We were invited to meet with Grace Jones at Studio 54, Rodgers told Sound on Sound in 2005. Once, a regular customer had too many people, or some problem. The doormen regularly had to be escorted home at the end of the night for their safety. The employee, stoned out of his mind, forgot to unlock her and went back to work. Studio 54 was crazy all year long, but things got especially wacky for Halloween. The birthday girl took the place of honor astride the horse, which trotted across the dance floor while cameras greedily snapped. This photograph comes just before the release of Off the Wall, when he was still remembered most for his youthful vocals in The Jackson 5. Maybe the most bacchanalian parties of the Greeks or Romans could give the club a run for its money, but that's about it. My favorite shots though, are post-party. From my parent's basement to VIP Host at Studio 54 Las Vegas. It wasn't that disco was dying or the club became uncool, it was that the owners were complete crooks. Throughout its three-year lifespan under Rubell and Schrager, Studio 54 served as a lab to experiment with everything from illicit drugs to gender. We had a blast. A pile of people forms on the dance floor of the 1978 "Purple Party.". According to a New York Times article from the time, one night they were finally figured out and told they couldn't serve booze. Then she discovered an organization that seemed to offer a way forward and talked with Regan McCarthy at POBA, an online hub and resource thats dedicated to recognizing creative talents who were under-recognized during their life. Dolly came and was completely freaked out at the number of people there. Bianca Jagger appears on horseback for her birthday. But that picture started the ball rolling. Oddly, one of the first people ever in the club was Donald Trump. One of the most memorable soirees was held in honor of Dolly Parton. A glitter-covered go-go dancer sways in a G-string. Studio 54 was a safe space for groups who would have been marginalised in the late 70s. Sometimes the venue hired dancers or had fashion models walking the crowds. Indeed, club regulars ranged from Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol to Elizabeth Taylor and David Bowie. One journalist who was there frequently said, "Even if you weren't having sex with someone every night, you felt like you could.". We had a circus ring with sand, and mermaids on trapezes, he told Vanity Fair. Their trademark hedonism was still intact, but the values (or complete lack thereof) had shifted 180 degrees from Woodstock. Like a booze and drug fueled fever dream, Persson's 'Studio 54' freezes a red-hot moment in disco-era history into 200-plus pages of spellbinding, head-spinning imagery. We were just yelling obscenities: Fuck Studio 54 Fuck em Fuck off Fuck those scumbags fuck them! The two are almost unrecognizable, however, thanks to the cream thats been smeared all over their faces and clothes. After all, you have so much money that you have to find some way to spend it, right? Nina Hagens Nunsexmonkrock: Greatest (and weirdest) unsung masterpiece of the postpunk era? A playful, intimate moment between a pair of partygoers, circa 1978. A woman holds a makeshift pipe for a man as he attempts to smoke an unidentified substance in 1981. In 1973, upon the publication of the SoHo Weekly News, Tannenbaum became their Photo Editor and Chief Photographer covering the New York City art, music, politics, show business, and nightlife scene until 1982.In this capacity, he took thousands of pictures of events and icons such as Jack Nicholson . Being a spouse to legendary partier Jagger, its no wonder she enjoyed a good get-together herself. If you found yourself fortunate enough to make it inside Studio 54 in 1978, you mightve come upon a scene like this one. Club employees were tasked with stripping nearby garbage cans of bottles and cans, lest these potential projectiles land in the hands of disgruntled guests. He was not there for the drug-fueled disco deliria. Sometimes thousands of dollars changed hands. So we ended up having to pay for new seats. Thats why Sylvester Stallone decided he needed to pay a visit to the most famous disco in the United States. With someone like Diana Ross at your venue, you wont be hurting for attendees. She was later presented with a life-size portrait of herself made of cake. If a regular night at Studio 54 was crazy, it was the special parties that were totally unacceptable. Its immersive atmosphere and coveted location on West 54th street in Manhattan made the spot an instant hit. In 1977, Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell