“No hats, jeans, or trainers. Closing time 2am.”
I’ve been turned away from the door of a few clubs and discos. It was the norm back in 1970’s and 80’s London. That sinking feeling as your mates went swanning in, excitedly anticipating those precious extra few hours of jollity after the pubs had closed at 11pm.
What awaited inside was a stunning semi-prohibited fantasy world of fizzy overpriced beer, banging disco music, swirling flashing lights, and the opportunity to hopefully meet someone who looked like an international glamour model. In the meantime you’d be stood outside cursing the unwise choice of slightly casual footwear which precluded your entry, and wondering where the night bus ran from.
These days we have countless music festivals, weekenders, and bars playing thumping dance music. Turn up in ripped jeans with a piercing and a tattoo, and you’re ushered in like minor royalty. Such things are expected – you are the customer, after all, but there was a time when you had to travel far and wide in order to encounter such a forgiving door policy at venues, and get to hear your favourite music in a lively friendly setting.
I’ll be explaining how some fairly obscure American music came to dominate the club scene in Britain, and paved the way for the disco and house music of later decades.