Hurrah (nightclub)

Hurrah was a nightclub located at 36 West 62nd Street[1] in New York City from 1976 until early 1981. Hurrah was the first large dance club in NYC to feature punk, new wave and industrial music. The in-house DJs at Hurrah were Sara Salir, Bill Bahlman, Bart Dorsey and Anita Sarko. Under the management of Henry Schissler,[2] and later Jim Fouratt,[3] it became known as the first "rock disco"[4] in New York, and pioneered the use of music videos in nightclubs, placing video monitors around the club,[5] over a year before the launch of MTV. The club was owned by Arthur Weinstein (who also created The World and the afterhours clubs The Jefferson and The Continental[6]) and his partners, who opened the club in November 1976, months before Studio 54.[7]

With Ruth Polsky[8] as booking agent, Hurrah became known as a place for new wave, punk and post-punk bands to play, featuring many of the British bands' first American performances.[9]

On April 16, 1978, the Tom Eyen comedy play The Neon Woman, starring Divine, opened at Hurrah.[10] It ran for 84 performances, closing on July 15, 1978.[11]

The club became notorious for an incident in December 1978, where during a Skafish gig, Sid Vicious got into a fight with Todd Smith (brother of Patti Smith), resulting in the incarceration of Vicious for two months in Rikers Island.[12] David Bowie was filmed in the club for his music video for the song "Fashion" in 1980.[13]

Famed New York club doorman Haoui Montaug worked as the doorman for Hurrah.[14]

References
  1. Post, H.: "New Wave After Dark: The Big Clubs, New York, Pg. 55, Nov. 3, 1980.
  2. New York Rock: From the Rise of The Velvet Underground to the Fall of CBGB by Steven Blush
  3. Shapiro, P.: Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco, page 256. Faber & Faber, October 2006.
  4. Christgau, Robert: "The Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll (Almost) Grows Up", Village Voice, Jan. 28, 1980.
  5. Shore, M.: The Rolling Stone Book of Rock Video, pg. 73, Quill, 1984.
  6. Haden-Guest, Anthony: "The gang of new york", The Observer, 18 July 2004.
  7. Martin, D.: "Arthur Weinstein, Starter of Nightclubs, Dies at 60", The New York Times, July 16, 2008.
  8. Palmer, R.: "New York Rock Bands Excite London", The New York Times, February 20, 1981.
  9. "The Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll (Almost) Grows Up", Village Voice, Jan. 28, 1980.
  10. Gussow, Mel (17 April 1978). "The Neon Woman' by Eyen is Staged". The New York Times.
  11. "Search - Lortel Archives". www.lortel.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07.
  12. Tucker, R.: "My New York: Sid & Nancy", The New York Post, July 27, 2010.
  13. Pegg, Nicholas: The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn, 2000.
  14. "Haoui Montaug; Disco Doorman, 39". The New York Times. p. 25.
  • Shapiro, P. Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco, Faber & Faber, October 2006.
  • Orth, Maureen: "The Beat Comes East," pg. 39, New York, 26 March 1979.
  • Turcotte, Bryan Ray, and Miller, Christopher T., Fucked Up + Photocopied: Instant Art of the Punk Rock Movement, Gingko Press, August 1999.

40.77056°N 73.98208°W / 40.77056; -73.98208

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