A question about Studio 54

[actor260]

Hey guys -

Unfortunately, I was born after the disco era. But I love disco music and am rying to understand what it really was like inside these clubs - especially in Studio 54. It must have been amazing - so carefree, so fun - something my generation will never understand. I may be romanticizing it a bit, but that's what I want to know. I have seen the film and read the book. But, what was it really like? Did any of you spin at 54? Or go there?

Thanks guys.

[Spellbound]

disco era is still going on right now the only difference is the music is mostly electronic right now and a lof it sucks

studio gets a lot of attention because of the celebrities but there were plently of places around nyc and the northeast at that time which had the same energy and intensity level

[paul]

Hey actor. I never went to 54. People like Jussi can comment on that. There were plenty of clubs I went to from Boston to NYC. Yes, it was free spririted. I think everything came together at the right time. At it's core was the music. A really good scene in 54 that shows this point was when Shane for the first time became one with the music. 8)
The drugs, well that depended on the club. Didn't matter anyway. There were tons of head shops in places like Boston where people get their paraphanelia for their drugs. The sex, oh the sex :D To go along with what I said about the times, AIDS was not an issue, at least not early on. Women freely expressed their sexuality to great my great delight :lol: :D
I would imagine for the gay community this was the same. That was the ying. Now the yang. Always lurking beneath the surface in the states was the disco sucks guys, and the Anita Bryants and Moral Majority types. IMHO this eventually culminated in rise of Ronny Reagan and the whole conservative movement. It was like a dark cloud that brought along with it AIDS, Herpes, shitty music, just say no, rumors of war, yada yada. Women understandably weren't so eager to bed down some stranger with all the **** going around. :cry: It's like the dark cloud that came in once bush was annointed. Economy goes in the toilet, 9/11, anthrax, etc. Oops, sorry for that tirade. Back to the topic. :) Yeah it was a lotta fun, even for guys like Quinny :lol: That's why people like myself enjoy coming here to relive some of the best moments of our lives.

[JussiK]

[quote="paul"]Hey actor. I never went to 54. People like Jussi can comment on that. quote]
Well - I've written nasty pieces on the subject of Studio 54 before here, so what's yet another one?:-) Listen, there were 20 better places to dance in New York City alone back in the day. I only went a couple of times but that was enough, I did not want to waste good boogie time in the company of overdressed businessmen and their ladies, overdrugged idiots unable to dance, pathetic overaged celebrities and wannabes of all sorts, future evangelists from Finland, never mind the good music and the spectacular effects. The vibe at Studio 54 was that of a very expensive office party. It was good for an hour just to see what the hype was all about and naturally you could stop any conversation back then with a remark like Oh by the way I went to Studio 54 in New York and it was crap.

[discodevil]

What I remember about Studio 54, we were four young guys from Australia in New York for the first time. We got in and it was everthing we had heard it was! the music was great the lighting was great.
A barman had told us that a few nights ago Viola Wills had sang Stormy Weather on a front of a ship and it hit an iceberg that opened up and Lena Horne was in it and started singing her version of Stormy Weather, I don't know if that was just bullshit or not!
I do remember a bathroom attendant handing me a towel which freaked me a bit that just didn't happen in Australia. lol!
And I saw the Actress Lee Grant which was a big deal to me!
When we left there were limos outside and one of them said he would take us to our next club for $10.00 bucks, we all piled in, what a great night!

[JussiK]

Viola Wills doing Stormy Weather - which year was this night you are telling about? Wasn't the Studio all but defunct by the time Viola 's first track came out, let alone her 80's hi-nrg version of Stormy Weather?

[MixMasterMax]

JussiK hit it on the head. There were many clubs that had better lights, music and atmosphere. We always saw it as a tourist trap. Very similar to a tourist trap restaurant which all the locals stay away from. This is not to say that it was not a nice club. It just required too much effort. The Disco culture as I remember it was always moving from one new club to the next. The trick was to find the next "In" club and once everyone else heard about it...move on. It's funny how a movie will immortalize a whole era on one club. It amazes me because we never thought that much about it.

