Culture Club Relaunches in Manhattan
October 13, 2011 By: Sean Evans
After being closed for four years, Culture Club — New York City’s once-iconic ‘80s and ‘90s nightclub — is back. Robert Watman and Tim Ouellette are re-introducing their brand with a 16,000-square-foot, four-floor dance club on West 39th Street. Watman opens up about his vision, the space, programming and his new partner, Debbie Gibson.
Nightclub Confidential (NCC): There’s a wealth of material to work with if you’re going to deck out a place with 1980s décor. How’d you
decide what to use?
Watman: We have two floors which are very ‘80s, as in there’s literally a DeLorean coming out of the wall. A lot of the photos we’ve hung are of ‘80s stars who are still relevant. We have giant 10-foot-by-5-foot album covers from Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson and so on. We also have giant movie posters, like “Footloose” and “Wall Street.” We have Pac-Man dots on the ground floor through the long entrance hallway to help get people flowing through the building. “867-5309″ is written on the ceiling as well as the “I don’t know” “Fast Times [at Ridgemont High]” dialogue, and 99 red balloons painted. Each floor is lit very “Saturday Night Fever.”
NCC: Do you worry about the younger market not getting a lot of those references?
Watman: A lot of kids in their 20s know who these people are, so its not a flashback, even though its their first time at an ‘80s-type nightclub. Songs from bands like Journey will be on, and for young people, it’s like an anthem. They all erupt. It’s fun to see.
NCC: You’re planning some live performances for customers.
Watman: We’ll have some ‘80s performances. Debbie Gibson is one of our regular performers, as well as our partner. She performed at our opening party. We’ll have “Rock of Ages” — the musical — that we’re doing cross promotion with. We’ll have mostly DJs and impersonators of Michael Jackson, Boy George and Lisa Lisa. There’ll be sing-a-longs, light-up dance floors and the like.
NCC: How are you planning on promoting Culture Club?
Watman: For promotions, people will reach out to us. The “Footloose” premiere will be held here and anytime something ’80s happens, we’ll get involved. If anyone dresses in ‘80s attire, we’ll waive the $20-25 cover charge.
NCC: Will there be bottle service or cocktails?
Watman: We will have a limited bottle service, but we haven’t started with that yet. We have big menus of ‘80s-themed drinks like our Top Gun cocktail, which is Rockstar energy drink and Devotion vodka. There’s a Ronald Regan, which has a jellybean component, and there’s our Smirfarita, which is a blue margarita. As far as our ‘90s drinks, we have a Vanilla Ice, and the tag line for that is, “Word to your mother on a one-hit wonder.”
NCC: The staff uniforms are unique, right?
Watman: They were designed by Nanette Lepore and are very DayGlo green and orange. They’re super, super bright; you almost need sunglasses. With the black light on top, it really pops.
NCC: Why did Culture Club close the first go around? And why did you choose now to bring it back?
Watman: Culture Club closed originally because we sold the building it called home for eight years. We brought Culture Club back after an overwhelming grass-roots call from our fans via Facebook and the new thirst for the 1980s. We are a particular club that celebrates a true “let-your-hair-down” mentality and promotes having real fun.
NCC: What’s the hardest thing about re-launching a club that has already been open?
Watman: With social media being such a big player today as opposed to three years ago, it has been easier re-launching our brand. The mere fact that you can literally have immediate contact with thousands and thousands of people on Twitter and Facebook makes announcing anything relevant.
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Culture Club grand opening
http://www.examiner.com/culture-events-in-new-york/culture-club-grand-opening
On Wednesday October 5th, Culture Club, NYC’s only 80’s and 90’s themed dance club, held its grand opening bash in Midtown. Celebrities in attendance included Debbie Gibson, 80’s ambassador and the club’s partner, Scott Disick, Kourtney Kardashian, Nanette Lepore, DJ Kiss, DJ M.O.S, Mick Boogie, and Joshua McKinley. Small bites were passed around and the bar offered an assortment of 80’s and 90’s inspired mixed drinks. The venue itself is amazing with images of 80’s and 90’s pop culture as well as neon lights and a neon pink dance floor. Debbie Gibson got the crowd excited with her performance of Shake Your Love and an acoustic rendition of Only in My Dreams. She also had a dance-off with a Michael Jackson impersonator to the song Thriller. Guests were packing the dance floor and enjoying party favors by South Beach Smoke. They were truly having a blast. Culture Club is definitely the spot to be at for a fun night of nostalgia and dancing! It’s great to have the venue back. For more information about Culture Club, please visit www.cultureclub.com.
