On the 5th of September 2013, I was crudely reminded, once again, that I was born in the wrong place or at least, at the wrong time. Yes, beside the fact that I’ve totally missed being a teenager in the 80’s, it seems I’m also missing out on the event’s that commemorate those charismatic, crazy and wildly flamboyant years.

It so happened that on the 5th of September, the infamous New York Club Kids, with their insane style and incomparable lifestyle was celebrated in a one-night-only special exhibition in London, entitled Fabulousity: A Night You’ll Never Forget… or Remember! This exciting project accompanied by a limited edition catalogue (500 copies), published by Wild Life Press, features rare and unseen photos taken by Alexis Dibiasio during the late 1980′s and early 1990′s.

photo anothermag.com

First, a little history: The Club Kids were a group of young New York City club goers who more or less defined New York nightlife in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Amongst these, Leigh Bowery, Michael Alig and James St. James led the subculture, which redefined disco through their wild pranks and outlandish costumes. Dressed in bodysuits and unitards, they emerged at clubs such as Savage and The Tunnel, before moving onto The Roxy, Love Machine and eventually The Limelight.

If you happen to be searching for some info about The Club Kids on the internet, you’ll probably notice that the name Michael Alig comes up a lot. That’s mostly because he’s the one who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 1997 for the March 1996 murder of former Limelight employee and reputed drug dealer Andre “Angel” Melendez.

photo disneyrollergirl.net

The murder of Melendez is certainly a story that tells the tale of the recklessness and insanity going on in the New York party scene of the period, and as some say, it marks the official death of nightlife in the city, which has really never been resurrected. Funny enough, Alig is supposed to be getting out of jail any day now and word on the street is that he’s finishing his memoir, Aligula, and plans to have an art show of his paintings (http://www.michaelaligclubkids.com). As always, someone’s misfortune is another’s good luck charm, as James St. James, Michael Alig’s former party friend, published his memoir in ’99: Disco Bloodbath: A Fabulous but True Tale of Murder in Clubland, which seems to deal more with the rise and fall of Michael, and which was turned into a movie in 2003 (Party Monster), that starred Macaulay Culkin as the “King of the Club Kids” / Michael Alig.

Anyway, enough history. The catalogue/book is a collaboration between Alexis Dibiasio, former club kid Ernie Glam (who also wrote the forward of the catalogue) and a guy called Steve Terry, about which I can’t seem to find anything relevant except the fact that Ernie and Steve met on ebay, whilst they were trying to auction off some of their excess Club Kid card collection. Inside the main catalogue is a complimentary publication celebrating the flyers, posters and ephemera disseminated at the time for New York’s most happening nights at clubs like the The World, Red Zone, Limelight, Tunnel & Save the Robots. Plus a fun flexi disc, featuring an unreleased track by Ernie Glam.

So, here’s some Instant Glamour from Ernie himself, and if you’re wondering: yes, I’m accepting early birthday presents this year, and Fabulousity: A Night You’ll Never Forget… or Remember! is like totally on my list dude! Later!

photo fashioninstallation.com

photo fashioninstallation.com

photo disneyrollergirl.net

photo anothermag.com

by Alexandra Mateescu

Alexandra Mateescu is a photo-video junkie who left her imaginary super successful forensics career in favor of the University of Arts. She frequently gets mistaken with a 16 year old high school girl so you’ll never catch her without her ID, she has a strong passion for the 80’s, and her kind of art must be funny and a little bit ironic.

http://www.behance.net/alexandra_mateescu