[BrunoRepublic]

From what I've gathered, Studio 54 was all about celebrity worship. I can't comment on how good or bad the music was. But when people gloss over 54, it's never because of the incredible music or the lights or the vibe... it's always "Diana Ross went there! Cher went there! Bianca Jagger went there!".

Personally, I'm a lot more interested in what was being played at clubs than who was going to them.

[discodevil]

Viola Wills doing Stormy Weather - which year was this night you are telling about? Wasn't the Studio all but defunct by the time Viola 's first track came out, let alone her 80's hi-nrg version of Stormy Weather?

The year I went was 1982, gee! could that of been the year Viola released her version of Stormy Weather. The Studio 54 club's final closing was in 1986. actor260 did ask what it was like inside these disco clubs not just 54, Studio 54 was a highly commercial and highly publicized disco, some people liked it some didn't. So move on from slaging off 54 and tell actor260 about the other clubs that you loved! And hopefuly he will hear from a DJ who worked 54 just as he asked! :evil:

[judydoggie]

The high time for Studio 54 was around 1977-1981. At the time, I'd just finished H.S. and began college. It cost an awful lot of money to get into a place like that. But, if you dressed right, or so outrageously they HAD to let you in, and were bright enough to carry on a conversation with the right folks, you could get by. The music was, amazing. The entire staff, contrary to the movie, was gay. Schrager disliked it, but Rubell kept the "casting couch" concept alive and well. Check this site's "Night Clubs" section for more information from ex-employees.

Once the doorman let you in (in the early days, from about 11:30 to 1:00 - the "right" time to get there - Rubell himself; otherwise it was Joe Welsh or someone else) and mind you, you could be the prince of a small island somewhere, you could have more money than Rockefeller; if you were a "nerd," Steve wasn't gonna let you in. However, if you were either very sexy, or dressed very sexy, or if you had that non-drug induced inner "adrenoline" excitement that added to the mix of people in the room; you were in. No boring wallflowers allowed; (unless of course you were Andy Warhol or Truman Capote). A walk down a long hallway led to the coat check, and then into the cavernous main room; once the orchestra seating area, orchestra, and stage of a large Broadway theatre. It had all been re-done. Every night of the week the place was re-decorated (if only slightly) for the evening's theme. One thing to be said for Steven Rubell, he knew that it took money to make money. He spared no expense decorating the place and installing novelties made out of anything from neon to rubber for the delight of his patrons.

Drug use was so rampant, particularly when the club had little competition (Area, Palladium and The Red Parrot hadn't opened yet) and the riff-raff was kept out, that people were doing lines of cocaine everywhere there was a flat surface, just not on the bars (too wet).

The crowd ranged from a pair of vapor-headed gay twins (male) from Connecticut who were always let in because they had lots of money and would strip down to tiny silver lame shorts -- but conversation, forget it. Ask 'em what Gin is and they'll tell you it's wine made from a gin bush! But then, you'd get the better people and their hangers-on, and occasionally run into a kindred soul; someone who was there simply because they could be. I'll tell you, for spectacle's sake alone, it sure beat going to the neighborhood bar and watchin' a ball game and playing pool!

Then there were characters like Rollarena: A woman in a wedding gown and roller skates who was there every night. Our dear friend Tommy G who had the biggest, well, you-know-what we'd ever seen. He wouldn't make movies, but we sure won a lot of money on bets with him and "you show us yours and we'll show you something bigger." Sometimes he'd bring home $4,000 in a night and we'd bring home $2,000.

Rubell could make it rain inside; snow inside; create any mood on earth. Studio 54 was the first. And even though I never worked there, and, in fact, went to work for a competing establishment, I will declare that there was only one Studio 54. And if they say "emulation is the sincerest form of flattery," well, a lot of very rich men spent tens of millions of dollars flattering Steve Rubell and Ian Schraeger.

