Warren Gluck @ The Saint Closing Party 30/04/1988

Referred to as the “Vatican of Disco,” The Saint was a gay, members-only club located in the East Village that operated between September 1980 and May 1988. With its huge planetarium-style dome above the dance floor, legendary sound system, and massive light shows, it is considered by many to have been New York’s most spectacular dance club and one of the most expensive gay business investments ever attempted. Working from Bruce Mailman’s vision, designer Charles Terrel designed a futuristic, elevated, 4,800-square-foot circular dance floor topped by an aluminum domed ceiling that served as a theatrical scrim hiding nearly 500 speakers. A star projector, known as “the tree of light,” rose from the center with about 1,500 fixtures to create various light shows, including scenes of a nighttime sky, sunrise, or the cosmos. Overhead was a hatch that would lower a mirrored ball. The dance floor was located on an independent table with its own support system that was set twenty feet into the ground on rubber pads to soften the surface for dancing. Above the dome was the original balcony. Mailman intended it to be a viewing deck to look down upon the dance floor, but, instead, it became a main area for sexual activity. Construction costs totaled $4.6 million in comparison to the $400,000 cost to open Studio 54 in 1977. The club’s architectural drawings often appeared in media coverage and came to symbolize The Saint as a visionary space. Mel Cheren, owner of the Paradise Garage, described the patrons’ reactions to the space on opening night, September 20, 1980, “When the boys poured in, you could actually hear the gasps of astonishment above the pounding music.” For its first several years, the club, which did not serve alcohol, was male-only and open only on Saturday and Sunday nights from Labor Day weekend to mid-June. An average of 4,000 men attended the club each night, catering to a mostly white crowd, many who frequented Fire Island in the summer, and who could afford the expensive annual membership fees. The Saint’s bylaws expressly focused on creating an all-male space: “Under no circumstances will women guests of male members be permitted in the club on Saturday Nights.” The Saint engaged a roster of high-profile DJs, whose collective impact on music was considerable. Their work helped establish an early version of the kind of trance-oriented music that became popular in club and rave circuits. Many celebrations were held at The Saint, including its first Black Party, which signaled the vernal equinox, in March 1981. The infamous leather- and kink-themed event featured erotic “strange live acts” with Robert Mapplethorpe as the party photographer. For The Saint’s closing event, which started Saturday, April 30, 1988, and concluded Monday, May 2, at noon, Mailman assembled many of its most popular DJs who played over 40 hours of continuous music with seven live acts. As a club, The Saint pushed the limits on the experience and architecture of the discotheque, and its design created an environment for gay men to live openly and find a sense of community. Tracklist: 1 Intro from the film Dune 2 Richard Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra) 3 Peter Brown - They Only Come Out at Night 4 Patrick Cowley - Lift Off 5 Ken Laszlo - Tonight 6 Sparks - Beat the Clock 7 Sylvester - Stars 8 Stefano Pulga - Love Taker 9 Julius Brown - Party 10 Kat Mandu - The Break 11 Tantra - Wishbone 12 Sylvia Robinson - Extra-Terrestrial Lover 13 Venus Dodson - Night Rider 14 Kumano - I’ll Cry for You 15 Lime - Your Love 16 Suzy Q - Computer Music 17 Lime - Wake Dream 18 Easy Going - Fear 19 ABBA - Lay All Your Love on Me 20 Sylvester - Take Me to Heaven 21 Azul y Negro - The Night 22 Technique - Can We Try Again 23 Debbie Jacobs - Maybe This Time 24 Technique - Heaven to Me 25 Dorothy Moore - Just Another Broken Heart 26 Bear Essence - The Big Hurt 27 Amanda Lear - No Regrets 28 Beautiful Bend - Make That Feeling Come Again 29 Voyage - Souvenirs 30 Quartlock - No Regrets 31 George Monroe - I’m Not in Love 32 Baiser [80s] - Darling Forever 33 Duncan Sisters - Sadness in My Eyes 34 Space - Save Your Love for Me 35 Giorgio Moroder & Philip Oakey - Together In Electric Dreams 36 Barry White - You’re My First, My Last, My Everything 37 Mystery - Hold on to This Moment 38 Stereo Fun Inc. - Got’cha Where I Want You Babe 39 Irene Cara - Hot Lunch Jam 40 Peter Allen - Once More Before I Go 41 Thelma Houston - Live Performance