But he got over it real quick when we started packing that room and bringing in money. ERWIN: One of my jobs was restocking the vending machines. It was definitely a lucrative business. Here, we chronicle Backstreets infamous 10,000-plus nights of dancing, drag, drugs, and debauchery, spanning the years from 1975 to 2004recounted by the people who owned the club, worked there, documented its life span, and, of course, partied inside the legendary Atlanta nightspot. They were always there on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. 1975Undergrounds reign is short lived; the new east-west MARTA line cuts the space in half, taking out rows of bars. - Mike Mezz. One night, friends convinced me to go to this cool club. Theyve been a couple for 43 years. Beneath the dance floor was a massive fish tank, which was home to two sand sharks. Now 61, he is a marketing consultant and shoots for Q ATLus magazine and Project Q Atlanta. HOTTEST PARTY IN ATLANTA! Dance until you sweat. . College Park, GA 30337. Authorities charged two bartenders . The Place Bar, Grill And Nightclub. I had young children, and, back then, we didnt yet know how it was spread. VANESSA: The liquor license had expired at midnight. Thats how I got what turned out to be the primetime shifts on Friday and Saturday. Dance Club. He was always looking for investment opportunities in different cities. In 2003, after years of battling neighbors and city hall, Atlanta officials declined to renew the clubs 24-hour liquor license, the sole remaining one in the city. The club originally opened in 1937 as The Top Hat, which hosted the major black acts of the day, including Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong. NationsBank Plaza, now Bank of America Plaza, rises up, Da bomb party song: Whoomp! Few other cities can match the imprint Atlanta has left on hip-hop. Everybody was always really polite about it. "In the mid-1990s, everybody flooded to the far corner of Surrey Center where Studio 54 (later renamed Chevy . Still doesnt have a sign. Steve Kaplan buys the Gold Club in Buckhead, bringing Vegas-style glitzas well as VIP rooms and pricey bottle serviceto Atlantas strip-club scene. Coming from a small North Georgia town, that was how I felt for so long. And just recently, Big Boi (of Outkast) performed during the Super Bowl in the city. Playing those first records was one of the most electrifying moments that Ive ever had in my whole life. Nabs estimates ten to 15 people attended in the early days but eventually, he says, hundreds packed the dance floor with hundreds more standing outside, unable to gain entry every Sunday. Inside the nightlife spots that gave DJs and artists a stage to turn the Southern capital into a musical hub. Great music, friendly staff, security was good, would like to see more men there, but me and my 3 girlfriends had an awesome time. Since 1961, Atlanta magazine, the citys premier general interest publication, has served as the authority on Atlanta, providing its readers with a mix of long-form nonfiction, lively lifestyle coverage, in-depth service journalism, and literary essays, columns, and profiles. But on my second dayAugust 2, 1990Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. A caged dancer would be lowered from the ceiling and land at the foot of the stage. Acts in the showroom helped draw in more women on weekends. VICKI: The cabaret changed everything. We also had a dress policy designed to keep out drug dealers. If you can remember everything, then you werent there. When people were digging through their purses looking for their ID, all sorts of weird shit would inevitably come falling outdildos, coke, pills, you name it. Night club. Downtown hotels such as the Piedmont, Biltmore, Ansley, Georgian Terrace, Kimball House, and the Henry Grady continue to bring the ballroom scene. At that time, the agreement was only for six weeks. Someone yelled, Thats Cathy Rigby! We had the best clubs, the best bars, the best discos, and when they all shut down at night, they came home to mama, Backstreet. DJ Vicki Powell on queer nightlife, a changing Atlanta, and the art of throwing a party, The birds stopped singing: Inside the battle for Atlantas South River Forest, Feel the Yeppa: A new Buckhead restaurant combines Italian dishes, coffee, and Formula One racing, Videos: Mayor Bottoms, Killer Mike, Bernice King give passionate speeches during protests, The scent of water: Searching for hidden springs in downtown Atlanta, Hell and high water: A harrowing journey from Myanmar to Clarkston, Georgia. When Club Kaya closed its doors, it was replaced by Visions, a club owned by the Gidewon brothers, who continue their legacy of luxury, celebrity-friendly nightclubs today at Compound. Let your hair down at this trendy Atlanta nightclub! Stories of the city's bygone venues still get passed down, tales of clock-stopping musical performances and ultra-hip cultural scenes. Its the groups debut single that he credits the club with making a local hit, though. 