For a vague, conceptual taste of what the whole thing was about, one can stay in New York at Schraeger's Morgans Hotel. It is absolutely sumptuous. They anticipate one's every whim nearly as well as the Ritz-Carlton chain. But you better dress chic and be hip; or some of these hipster "wanna-bees" with platinum Amex cards and no self esteem (some of whom just go for drinks in the lobby and don't actually stay there) will criticize another's duds loudly. Personally, I wear my nerdy khakis, black loafers and an old button-down oxford shirt when I go there, sometimes a blue blazer. But I never forget the datejust Rolex -- the one I borrow from my broker for each trip.

More questions, kid? I love talking about Disco to people who weren't there. It was a great, great time to be alive. My email's: paul@asianfusion.net
I don't know why everyone else here was being so hard on the old "grand dame" of discodom. Of course there wasn't enough time nor space for EVERYONE to play there, so what? Some of you didn't deserve to play the great gigs you got -- there are deejays posting in this website to this day who worked for Jim Merry at the Red Parrot who'd take his money and then be dishing him at Crisco's later on that evening in the vip room. I was right there and more often than not, left Donald A. and his party because I got so disgusted. You know who you are. My email's above, in the event any of you wanna come clean with your consciences and act like men.

[Videoskooter]

JD, thx for the "full" story.

It's always interesting to hear it from people who actually got in the "54" and saw it with their own eyes.

I think many people (including myself) only know the "54" as a myth. From hearsay or from documentaries or movies and that always gives a wrong picture.

I do think that it was a unique concept at that time and alltough I can not compare it with the other discos like the Paradise Garage or the "Saint" (I've never been to the States) I'm surely convinced that it was the number one of decadAnce.

And when you say that all of the staff was gay it surely proves that the movie "54" was not accurate.

I'm sure that when the right producer, someone who was there and has experencied the real disco-time-vibes would make a tremendous movie about this disco it could be the ultimate discomovie. Maybe Brian De Palma or even Coppola or Scorsese.

Why don't they have a go with it?

[judydoggie]

Skooter:

Thanks for the praise. I got sick of all the dickering around and just decided to answer the kid's question. He has since emailed me with thanks and I've emailed him more stuff from those years and he's very, very invested in his study of the era, the clubs and for someone as young as he has amassed, I believe, a pretty good collection (at least his correspondence with me leads me to believe that).

Regarding a Studio 54 movie. I hate to tell you that the movie-going public is very fickle. And their memories are fickle, too. So few people remember what "Studio 54" was about, the market-researchers at the studios would nix it. And what would be the message? This is what'll happen to you if you use drugs? [Imagine the religious right making this one... The brief outline would be: "The balcony at Studio 54 where they all did cocaine and had sex was really where AIDS originated." and then the ending of the movie would be a fast-forward to the future, and a clap of thunder and bold of Heavenly (Jerry-Falwell/Jim Bakker-style) Lightning comes down and the entire 54 building (still standing, by the way) collapses into the ground to burn in hell]. Anyone who remembers Dana Carvey whining the words "Must be the work-a Satan!!!" on Saturday Night Live musta gotten a kick out of that visual.

As much as I ache for a movie, ANY movie, the soundtrack of which would contain a top-25 or top-30 of that wonderful era from 1976-1982, pre-AIDS, the height of the power of the great Dee-Jays in NYC to mesmerize crowds of literally thousands for hour upon hour - and the unfettered decadence; I don't think it's going to happen unless I produce it. And I just don't have a few million dollars to seed a syndicate to produce an independent movie. And imagine the research that'd have to go into that one just to be able to juxtapose the real footage with the contemporary footage!

I instructed our young inquisitor to read "The Warhol Diaries" by Pat Hackett. If there was ever a chronicle of the highs, the lows, and the extent to which people would throw their dignity out the window just in the name of "hanging with celebrities" this is IT!

See you guys here at the "Best Disco In Town..."

