Sex, drugs and disco: The life and death of Studio 54, the legendary celebrity nightclub

For 33 months, from 1978 to 1980, Studio 54 was the place to be, it provided a space for hedonism, tolerance, glamour, subversion and freedom unlike any other before or since

“When you walked through those blacked-out doors, you were in another world,” recalls a clubgoer who frequented Studio 54 — a New York nightclub in the 1970s that forever changed what “going out” meant and created a space where, for the first time, people could be totally free. If they could first get in, of course.

On April 26, 1977, a huge mob formed on the West 54th Street in Manhattan in front of an old TV studio. It was the opening night of Studio 54 and it was quite literally a blockbuster. The police were called in to control the crowd and make way for the block-long line of limousines as a bevy of celebrities descended on the venue. Andy Warhol, Cher, Liza Minnelli, Elizabeth Taylor, Truman Capote set the bar for entry into the newest nightclub in town.

The people outside, according to one observer, resembled 'the Damned looking into Paradise' (Screenshot: 'Studio 54' A&E)
The people outside, according to one observer, resembled 'the Damned looking into Paradise' (Screenshot: 'Studio 54' A&E)

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