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Peeved party
Last Updated: 9:09 AM, October 10, 2011
Posted: 12:37 AM, October 10, 2011
Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian stopped by 1980s-themed dance club Culture Club the other night for the grand opening, but not without their trademark reality TV-style drama. Kardashian, overwhelmed by the crowds who showed up for an appearance by ’80s pop icon Debbie Gibson, stayed “for a minute,” according to spies.
A source overheard Disick telling Kardashian, “I wanted to surprise you tonight with the chance to meet your favorite pop singer, Debbie Gibson. I thought you’d be excited!” It’s too bad the couple didn’t stick around longer. They missed Gibson’s impromptu performance of “Shake Your Love,” followed by an a capella rendition of “Only in My Dreams.”
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Debbie Gibson Reopens Culture Club
http://www.okmagazine.com/2011/09/debbie-gibson-reopens-culture-club/#more-3205481
Get ready to “Shake Your Love.”
Tonight marks the reopening of ’80s and ’90s hot spot Culture Club – and pop icon Debbie Gibson is at the helm! It’s been quite a year for the 41-year-old star, who is fresh off her “Journey Through The 80s” tour with Tiffany (who she teamed up with for SyFy’s Mega Python Vs. Gatoroid), in addition to cameos in the Katy Perry video Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) and Tom Cruise flick Rock of Ages.
And now, she can call the retro nightclub, which closed in 2007, her home, as she has partnered with its new midtown NYC location.
“I’ve been an unofficial part of the club for a long time in terms of performing,” she tells me. “[Club creator] Bobby [Watman] came to me and was like ‘do you officially want to be a partner?’ In coming up with my official title, he was like ’you’re the ambassador to the 80s.’ Love it!”
After walking through the Pac-Man themed entrance, I get a first-hand look at the four floors of the venue complete with staples like the Back To The Future DeLorean and massive Rubik’s Cubes.
Tucked into a corner near the bar, which serves up drinks like The Gibson Girl and Purple Rain, I spot a huge glass-covered photo of Deb amidst the Top Gun and Bon Jovi posters. Oh yes – it’s the pic from the multi-colored Electric Youth t-shirt, circa 1989, I recall. She shows me her Electric Youth tour jacket – similar to a high school jacket – and memorabilia case that includes an unspooled Out of The Blue cassette.
“I have a passion for all things 80s,” Debbie says. “80s music is pure escapism – fun, unashamedly melodic and catchy. I think people are longing to go back to that time again. I love that they brought it back. It was gone for a few years, and people were always asking – I knew a lot of friends who would come and dance at the old one. I don’t want to go to a hip-hop club. I want to go to a club to dance, and this is that place.”
She continues, “Younger people love the 80s now. They’ve discovered it for themselves, and it’s become cool. In L.A., I always say to my boyfriend [Dr. Rutledge Taylor] ‘I want to go dance, but there is no place that’s going to play the music that I want to hear.’ There’s been nothing like this since the last incarnation of Culture Club, so it is a one-of-a-kind place.”
Most exciting are the upcoming special performances – including Debbie herself!
“I won’t be the house band, but if I’m in town, and I want to perform, I know that I have this great place to perform, and I can do things with advance notice or as a surprise. It’s a place I can perform, and host events or parties. It’s like a home away from home.”
Clubgoers never know what other celebrity guests they’ll see in the venue.
“I have a fond memory of performing here after my opening night of Cabaret, because I was already committed to perform. I had done my opening night on a Friday night, and went right from my opening night of Cabaret to here and did a midnight show. I always remember Neil Patrick Harris sitting on the edge of the stage, because we were doing Cabaret together, watching my set.”
But Debbie won’t be the only retro act who takes the stage. She hopes to feature favorites like Lisa Lisa, Gloria Estefan, Rick Astley, Samantha Fox, Billy Idol, Stacey Q and the cast of Saved By The Bell.
“I might have to drag Jordan Knight out,” she says. “That would be fun. It helps to have friends from that era!”
I’m vying for my personal favorite (aside from Debbie) – The Party! After all, she wrote their 1990 tune Ton of Bricks, and they would totally rock the 90s floor.
She sings, “You hit me, you hit me, you hit me … like a ton of bricks.”
Damon Pampolina (my only celebrity crush ever) is ready to make it happen – yes!
But first, Debbie will perform at the grand opening event next week.
Talk about “Only In My Dreams.”
Here’s my pic with Debbie at the club and backstage on her tour:
Visit Culture Club, located at 20 West 39th Street, in NYC. You know I’ll be there!
