Monday Marks the 25t anniversary of Disco Demolition Night.

[TheMightyFavog]

http://www.ncbuy.com/news/2004-07-09/1010052.html

The figurative funeral took place at Chicago's Comiskey Park, where baseball fans paid just 98 cents to get into the game if they brought a disco record for DJ Steve Dahl to blow up on the field.

(snip)

In his words, "We thought we'd never get laid again if we didn't do something."

In all, 90,000 people attended the game, but Dahl says the park stopped collecting records at around 20,000, which he says was a mistake because people just began throwing them like frisbees.

Much to Dahl's amazement, he says no one was hurt that night, despite the stacks of wax he blew up and the mayhem of fans who stormed the field before the game ever started, forcing the White Sox to forfeit their game with the Detroit Tigers.











Tho old adage remains true to this day. Nothing lacks of brains mroe than twentysomethings full of beer.

[prolesunited]

1. Agreed

I can bear firsthand witness (though I wasn't even close to 20 yet) as I was there on the field. If you look real close, I think you can see me. :hi:

[sundog]

2. I grew up with disco...

the first album I ever bought (at age 7) was Chic's "C'est Chic" --

Why were these people so enraged? Were they bitter about not just feeling the vibe & dancing... or were they disturbed by disco's soul & r&b origins... or were they disturbed because disco was associated with the gay "subculture."

Whatever it was, there appears to be a lot of aggression aimed at one or all of those things...

[BlackVelvetElvis]

3. Because it was Steve Dahl.

Does he still have a radio show?

[tcfrogs]

5. Yes he does

Here in Chicago only, I think, though.

[sundog]

7. it looks like a monster trucks rally or something...

...

[jmowreader]

4. Why they were enraged

Disco just wasn't very good music. That's all.

[prolesunited]

9. All the answers can be found here

What began as an effort to sell seats at a White Sox/Detroit Tigers double-header turned into a mass anti-disco movement that would later be credited as the official “day that disco died.” Fans were encouraged to show up with an admission of $0.98 and a disco record that would be blown up at center field between the games; chaos ensued when an estimated 90,000 baseball fans and listeners crammed the ballpark, the surrounding neighborhood streets and the Dan Ryan expressway, creating traffic jams for miles.

Leading the fans in a “Disco Sucks” chant, Dahl headed out to center field in military regalia to blow up the thousands of disco records that had been brought to the ball park for the rally. What he didn’t anticipate was that tens of thousands of eager fans would storm the field. Announcer Harry Caray tried to calm the crowd by leading the park in the singing of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” but order could not be restored, and the White Sox were forced to forfeit the next game. Because American League games are virtually never forfeited or cancelled ESPN dubbed Disco Demolition as “One of the Top Ten Most Shocking Moments in Baseball History.”

Dahl admits that the cultural phenomenon that sparked the end of the disco era began simply as his response to losing a job at a radio station that had turned to an all-disco format. Even though disco music had become the unofficial soundtrack of the 1970s, his “disco sucks” mantra struck a nerve because so many Midwesterners simply didn’t ‘get it.’
http://www.discodemolition.com/disco.htm

And here is his site. Apparently, there's a documentary airing on Channel 11 and a couple of viewing parties.
http://www.dahl.com/

[sundog]

10. ok, thanks for the story... I just...

don't have a problem with disco or any current derivative of it... I grew up with the stuff. All I know is that it made me feel good, so it didn't leave any scars on me...

[prolesunited]

11. Hey, everyone has their own tastes

Truth be told, I was kind of a hypocrite. I had a fake ID and used to go clubbing so I was no stranger to disco.

I just hung with a variety of crowds and I was with my "disco sucks, let's blow it up" friends this day. Can't say I listen to it now, but if it makes you happy, dance like no one's watching.

[MrSlayer]

6. Death Before Disco!

[cheezus]

8. Disco is alive and kicking

it's just called "club" music now