Studio 54

The 66 photographs in this book were made between 1978-1980 in Studio 54, a New York discothèque that, for a handful of years, was the place where celebrities, partygoers, and those crazy for dancing most wanted to be and be seen. Because of this, it was difficult to get into: the imperturbable doormen who doled out access according to rules that only they seemed to know made sure of it. The most evident way of winning them over was to be beautiful, but only the famous or socially connected could assume that they d be shooed around the flock of hopefuls milling on the street side of the entrance rope and through the door. Once inside, though, everyone there seemed thrilled by the fact, no matter how they managed to accomplish it, a feeling fed by the throbbing music and the brilliantly designed interior, which, from night to night, could suggest anything from Caliban s cave to a harem.  In the late 1970s New York's Studio 54 night club was the place to be. Anybody who was anybody was there and for everybody else it was incredibly hard to get into for as co-owner Steve Rubell said 'The key to a good party is filling a room with guests more interesting than you.' Even now the name Studio 54 is a short hand debauchery. Photographer Tod Papageorge spent many nights between 1978 and 1980 shooting the denizens of the notorious nightspot now collected in the book Studio 54 in which the colourful excesses are captured in beautiful full page black and white "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.