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The Feed openings: Saxon + Parole, Fleisher’s Grass-fed & Organic Meats and more
Culture Club Debbie Gibson puts her Electric Youth clout behind this ’80s-themed dance club, moving from downtown to midtown. The four-story space recalls the neon decade with oversize Rubik’s Cubes, movie posters from classics like The Breakfast Club and Top Gun, and waitresses donning bright green-and-orange cocktail dresses, designed by Nanette Lepore. Before hitting the dance floor, revelers can fuel up on kitschy cocktails, like the vodka-and-energy-drink Top Gun “Feel the Need for Speed,” and shots, such as the Bon Jovi “Slippery When Wet,” made with honey-flavored whiskey, ginger liqueur and Diet Coke. 20 W 39th St between Fifth and Sixth Aves (212-921-1999)
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Like the decade it celebrates, this Club is over-the-top. It’s a place “to relive the era when everything was just a little bit bigger, louder and brighter,” says owner Robert Waltman, who’s partnered in this Garment District reboot with onetime teen idol and opening-night performer Debbie Gibson. Featuring three floors—each with its own bar and deejay—and a pending, smoker-friendly rooftop, the new location, like its former home on Varick Street, promises to be awash in nostalgia. Think wall-sized pictures of Tina Turner, Tom Cruise and Michael Jackson, a giant Rubik’s Cube in lieu of a disco ball, Pac-man seats and—Great Scott!—a copy of the Back to the Future time machine.
If you were too young to walk like an Egyptian at the likes of Manhattan mega-clubs Limelight and the Palladium, here’s your opportunity to dress like Madonna or Miami Vice‘s Crockett and Tubbs, sip a Top Gun-inspired cocktail (a.k.a an energy drink and vodka) and experience a more innocent time when Two-and-a-Half Men’s Jon Cryer was simply known as “Ducky” and Charlie Sheen was considered cool.
In celebration of Culture Club’s epic return to New York nightlife, NiteTables brings you five places you can go to relive the extravagance of the 80s, spandex optional.
http://www.nitetables.com/blog/culture-club-returns-plus-other-totally-awesome-80s-nights
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Culture Club Three Floors of Nostalgia – September 23, 2011
Bars / Midtown
From our friends at Thrillist:
http://thrillist.com/bars/new-york/ny/10018/midtown-/culture-club_bars_clubs_latenight_live-music
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Whether it’s a person or a career, resuscitating something usually involves three things: a little bit of luck, lots of perseverance, and a bathing suit bursting with disconcertingly huge knockers. Reviving itself and the ’80s: The Culture Club.
After a 4yr hiatus, this multi-floored, mostly ’80s (don’t freak out, but one floor is ’90s-themed) mega-club has been reborn by a pair of longtime nightlife vets, and, natch, Debbie Gibson, and’s crammed with nostalgia-inducing elements because “everything about the ’80s was over-the top”, so bring on the backward-hatted arm wrestling!
The club’s myriad rooms (and pending roof deck) will dizzy you with Haring-esque drawings on the ceiling, a light-up dance floor, and wall-sized photos of icons from Tina Turner, to MJ, to Cruise, plus kitsch from a DeLorean flying through a wall, to a giant Rubik’s Cube hanging from the ceiling, to Pac Man stools, which are usually just a bunch of pellets…and maybe like three pieces of fruit.
To make it all seem less weird, the drinks’re potent and fittingly fruit-forward, like the energy drink & vodka Top Gun, the blue Smurf-arita, and a vodka/triple sec/cran number made with Tab called the Back to the Future, fueling your delusions of looking McFly.
Each floor will have its own DJs spinning hits from you-know-when, and you can even expect the occasional special performance from stars of the decade, hopefully not including the Hoff, as then you’re going to need a little bit of luck, a lot of perseverance, and at least two cheeseburgers if you expect to eat any yourself.
Tumble over to CultureClub.com for more info on events, reservations and way more ’80s greatness
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From our friends at NYC Popsugar.com:
http://nyc.popsugar.com/Culture-Club-80s-Dance-Club-Midtown-NYC-Pictures-19145044
While I was just a young’n in the ’80s, that minor detail has never stopped me from rocking my best version of the decade’s finest fashions and wiling out to Prince, The Bangles, and New Kids on the Block when the chance presents itself. I know you’ll agree — whether you owned that Flock of Seagulls ‘do or live to emulate the neon stylings at the next themed party, there’s always room in our hearts for the culturally radical vacuum that defines the ’80s.
So it’s with a rare mix of excitement, silliness, and nostalgia that I urge you to hit up the revamped reopening of Culture Club (20 W. 39th St., 212-921-1999), the city’s premier ’80s-themed dance club and, in my opinion, the closest you’ll get to reliving that era’s greatest rock-out moments. Click through to find out seven reasons you must hit up Culture Club starting Friday, Sept. 30. Between the Bon Jovi homage, Pac-Man chomping, Top Gun imagery, and oh did I mention Debbie Gibson will be performing on opening night? It’s going to be a time-travelin’ good time.
We will be posting Picture and Videos of the new location as soon as we open.
Culture Club Promo
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