[Voyage]

Thanks Paul for ur e-mail reply. I was the one who e-mailed you, but I didn't post the original question lol Anyway I'll get back to you soon.

Voyage :P

[judydoggie]

Skooter:

Thanks for the praise. I got sick of all the dickering around and just decided to answer the kid's question. He has since emailed me with thanks and I've emailed him more stuff from those years and he's very, very invested in his study of the era, the clubs and for someone as young as he has amassed, I believe, a pretty good collection (at least his correspondence with me leads me to believe that).

Regarding a Studio 54 movie. I hate to tell you that the movie-going public is very fickle. And their memories are fickle, too. So few people remember what "Studio 54" was about, the market-researchers at the studios would nix it. And what would be the message? This is what'll happen to you if you use drugs? [Imagine the religious right making this one... The brief outline would be: "The balcony at Studio 54 where they all did cocaine and had sex was really where AIDS originated." and then the ending of the movie would be a fast-forward to the future, and a clap of thunder and bold of Heavenly (Jerry-Falwell/Jim Bakker-style) Lightning comes down and the entire 54 building (still standing, by the way) collapses into the ground to burn in hell]. Anyone who remembers Dana Carvey whining the words "Must be the work-a Satan!!!" on Saturday Night Live musta gotten a kick out of that visual.

As much as I ache for a movie, ANY movie, the soundtrack of which would contain a top-25 or top-30 of that wonderful era from 1976-1982, pre-AIDS, the height of the power of the great Dee-Jays in NYC to mesmerize crowds of literally thousands for hour upon hour - and the unfettered decadence; I don't think it's going to happen unless I produce it. And I just don't have a few million dollars to seed a syndicate to produce an independent movie. And imagine the research that'd have to go into that one just to be able to juxtapose the real footage with the contemporary footage!

I instructed our young inquisitor to read "The Warhol Diaries" by Pat Hackett. If there was ever a chronicle of the highs, the lows, and the extent to which people would throw their dignity out the window just in the name of "hanging with celebrities" this is IT!

See you guys here at the "Best Disco In Town..."

[JussiK]

How about people's personal top five clubs of the disco era then? Mine could be...
1. Piranha - Capri, Italy - for the incredibly friendly vibe, gorgeous looking people and endless eurodisco music
2. 12 West - NYC - for the best possible music and the total New York-in-the-70's-ness of the experience
3. Paradise Garage, NYC - truly lived up to any expectations, up the early 80's, sharp and nasty downfall after that
4. Le Palace - Paris - for the sheer funhouse atmosphere, smiling people and wonderful sounds
5. Funky Maruska, Heinola, Finland - for the tribe, the latest and loudest Billboard disco chart music, the amazing middle of nowhere forest location, the nude swimming in the midnight sun, for sleeping it all off by the lake the morning after. Paradise Lost.

[buckaroo]

And when you say that all of the staff was gay it surely proves that the movie "54" was not accurate.

To be fair to the film-makers, there is a disclaimer in the movie which states that it's 'based' on true events. This usually means 'This film does not present a true picture of what actually happened'.

Skooter:

Regarding a Studio 54 movie. I hate to tell you that the movie-going public is very fickle. And their memories are fickle, too. So few people remember what "Studio 54" was about, the market-researchers at the studios would nix it. And what would be the message? This is what'll happen to you if you use drugs?...Anyone who remembers Dana Carvey whining the words "Must be the work-a Satan!!!" on Saturday Night Live musta gotten a kick out of that visual.

Yeah, disco movies are not the 'in thing' right now. And even 54 got a bit moralistic towards the end :roll:

A similar club scene in London was on the boil during the early '80s. The New Romantics, a name coined by the media, were a crowd of young artists and musicians who painted and preened themselves in order to be able to gain entrance to UK pop star Steve Strange's ultra snobby Blitz club, situated in the West End of Central London. The music policy would sometimes include a mixture of Chic one minute, then something by David Bowie the next. Many a TV news item at the time, would feature an array of weirdly dressed androgenous types (known as Blitz Kids to their inner circle) sauntering around the streets, and Mister Strange would take great delight in doing a Rubell by bitchily turning '...Wallies...' away from his door. Ironically, even Mick Jagger was turned away from the club one night as no one recognised him. Steve Strange and a lucky few of his Blitz Kids were asked to appear in Bowie's "Ashes To Ashes" video. This den of iniquity too became home for drug abusers and the like. But also spawned many a house hold name: Boy George and Sade used to check-in people's coats, and even Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran frequented the joint on occaision.

