After Dark
Birth of the Disco Dance Party
by Noel Hankin
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Pub Date 3 May 2021 | Archive Date 14 Jul 2021
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Description
Mid-town Buppies, big-time mobsters, fabulous dancing queens, and unscrupulous promoters, all come together in After Dark, a first-hand account of the birth and growth of the disco movement in the 1970s.
Disco music has earned an unflattering reputation for being garish and flashy; however, it was the voice of a generation that spoke using the power of dance to unite people. Now for the first time, you can hear the compelling never-been-told story of the rise of the New York disco scene.
In the late 1960s, a group of college students formed a social club called “The Best of Friends” (TBOF) and learned to monetize their love of dancing and music by building a multi-million-dollar network of discotheques. Their innovative DJing techniques transported dancers into a carefree state of euphoria that paved the way for “Saturday Night Fever,” Studio 54, and the nationwide explosion of disco in the late ‘70s.
TBOF discotheques attracted everyone from CEOs to mailroom clerks, from Rick James to Elizabeth Taylor, and from big-time mobsters to FBI agents. This unprecedented collection of humanity made it impossible to know what excitement would unfold each night. What the partners in TBOF did know is that After Dark, they had to be on their toes.
Advance Praise
"Put on your dancing shoes and spiffy clothes. Pack your comb, a clean hanky, and step into Noel Hankin's time machine for a delightful journey to the world of New York City disco dance parties. Experience first-hand the backdrop of ""Fun City"" vs. ""Fear City"" by making this exciting, indeed exhilarating and joyful ride through the pages of ""After Dark."" Noel Hankin makes you an intimate part of ""The Best of Friends,"" as they strategically move from the stresses and successes of their ground-breaking business ventures to the roar and the rhythm of the crowded dance floor. As a proud and distinguished Queens College alumnus, Noel has found his true calling as a captivating storyteller.""
by Jay Hershenson, VP Communications and Marketing and Senior Advisor to the President of Queens College/CUNY
"After Dark: Birth of the Disco Dance Party"" by Noel Hankin talks about a significant yet rarely discussed or even written about part of American history. The origins of the disco dance party scene and its contribution to society. What makes this piece of work even more relevant is that author Noel Hankin is a living witness in its evolution and played a major part in it. It goes back to the beginning of the seventies when a group of friends that included Hankin formed a social club called The Best of Friends (TBOF) and built a network of discotheques. Hankin traces back the struggles and triumphs of doing what they love and, with passionate recall, shares stories of the high energy generated by the business that they were not expecting would redefine a nation's dance scene culture.
by Vincent Dublado for Readers' Favorite
Great read. Takes you back in time and offers a great recap of what the start of the discotheque era looked like in NYC. Impressive group of men, especially when you consider the time. Very cool story...
by Lamar Stinson"
Featured Reviews
Lilian Astrid G, Reviewer
History is written by those in power, the majority, the dominant forces in society. History is usually white. Which is, why a lot of history is lost, i.e. ignored, overlooked, consciously or unawares left out. This goes for disco, too. At least, I have to admit, for me. Disco rings a bell, sure. But more in terms of hippie-like people in fancy clothing and high heeled shoes dance and listen to a kind of trashy music (or the Bee Gees, for this matter). Well, that's apparently the commercialized version. I may be too young to truly remember disco's beginnings in the late 1960s, and even if I would, I'd think or California and handsome fair-haired boys on surfboards or so. In fact, and that's what Noel Hankin tells us, disco is another black invention, born for the love of soul, jazz, funk and dance, and originating in NYC. Hankin, together with his friends formed TBOF - The Best of Friends - and ran several famous clubs (as we'd call them today) in New York. They were pioneers, who offered, later in addition to live music events, DJ parties. Successfully, so. We all know "Studio 54", but who knows that long before the Manhattan in-place there was Leviticus? Thus, dear reader, if you are interested in musical history and its once again racialized context, if you want to dance and not overlook the black people's contribution to a culture that vibes on in the raves and club nights of our times - go and read Noel Hankin's report. It's worth your while, believe me.
Elaine A, Reviewer
After Dark by Noel Hankin recounts Hankin’s time as one of the founders of The Best of Friends (TBOF) collective, who ran several famous clubs during the late 60s and 70s. Considering the origins of disco music (Black people) and the fact it took place during a lot of living people’s memories, it’s extremely sad to think that for many the default iconic club of this time is Studio 54, or films like Saturday Night Fever made disco enter the mainstream consciousness.
As a fan of disco and wider club culture, After Dark looks to redress the balance as it takes the reader to midtown and uptown New York club such as Leviticus (not to be confused with the Leviiticus in Lee Daniel’s Empire), Lucifer or Othello in the 60s and 70s. It features figures such as Stevie Wonder, Nicky Barnes, Frank Matthews and Don Cornelius who all graced the clubs run by TBOF.
I found the book to be really insightful, and also inspiring as it showed what a collective of young men with young families could achieve. I also liked that Hankin showed a side of the club scene that many would not see and that there was a welcoming feel compared to the white counterparts.
After Dark: The Birth of the Disco Dance Party by Noel Hankin made me want to pull out my parents’s vinyl and dance like those on old Soul Train clips
I would definitely recommend for anyone interested in music history and popular culture.
***Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.***
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