Limelight: The Movie

During the 1980's, Canadian Peter Gatien moved to NYC and built a nightclub empire. But this empire started with one legendary club, the Limelight.

Limelight was an old, vacant, deconsecrated church that Gatien turned into the hottest and most decadent club since Studio 54. This was the club that launched the legendary Club Kids - and the cash that Limelight generated allowed Gatien to open other superclubs like Palladium, Tunnel and Club USA.

When I moved to NYC in the early 90's, it wasn't unheard of for my friends and I to spend 2-3 nights a week in a Peter Gatien-owned club: Wednesdays and/or Fridays at Limelight (AKA "Slimelight"), Saturdays at Tunnel, and Sundays at Club USA (later at Palladium). Those were the days.

And then the DEA came and ruined everything. Bastards.

As the owner of legendary hotspots like Limelight, Tunnel, Palladium and Club USA, Peter Gatien was the king of the New York club scene until years of legal battles led to his eventual deportation to Canada. This exuberant documentary charts Gatien's rise and fall against the transformation of New York City, offering a wild ride through a now-closed chapter in the history of NYC nightlife. From the director of "Cocaine Cowboys."

Afternoon Dance Break - Feel What You Want

When former beauty queen and Las Vegas entertainer Kristine W burst onto the dance music scene in the 90's, her song Feel What You Want immediately became one of my favorites.  And I can't help it - when I hear Feel What You Want I still think about the NYC club that played the song ALL THE TIME - Club USA.

Club USA was one of Peter Gatien's megaclubs (along with Limelight, Palladium, and Tunnel) - and their Sunday night "Bump" gay party was a weekly must-attend back in the day.  Club USA was housed in an old theater which had many levels, rooms and semi-private nooks in which clubgoers could find all kinds of trouble.  And I knew every square inch of that biatch.

And - quelle surprise - when I Googled "Club USA NYC", this video came up ... and GUESS what song is playing...

In case you're wondering, Club USA was closed after Peter Gatien's drug/tax troubles and the building was eventually demolished to make way for the W Hotel in Times Square...

{{sheds single tear...}}

Notorious Limelight Nightclub Becomes A Mall

This story makes me so incredibly sad and makes me feel so incredibly old. One of the reasons I moved to NYC in the early 90's was because there were places like the notorious Limelight night club. Or, as we affectionately called it back in the day, "The Slimelight".

Waiting to get in

The Limelight was opened in a deconsecrated Episcopal church in 1983 by nightclub impresario Peter Gatien. My fascination with the club began in college, when I would read Michael Musto's column in the Village Voice to find about the infamous "Club Kids", who ran amok in NYC clubland at the time. The Club Kids fascinated me, and although I didn't fancy wearing eye makeup and outrageous costumes myself, I loved how they were able to manufacture a certain level of celebrity out of nothing. Basically they got dressed up, went out to clubs, got drunk and high, and acted nuts - and for this, some of them were quite well-known.

Club Kids at the Limelight

So, on my many visits to NYC before I moved here, I always went to the Limelight. Wednesdays ("Lick It") and Fridays ("Heaven") were the best nights to go, because half the club was strictly gay, and the other half was mixed. The cool thing was that us gay boys could go anywhere in the club, but straight guys (and many girls) weren't allowed into the gay party. We even had our own entrance, and it felt very "VIP".

I moved to NYC in November of 1993, and I spent my very first Thanksgiving Eve (Lick It Wednesday) at the Limelight. I arrived at the club early (before the cover charge kicked in - I was broke) and I found myself in "The Chapel" (the gay dance floor) in the middle of a Thanksgiving feast - WITH THE CLUB KIDS! I don't know who threw the party, or quite how I managed to get in, but it was fantastic. They had put out a serious buffet - complete with Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, and all the traditional trimmings - served on china (not paper plates). It was the only Thanksgiving turkey I had that year.

The meal was most likely provided by Peter Gatien to show his love for the Club Kids by giving them a decent holiday meal. After all, most of these kids didn't have much money - like me they were fabulous but poor. And it would make sense for Gatien to thank them, because many of us came to Limelight just to be near these outrageous characters.

On the dance floor of the Limelight

After a while, many of the Club Kids got out of control with drugs - and The Slimelight became well-known as a place where you could buy Ecstasy, Cocaine, Special K, and pretty much any other drug you wanted. And drug use was quite out in the open - most people didn't even bother to take it to a bathroom stall. This drug-fueled madness culminated in the killing of drug dealer Angel Melendez (who I remember from Limelight - he really did wear wings) by Club Kid King Michael Alig back at Alig's apartment. This was the story portrayed in that horrible movie, Party Monster.

Sex was pretty much out in the open also. I saw guys having sex on couches beside the dance floor, I saw a sex show performed in a small room on a single bed, and at one point there was a room full of bunk beds for anyone to use. But, most famously, there was "The Lick-It Lounge" - the dark room down a long ominous hallway where boys "got to know each other". Or so I've been told...

For a blond party-boy from Pennsylvania in his mid-twenties, the Limelight was pretty much the absolute greatest thing ever invented. However, open drug use and rampant sex don't get overlooked forever - especially when Rudy Giuliani runs your city. So NYC finally shut the Limelight down, and the Feds deported Peter Gatien back to his native Canada for tax evasion. The party was over.

After a unsuccessful stint as a club called "Avalon", the Limelight stood vacant for years. However, they have recently opened the main dance floor for use as a space for Sample Sales...

And now, according to recent media reports, the Limelight will be turned into a mall. And even though clubbing isn't my thing anymore, the idea of that fabulous space featuring racks of "Juicy Couture" makes me incredibly sad.