4855 Old National Hwy. I think it made us better people. The DJs wouldnt let us sweep the floor or even take the trash cans from around the dance floor. Thats where DJ Nabs landed his legendary set. Katie Burkholder. Charlie told me to take my ass to the doctor. The club's wild reputation lured in visiting celebrities. The doctors told me I likely contracted it 10 years before that. FRIDAY NIGHT! Grace Jones and I partied many nights together. Book Now Atlanta Hotel Deals. 1969Underground Atlanta opens, giving the city a nightlife nexus with Dantes Down the Hatch, Muhlenbrinks Saloon, the Bucket Shop, and many more. People were standing on the shrubs on the island so they could see the show. Despite being the size of a Manhattan apartment, there's a closed-circuit TV above the bar on which you can watch the band playing on the stage behind you. Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali were known to stop by.Memorable Night. Old School Music Clubs. Inside the nightlife spots that gave DJs and artists a stage to turn the Southern capital into a musical hub. He took me to buy dresses for homecoming and prom. They immediately put me on the cocktail. CL could devote a whole issue to now-defunct nightspots, but here are a few too consequential to be forgotten. When Andr 3000 of Outkast accepted the award for Best New Rap Group, he was met by boos and jeers. Backstreet became my destination after that. Sitting in an apartment-turned-workspace in the Vinings neighborhood, Nabs says the first big act he booked to appear at the club was Whodini. We had a 50s dance party. 1998Sean Combsthen Puff Daddyopens Justins restaurant in south Buckhead; patrons come to eat, then dance and party the rest of the evening. The rest is history. Now 69, Lust has continued entertaining fans at Blakes on the Park and plans to return after the pandemic. When this kinkier cousin to the Masquerade opened in an unmarked warehouse off Cheshire Bridge Road in 1994, it scratched an itch Atlanta didnt know it had. No one is seriously injured, but the lesbian bar never recovers its clientele. Bars American (Traditional) Dance Clubs $$ This is a placeholder. This revered nightclub has hosted lively musical performances in Atlanta for over 20 years, making it relevant to Atlanta's musical . So many customers would come up to me and say, Thank you, thank you, thank you for what youve done here. They hired extras to come in to play the crowd for the stripping scenes. Phila. HENRY: In the early years of the club, there were a lot of door policies in place you certainly couldnt do today. Now 65 and retired, Vicki lives on Lake Lanier. Buckhead Saloon. ELLIOTT: The weirdest thing I ever saw at Backstreet? These days you'd better not blink or you'll miss the current It Bar, that one watering hole that'll flourish for a few months then suddenly dry up. The Green Lantern owner, Dick Maben, told AL.com in 2013, as best as he . (4) (2) 6.3. The fun ends a few years later in a federal racketeering trial featuring embarrassed NBA stars and taciturn mafiosi. Home. People also searched for these in Atlanta: 90s Music. At the bar I had come from, Hojons in Montgomery, everybody knew everybody. VANESSA: Growing up at Backstreet, you kind of got desensitized to things like that after a while. Block by Block: Stories from the streets that connect us, 2020 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse, DINES: A Taste of the Citys Best Restaurants, Red state rising: The last days of Georgias two-party system, Bill Campbell: He could have been the one, How Georgia boy Ralph Reed shaped national politics. From hundreds to thousands to tens of thousands, Freaknik grew, but during its first decade, almost all white Atlantansand many black Atlantans over the age of 40were oblivious. I knew I needed to get inside that DJ booth. The nightlife scene is ever-changing and many of our . Fred Wise and I met in Knoxville in 1977, and by Christmas 1978, we had moved to Atlanta. Sure, there are exceptions to this rule, but Atlanta's club crowd isn't known for nesting. HENRY: I would get the call from the managers of