As with Studio 54, drugs and AIDS claimed the lives of a few of it's patrons. Strange's career in music ground to a halt, making it hard for him to finance his insatiable drug habit. And then the party was over.

This is ripe fare for a good movie.

BTW, I was never there.

[judydoggie]

JussiK, I'm green with envy. Had I the money (and the knowledge back then, of all these places) I woulda hit 'em in an instant. My middle initial is H for Henry, but h is also for hedonism. Why don't you tell those of us who, like I, have not yet had the pleasure to travel "On the Continent" what those fabulous jet-set Euro-discos were like? It sounds like they really had their sh*t together (nude swimming in the midnight sun... to great disco music... the only way to reprise THAT is to take one of those Icelandic cruises on a good cruise line and bring along one very, very large boom-box! lol)

Here's a reprise of another letter (for the record and anyone who cares) I wrote to a member of this site who emailed me privately, parallel to the question at the beginning of the thread, about what it was like:

Dear Groovy:

I love talking with young people (I'm kickin' 50 in the ass) about
the great club years.

Those idiots at Discomusic.com were so busy arguing amongst
themselves they weren't getting to the point so I figured I'd get to
it for you.

The bad news is no, I was never privy to the really "fab" discos that
are inhabited to this day by the jet-set - was, indeed, invited to
Regine's in NYC and some other ultra-private clubs where the old-
money kids would hang out (no blacks, few jews, etc.) but hated that
scene and even though I was making a good wage at that time did not
want to be a slave to fashion and purchase thousands of dollars in
coutoure clothes just to fit in.

My claim to fame is that I am probably the second-to-last living "fly
on the wall" during the brief but sparkling life of 54's hottest
competition, the Red Parrot, at 617 West 57th Street, between 11th
and 12th Avenue (there's a big hole there now; they're building a hi-
rise; I was upset I couldn't get into the new club that was built in
there, just to get a souvenir).

At the end of my employment at the Red Parrot, caused by the sudden
death of the owner, James J. Merry, a club and restaurant owner of
note in the City, my title was General Manager and Director of
Facilities and Administration. At that time, we had the big club and
several restaurants. I was responsible for the administration of
compliance, licensing, and finance reporting for all of them.
Anything that was done day-to-day; I did. I answered to Mr. Merry
and his lawyer and accountant; as well as the floor managers who did
not work a "9 to 5," so I could get things done for them. Needless
to say, my days were long.

The nice thing, however, about spending the enormous amount of time
that I did around the place was that I got to know a lot of people,
from employees of other clubs seeking more lucrative employment all
the way up to major players in the entertainment business pitching
their latest rising stars. Sometimes I'd have to pinch myself; I
loved my job; worked hard, and never looked back about the hours and
the days (my relationships suffered, however, and marriage was out of
the question). I was on call nearly 24-7. I recall taking only four
vacations of more than three days' length during the years from '79
to '88.

There were remarkable places to go for after-hours, we could (and
would) sometimes party for a couple of days at a time; non-stop. Oh,
dear, to be young again. And we were more like family; we really
seemed to care more about each other; at least those of us who worked
for the clubs and knew each other. Sure, some of the kids could get
catty and competitive, but all in all, we were pretty stand-up for
one another. Prior to the onset of AIDS and the crack epidemic, the
worst thing that would happen is that one would get a case of the
clap and get a shot and that'd be it. The ones who couldn't handle
it would go to re-hab (a very new concept back then) and then to A.A.
and come back and try to get US to go, too! (Nothin' worse than a
reformed drunk without a pot to piss in telling a social drinker with
a good job, home and car that he's got a problem!)

