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gallery
November 22, 2015

See New York’s Real Last Days of Disco

By Stephanie Eckardt

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Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press

The first time Bill Bernstein went to Studio 54, it was at the relatively tame hour of 9 p.m. On assignment with The Village Voice, he was meant to photograph the guests in tuxedos and gowns at a dinner for Jimmy Carter’s mother, Lillian, who stuck around until about eleven. At that point, the event photographers started to leave, too, but not before Bernstein, making up his mind to photograph the club’s rowdier regulars, stopped one and bought ten rolls of film. As the chairs were cleared off the dance floor, he staked out a space in the shadows, ready for his “first taste of the nightspot whose reputation was somewhere between Sodom and Gomorrah.”

He ended up staying for nearly six more hours, transfixed: “Just being in the room gave me a physical high,” he said. It was the first of a string of nights he spent out till dawn over the next year, documenting New York’s disco scene at pre-AIDS, post–Saturday Night Fever prime. The dance floor was “a haven for acceptance and inclusion,” he said, attracting people of all races, ages, and sexual orientations, from Wall Street types to drag queens.

His photos are mostly from 1979, taken in places like the Mudd Club in Tribeca, GG’s Barnum Room in midtown, Paradise Garage downtown, and, of course, Studio 54 — at least until the IRS shut it down in 1980. They’re now published in Disco: The Bill Bernstein Photographs and will be on display next month at the Serena Morton Gallery in West London. Click through the slideshow to see the last real days of disco and read more of Bernstein’s memories.

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1 / 22 Photos
DJ Larry Levan, 1979 "Not enough can be said about the influence and adulation for this legendary DJ from Paradise Garage whose sets were ca... DJ Larry Levan, 1979 "Not enough can be said about the influence and adulation for this legendary DJ from Paradise Garage whose sets were called ‘Saturday Mass’ by his followers. Sometimes I would just put down my camera to take in Levan’s mix and watch him work the crowd." Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
Studio 54, 1979  Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
GG's Barnum Room, 1979  Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
Xenon Dance Floor, 1979   Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
L'Amour, 1979 "Deep in the heart of Brooklyn, the Saturday Night Fever crowd came to mix and party." Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art... L'Amour, 1979 "Deep in the heart of Brooklyn, the Saturday Night Fever crowd came to mix and party." Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
Rollerina, The Fun House, 1979   Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
Le Clique, 1979  Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
The Mudd Club, 1979  Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press/© Bill Bernstein
Xenon, 1979  Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
GG's Barnum Room Disco Bats, 1979 "These mostly transgender and cross-dressing acrobats took their jobs very seriously as they performed abo... GG's Barnum Room Disco Bats, 1979 "These mostly transgender and cross-dressing acrobats took their jobs very seriously as they performed above the dance floor nightly. It was all part of the spectacle that was GG's Barnum Room."  Photo: Bill Bernstein
Xenon, 1979 "Xenon was located in the former Henry Miller's Theatre at 124 West 43rd Street, which had previously been a porn house. Xenon w... Xenon, 1979 "Xenon was located in the former Henry Miller's Theatre at 124 West 43rd Street, which had previously been a porn house. Xenon was the only nightclub popular enough to compete with Studio 54 and was popular with the straighter, white, upwardly mobile crowd." Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press/© Bill Bernstein
Le Clique, 1979 "Founders Marlene Backer and Stewart Feinstein created a traveling disco performance show with simulated sex, costumes, and ... Le Clique, 1979 "Founders Marlene Backer and Stewart Feinstein created a traveling disco performance show with simulated sex, costumes, and themes to incite clubgoers to get into the action." Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
GG's Barnum Room, 1979 "This mostly transgender persons’ club offered a chance for the crowd now known as LGBT to meet up and mingle with th... GG's Barnum Room, 1979 "This mostly transgender persons’ club offered a chance for the crowd now known as LGBT to meet up and mingle with the straights." Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
Le Clique, 1979  Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
Studio 54, 1979  Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
GG's Barnum Room, 1979  Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
Studio 54, 1979  Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
Le Clique, 1979 "The Le Clique Fantasy Players would set the scene at different clubs throughout the city and suburbs for themed nights wher... Le Clique, 1979 "The Le Clique Fantasy Players would set the scene at different clubs throughout the city and suburbs for themed nights where fantasy and reality were mixed up. Costumes were work, and role-playing was acted out to break down any inhibitions of partygoers." Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
Paradise Garage, 1979 "Paradise Garage–goers danced until the early morning to the sounds of DJ Larry Levan. With its state-of-the-art sound... Paradise Garage, 1979 "Paradise Garage–goers danced until the early morning to the sounds of DJ Larry Levan. With its state-of-the-art sound system, you could feel the music throughout your entire body. It was like no other club. Dancing here was like going to a really good workout session at the gym. There were no posers, and only fruit and water was served."  Photo: Bill Bernstein/© Bill Bernstein
The Funhouse, 1979  Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
Studio 54, 1977 "This is one of the first shots I took at Studio 54 — the couple reminded me of a prewar Berlin cabaret image. I had this im... Studio 54, 1977 "This is one of the first shots I took at Studio 54 — the couple reminded me of a prewar Berlin cabaret image. I had this image stuck in my mind throughout the entire disco project. These were the people that I found the most intriguing, those who had a whole other life at night and became their fantasy character." Photo: Bill Bernstein/© Bill Bernstein
Le Clique, 1979  Photo: Bill Bernstein / Reel Art Press
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  • gallery
  • disco
  • bill bernstein
  • fashions

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