We did what we could to help. HENRY: Word got around that celebrities could be anonymous inside Backstreet. It was a club. Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri had a whole entourage. 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. A stop here became de rigueur for NBA stars with names like Ewing, Rodman, and Mutombo. This was on a Saturday night at midnight. Bar. It was truly a 24-hour metroplex. The event was a financial bust, and the club was hit hard. It was . 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. 1008 Brady Ave NW. He had unique access to the era's most exciting . BROWN: Elton John would come in incognito in a hat and without the wig. 7. 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. 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. FRED WISE: Wise is now 64 and retired. 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. I was maybe 13. 2023 CREATIVE LOAFING, LLC. In the Playmate Bar, framed centerfolds of Playmates adorned the walls, which was the only hint of nudity in the club. Everyone has their favourite place for a night out, but over the years that has had to change for many of us. She had the tip sent up to the stage. The Limelight lived up to its billing as the Studio 54 of the South. College Park, GA 30337. 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. Authorities charged two bartenders . "It was an amazing time. VICKI: DJs like Bill Berdeaux made us. We would try and put them up in hotels, give them traveling expenses, and help with burials. OPEN IN GOOGLE MAPS. Downtowns Zebra Lounge and the Cheshire Cat on Cheshire Bridge Road showcase topless a-go-go. Iris Presents: Kumarion & Smoakland Presents Liquid Smoak High Rollers Tour. The upstairs bar had a huge fishbowl and a bird aviary. WISE: It was the hottest club in town, and Charlie wasnt going to be denied. There were no places to sit in the whole room.. On any iven night, the crooning of Tony Bennett or Mel Torme might be heard wafting down from the Penthouse. But on my second dayAugust 2, 1990Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. And there was some prejudice at the time. Buckhead Saloon. They left it for us. He doesnt care. It stuck. Weeknight crowds consisted primarily of conventioneers and businessmen. 2007Following the departure of Tongue & Groove and a few other holdouts, the Buckhead Village nightclub district is bulldozed to make way for high-end shopping. Night Clubs for 18 Year Olds. Reviews on Dance Clubs 80s Music in Atlanta, GA - MJQ Concourse, Johnny's Hideaway, The Basement, Tongue & Groove, Club Ellery's, The Drunken Unicorn, Havana Club ATL, Sutra Lounge, Mary's, Tabernacle . Still doesnt have a sign. Downtown hotels such as the Piedmont, Biltmore, Ansley, Georgian Terrace, Kimball House, and the Henry Grady continue to bring the ballroom scene. Or, as the Backstreet staff T-shirts more succinctly stated, Always Open & Pouring.As other nightclubs, including the Limelight, Club Anytime, the Velvet Room, Club Kaya, Esso, and Club Rio, opened and shuttered around them, Backstreet remained party central for nocturnal revelers for nearly 30 years. They had their own power system. Night Clubs Dance Clubs Disc Jockeys. It was like somebodys basement. Older Crowd . The crowd was a mixed bag of straights and gays decked out in the tight, shiny disco style of the era. A dress code was also enforced: suit and tie required. The club was drenched in suave '60s chic and served as a living, breathing version of all things hailed by the notorious men's magazine. Mike Tokars was four years old on November 29, 1992. Nobody was coming in. 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 big question is this: As Atlantans, what did we actually miss? Gay clubs made good business sense. Then, I told the room, Listen up, when she comes in, I dont want yall asking for autographs or bothering her. The first time he came in, I discreetly went over to his table, introduced myself, and said, Youre here to have fun. "We became so good at it, we could just run the table, and nobody had a chance to beat us," says Sunny Green, a former Bunny who now works as a crime scene investigator for Rockdale County. My whole plan in moving to Atlanta was to become a DJ at the biggest club in the SoutheastBackstreet. 2. 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. I remember them kind of days, when you come out soaking wet.. 5 not-so-true romances: The couples who kept our tongues wagging, Desert Storm: The first war televised live around the world (and around the clock), Where are they now? I walk into Kaya and was like here it is. [It had] one long bar on one side of the room, a big dance floor in the middle and four speakers in every corner and that was it, said Ski. Tongue & Groove Atlanta. More than a strip club, Blue Ivory is an Atlanta restaurant that caters to a wide variety of clientele, featuring comedy shows and other entertainment. 