Disco has been examined by modern anthropologists pro and amateur;
museums have mounted exhibits of disco memorabilia; the college
campuses are now staging rather un-authentic "retro disco nights" and
the movies have examined the disco era from a disco point of view in
as good a light as Hollywood, ever interested-in-box-office-and-to-
hell-with-art-and-historical-integrity. "Boogie Nights," the '98
film featuring Mark Wahlberg, shows (among myriad other things) the
bleak side of the under-belly of nightlife in the late '70s when
people were engaging in hedonism that was unthinkable in even
the "wife swapping" late '60s; as well as painting a very, very good,
pretty realistic picture of the drug use and how some could navigate
its curvaceous highway with autobahn-like speed and come out
unharmed, whilst others crashed and burned.

The "54" movie was crap. It could have really been something had
enough money been spent making it a quality piece; and then on
promoting it.

I would recommend you read "The Warhol Diaries" by Pat Hackett. It's
probably in your town's library. That will give you another person's
look at life at the epicenter of the great clubs of the era. In
fact, yours truly is mentioned in the book.

And please, do keep in touch! I'm going to invite you to become a
member of a very special group we started recently, to begin a re-
union project for a disco also owned by my previous employer. You
might learn something about the love we have for one another, even
after all these years. And how much it hurt when AIDS came and stole
our friends from us and all we could do was stand by and attend
funerals. For some of these kids, I would've given a kidney, a lung,
anything; if they were here to be with us today. But with this
disease it just don't work that way.

I know you're only 19 but if you're going to get your feet wet in
disco and you want me to be your teacher, buddy, you're going to have
to put on waders, 'cause you're gonna get an education and a
Baccalaureate when you're done if you hang in. And, guess what, it's
FUN!

What do I expect of you? Nothing but your youthful exuberance, and
maybe a clue as to what the young people who can't yet be served
alcohol legally are dancing to nowadays. And your willingness to
answer for me a few other questions about what people your age are
thinking about, merely for my own edification. All of my information
is in the electronic "signature" at the bottom of this letter.

Shall we dance?

Yours, musically,

Paul Lewis (a.k.a. "JudyDoggie)
paul@asianfusion.net

[paul]

Idiots huh :roll: I resemble that remark. Seriously though paul, are you including yourself among us idiots? Anyway as to the 54 question, many will have different points of view. With all do respect, I would not take yours as the definitive one. We are both old enough to know people can come away from an experience and see things differently. As for the 54 movie, my opinion is it isn't crap. Unless a movie tells me it's a documentary then I have come to expect some degree of variation from the truth. I'm not saying it was perfect much less represent Studio 54, but in my view it was no worse than Saturday Night Fever. Believe i could have and did pick apart that film back in the day. And no, I'm not just saying this cause I get sprung for Salma :lol:
I guess to get back to the poster's original question, I believe some of your best resources are right here. The books suggested may be good but they only represent one point of view. The rest of idiots offer a great resource and you can take from all sources the things you believe are pertinent.

[judydoggie]

Anyone wanna pass me my hat, next?

Sorry, guys. I sometimes have the patience of a three-year-old. I did, indeed, refer to the posters hereinabove as "idiots." That was completely inappropriate and I offer a million apologies.

For those in need of an explanation, I am so excited when I see younger people voice an interest in Disco (the same way I am with my other, much more lucrative genre, jazz), I got impatient with those who kinda worked around a simple, one-page answer to the question 'What was it like?'

I love ya all! Let's keep dancing.

[paul]

Apology accepted. I am generally not that thin skinned but in a way i feel like this is an extended family. I get a little more emotional when I feel we're attacked. 'Nough said.
Paul, did you live in Connecticut around '78, '79? There was this club in Newington that was popular and it's name escapes me?