celebrities asking if I could discreetly get them in. By then, the North Carolina-transplant had toured with Michael Jackson during the 1992 Dangerous World Tour as the DJ for Kriss Kross, and become a radio personality on Hot 97.5 (currently 107.9). LUST: Im a longtime survivor. Goliath's Sauna (2002) Police in Calgary, Canada, drew criticism after a 2002 raid of Goliath's Sauna & Texas Lounge, the only gay bathhouse in town. Failure to comply could lead to suspension. VICKI: It was a scramble on some nights, but they had enough crew to break everything down. 1992In an extreme case of urban pioneering, Homage Coffee House brings live music and a boho vibe to Trinity Avenue in desolate South Downtown. BERDEAUX: I was originally hired to work the floor, which meant taking out the trash about 20 or 30 times a shift. Downtowns Zebra Lounge and the Cheshire Cat on Cheshire Bridge Road showcase topless a-go-go. "It was the place where every entertainer wanted to be.". On June 15, 1989, Underground Atlanta re-opened as more of a modern shopping mall than an entertainment district. BROWN: Elton John would come in incognito in a hat and without the wig. HENRY: Going into 2004, the city had refused to renew our liquor license. 1. Atlanta's Playboy Club opened in March 1965, becoming the 15th location of the international chain. He gets help when Blakes, the gay Cheers, opens. I hope that working in the environment of the club made it easier for Vicki to come out. We never spoke of it again. Night Clubs Dance Clubs Disc Jockeys. We never used it. It was that way for a short period of time. This is how diva Pia Zadora made her entrance for a live appearance. It would get so hot from all the lights and all the body heat, the condensation from the ceiling would rain onto the people dancing below. Well before its 1998 publication, Tom Wolfes Atlanta-centric "A Man in Full" was the talk of Buckheads cocktail party circuit; once the 742-page opus hit shelves, the chatter became deafening. And for the remaining few who were able to experience these establishments, the memories provide a colorful illustration of the variety of nightlife our city hosted through the years. It was truly a 24-hour metroplex. Most . Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 2 Reviews. I always thought there should be a plaque or something thing. At the time, Backstreet was not very drag queenfriendly. The way we did up there and the way we play music down here is completely different, he says, noting the house music that permeated his sets. 2014A former Sears Roebuck distribution centerturnedmunicipal building reopens as Ponce City Market, kick-starting a slow transformation of Ponce from grit to bougie (see: revamped Clermont Hotel). The club closed in 1985. 2006Vision, the megaclub that replaced Kaya in Midtown in 2003, is forced to close when the building is sold to a condo developer. I got so angry. They were filled with things like rolling papers, condoms, snacks, lube, and video head cleaner people sniffed to get highbasically, anything you needed to stay for the entire weekend. 30 + crowd,. It was ranked as one of the top nightclubs in the country and number . "If you were an R&B performer and you hadn't played The Apollo or The Peacock, then you hadn't made it yet," says High. Id hit that stage, man, and grab many a redneck, spin his arm around his back, and march him out those double doors. Another flight of stairs ascended to the Penthouse showroom where live performances were featured. Different flavorsvanilla, chocolate, caramel. Gay clubs made good business sense. When you walked through the door at Backstreet, the lines that existed elsewhere in your life, those lines were erased. Mr. Tokars, 40, still faces a state murder charge in Cobb County, Ga., where prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty. Website. Georgia politics in the 1990s was like a murky twilight zone with two galaxies spinning away from each other. Posted on . A decade later, it would be renamed the Royal Peacock. No sensible drinking cautions, no smoking bans, and generally less . Apr 1, 2019 - If you ever rode the Pink Pig, ice skated at the Omni, or ate at Mary Mac's, you'll find places you remember here. She stayed to watch me do Eartha Kitts Champagne Taste.. Nobody liked it. I never really got fazed unless there was a redneck in the room. The big question is this: As Atlantans, what did we actually miss? WISE: Backstreet had nearly 100 employees on payroll. They said, Why? Bring your appetite as the drinks and food choices are on point and the . And I remember thinking, Hes actually close. Then, 1 a.m. rolled around and no DJ. Our DJs were Billboard reporters, so they were hooked into everything new. Dress and attitude codes were enforced, and some wannabe guests were denied entry to the club altogether, sometimes just for the sake of sensationalism. When I moved to Atlanta in 1997, I was all into hip-hop. 1950sExotic dancers and more ribald entertainment come to town: The Imperial Hotel opens the popular Domino Lounge and the Clermont introduces the Gypsy Room. A seemingly endless battle over the club ensued between Cornwell and city officials. A man in composite: Who inspired Charlie Crokers resume? Since 1961, Atlanta magazine, the citys premier general interest publication, has served as the authority on Atlanta, providing its readers with a mix of long-form nonfiction, lively lifestyle coverage, in-depth service journalism, and literary essays, columns, and profiles. Classic comedians such as Milton Berle, Sid Caesar and Steve Allen appeared often, as well as edgier up-and-comers like George Carlin and Steve Martin. We were paid very well for that. Just like that, 400 people shut completely up. ERWIN: Because we were exposed to gay people at such an early age, it made us more open-minded. Bev Cook was the manager at Backstreet at the time, and she had been coming in to see the dinner show. A large staircase in the lobby led downstairs to the infamous glass dance floor. The response in the room was so loud, security came running up the stairs. HENRY VARA: Now 63 and retired, Henry lives in Sarasota with his wife, Nancy, and owns a farm. She and her husband, Reid Erwin, reside in Johnson City, Tennessee, and shes currently staying at home with her son Mickey, age four, during the pandemic. Please post photos, memories and exploits from your favorite hangout. I remember being on the phone with Big Sam from the Eastside Boyz and we literally were like, If we say this, they gonna do this. We knew we were a hit when they finally took out that goddamn barbecue pit. Backstreet: An oral history of Atlantas most fabled 24-hour nightclub, Block by Block: Stories from the streets that connect us, 2020 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse, DINES: A Taste of the Citys Best Restaurants, Atlanta drag star Phoenix emcees Starlight Cabaret as it returns to Atlanta Pride this weekend. BROWN: When we lost Backstreet, it was like the citys gay community losing its grandmama. Speaking of Buckhead, in the 1990s, the city allowed Buckhead Village to turn into a lively nightlife mecca with clubs like Tongue & Groove and the original Havana Club. Nightclubs come and go in this city, but the best clubs in Atlanta are tried-and-true spots to dance all night long. During the 1990s, photographer Steve Eichner documented the rowdy, over-the-top debauchery that was New York City's club scene and nightlife. 529 Bar Night Club, Live Music Club. Backstreet's infamous 10,000-plus nights of dancing, drag, drugs, and debauchery, spanning the years from 1975 to 2004recounted by the people who owned the club, worked there, documented its . 2002A few blocks away from Buckhead Village, the East Andrews Entertainment District tries to draw the party crowd with a sprawling complex containing bars, clubs, and a comedy club. I mean, it lit up like Saturday Night Fever, and this was in the early 1980s when those Disco Sucks stickers were on everything. VANESSA VARA: Henrys daughter Vanessa, now 40, worked for her parents. I was from Montgomery, Alabama. Chattahoochee River Race. February 16, 2023 6:42 pm. The upstairs bar had a huge fishbowl and a bird aviary. 5. Since 1961, Atlanta magazine, the citys premier general interest publication, has served as the authority on Atlanta, providing its readers with a mix of long-form nonfiction, lively lifestyle coverage, in-depth service journalism, and literary essays, columns, and profiles. 