This is an all vinyl rip I did of some records a friend of mine gave me. He was a DISCO DJ in London in the 70's and wanted some of his old music turned digital so he could cruise around in hid Benz and reflect on the past. He was a refuge finding a safe haven in the 70's era of Disco in London. At 17 he had nothing but the clothes on his back and a dream of freedom. He eventually made it to the US and New York City and would frequent Studio 54. These are some of the tracks heard nightly at the Club and I have blended them together in one mix. It's all ripped from Vinyl excepts for an intro, outro and a few effects. Sorry if the sound isn't of the highest quality but I feel it came out pretty good.
1970s: Disco
By the late 1970s many major US cities had thriving disco club scenes which were centered around
discothèques, nightclubs, and private loft parties where
DJs would play disco hits through powerful
PA systems for the dancers. The DJs played "... a smooth mix of long single records to keep people 'dancing all night long'"
[3] Some of the most prestigious clubs had elaborate lighting systems that throbbed to the beat of the music.
Some cities had disco dance instructors or
dance schools which taught people how to do popular disco dances such as "touch dancing", the "
hustle" and the "
cha-cha-cha". There were also disco fashions that discothèque-goers wore for nights out at their local disco, such as sheer, flowing
Halston dresses for women and shiny polyester
Qiana shirts for men. Disco clubs and "...hedonistic loft parties" had a club culture which had many
Italian-American,
African American,
gay[4] and
Hispanic people.
In addition to the dance and fashion aspects of the disco club scene, there was also a thriving
drug subculture, particularly for
recreational drugs that would enhance the experience of dancing to the loud music and the flashing lights, such as
cocaine[5] (nicknamed "blow"), amyl nitrite "
poppers",
[6] and the "...other quintessential 1970s club drug
Quaalude, which suspended motor coordination and turned one's arms and legs to Jell-O".
[7] The "massive quantities of drugs ingested in
discothèques by newly liberated gay men produced the next cultural phenomenon of the disco era: rampant
promiscuity and
public sex. While the dance floor was the central arena of seduction, actual sex usually took place in the nether regions of the disco: bathroom stalls, exit stairwells, and so on. In other cases the disco became a kind of "main course" in a
hedonist's menu for a night out."
[7]By the early 1980s, the term "disco" had largely fallen out of favor in North America.
Nightclub era
Founding
When CBS began marketing the building in 1976, various interests in the art and fashion world pushed for turning it into a trendy disco, including male model
Uva Harden, who tried to get gallery owner Frank Lloyd to finance the club, until Lloyd lost a $9 million lawsuit to the estate of the artist
Mark Rothko, the
Rothko Case.
[6]Carmen D'Alessio, a
Valentino public relations agent who had been throwing fashionable parties, encouraged
Steve Rubell and
Ian Schrager, who were operating the Enchanted Garden in
Queens, to make the leap into Manhattan.
[7] D'Alessio had "reluctantly" hosted parties outside of Manhattan at the Queens venue and had been profiled in
Newsweek for doing so. She was to introduce Rubell and Schrager to the
jet-set crowd, including a pre-opening dinner with
Andy Warhol,
Halston, and
Calvin Klein.
[7]John Addison, owner of the disco "La Jardin" on West 43rd Street, New York City in 1974 introduced Steve Rubell to Billy (Amato) Smith and then to Ian Schrager. Billy (Amato) Smith later in 1975 was ask by Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell to handle the promotions for their new disco club called "Enchanted Gardens" a dinner/disco in Douglaston, Queens New York while still in the music business Billy (Amato) Smith then joned Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager at Studio 54 in the spring of 1977 part time and full time in 1981 until the closing of Studio 54 in April 1986.
During 1977, the building was purchased and renamed for its street address, 254 West 54th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, a location already noted for another tenant in the building, famed disco
recording company West End Records, as well as being the former home of
Scepter Records.
The nightclub was then founded by four equal partners: Steven Rubell, Ian Schrager, Tim Savage, and Jack Dushey. They operated the company as Broadway Catering Corp. Another partner, Richard DeCourcey, was present until September 1977.
[8]Within a month of opening, the
New York State Liquor Authority raided Studio 54 for selling liquor without a license, and closed it. The owners of the nightclub said the incident was a "misunderstanding". The next night the club reopened, but gave free fruit juice and soda instead of liquor. Prior to the raid, the nightclub had been using one-day use "caterers' permits", which enabled the nightclub to serve alcohol but were intended for weddings or political affairs.
[9] The State had denied the daily permit for the night and raided the nightclub. The nightclub had been using these permits while waiting for its
liquor license to be proces
