Unforgettable! 1980年前後のNew YorkのGay文化は物凄かったですね!　

2012/12/15(11年前）

今回は、私が若かりし頃、１９８０年代に経験した、My Unforgettable Experience をご紹介しますね。時は、ちょうどLos Angeles　Olympic が開かれた１９８４年の冬（３月）、N.Y.マンハッタン・ダウンタウンの高級SUSHIレストランでウエイターをしていた友人を訪ね、古びたマンスリーマンションに一ヶ月ほど滞在していた時のお話です。若くて好奇心旺盛な自分は、友人の仕事が終わる深夜まで、毎晩マンハッタンの夜を探索していましたね。一つ面白い話をご紹介します、夜９時頃だったと思いますが、しばらく前にこのブログで当時のNYでの写真を紹介しましたが、まさしくあのスタジャンをきて、寒いマンハッタンの夜を歩いて居るときに、突然、わたしの目の前にキレイな長身ブロンドが現れ、会話をすることもなく、いきなり私に抱きつてきて、私を通り沿いのビルの壁に抱きついたまま押しつけ、耳元で私を気に入ったからと言って話し出し、しばらくするとさっと離れ、タクシーをここまで来させるから、しばらくここで待ってと言って立ち去ったのでした。私は、当時まだ２３歳の世間知らずのウブな青年だったので、彼女の言うがままに、そこで待っていたら、日本で言うところのガールズ・バーの呼び込みをしていたおじさんに声をかけられ、君、財布取られていないか？と聞かれ、はっと我に返り、後ろポケットに手をやると財布はしっかりあり、盗まれていないよと彼に言い返したまでは良かったのですが、彼女もプロで、中身だけ抜き取っていたのです。”あっぱれ”ですね、自分はまんまとやられましたね。さすがプロのブロンド・スリNew Yorkerは違いますね！！

　話は変わり、当時NYCのGayの中で超人気だったDiscoをご紹介しますね。1980年９月２０日の真夜中にNYCのイースト・ビレッジにオープンしたゲイ・ディスコ”The Saint"に１９８４年の３月に、マンハッタンに滞在中に数回友人と行った時の様子をご紹介しますね。最初に言っておきますが、私は、１００％ゲイではないですが、彼らの感性と、美的感覚、優しさはには、感銘しますね。。

文章で説明しようとすると、難しいので、まずはGay　Discoでよくセレクトされるミュージックをご紹介しますので、それでイメージを掴んで下さいね。ちなみに１９７０年代のアメリカはGayトレンドがまんえんしていた時代でした。　まずは、英語ですみませんが、The Saintのご紹介から：

The Saint (club)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation , search

This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (September 2011)

The Saint
Address	105 Second Avenue (at 6th Street ) New York City , New York , United States
Coordinates	40°43′39″N 73°59′18″W / 40.727509°N 73.98846°W / 40.727509; -73.98846 Coordinates : Click the blue globe to open an interactive map. 40°43′39″N 73°59′18″W / 40.727509°N 73.98846°W / 40.727509; -73.98846
Type	Superclub
Genre(s)	Discothèque ^[1]
Built	1926
Opened	1980^[1]
Closed	1988^[1]
Owner	Bruce Mailman ^[1]
Capacity	3,200^{[citation needed ]}

The Saint was an American gay superclub , located in the East Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City , New York , that operated from 1980 to 1987.^[1]

[hide ]

[edit ] History

It opened in the old premises of the Fillmore East ,^[1]a 1926-built, former-theater-turned-classic-rock-and-roll venue of the late 1960s and early 1970s, at 105 Second Avenue at 6th Street. The Saint was opened by Bruce Mailman ^[1]and his business partner and his architectural designer, Charles Terrell.

The original opening date was set for July 30, 1980, but construction delays forced a deferral to September 20, 1980, with Alan Dodd as disc jockey. The nightclub was a success even before it opened. Membership packs with floor plans were distributed and before the club opened 2,500 memberships had been sold at $150 each for the first 700 members and for $250 for the rest, with a waiting list established.