1979Johnnys Hideaway debuts in Buckhead; its patrons remain loyal for the next 40 yearsand counting. But it was such a relief off of me. The place was packed to the rafters. 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. We wrote it for the club and we wrote it visually seeing what people would do to what were saying.. Same-sex marriage. Queen Latifah came in a couple of times too. 5. One night, friends convinced me to go to this cool club. He also owned a place in Provincetown called the Crown & Anchor, which was a hotel, gay bar, and cabaret for female impersonators. 24. I knew one day it would pass, and it did. Illegal in some contexts 2021. The stainless-steel DJ booth was built into the wall. With stogie in hand, the incomparable George Burns once performed in the club's intimate Penthouse setting. After his Miami Limelight disco burned to the ground in the late '70s, enigmatic club king Peter Gatien set his sights on Atlanta. From the 1920s through 1950s the city was a major center for country music. It was Atlanta's most popular and successful nightclub in terms of revenue and attendance and has also been featured in Nightclub & Bar's Top 50 Clubs in the United States for 2015. . It was the same vantage point where I had stood the first time I went there and realized I wasnt the only gay person in the state. Even today, sometimes, when I walk into a bar, I can smell my childhood. One 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. 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. Bryant was furious, but Gatien relished the publicity. A rental agreement signed by Nabs and an employee of Kaya says the DJ began hosting a classics and old school party, spinning 80s hip-hop and disco, from 10pm to 4am in November 1996. Backstreet represented the good old days of gay life in Atlanta. This article originally appeared in our March 2015 issue. At our nightclub in Atlanta, GA, we're proud to cultivate an. Book Now Atlanta Hotel Deals. Atlanta, which had been lauded as a black Mecca for decades, was further solidifying its status as an important musical hub for black musicians, too. "It had so much prestige," says Atlanta blues great Louis "Lotsa Poppa" High, who played there regularly in the '50s. 1992In an extreme case of urban pioneering, Homage Coffee House brings live music and a boho vibe to Trinity Avenue in desolate South Downtown. It was where the QT in Midtown is located now at Ptree and 6th. NationsBank Plaza, now Bank of America Plaza, rises up, Da bomb party song: Whoomp! Then, I get the phone call in the booth from the office: Bill, do you think you can carry the whole night? LGBTQ Nightlife Forecast: February 17-March 3. Let's revisit the blissfulness of New York 90's club scene. 16. Monday Nightlife. I paid my rent with the tips that night. This article is part of a special installment of Deep Dive created in partnership with Jameson Irish Whiskey, telling the stories of bars of yesterday that shaped the neighborhoods of today. Theyve been a couple for 43 years. Gold Room - One of the Best Nightclubs in Atlanta. Yet he remembers the events of that night clearly, and he recounts them with an almost unsettling calm. The main dance floor of Backstreet in the late 1970s. Posted on December 8, 2017 by. The club kept these intentionally long lines to get in. originally an esteemed-but-ill-reputed strip club in the 1990s (with mafia . Live Band. Club-goers queuing up for the old Liquid and JJs (Jumpin' Jacks) clubs (Image: The SOS Bus) Over the years we have lost a lot of nightclubs here in Essex. VANESSA: We held many, many memorial services at the club up in the cabaret. Lil Jon insists a song had to make the crowd at Club 559 dance if it was going to become a hit in the city. They would cherry-pick who they wanted inside. "In the mid-1990s, everybody flooded to the far corner of Surrey Center where Studio 54 (later renamed Chevy . You could just be yourself. 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. Youll have to stay the whole night. I didnt want to be rude, so I watched for a while. Things havent been the same since the days of Club Kaya, the Chamber, and the Gold Club. The Butthole Surfers actually lived at the club for a week in 1988 before migrating to Athens. Honestly? VICKI VARA: Backstreet was owned and operated by the Vara family, first by founders Carmine and Janice, then by their children Vicki and Henry. HOTTEST PARTY IN ATLANTA!! Now, Buckhead Atlanta boutiques. Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 2 Reviews. In November 1987, legendary Plasmatic Wendy O Williams performed with opening act Scream, which included drummer Dave Grohl, later of Nirvana/Foo Fighters fame. We knew we were a hit when they finally took out that goddamn barbecue pit. 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. I was from Tennesseewith all those tiny gay barsand, suddenly, Im standing inside a three-story club. BROWN: When we lost Backstreet, it was like the citys gay community losing its grandmama. It was nice to know she appreciated what I did. People also searched for these in Atlanta: 90s Music. This is how diva Pia Zadora made her entrance for a live appearance. A decade later, it would be renamed the Royal Peacock. The first bar I went to as soon as I got off the plane was Backstreet. HENRY: For years, it was mostly a gay crowd. Confetti and snow would periodically fall from the ceiling. In 1975, at the dawn of disco, Backstreet officially opened for business at 845 Peachtree Street in the heart of Midtown. Aunt Charleys, a casual neighborhood bar, begins a 20-year run in Buckhead at the apex of the Peachtree-Roswell split. Midtowns Crescent Avenue and East Atlanta emerge as nightlife destinations. He was a good dad. Another flight of stairs ascended to the Penthouse showroom where live performances were featured. Old School Music Clubs. Legal Since 2015. Reliving legendary times at Atlanta's long gone nightspots. "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.". VANESSA: We had our family birthday parties there. It would be another two years before the state lifted its own ban, but unincorporated DeKalb and many other counties would remain dry for decades, making Atlanta a nightlife hot spot. 1. 2000sCity Halls tougher stance on nightclubs and bars, combined with a surge in development (and followed by the Great Recession), cool Atlantas overheated nightlife scene. I had lost so many friends and boyfriends over the years. It was ranked as one of the top nightclubs in the country and number . For example, women couldnt come in unless they were escorted by men. (There It Is), The remains of the games: Ranking our Olympics infrastructure, Atlantas true Olympic legacy: Not brick, mortar, or granite, Are We Having Fun Yet? I saw all these men without their shirts on, gorgeous men. On weekends, lines sometimes stretched down Piedmont Road. Thats how addicting that place was. Unfortunately, most of these clubs have fallen by the wayside. 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. It really hit him hard. But nearly 30 years ago, it was mostly hip-hop tracks from the coasts and other Southern cities, like Miami and Memphis, that boomed from speakers at local clubs and on the streets during Freaknik, the citys now-defunct unofficial spring break bash. Yet throughout the 1990s, the citys pioneer hip-hop artists and DJs would find their unique sound at a set of bygone bars and clubs, solidifying the connections that would catapult them into stardom. Atlanta has a thriving music industry and is considered to be a capital of hip-hop including crunk, of R&B and its offshoot neo-soul, and of gospel music - in addition to a thriving indie-rock and live music scene. The show ran continuously all night. Atlanta's Playboy Club opened in March 1965, becoming the 15th location of the international chain. Plus, we hired big names to perform the Sunday Tea Dance: Gloria Gaynor, Bonnie Pointer. VICKI: The cabaret changed everything. Inside the nightlife spots that gave DJs and artists a stage to turn the Southern capital into a musical hub. No Cover Charge Clubs. VANESSA: It was a place where black, white, Asian, Latin, gay, straight, business people, nerds, everybody could come together and party. 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. Nightclubs come and go in this city, but the best clubs in Atlanta are tried-and-true spots to dance all night long. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the building was host to another dance . 1 / 41. Credit: AJC FILE. Night Clubs Bars Taverns. She was a trip. 2000The citys crackdown on nightlife unofficially begins after an altercation involving friends of Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis leaves two men dead outside Buckheads Cobalt Lounge. That was unique. I was just afraid. Someone yelled, Thats Cathy Rigby! Acts in the showroom helped draw in more women on weekends. Charlie Browns Cabaret worked. I was scared. If you've stumbled upon this blog entry, I'm hoping you'll further stroll down Memory Lane with mecome along to Atlanta circa 1985. Everybody was always really polite about it. I think it made us better people. 