began work converting the theater into the Studio 54 nightclub. See Rare Photos Inside Studio 54 Nightclub Photographer Gene Spatz captured celebrities - including John Lennon, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger - at the iconic New York City 1970s nightclub By. The club also had doves and a snake present for visitors on different nights. Actor and author Chris Lawford shares a dance with Mick Jagger's wife, Bianca. Left: A clubgoer dressed as Jesus carries a large cross onto the dance floor in 1977. The Studio 54 Glory Years When CBS sold the theater, various parties from the worlds of fashion and art began to express interest in seeing it transformed into a nightclub. Frank Sinatra was stranded in his limousine, unable to get near. Co-owner Steve Rubell was gay, which could explain why instead of the busty women you might expect, the bartenders at the club were all hunky guys. One clubgoer waited outside with a group of friends, including a doctor packing a jumbo bottle of Quaaludes. He'd gotten stuck and no one knew he was there until it was far too late. 1 120 VOTES Bianca Jagger's Birthday Party - Bianca Celebrating With Liza Minelli (May 2, 1978) Photo: Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Images 101 19 2 146 VOTES Studio 54 co-owner Steve Rubell stands in his office, which he claimed was ransacked by federal agents looking for drugs, in 1978. Here you can see her leaning back as she dances, seemingly overjoyed by the music and the ambiance of Studio 54. Lowen recognized some of the celebrities in the photos, but she wasnt sure what exactly her brothers archives contained or its value to the world. 9 Monumental Books About Martin Luther King Jr. 9 Films That Provide Insight Into Martin Luther King Jr.s Life and Legacy. He had accepted it. Another thing it often had, as a result, was strange performances. Valentino was the ringmaster, and Marina Schiano came as a palm reader with a parrot on her shoulder.. Studio 54: Candid photography captures all the bacchanalian revelry, Oliver Reed as a prototype Alex from A Clockwork Orange in These are the Damned, I Have No Desire To Be Nico: Post-Punks Muse Of Manchester, Linder Sterling. You could see him, trying to scope out the inside of the club. They were like queens on the dancefloor.". But, thanks to photographers who were in the right place at the right time, we can get glimpses of what a crazy night out at Studio 54 was truly like. Fashion designer Clovis Ruffin waits for a drink at the bar in 1980. They bought a building at 254 W. 54th St. in New York and spent $400,000 on turning it into a nightclub that included a huge man-in-the-moon hanging over the dance floor. A party was staged the night before their sentences began. It was down here that the privileged few were invited to indulge in their wildest desires. Within half an hour they composed a song called Fuck Off. After some lyrical tweaking they arrived at a slightly more Top 40friendly title. The gift caused some tension a year later, after the IRS raided Rubells office and seized his financial records, including a catalogue of gifts dolled out to celebrity friends and clients. The animal-loving activist tried to correct the misconception in a 2015 letter to the Financial Times. Steve was coked out of his mind, remembered one in attendance, Bianca was hugging him, and he was saying, I love you people! In this picture, women pose on top of giant reflective pillows in the middle of the crowd. Not only was this accepted, but one of the biggest suppliers was the co-owner Steve Rubell. Ian put it together in three days. Studio 54, New York. We think of him as a gentleman of the paparazzi [of that era], she says. To many, Rubell and his army of doormen and bouncers appeared to be, in a word, dicks but it was never personal. Andys first reaction was, You mean they told me there was a thousand dollars in there and it was only $800? New York Magazine interviewed former employees, including bartender Scott Taylor. So they would send limos to pick them up, making sure there was plenty of cocaine in them first. She was an actress and human rights activist who was married to Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger at the time. TheIndependent says others took a different tack, offering their bodies instead. Judge Richard Owen shocked the court by imposing the maximum penalty: three-and-a-half years in prison and $20,000 fines. Gene captured that part of history and the exuberance in a unique way. Still others would try to be sneaky. Here, see a selection of exclusive images of Spatzs work for the