Margaret Trudeau was the wife of the Canadian Prime Minister at the time, and she loved to let loose. Less exclusive was the balcony area, upholstered in rubber because it was deemed easy to clean. Here, see a selection of exclusive images of Spatzs work for the first time. So I found this little auto museum down somewhere in New Jersey. This would not be the only time the nightclub had a horse on its premises, nor would it be the only animal ever invited inside. (A young Alec Baldwin was a busboy, and legend says he quit because he was too turned on by all the intimacy he witnessed.) Fact-Checking the Aretha Franklin Biopic, Jeff Buckleys Grace: 10 Things You Didnt Know, Flashback: Back to the Future Has Everyone Wanting to Play Johnny B Goode Like Michael J. It peaked just about a decade after the Summer of Love - how far the Baby Boomers had come since their anti-materialist, hippie days! Inside Studio 54, you could smoke just about whatever you wanted and sit however you liked. This exclusive event would have been the talk of the season. Alcohol was not the main thing people were after. They were known to turn away some seriously well-known people. The IRS was not fooled. The most tragically desperate individual was found in an air vent in black tie attire, dead. One of the men on the scene was Gene Spatz, a pioneering paparazzo and street photographer who most people have never heard about. Other people openly smoked illegal substances or snorted drugs such as cocaine. Up high in the seats above the stalls, you could disappear into the shadows and get up to whatever, writes Jones. Studio 54 had arrived. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for who gained entrance and who didn't. PHOTOS: Newly Released Studio 54 Collection Offers Rare Glimpse Into A Party Legend. Studio 54 co-owner Steve Rubell stands in his office, which he claimed was ransacked by federal agents looking for drugs, in 1978. In this 1978 picture, crowds line up for entry into Manhattan's renowned disco and nightclub Studio 54, located at 254 West 54th Street. Mick Jagger and his then significant other Jerry Hall entering the club. Men and women whipped out their private parts and everyone started feeling up complete strangers. There was no need for word of mouth to grow this into a hot club; people were desperate to get in from the first night it opened. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. No one remembered him being there the first night. Mattresses in the basement were frequently the site of trysts, while the infamous balcony was designed complete with easy-to-clean surfaces as a place for couples to get it on. While these two women may not have been the craziest partiers, they certainly appreciated a good night out. Ultimately, as the judge said, theirs was a crime of hubris. New York Daily News Archive / Getty Images. Andy Warhol's Polaroid of Mick Jagger Touching Tongues With a Woman Could Be Yours. People openly took poppers on the dance floor, and less openly shot up heroin in dark corners. At Studio 54, anyone with a good attitude (and good style) was welcome. If you found yourself fortunate enough to make it inside Studio 54 in 1978, you mightve come upon a scene like this one. If you wanted a place to let loose and perhaps engage in some public nudity, then Studio 54 was the club for you. At that time, our music was fairly popular Dance, Dance, Dance was a big hit but Grace Jones didnt leave our name at the door and the doorman wouldnt let us in. They waited around until the early morning hours. He infamously walked around wearing a padded coat that hid his stash of cocaine, Quaaludes, and poppers. Even so, he was among the most famous singers in the country. In the four decades since Studio 54 first opened its doors, tales of what went on behind the velvet rope have become modern myths. Then . If there was one person who loved going out to Studio 54, it was Bianca Jagger. One of the most memorable soirees was held in honor of Dolly Parton. After they were found guilty and sentenced to three and a half years each, they threw one last huge party the night before they went to prison. They were out of their minds on drugs and indulging in their dirtiest fantasies. The photos left over tell a story of a place where absolutely nothing was off limits. We want to hear it. We were like the first. Right: A woman gets low on the dance floor in 1977. One second the light bulb went on and I sang Aaaaahh, freak out! The brainchild of Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, the club opened in a onetime CBS soundstage on April 26th, 1977, and immediately became the epicenter of nightlife in New York City and the world. They were trying to get into the courtyard. New York Post columnist Jack Martin found Rubell in the early morning hours. Taylor basically just showed up opening night and offered to work. There, "you could disappear into the shadows and get up to whatever." But that picture started the ball rolling. The newly anointed nightclub king got cocky, joking to a radio host that what the IRS doesnt know wont hurt them, and bragging to New York magazine, Only the Mafia makes more money.. Benecke often needed an escort back to his apartment. She is even said to have enjoyed a night or two out with Mick Jagger and the rest of the Rolling Stones. and Company, but the party was initially dead. They were like queens on the dancefloor.". We stood there as long as we could take it, until our feet were just finally way too cold. It was down here that the privileged few were invited to indulge in their wildest desires. We grabbed a couple of bottles of champagne from the corner liquor store and then went back to my place, plugged in our instruments and started jamming. Aching from the rejection, Rodgers and Edwards poured their anger into the music. 