2003After a series of late-night shootings in Buckhead Village and weekend cruising on Peachtree Road, the Atlanta City Council votes to set last call at 2:30 a.m. Backstreet loses its status as a 24-hour club. I didnt have to hide it anymore. 321 Pharr Rd Ne A. Atlanta, GA 30305. In 1983, without a license, he opened The Metroplex in the old blood bank at 300 Luckie St. After pressure from the city to comply with fire and club codes, Cornwell moved shop a year-and-a-half later to 388 Marietta St., now the site of a parking lot. LUST:Janet Jackson tipped me $50 for performing my Tina Turner medley. "It was the place where every entertainer wanted to be.". Id hit that stage, man, and grab many a redneck, spin his arm around his back, and march him out those double doors. Motorhead, Timothy Leary, Johnny Thunders and former Rolling Stone Mick Taylor all appeared. They hired extras to come in to play the crowd for the stripping scenes. I shouldnt be alive. Party like its 1996: 7 iconic Atlanta nightlife spots of the era, Block by Block: Stories from the streets that connect us, 2020 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse, DINES: A Taste of the Citys Best Restaurants, DJ Vicki Powell on queer nightlife, a changing Atlanta, and the art of throwing a party, Reminisce your days partying at Backstreet with this ultimate playlist, Backstreet: An oral history of Atlantas most fabled 24-hour nightclub, 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 I moved to Atlanta in 1997, I was all into hip-hop. ELLIOTT: The weirdest thing I ever saw at Backstreet? VICKI: I had been working at Backstreet, a gay club, for years but I didnt officially come out until I was 32. 599 Whitehall St SW, Atlanta, GA 30303. BERDEAUX: Getting a key to the Backstreet DJ booth was like getting the keys to the kingdom. Scarlet O ' Hara's in Underground. Over the years, the times changed, and we changed with them. ELLIOTT: Everybody was just kind. CLOSED NOW. I remember taking it to [Atlanta DJ] Greg Street and he laughed at me and said What is this shit? But the guy at the 559 played it five times a night and broke the record., The songs creation was a result of Lil Jons experience at clubs, where locals would spend the entire night on the dance floor, and leave drenched in sweat. Best Nightlife in Atlanta, GA - SkyLounge, Tongue & Groove, The Basement, Sanctuary, Red Phone Booth - Downtown Atlanta, Moondogs, Flight Club, Compound, Havana Club ATL, Johnny's Hideaway 4. Mr. Tokars, 40, still faces a state murder charge in Cobb County, Ga., where prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty. 1972The Georgia Legislature helps fuel the partygoing by dropping the legal drinking age to 18. But after we got the 24-hour liquor license [in 1987], it was a gay bar until all the other bars in town closed and then, everyone piled into Backstreet. His wife, Sara, and her sons, then 4 and 6, were kidnapped from . 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 . Eclipse Di Luna Parkplace. Bitch, if youre Cathy Rigby, do a backflip for us. Even if you didnt communicate with these people on the outside, you looked forward to seeing these same folks at the club. 5. In this day and age, we could never have what we had back then. Take our nightlife. And then, they would end up dead. Rijeka, Hrvatska. 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. Timeline: The long, risque history of Atlantas nightlife, Block by Block: Stories from the streets that connect us, 2020 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse, DINES: A Taste of the Citys Best Restaurants, Nakato, the grande dame of Japanese dining in Atlanta, looks forward to its next half century, 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. 2009The Fred in Sandy Springs and Buckheads Prohibition kick off Atlantas additions to the modern speakeasy trend. VICKI: At first, the doorman would go up and down the line like they did at Studio 54 in New York and decide who got in the door. 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. We would work a number into the show each night and do a collection for the ones we could help. HENRY: My father was a manly man. This marked the beginning of the end. Back when I was a child, my dads clubs were located in Bostons Combat Zonebasically, it was the red-light district. This generated a $5 billion economic impact that summer, and decades of population growth and international investment. While one side of the club offered up soda and standard ballpark fare to teenagers, the other half, appropriately named The Other Side, featured a bar separated from the rest of the club by chicken wire. Backstreet. Great music, friendly staff, security was good, would like to see more men there, but me and my 3 girlfriends had an awesome time. 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