your friends and their 'love of the music'!

As for fancy dress - I love watching people's interpretation of what was worn by folk like me BITD!! Flares were on the way out by 1977/8, as were platform shoes - flourescent hair bands, dark sunglasses and lurid spandex tights for men & women hadn't made their unwelcome appearance - just think Halston, Gucci, Fiorucci - c'est Chic n'est pas? It makes me laugh when people turn up looking like some hippy!! There weren't many of them in the discoteques I went to BITD!! LOL!!

If you are looking for a DJ -just holler!! :icon_cool:

[discodevil]

These are great idea's from you all, FranceJoliFan you must have great parties.:icon_cool:
I was thinking that guests have to wear a feather Boa of some kind male and females, so to keep it simple and easy to do.

[drlove]

Good luck on the party !!! Another idea you may want to consider is temporarily affixing to the walls disco LP covers (from extra copies of your treasured 70s LPs) or "throwaway" copies you find in thrift stores -- this may visually help set the right party mood for ya. Enjoy !!!:icon_lol:

[FranceJoliFan]

These are great idea's from you all, FranceJoliFan you must have great parties.:icon_cool:
I was thinking that guests have to wear a feather Boa of some kind male and females, so to keep it simple and easy to do.

The boas sound fun. Have you seen the ones with the silver tinsel mixed in?

I had my most ambitious disco parties when I was in high school. Very low-budget do-it-yourself affairs. I would cut stars out of cardboard and spray paint them silver, then glue them along string and hang them from the ceiling. Stuff like that. Turn the laundry room into a bar by throwing a sheet over the washer and dryer. Buy a bag of that silver glitter that you use on those bumpy spray-on ceilings, and spread it everywhere--sofas, window sills, the floor. What a mess! But as tacky as it was, my guests had fun.

I've also had luck at thrift stores:

Fluorescent bean bag chairs
Optical fiber lights (those things that look like stiff strands of fishing line where the tips turn different colors)
Hanging macrame plant holder (with plastic fern)

Sometimes you'll luck out and find one of those old infinity lights. Where the mirrors make the little lights appear to go on and on into the background. If you find one, grab it! Also look for Radio Shack disco lights. Usually some small plastic things with a few colored lights that slowly rotates. Or even a red police siren light. Or those red, yellow, green traffic lights.

Also look in the curtain department. You might luck out and find something big enough and flashy enough to cover an entire wall (I once found black velvet curtains from a high school auditorium. Huge panels. They looked great, and were dirt cheap.) Check out the blankets and sheets too. Black satin sheets make great table cloths.

Try some searches for this stuff on Craigslist too. I once saw someone post a string of heavy duty rope lighting for free.

So grab a roll of aluminum foil and a few mirror squares and get crackin'.

: )

[srg]

WOW!! Some really great ideas for this party (especially when I'M thinking of having one myself this summer for some of my non-disco friends!!)
Only thing I would not do is have a "period clothing" rule: you WANT your guests to DANCE; they will be SWEATING...I'd say keep it simple: tight white T-shirts, jeans (or painter pants...do they still make those?) for the gents; tube tops/slinky dresses for the ladies...runners optional...

Also, have only a little seating available (like South American/Brazilian get-togethers); your guests should be dancing/drinking/circulating...you don't really want them to get into groups sitting around talking politics while Fred Wesley's "House Party"(an ESSENTIAL party cut, IMHO) is playing loud!!

[discodevil]

There have been some great suggestions keep them comming.
The invitations are going to be 45rpm vinyl singles.
I have some things so far for my party, 12”, 8”, 4”, 2” mirror balls and two par 36 pin spots, silver tinsel shimmer curtains for doorways.
I have a bunch Richard Bernstein posters of 70’s stars.
There will be people that are not into disco that much.
Could members suggest a list of mainstream disco they may enjoy?
Just some to mix amongst the classics.

P.S. is there such a thing as 70's disco finger food to serve up?

[The Boogie Doctor]

Sandra Dee's on the right tip, without a doubt. In addition to the Dionysian substances, however, you'll need some funky music that is going to make people groove. Play lots of Kool and The Gang (Hollywood Swining, Get Down On It), Earth Wind and Fire (Let's Groove, Serpentine Fire), Teddy Pendergrass (You Can't Hide From Yourself, Life is a Song Worth Singing), Sylvester (Over and Over, You Make Me Feel Mighty Real). If you manage to incorporate these mentioned elements along with those you have already proposed the end result will be nothing less than a party that people will never forget.

[paul]

Don't forget the cocaine, qualudes & rampant promiscuity!:icon_mrgreen:

:icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol:
I feel ya Sandy. The exact same thought went through my mind when I saw this thread.

[A2Mark57]

P.S. is there such a thing as 70's disco finger food to serve up?

When I combine "disco" and "food" in my head, my first association is going to Denny's after the bars closed and getting a Grand Slam breakfast. Second association... brunch the next afternoon.

I can't think of a quintessential 70's finger food. I've had fun trying to recall what we ate. I'm mostly remembering the classics: cheese and crackers; shrimp and cocktail sauce; carrot strips and celery.

But wait, wait a second... It's starting to come back to me...

Wasn't the celery usually stuffed with either peanut butter or some fake cheese product back then?

LaChoy mini egg rolls were popular.

Ruffled chips served with tins of French's Onion Dip. (Don't know if either the tins or the dip are available now.)

