Studio 54 Redux

Oct 19, 2011People We Lerve

Memories, light the corners of my mind.


There are very few times that one gets to relive their past, that is unless you are Shirley Maclaine. Last night, Studio 54 had a one night only reunion of sorts. Actually, it was a promotion for the new Sirius Radio Station with the same name but let’s not split hairs here. Let’s just say that last night was a reboot of my youth when I was one of the original club kids at Studio 54. Having been a guest on the Studio 54 radio show with hosts Marc Beneke and Myra Scheer, I was looking so forward to the event. To authenticate the experience, I tracked down my roommate from 1979, Dawn, one of my partners in crime, there were several. Dawn and I were devout club kids and roller skaters. See below a picture of me at Studio circa 1979 on skates, thin and bombed. Yes, that is me in sample size 29 waist Sasson Jeans. I used to produce their fashion shows, one of which was at Studio 54.

That's me in sample size 29 waist Sasson Jeans.

The scene when we turned the corner from Eight Avenue was just like those nights back in the good, rather, great old days. The street was closed to cars and hundreds of people were trying to get in. There were lookie-loos, disco bunnies (and Lady Bunny as it goes) and the rush of walking towards the velvet ropes brought back those same feelings from 1977. As a regular, getting in was never an issue. Last night was a little more hectic that in years past, but the scene was the same. Just like in yesteryear, Marc was ushering people in from the throng of wanna be’s. With nary a wink, I was ushered through the velvet ropes. Thankfully I have not lost my cool in the 30 plus years. Phew. The energy of walking into the main room was palpable and seeing familiar faces from last century was heartwarming. It was old home week for sure and I wondered if Studio 54 was wheelchair accessible.

Welcome to my flashback.

 

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9 responses to “Studio 54 Redux”

  1. Lady Bunny says:

    Haha! Shirley McCaline! And size 29! Woohoo!

  2. Tjw says:

    Nice, Abe!
    Dawn is awesome~
    Where'd ya get that photo?;-]

  3. Abe says:

    Ten years to the day of that photo, I bumped into Lenny (photog) in the village and he said, "Wait right here" and ran and got me that photo he had been holding for that whole time. thrilled.

  4. audrey nizen says:

    i remember it well!

  5. onoiocoko says:

    *wish i could've been there*

  6. Halifax says:

    Do you think that if Studio were brought back today, updated and tweaked ever-so-slightly, that people would want to come again? More importantly, would young people want to come? I think that modern dance music blended with remixed classics for Studios heyday would go over well. If someone had the money and backers to buy the venue, could it ride again? Thoughts?

    • Abe Gurko says:

      According to NY Magazine, nightlife is having a heyday. That said, the difference is that the people of today are just not as hip or intriguingly sexy as they were in the 70’s. It was a rare few that got into Studio. Now everybody is trying to be “in” so all I can say is that it would succeed but I wouldn’t necessarily want to go there as often as I did to Studio 54. Does that answer your question? Peace…

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