1968After decades of name and concept changes, the Clermont Lounge inauspiciously kicks off what will become a reign as Atlantas oldest strip club. Over the years, the times changed, and we changed with them. Magic Pan in Cumberland Mall. 1997Centennial Park bomber Eric Rudolph strikes again with a nail-bomb attack at the Otherside Lounge on Piedmont Road. The show ran continuously all night. "During the summer, it was the same routine every day," recalls photographer Russell King, a Metroplex regular. This article appears in our October 2020 issue. PBR Atlanta: A Coors Banquet Bar. In 1975, at the dawn of disco, Backstreet officially opened for business at 845 Peachtree Street in the heart of Midtown. BROWN: We had 401(k)s, and they made sure we had health insurance. A Chronicle of One Long, Twisted Buckhead Night, Feeling Gravitys Pull: R.E.M has become Americas answer to The Beatles, The Prosecution Never Rests: The Making of Nancy Grace, How Jeff Berry zapped Mike Bowers with the Adultery and Sodomy Page, Do the Right Thing: A Police Chief in Luthersville Takes a Chance on Richard Jewell, Mary Rose Taylor, the patron saint of Margaret Mitchells legacy, An Urban Mill Town: Growing up in Cabbagetown in the 1940s and 1950s, Regarding Henry: The 25th Anniversary of Hank Aarons 715th Homer. Membership was required for entry, and each member had his own key, which was shown to gain entrance. CHARLIE BROWN: The emcee of Charlie Browns Cabaret, which ran upstairs at Backstreet from 1990 to 2004, Brown was married to technical director Fred Wise on December 29, 2019, on Browns 70th birthday. No Atlanta act bookended the decade better than TLC. room on the back wall provided privacy for visiting celebrities, and the curtained booths were notorious spots for cocaine use and sex. Club KayaBefore it was replaced by the flashier Vision in the early aughts, Kaya was a scruffy, DJ-driven dance club and launch pad for the citys emerging hip-hop artists. 1150 Crescent Ave NE B, Atlanta, GA 30309, USA. Henry was out of town at the time, and he wasnt too happy that Bev booked a drag show on the third floor of his club. A few shows later, it was closed for good. I had never seen that before. It was one of many incidents I had to endure when I first came to Atlanta. Opera Nightclub was a nightclub located in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. February 27, 2023; carole lefebvre fille de jean lefebvre; when a guy feels threatened by you; BackstreetOne of the largest gay bars in the Southeast, this two-story Midtown club was among the few Atlanta nightspots with a 24/7 liquor license. They came over on Christmas, and we went on vacations together. HENRY: I started at the club in 1980 as the AIDS epidemic was starting. Located in the "disco Kroger" complex on Piedmont Road in Buckhead, the Atlanta Limelight opened its doors in February 1980 in the former home of the Harlequin Dinner Theatre. LUST: Sylvester and I used to party a lot together. Now 45, Elliott is based in Frisco, Texas. Thank God, my health insurance had kicked in two months before that so I could actually go. As he talks, he walks over to a rolling storage bin that houses a series of crates and shows off a small portion of the mementos hes kept since this time. Everyone has their favourite place for a night out, but over the years that has had to change for many of us. On Feb. 24, 1964, the night before he defeated Sonny Liston in Miami for the World Heavyweight Title, Muhammad Ali celebrated a day early at The Peacock during a Lotsa Poppa performance. A lot of stuff went on in the parking lot, okay? On the night Jay-Z appeared, the DJ recalls the old school party transforming into an all-star event with famous athletes bum-rushing the door, and Memphis Bleek, Ja Rule, and Irv Gotti performing with the New York emcee. Next to the bar was a bumper pool table where guests lined up for the opportunity to chalk up a cue with a Bunny for $1 a game. I had lost so many friends and boyfriends over the years. Old School Music Clubs. But by the time it closed in July 2004, Backstreet had become a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week playground for the entire city. BERDEAUX: After Id been working the floor for maybe a year, Stuart Sweet Daddy Gardner, the big downstairs DJ, needed the night off and asked me if I would open for him. Welcome to Atlanta's premier nightlife guide. When you walk into a gay bar today, everybodys on their phone. 1008 Brady Ave NW. A customer handed me a napkin and said, Charlie, youve still got spit on your face. 