Seems to me there was still some fondue action going on... Cheese and chocolate, mostly.


Sounds like a WONDERFUL party!!! Enjoy, and... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

[remicks]

*****

perhaps a large bowl of powdered sugar with several rolled up dollar bills inserted into it placed on the coffee table ....


..... maybe not though :icon_confused: ..... these days so little is taken lightly .....



*****

[drlove]

Remicks . . .re: your comment:

*****

perhaps a large bowl of powdered sugar with several rolled up dollar bills inserted into it placed on the coffee table ....

* * * * *

now THAT gave me my HUGE, BIG 'OLE laugh of this a.m. --- that is so twisted, and wonderfully so !!! Warped minds certainly make the world much more fun :icon_razz:

[srg]

Discodevil: you never said how the music at your party would be played: pre-recorded cds? vinyl? live dj? 8-tracks:icon_lol:? Are you going to be controlling the music or someone else?

3 ideas:

Educate your partygoers! howsabout printing up your party's playlist so they'd search out this wonderful "new" (to them) music after the party's over?

I'd start the party off with slower, lush disco...Barry White, etc...when you feel the crowd is beginning to "get down", throw on some "dancin songs" such as "Get Down Tonight", "Let's Start the Dance", "Dance (Disco Heat)" or "You Can Do It" to get them frenzied up

Give the dancers something they're not expecting..keep them interested..play Archies" "Sugar, Sugar", Stones' "Emotional Rescue" (makes the crowd raunchy, trust me),or Ventures' Hawaii 5-0 theme (I once heard a slightly slowed-down original version in a club in NYC in 84; when the crowd recognized what they were dancing to the floor just EXLODED!)...Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey" too!

it's your party and you'll play what you want to!

have a great time!

[discodevil]

What does the par mean?
I still need to get some par spot lights.
I am not sure what the par 20, 36 etc means.
I am lighting 12", 8", 4" mirror balls in a private room that is just average size.

[Pete Denis]

Forget the powdered sugar, forget all the drugs. Get comfortable, that is the way to go. Get comfortable and play DISCO, then some more DISCO, Nothing but DISCO. When you are done with that, play some DISCO. Then Some More Disco!! If it truly is a DISCO party, everything else will take care of itself! Just make sure it is nothing but DISCO!!! It is the music that counts the most!!:icon_lol:

[The Boogie Doctor]

hand all party attendees a tab of LSD as they enter. it will be the best party ever.

[discodevil]

[quote=srg;138579]Discodevil: you never said how the music at your party would be played: pre-recorded cds? vinyl? live dj? 8-tracks:icon_lol:? Are you going to be controlling the music or someone else?

I will be putting the music together and just playing it as Mp3's.

[Tim Tam]

What does the par mean?
I still need to get some par spot lights.
I am not sure what the par 20, 36 etc means.
I am lighting 12", 8", 4" mirror balls in a private room that is just average size.

The Par thing is just an industry reference. All you need to know is that Par 36 lights would be the way to go. They are pretty standard for lighting a (home) mirrorball set up. (Check out ebay) One light would be okay but two would be better. From different directions of course.
The ones with a colour wheel are very nice although a bit more expensive.

If you search ebay for disco lighting you will find a lot of great stuff. Much of it fairly inexpensive.

I have sent some info to your private messages.

Edit: Just found a terrific disco lighting effect. Check out the video. Link below
http://www.djanddiscostuff.com/prodpage.asp?prodid=2488

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53...e=disco+lights

[markydefad]

Discodevil: you never said how the music at your party would be played: pre-recorded cds? vinyl? live dj? 8-tracks:icon_lol:? Are you going to be controlling the music or someone else?

3 ideas:

Educate your partygoers! howsabout printing up your party's playlist so they'd search out this wonderful "new" (to them) music after the party's over?

I'd start the party off with slower, lush disco...Barry White, etc...when you feel the crowd is beginning to "get down", throw on some "dancin songs" such as "Get Down Tonight", "Let's Start the Dance", "Dance (Disco Heat)" or "You Can Do It" to get them frenzied up

Give the dancers something they're not expecting..keep them interested..play Archies" "Sugar, Sugar", Stones' "Emotional Rescue" (makes the crowd raunchy, trust me),or Ventures' Hawaii 5-0 theme (I once heard a slightly slowed-down original version in a club in NYC in 84; when the crowd recognized what they were dancing to the floor just EXLODED!)...Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey" too!

it's your party and you'll play what you want to!

have a great time!

OK...I see now...this is where the term "lush disco music" came from...and why the question was asked.

So blame srg...and he was referring to Barry White. Can I get a lush "Love's Theme" amen????

[discodevil]

Ive found my old 70’s stars posters by Richard Bernstein. And I am making a heap of strips of softwear sample CD's to hang on the walls or just hang from the ceiling.
Here are the photos.

[STEPHEN L FREEMAN]

Ive found my old 70’s stars posters by Richard Bernstein. And I am making a heap of strips of softwear sample CD's to hang on the walls or just hang from the ceiling.

Those Bernstein posters are GREAT! I wish I'd known, back then, that they'd released a series of his works. Were the posters from his covers for INTERVIEW Magazine?

[discodevil]

Those Bernstein posters are GREAT! I wish I'd known, back then, that they'd released a series of his works. Were the posters from his covers for INTERVIEW Magazine?

Im pretty sure they were. I had a Grace Jones one which was my favorite but it got damaged by water.