By Elliott West
“The key of the success of Studio 54 is that it’s a dictatorship at the door and a democracy on the dance floor.”
Andy Warhol
Introduction
New York in the late 1970s was alive with the sounds of disco music. It’s discovered new beat ran through the numerous gay and black clubs. A type of music that just wanted you to get up and dance into the early hours of the morning. Whether Young Hearts Run Free or Disco Inferno was on the turntable, the young and the not-so-young loved it and just wanted a piece of the action. Yet there was something glaringly missing, a place where all these elements of society could come and unify through music and dance.
West 54th Street Manhattan in the 1970s wasn’t a place that you wanted to spend too long. Littered with sex shops, brothels and a goldmine for pickpockets and muggers. Yet amongst this swirl of crime and vice, lay a dusty, deserted theatre at number 254. A place that had once been an opera house, casino and a CBS theatre and studio where the Jack Benny Show and 64,000-Dollar Question were once filmed. A theatre that was crying out for new life to be breathed into it. A location that Steve Rubell and Mark Fleischman deemed perfect for opening their new business venue. A nightclub where the sweat and energy of dance could be released in an inclusive environment and where everyone became friends for the night. A venture that went up a notch, encapsulating hedonism and pure escapism. A club where you were not judged for your dress sense or sexuality and where the rule of law evaporated. So Studio 54 was born in November 1976.
The Disco Palace
Although originally opened by Uva Harden and Yoram Polony after a major refurbishment, the partnership would dissolve soon after its inception. Studio 54 was plagued with the problem of not having a liquor license and had to apply for a daily catering license to sell alcohol. Yet you wouldn’t have noticed these problems if you were lucky enough to gain entrance to this club. Nothing escaped the eagle eyes of Steve Rubell as he stood outside. You could be refused for the simplest of things such as not shaving or having the wrong shirt on. Yet the rich and famous were always ushered in and would often see Joan Collins, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Grace Jones or Andy Warhol slipping in through the famous doors.
A Trail of White Powder
Walking into this disco metropolis, you would instantly be impressed by the vast dance floor and stalls. The whole place had a myriad of decorations and carefully planned entertainment that instantly caught your attention. In the darkness, fellatio and cocaine were freely available on the menu and you could see a semi-clothed female riding a horse across the floor. The atmosphere was seismic with a sound stage that blared out every treasured disco record of the era and you mingle with the rich and famous. A club that had a VIP room in the basement that could only be accessed by a private stairway.
Yet beyond this disco goldmine where the tills never stopped ringing and the dollars never ceased to pile up, lay a club that was prone to raids. First for not having a liquor license and second for monetary irregularities and the sale of narcotics. Those who were denied entry became resentful of the place but despite all the controversy, the place became even more popular. A physical drug that some couldn’t go without and had to go every night. A club that had an average of 2,000 people per night with a ticket price of $7/8 that rose to tens of thousands of dollars for private, extravagant parties.The stage door was often prised open when unwanted guests were shoved back onto the pavement. It was also known for a few irate men to produce a gun in a moment of red mist.
The Final Nail
In November 1979, Rubell and Schrager pleaded guilty to tax evasion. A conviction that jeapodised their alcohol license. Both were sentenced to three and a half years in prison in January 1980. However there was a final party at the club before the doors for good. A extravagant bash where Diana Ross and Liza Minnelli were two of the key guests singing. Both men started their sentence two days after and were paroled a year later with Schrager receiving a presidential pardon years later. The club carried on until 1989 under alternative ownership.
Afterthoughts
In an age when gay bashing was rife and persecution for your sexuality the norm, Studio 54 allowed you to be yourself. In the prequel to the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, promiscuity was seen as acceptable and this club allowed its clubbers to have sex behind closed doors. This dance floor was a fusion of the heterosexual and gay community. Joined by the music of the day and dancing till you drop. A drug-fuelled night mixed with alcohol and dance. This experience was as wacky as they came but became the holy shrine of disco music.