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. Queen Latifah came in a couple of times too. Historied and venerable music showcases in this city have come and gone many times over. 12:00, 30 OCT 2021. Live Music Venues. Night Clubs Bars Brew Pubs. Home to Charlie Brown's Cabaret and a disco . Police chases are dangerous. originally an esteemed-but-ill-reputed strip club in the 1990s (with mafia . My first day at CNN was August 1, 1990. Plus, we hired big names to perform the Sunday Tea Dance: Gloria Gaynor, Bonnie Pointer. Now, the best Atlanta nightclubs can be found in just about every quandrant of the city, east Atlanta, the westside, Buckhead and even in the suburbs. Gay nightclubs spring up, like the Cove in Morningside and the Armory in Midtown, as well as drag bars like Hollywood Hots on Cheshire Bridge and Mrs. Ps on Ponce. Unfortunately, most of these clubs have fallen by the wayside. RuPaul and Lady Bunny help revive Atlantas drag scene at clubs like Colorbox in VaHi and the Celebrity Club on Ponce. The club featured a 100,000-watt sound system blasting Euro disco, and thousands of mobile lights on the ceiling flipped and turned throughout the night. BOWEN-YOUNGBLOOD: My favorite photo I ever took inside Backstreet was shot from the balcony overlooking the dance floor. Cornwell went for an indestructible look, anticipating the venue would see its share of bumps and bruises as the crowd slamdanced the night away. A lot of action happened at the door. But as the century drew to a close, Midtown, once a haven for hippies, slowly reinvented itself into a swanky live-work-play district, with million-dollar penthouses near the clubs main entrancecondos owned by working professionals who wanted to sleep at night. For example, women couldnt come in unless they were escorted by men. Bar. Ziggy took me into the cabaret dressing room and taught me how to put on false eyelashes. Ghosts of Christmas Past: Whats ahead for Greenbriar and other Atlanta malls? 1980Nightclub impresario Peter Gatien arrives in Atlanta to open the Limelight, a neon-lit disco that featured a giant slip n slide and sharks swimming under the glass dance floor, which quickly attracts visiting celebrities like Eartha Kitt, Andy Warhol, and Rod Stewart. Cramming into clubs packed with big hair, booze and pounding music was a rite of passage in the 1980s and into the 1990s. HISTORY OF APS. The best shift to work in patrol was the morning watch. I didnt have to hide it anymore. The front doors opened up to a brick-walled room with hardwood floors and several booths. I loved hanging out at the door with my dad. atlanta nightclubs 1990sdaniel hayes million dollar bogan net worth. "Sometimes he'd bring some of the bigger celebrities back to his house to party, but he'd end up excusing himself and going to bed while the party kept going.". ELLIOTT: You generated friendships there. No one in my cast will ever mention your name from that stage. The Chatterbox lounge. Havana Club Atlanta is a popular nightlife spot in Buckhead that features DJs spinning Latin sounds and anything goes. ELLIOTT: Everybody was just kind. This was the South, and I was used to how things were in the North. 4830 Fulton Industrial Blvd SW. Atlanta, GA 30336. The club was purchased in 1949 by former circus performer Carrie Cunningham, a local hotel and restaurant operator whose love for peacocks inspired her to rename the venue. The Chronic and the Death Row era ran through here, Nabs says. But how have those construction projects paid off? When Cornwell held his Alternative '88 festival at the club, the city had the surrounding streets closed for blocks to avoid interference with the Democratic National Convention. A corner staircase led up to a balcony area where overexcited patrons would often dive off and onto the crowd below. LUST: At its peak, we had nine cast members in the cabaret show. CLOSED NOW. OPEN IN GOOGLE MAPS. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the building was host to another dance . Gladys Knight came as a visitor, but we got her on stage. I just wish the movie had been a little bit better. You'd wake up in the afternoon the next day and that night's band would be arriving. Save 90s-2000s House Party Saturday @ Josephine Lounge - Atlanta to your collection. Where 559 was for locals, Club Kaya, which had an attached bistro, attracted a mix of both transplants and locals. Now, Buckhead Atlanta boutiques. The later it got, the straighter it got. Two gritty underground clubs, Nomenclature Museum in Midtown and downtowns Karma, bring a new level of edginess to Atlanta nightlife. A headline in the 1990 edition of Pandora, the University of Georgia's Yearbook, reads, "Social Studies: Aunt Charleys, a casual neighborhood bar, begins a 20-year run in Buckhead at the apex of the Peachtree-Roswell split. Backstreet. Bitch, if youre Cathy Rigby, do a backflip for us. Believe Music Hall Atlanta, GA. FRIDAY NIGHT! In its heyday, The Royal Peacock on Auburn Avenue stood firm as the crown jewel of Atlanta's rhythm and blues scene. The first time he came in, I discreetly went over to his table, introduced myself, and said, Youre here to have fun. 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