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By Robbie Tee
Atlanta you’ve come
a long way from your
early disco days. \
In 1973 disco’s seed was
planted in a small but
packed night club on
West Peachtree, called
SCORE ONE, with a
main attraction of live
gay entertainment from
all over the country, and
Disco with ‘Rat Man*
and John Sills. Across
the street from Score
One was Atlanta’s
famous CLUB THREE.
The main attraction at
this club was a female
impersonator revue
supported by disco
with‘Ceil’. Also this
year the famous show
nightclub SWEET GUM
HEAD included in their
format Disco with D.J.
Tom Tom, and later
Tony Romano.
In 1974, the only change
that occurred was a
Rock-N-Roll disco club
which re-opened Uncle
Sams as the BAYOU
LANDING. This was
more of . a bi-sexual club
and featuring rock-n-
roll disco mixed with
.radio’s Top 40 and Dee
Jay Lynn Cook.It was at
this time that club
owners realized that the
only gimmick needed
was a good disco Dee
Jay and liquor. (Also
drugs on the side which
is never sanctified by
the liquor liscensing
board, but was always
available
It was in 1975 that the
new disco trend started
sifting in. Shortly
before the Bayou
Landing closed, a young
man from California
walked into the Dee Jay
stand and said to Lynn
Cook: ‘You Atlanta Dee
Jay’s are all alike. I’m
going to show you how to*
mix’ The Atlanta Dee
Jays thought he was an
arrogant bastard, but he
did just what he
said.. When Atlanta’s
first Glitter Club, THE
STING opened , he was
employed as the Disco
Dee Jay. It was then he,
Doug D’Alois taught
dancers and Dee Jays a
lot about Progressive
Disco. He kept the
dance floor packed
every night with the
same dancers* dancing
twenty minutes before
leaving the floor. It was
a wild summer that
year, but was short
lived when another club
opened, causing the
crowd to leave THE
STING. Some day the
Atlanta gay crowd will
wake up and realize that
when a new club opens,
we do not have to
boycott the old one.
In the fall of ’75,
MOTHERS opened in
the then-closed BAYOU
LANDING building.
Mother’s Disco had a
clientel of the
Progressive Disco
crowd, and the Bayou
xRock-N-Rollers com
bined. David Nastasi
and myself, the Dee
Jay’s, realized we had
to play both styles,
doing neither justice.
The progressive disco
crowd left Mother’s and
went to the new Glitter
Bar, BACKSTREET
where Dee Jay Greg
Clawson attempted to
bring back progressive
mixing and blending.
December 1975
brought to Atlanta the
Super Disco UNION
STATION. A bit of a
^Philadelphia style club,
Union Station had a
super sound system
with a ‘basket ball
cour t’ size dance floor.
There were many
nights, as I looked out
from the dee jay stand
(which was a train
watch tower) and I
could not believe my
eyes--the largest dance
floor in Atlanta was
packed. Although Union
Station was a bit ahead
of her time, her style
will come back to
Atlanta and last much
longer.
Yes, Atlanta,
although you have
opened and closed quite
a few nice clubs in doing
so, you have progressed
a long way from 1973
and even greater things
are happening today.
Thank’s to Atlanta’s
own Boogie United
Music Pool, records are
furnished to dee jays,
including all types of
music, but largely
enhancing the New
York disco sound. Also,
dee jays are encouraged
to progressively mix
and blend. This was
demonstrated by
B.U.M.P.’s director,
Jim Burgess, and the
MARRIOT FULL TIME
- AND THEN Backstreet
part time dee jay, Chris
Collins. Today* several
publications involving
gay discos are
available, such as The
Barb, Cruise Magazine,
The Advocate,
Charlotte ? s Free Press.
Chaise & Woodsides
Discotraks, and even
National Billboard
Magazine. They are all
keeping Atlanta im-
formed on the Gay
Disco Market here.
Presently Atlanta
has some very nice
clubs. For instance, the
new gay entertainment
complex, THE
LOCKER ROOM DISCO
features the Hollywood
Hots Revue, a health
spa, movie en
tertainment, liquor
after hours, and disco
till dawn with Atlanta’s
only gay female deejay,
jKathy White. (Yes, I’m
Still there, but I spin for
the shows and disco on
Tuesday). Atlanta also
has a ‘cruise disco in the
rough’ for the more
casual cruiser and
drinkers.COUNTY
SEAT is a large, barn
style club with a main
dance area and a cruise
area with the theme of
Dodge City. Billboard’s
southeast award
winning best Dee Jay.of
the year, Jim Burgess,
spins COUNTY SEAT’S
disco sound.
The resurrected
glitter bar, ‘bring it
back with an ENCORE’
with its new Together
Disco, welcomes to
Atlanta Florida’s Dee
Jay Angelo Solar. The
SWEET GUM HEAD
hangs in there, after all
of these years, with
disco and Michael
Dollins at the turn
tables. Also, we have a
nice restaurant,
cocktail club and disco
for the person who likes
a smaller crowd,
CLUB ATLANTA
For Hen
Sund.au ^_de L 13 fy .m.
Cocktail Party
Com e d SI, are
Our introduction
So She CLf, Atlanta’s
W an for ^J’ebuary
Carey Suttiffe J
Cxlbit of fine JPbotoyrapby.
76 FOURTH STREET. NW
ATLANTA. GEORGI A
° (404)881-6675
SHELLY’S PLACE. It
has a cocktail hour dee
jay, Don Lyle, and disco
dee jay Jesse Parker.
Atlanta’s gay people,
we are fortunate and do
have it made in night
club entertainment.
Clubs have opened up
and closed. Owners
have made it or lost
February 1977, THE BARB • 9
completely, but
Atlanta’s gays as a
whole, have gained, and
perhaps soon many of us
will wake up and realize
that what we have in the
night life, many cities
wish they had.
Next Month: Atlanta
Night Club Disco Sound
Systems.
that's whAT
WE'RE aLL AboUT
After Dark
BOOKSHOPS
AND
FILM GALLERIES
Atlanta Houston
Nite Notes continued from page 7
Handsome and well
hung DANNY HARRINGTON is the first win
ner...You are invited to meat, oops, meet him at a
cocktail party at the club February the 13th...at
8p.m., and also view an exciting Photography
exhibit by talented CAREY SUTLIFFE. Buddy
Nite is Tuesday at the club and you can get a room
and a locker for six bucks and for the afternoon fun
a special of two lockers for five dollars 8 to 4 p.m.;
weekly.,.They are now enclosing the pool so you
can enjoy splashing around anytime, any weather.
PHYLLIS GETS THE DOPE...Yes, my dears I
do get the dope, on many events and people,
however, some of it I can not print, else I’d have to
do my next column from the bottom of a river,
cement block attached of course, or from heaven
with a drag queen’s dagger in my heart but I CAN
TELL you this...lucky HEATHER FONTAINE, has
Continued on page 12