Then there was the true magic of the limelight – the lights. I never saw any of that in the two years I danced there. It was simple insane. If you ever run across anyone who lived in Atlanta during that time, ask if they ever went to the limelight. If you have ever sat close to blown fuel cars as they launch you know how sound can be felt as much as heard. “He was very conservative,” D’Alema recalls. The Limelight’s decadent, wild, and over-the-top reputation earned it the nickname, “The Studio54 of the South.” The other downside of accepting a dance invitation was that the guy then acted like he was on a date with you, and stuck to you like flypaper, angling for goodies. If I were going to put together a Limelight playlist, including songs that came out after they closed down but that they would have played, the following songs would be included. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Legal drinking age was eighteen in both states in 1982 when I was nineteen. I agree.they robbed us of the aura, the experience, and the music. ( Log Out / Farrah Fawcett, Andy Warhol, Rod Stewart, Burt Reynolds, Tina Turner, Neil Simon, Tom Cruise, Ali McGraw, Blondie (Debbie Harry), Rick Springfield, Madonna, and David Hasselhoff were among them. Like wise a mostly naked woman in a Plexiglas octagon which was lowered over the dance floor from high above (only once in 4 years). That is great! He said that the Limelight solo dancers were nicknamed “Twinkies” — maybe as a shortened version of Twinkletoes. amzn_assoc_title = "Shop Related Products"; Comedy skits, recording artists lipsyncing to the latest dance hit, etc….”. Change ), Atlanta’s Limelight – The South’s Studio 54, Limelight Discotheque, Atlanta 1983 - Newspapr.com, Limelight Disco Atlanta - 1983 Time Capsule Dance Club Video | Atl Clubs. I also went looking for a replacement for the Limelight and have still never found it. At least that’s what one of the regulars there told me. The notorious photo made it on the cover of the Atlanta Journal, in the pages of Time, Newsweek, Playboy and more than 200 American newspapers. And the crowd during the early days was always fantastic… beautiful well dressed clientele, including stars of the recording and entertainment profession. room on the back wall provided privacy for visiting celebrities, and the curtained booths were notorious spots for cocaine use and sex. My favorite had a floor to ceiling fish tank which had neon lights running through the center and brightly colored paintings of punk rockers. I am 57 now and when I go to ATL, I ride by the location, now a Kroger grocery store of something like that. Being a girl solo dancer had a weird side effect. To Eat Shit is Divine!”. ( Log Out / I have talked about the limelight off and on over the years when the conversation turns to the pathetic clubs of today we have to choose from. There is so much, I been to south beach club liquid, Sly Stallone was there ,Madonna too, not even on the same Universe with Limelight. By the way, this is one more similarity I have with Andy Warhol – we both hung out at the Limelight in the early 80’s. Things often occurred there you don’t normally associate with a discoteque – think of modern day furries. “What do you do? They’d hand out get-in-for-free cards, and sometimes even a permanent membership card, both of which I had (and still do!). He said, “Well, come on! They created an immersive environment which has never been equaled or even approached. As I said to DJ Hulsey, my list is prefaced with: “If I were going to put together a Limelight playlist, including songs that came out AFTER they closed down but that they would have played, the following songs would be included.”, So if you were going to host a Limelight party today, you wouldn’t limit it only to songs played at the Limelight. If I go to Atlanta, it will end an hour earlier than it will if I stay in Dallas.” Really. Installing OSX Snow Leopard on a 2012 Mac Pro 5,1 Computer, Make the Time to Draft Your Last Will and Testament, Destruction of the World as Predicted in the End of Days Prophecies, Alligator in the Barn and Santa Claus in the Sky, Extraterrestrial Ants and the Power of Illusion, The Antichrist isn’t a Person, it’s a Movement, La Bamba – Antonia Rodriguez * (sorry, I couldn’t find an Amazon link to this one). You’d surely include newer songs that fit the theme. The opening alone told you this place was an event not merely a club. This is how diva Pia Zadora made her entrance for a live appearance. Extraordinary dressed people were dancing on huge speakers and platforms as well as the dance floor. Too bad I did not get to meet him. I still have a lot of records, about 3000, from working in clubs in the late 80s, adding to my collection of stuff I picked up from being at the Limelight in the mid 80’s. google_ad_width = 468; Confetti and snow would periodically fall from the ceiling. I literally “felt” or “lived” the songs I was dancing to, and no, I didn’t take drugs. I still speak of the limelight as I always have with the reverence usually reversed for a spiritual experience. I always say I was born on the speaker in front to the DJ booth. It was housed in a strip mall at the former site of the Harlequin Dinner Theatre. Seit 2010 beherbergt der Ort das Edel-Einkaufscenter Limelight Marketplace. Ebola: Can we trust people to self-quarantine? Halloween there was, I cant even describe it, one guy rapped completely in cellophane porter house steak tied around his neck. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. We didn’t have streaming radio stations back then, coming in from faraway cities on our computers. (Good thing Delta was ready when I was!) Aufgrund von Razzien musste der Club mehrmals schließen. It had and still has no equal. Es entwickelte sich zum „Hot Spot“, nicht zuletzt durch Partys des Magazins Interview, bei denen Prominente wie Andy Warhol, Grace Jones oder Debbie Harry gesichtet wurden. According to house photographer and publicist Guy D’Alema, it was a chore to get the elusive Gatien to pose with celebrity guests for photo ops. You felt high and taken in by the sight of music, no drug needed. There was also a restaurant, a jumbo Jacuzzi with changing rooms and a small movie theater filled with pillows in place of seats. Guys don’t get it. I can’t describe it any other way. Then there were the 8-10 curtains which pulled back or pulled up to reveal the giant limelight logo which slowly rose from above the stairs to a second back dance floor while the walls expanded doubling the dance floor area to open the club. There were other events throughout the year but those two were always spectacular! I don’t know. Von 2003 bis 2007 wurde unter dem Namen Avalon noch einmal ein ähnlicher Club an dieser Stelle geführt. And then there was the small talk. Gatien later received notoriety for his 1996 arrest and acquittal on racketeering and drug charges involving his NYC club, the Tunnel, and his conviction for tax evasion, which got him a stint at Riker’s Island in 1999. amzn_assoc_default_category = "MP3Downloads"; Der erste Limelight wurde in den 1970er Jahren in Hollywood (Florida) eröffnet. There was also the VIP area which I was too broke to go into but the drugged out people and nudity which often stumble out left me with no doubt that it was the equivalent of a Caligula scene in there. There are songs that will forever be burned in my mind when thinking about the Limelight….Give me a break, Hit and Run Lover, Dancin, Break Away, and my all time favorite – Dan Hartman’s RELIGHT MY FIRE. They’d hung a huge banner high in the club.