first time. When Williams visited Studio 54, he joined a fleet of other actors such as John Travolta, Richard Gere, Al Pacino and John Belushi, who all set foot in the iconic destination to see what it was about. We stood there as long as we could take it, until our feet were just finally way too cold. It was a place of secrets and secretions, the in-crowd and inhalations, sucking and snorting., Studio 54s fast and loose accounting would ultimately contribute to its downfall. Their photos transport us right back to the debaucherous den that all but defined 1970s New York's nightlife: Relive The Decadence Of Studio 54 With These Vintage Photos View Gallery If youd gone to Studio 54 in the 1970s, however, this is exactly the type of scene you couldve enjoyed. A pair of topless women parade across the dance floor during Folies Bergre night, circa 1977. Inside studio 54 the wild nights of 1970 s celebrities disco and debauchery club owner mark fleischman i m ending my life by dancing with stars swimming in story behind legendary nightclub high humans broadway beloved basement feinstein below turns 10 new york times page 4 herald weekly ian schrager on doentary this film takes [] Horses on the dance floor, an orgy in the street, Andy Warhol and Donald Trump sightings, and other tales from NYC's most legendary nightspot. Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager opened the legendary club in 1977, and while it only lasted under their management for three years, it quickly cemented itself as the quintessential enclave for celebrities, fashionable disco-lovers, and their favorite illicit activities. While the nightclubs lifespan may have been cut short, the memories made within its walls live on in countless celebrities and lucky visitors. In this picture, well-known English actor Michael Caine is laughing and dancing with his wife Shakira, while partygoers frolic on behind them. To dodge strict rules about serving alcohol, the club didn't actually have a permanent liquor license for a long time. In front is famous artist Andy Warhol. Studio 54s peak was intense but short-lived. Steve had certain criteria, an insider later told Vanity Fair. Shes just finished with a 1978 concert, following up a Grammy nomination for Best Country Vocal Performance. Despite spending only $400,000 on preparations for the nightclub, owner Rubell indicated Studio 54 made over $7 million in profits in the first year. I personally tried to get very friendly with the underside of a car., Although their songs were must-plays on the dance floor, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic found themselves unable to clear Beneckes ultra-strict door policy on New Years Eve 1977. When the builders were asked if they were making a "sex pit," the answer was simply, yes. The theater was designed by Eugene De Rosa for producer Fortune Gallo and opened in 1927 as the Gallo Opera House. ' Released as Le Freak that September, the song would become Chics first Number One and biggest hit. Here we see one of those notable moments where an elderly woman is dancing with a young man. There were "horses and donkeys and mules running through the club," as well as chickens in a pen. Left: A man dressed in nothing but a clear plastic sheet dances with a topless woman at a Studio 54 Halloween party in 1978. For that reason, his photos are not only fine art, they are history. This wouldnt be the only time Studio 54 went above and beyond for New Years. Reynolds, who had tracked down livestock with ease, had a more difficult time finding vintage cars for hire. Here she is pictured in front of her cake and alongside famous designer Halston. There was even something above the rubber room, beyond secretive, up where the gods of the club could engage in their chosen vice high up above the relentless dancers. Needless to say, he made enough of a name for himself and enough connections to land a spot on the list at Studio 54 often. Right: A costumed partygoer hits the dance floor in 1981. He captured that era in my lifetime, and I hope someone is having that type of fun again. When youre a wealthy celebrity, youre going to want to have the best of the best. Trans women were welcomed, while eccentrics such as Rollerina, a Wall Street banker by day who rollerskated on the dancefloor at night, and Disco Sally, a 78-year-old lawyer, were cult figures. Celebrities headed for the basement. Here he is enjoying an anniversary party for Andy Warhols magazine, Interview. Contact Gabriel H. Sanchez at gabriel.sanchez@buzzfeed.com. And they were not quiet about it. 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