Blog #2 The death of Disco and beginning of “New Wave”

CBGBs NYC

When I was young New Yorker living on Long Island, I used to love to listen to dance music or as we called it…”Disco”. The hard core “Rockers” hated “Disco” so much that a campaign was formed to actually get rid of disco. They burnt albums, exploded crateful of 12” lps and disco balls were used as targets to shotguns, rifles and yes machine guns. I was pushed in the hallways of school, called “Disco Boy” and made fun of my hair. I bore though those days and when I was out of HS, disco was almost dead. A faint beat was left. From that beat, a new form of music came forth from the ash of disco albums and the weak beginnings of punk. This music was called, “New Wave”. Groups like “Eurythmics”,”The Vapors”, “B-52’s”, “Art of Noise”, “ABC”, and “Yaz” broke thru the wall of punk and gave it a dance beat. Music with a hidden message, yet not mindless chanting with passionate breathing on a drone beat, which is always fun to dance to at a dark club.


At this time of my life, I was a dancer and manager of adult exotic follies called “The Show Palace”. As a manager, I was responsible for the music being played. I was excited to hear this new sound and played it at the theatre. “Thompson Twins” and “Sparks” were some of the groups that hit the turntables for the dancers. Of course “Sweet Dreams”, was becoming the standard to place what direction the next phase of this “New Wave” had to offer. That was androgyny. Men were able to become a bit more feminine and it took it to all different levels. The straight community had a hard time with it, due to over testosterone of Rock and Heavy Metal. Even some straight men into “New Wave” had their own closets to bare and sneaked out late at night to “Malibu’s”, “Spies” and in the city it was the “Lime Light”. Of course we all pay homage to “CBGBs” and the “Mudd Club” for starting the alternative dance clubs. My favorite home was the “Mudd Club”, which brought it class with a high tech look. The Mudd Club offered a gay night which was on Fridays. I used to see Andy Warhol, Keith Herring, David Bowie and Grace Jones roam thru the upstairs lounge area of the Mudd club. They had their usual people on the scene such as Nomi, Arias and Nina Hagen.

Mudd Club

Named after the Doctor who patched up John Wilkes Booth

Weekends started on Thursday, which was “Studio 54” gay night, Friday’s was “Mudd Club” and Saturday was my choice of gay club, from “The Saint”, “Alex in Wonderland”, “Limelight”, “Palladium”, “Tunnel Club” and the “Cock Ring”. Sunday the parties continued in the wee morning hours from Saturday night in what they called “After, After Hour Club”. For all those who were too high to go home or just didn’t get their dance on, went to “Moon Shadows”.


New Wave, eventually turned into electro dance or what we now call Techno. Please, I know there is many fractions to the directions of dance music. If I missed those, please forgive me, but will list them at a later date.


Click "Play" arrow below to hear
"Dj BoLt's New Wave Dance Mix"

New Wave Dance Mix