It was financed in large part by Mailman's other gay venture, the nearby New St. Marks Baths – a gay mecca at the time. The nightclub's renovation cost $4.5 million, being $2 million over budget ($11.5 million at 2011 prices).^[2]Money was spent repairing the roof, paying six years of back taxes to the city and fitting out the interior. It opened initially as a private membership gay nightclub (returning the idea of a club to "nightclub"), and set the standard for disco presentation, lighting, sound system, hydraulics and technical support.

However, by the end of its second season, AIDS had begun eating through the fabric of gay life in New York City and began to take a heavy and relentless toll on the Saint's membership. Change came quickly. Membership costs were lowered and the season extended into the summer so that the club was open almost all year round. By its seventh season, membership costs had fallen to $50. It also opened weekly for a straight crowd. Furthermore, by 1985, the Black Party performers were for the first time required to perform safe sex. By 1987, the performance emphasised masturbation , phone sex and mud wrestling, all a far cry from the club's early days which, on one celebrated occasion, a boa constrictor was used as a prop.

The Saturday night DJs at the nightclub were at the top of their careers: Jim Burgess , Roy Thode , Alan Dodd, Robbie Leslie , Mark Thomas, Terry Sherman, Shaun Buchanan, Michael Fierman, Warren Gluck, Wayne Scott, Chuck Parsons, Michael Cavalone, Nao Nakamura and Sharon White all had their time in the booth. The lighting was operated by Richard Tucker, Mark Ackerman, Jorge Villardell, Richard Erskine, Tony Devisia and Richard Sabala.

The nightclub was also known for the quality of its performers. At showtimes, a part of the dome would retract and stars from the pop music and theater worlds would perform. The club became the standard against which all New York clubs were measured – many opened, closed and remodelled in the shadow of this giant. It was renowned for its invitations, design, annual makeovers, and even for its extravagant floral arrangements.

The Saint was, therefore, technically and creatively one of the best dance clubs of its era. The circular dance floor (5,000sq ft 464.5sq m) was topped by a perforated planetarium dome^[1]76 feet (23 metres) in diameter and 38 feet (12 metres) high. In addition to hiding the speakers, the dome served as a spectacular palette for the lighting effects. A circular opening at the top of the dome could be automatically opened and closed to allow a large mirrored disco ball to be lowered into the space. The speaker cabinets were located on, and attached directly to, the outer surface of the dome, creating a very euphonic "surround sound" effect. In the center of the dance floor was a circular light tree constructed on a hydraulic lift. It contained 1,500 lights and as its centerpiece was a rotating, dual Spitz Space System hemisphere star projector, ten times brighter than those used in planetariums. Mailman had initially approached Zeiss regarding the purchase of a star-projection system, but the company refused to sell one, believing its use in a gay club would be an inappropriate use for their system.

Directly underneath the dance-floor level was a large lounge with several juice bars. Beer on tap was sometimes served for free to avoid the licensing oversight of the New York State Liquor Authority . Above and outside the dome was what would become the controversial balcony, where patrons could see down to the dance floor, through the scrim of the dome. It was there that men relaxed and, according to the sexual mores of the times, could indulge in sexual activities. Several times during the year, themed parties such as the "Black Party" and the "White Party" attracted celebrities from around the world. These Saint parties are considered by most disco historians to be the precursors to the circuit party .

とにかく、週末にもなると２５００人ほどの男性がThe Saintに入場し、一晩中ドリンクとダンスをエンジョイすのですから、とてつもない熱気とパワーでとてもこの世の物とは思えない世界でしたね。当時、ヨーロッパからわざわざ飛行機でNYに来てThe Saintに行く人も沢山いました。

少しDisco内の説明をすると、一階はダンスフロアー、カクテルバー、プラネタリュームを演出する特殊照明があり、天井裏には、個室Vipルームがあり、そこで一部会員はGay行為をしながら、ダンスフロアーを見下ろすと言った感じでしたね。照明は当時の日本ディスコと桁外れに違い、まるで宇宙にいるようで、現実の社会空間からは想像も出来ませんでしたね。その後、Gayの中でアイズが広まり、社会モラル、倫理的にまずくなっていったという経緯です。