29 Pictures That Show Just How Insane Studio 54 Really Was. It wasn't subtle: Hung from the roof of Studio 54, dangling over the dance floor, was a giant crescent moon with a face, a cocaine spoon moving to and from its nose. The doormen regularly had to be escorted home at the end of the night for their safety. 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. 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. Once you found yourself inside the hallowed grounds of Studio 54, the next place you wanted to go was the fabled basement; a cavernous, dingy, decidedly unglamorous space decorated with damaged banquets, pillars of rolled carpet and set pieces from past parties. It got the attention of the IRS, and the club was raided on suspicion of tax evasion. Doormen didnt let just anyone inside, but if you were lucky, you could get into the club without having connections in high places. A look back at the epicenter of NYC nightlife, presented by Getty Images. . This meant the doormen had huge amounts of power. She was real nervous about this whole deal and went up to the balcony and sat up there for a while. Neither the way he captured it nor the period is replaceable., Lowen says she hopes to exhibit the work at some point, to share it with a wider audience and expose his legacy. Benecke says he "sometimes" took them up on it. Inside The Real Studio 54 Balconies Liza Minnelli No Hats S Guardian. At Studio 54, the taboo wasnt seen as undesirable instead, it was invited inside. In the aftermath of the Vietnam war, Rubell said people were tired of being serious everyone went out and went wild. A 77-year-old widow who became known as "Disco Sally" was a regular and was always allowed in when she showed up. Studio 54 started as it meant to go on. Fox, Romeo Santos Announces Fourth Child in NSFW Solo Conmigo Video, Cardi B Recalls the Moment She and Offset Learned of Takeoff's Death: I Was So Scared, Taylor Swift and SZA Officially Shut Down Feud Rumors: So Much Love and Respect, 2023 Lovers & Friends Festival Fully Leans Into 2000s Nostalgia With Missy Elliot, Usher, Mariah Carey, New York Lawmakers Protest Madison Square Garden Over Facial Recognition Controversy, Leslie Jones Asks White People in New York How They're Celebrating MLK Jr. Day, Pro-Trump Former Lawmaker Ordered to Pay $45,000 for Blocking Man on Facebook, Meryl Streep Checks Into Only Murders in the Building on Hulu, Matt Schlapp Sued for $9.4 Million After Allegedly Groping Man's Crotch. Bodies sag, make-up is melted, and glamour gives way to fatigue. Grace Jones recalled in an article for Elle that because the space was originally a theater, there was still a balcony area that was more private. Left: A man dressed in nothing but a clear plastic sheet dances with a topless woman at a Studio 54 Halloween party in 1978. A pair of topless women parade across the dance floor during Folies Bergre night, circa 1977. What is now a Broadway theater used to be the emblematic hot spot of '70s disco nightlife. Trudeau frequented the nightclub more than once and earned herself a bit of a reputation among partiers. As an environmentalist and an animal rights defender I find the insinuation that I would ride a horse into a nightclub offensive., The key of the success of Studio 54 is that its a dictatorship at the door and a democracy on the dance floor, club regular Andy Warhol once observed, and Steve Rubell ruled the velvet ropes with an iron fist. Gene captured that part of history and the exuberance in a unique way. Gene was able to capture how celebrity rubbed up with regular folks in the most unpretentious and remarkable way that was the wonder of Studio 54, she explains. Right: People wait in line outside of Studio 54 in 1978. As you can see, this was long before his dramatic transformation and eventual controversies in the public eye. Steve was coked out of his mind, remembered one in attendance, Bianca was hugging him, and he was saying, I love you people! It wasn't that disco was dying or the club became uncool, it was that the owners were complete crooks. Left: Outside Studio 54, someone arrives to the club on a horse for the third annual Halloween party in 1978. Finally it became CBS's Studio 52 from 1942 to 1976. Photo by UoGsjohns22 CC BY SA 3.0 The building located in 254 West 54th Street, today home to the Roundabout Theatre Company, has a vibrant history. 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 use ads to keep our content free for you. Bianca Jagger appears on horseback for her birthday. Valentino was the ringmaster, and Marina Schiano came as a palm reader with a parrot on her shoulder.. At the time, childish fun in a club like this couldnt be found in most other venues. 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. Those lucky enough to be in attendance are spotted in the background, watching with drinks in hand. Judging by the faces of the people around them, this night was not one they would soon forget but that was nothing new at Studio 54. Extreme Record Collecting: Confessions of an analog vinyl snob, A long, rambling blog post about my Nico obsession (+ some astonishing, seldom seen TV performances). 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