[judydoggie]

I'd graduated High School in Fairfield County, CT (town intentionally omitted for fear of identity theft) in 1976 after having spent four horrible years here when my family was "corporate moved" from Queens, NY to here. The culture shock was awful; a disco guy dropped into the midst of all these rockers! It was tough at that age. I spent a lot of my time beating up the rockers, and driving back to NY to see my friends.

The Newington Club you mention we were just mentioning in my bar the other night -- was it the infamous "Dial Tone?" There was one in Danbury, too. They had big number signs on the tables, and telephones. You could call a table of pretty girls and they wouldn't know who was talking with them -- what fun, what stupid, inane, childish fun we had back then!

Back then, THE place to go for the best dee-jays (if one had an open mind) was the "Brook" on the Post Road in Westport. At this predominately gay disco, the few straights inside were folks who knew a good dee-jay when they heard one, and came out for a good time (especially mid-week, or Sunday Afternoon Tea) when they weren't in NYC. That was certainly MY case. All but a few die-hard, cranky old queens and lesbians were very welcoming and friendly, and there was many a night when my girl just wanted to listen and I'd be out there dancing en-masse with guys and girls -- or just lotsa guys -- (passing the Amyl Nitrate as if it were oxygen!).

I don't remember the names of the dee-jays, but they were just fantastic! And the owner, Paul, -- another Paul -- was precious. He wasn't absentee, he was always there, and he did a great job with what he had; and must've paid these guys some good money 'cause of the freshness and style of the music.

I was off to NYC by 1978 -- and here I am, back in the "country" -- can't afford it now; but soon wife and I will have a pied-a-terre in NYC and keep our large home up here. I love to spend nights in the city at Cabaret, etc. but driving home for nearly two hours at three in the a.m. is a bitch at my age!

[paul]

I can relate to the culture shock Paul. We used to live in da Bronx. My mom decided to move us to safer Connecticut in '72. Eventually I grew to appreciate the more mellow side of life even at my then tender age :)
Hmmm, "Dial Tone" doesn't resonate with me but it could have been. I just can't remember. For some reason I keep thinking that club in Newington was "The Brothers..." There was a club in Springfield Mass. with that kind of name though so I think I mixing 'em up.
Well, aren't we living large. A country home and a home in the big city :D

[JussiK]

what those fabulous jet-set Euro-discos were like? It sounds like they really had their sh*t together

If you compare discos to mirrorballs, showy and flashy, then a couple of the euro places I did visit had their mirror bits manufactured by Lalique. Le Camarque in Nice on the French Riviera had a discreet entrance in the ancient stone facade of a building on the elegant Flower Market Square of the old town. There was a minor obstacle in the shape of the lady in charge of the door who checked your appearance thru a tiny peephole though, but once in, it was opulence and style in equal measures. The posher euro clubs often featured very low sofas, giant chandeliers jazzed up with multicolored lights and very subdued disco effects, nothing too intense to burn the retinas of the sophisto types lounging around exhanging pleasantries and wiggling on the stainless stell floor. The music was usually airy europoppy stuff like One For You One For Me by La Bionda, with some afro funk thrown in occasionally to spice things up. Lots of Cerrone and Voyage. Though obviously a tad elitist, places like Le Camarque had nice, genuinely relaxed and friendly atmospheres, very expensive but worth the money. I for one had to sneak to the toilets to drink from taps, having no money to splash on champagne night after night week after week. - Most clubs in Europe were the expected usual, though, hastily constructed cheap joints with tacky light shows and hilarious decor desperately in search of Saturday Night Fever's Brooklyn ambiance. If you get hold of the cult film John Travolto (sic) Da Un Insolito Destino, you get the full endearingly ramshakle picture. As an added plus this 1979 film features the future porn legend Ilona Staller aka La Cicciolina in a rare, fully costumed "dramatic" role as a deejay. The music gets real good toward the end as original Costandinos-style compositions get spun amid La Bamba by Antonia Rodriquez and Disco Quando by Tony Renis.