High life
Clubland
Taki
New York The disco war of New York heated up and exploded this week. The three major powers of disco — Studio 54, Xenon and Regine's, each using the same battle plan — tried for outright victory in a Dionysian orgy of free drinks, drugs and sex. The war of the discos is over the Core, the roughly 1.000 strong, mostly bisexual Quaalude and coke brigade that makes or breaks a place. The disco that attracts the Core is the undisputed numero uno. For the last year Studio 54 was king. And its diminutive, self-admitted homosexual owner, Steve Rubel!, the most powerful man since Frank Costello. But his three-million-dollar profit of last year inspired Xenon.
Xenon means strange or stranger, or mystical, in Greek. The game plan was to create a place with the craziness of Studio 54 and the comfort of Regine's. The co-owner is Peppo Vanini, a Swiss-Italian who has been successful in running nightclubs in Europe, mainly the Kings Club in St Moritz, Vanini decided to sink Rube11 by taking over the
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old Henry Miller Theater on West 43rd Street and installing more gimmicks than Star Wars and Close Encounters combined, like a shooting gallery, three dimensions of neon, activated by laser beams, shot from the balcony.
But there is more than just gimmicks needed to capture the Core. This is done by special parties thrown by the discos for the Core. Xenon fired the first shot this week —recognised even by old-time social observers as the frenziest ever — by inviting 750 beautiful people to honour Marisa Berenson's return from an unsuccessful marriage to a Los Angeles gangster but a successful plastic surgery on her face following a car accident. As Marisa entered a giant screen flashed a picture of her cuddling her baby. who already looks like George Raft. Marisa swooned with delight, the crowds outside threw plastic bags of excrement in fury at being outside. Truman Capote kissed the guest of honour and declared her 'The worst actress but best kept middle-age girl of the year.' The paparazzi had a field day. The papers next day relegated the Shah's trouble to the back pages and Xenon had become a household word.
Rube11 counter-attacked by giving a birthday party. The Press, the Arts, the jet-set, cafe society and every rich queen in' New York was invited. After caviar and champagne the BPs were taken by bus to the Studio. A seven-foot cake in the shape of a Spectator 9 December 1978 Quaalude was wheeled in while thous of streamers and confetti rained down. teen hundred gay voices sang `FlappY bJthe day to Steve' and then . . pop went giant cake-pill and out popped a half-nal° Negro woman who, at closer inspeettcgi' turned out to be Bianca Jagger. Shethrenwt her arms up in the air like a trinnIPItt atotr boxer while five gee-stringed yvi climbed on top and carried her downe' Rubell was visibly touched. He took the microphone and offered everYnris Quaaludes. There was a riot and the gonn were called in. The next day, the middle' east talks were not even mentioned. not Last but not least came Regine. u A n compete with those clowns,' she told Me. run a reputable house. I will not allow drill and rampant homosexuality in my Placco a couple want to make love, they can alw".ra go up to my apartment.' Regine gave.te charity ball for Vitas Gerulaitis's favontli charity. At 500 dollars a ticket, she enlected 100,000 dollars to teach 0°,1' privileged children tennis. Once tn°1,.;,; politics were swept from the front page vs.'s pictures of the beautiful people. Reg'ne vlbut ecstatic. 'Not only we got good publieffY,,, helped all those people in Harlem to ,e to play tennis,' she said. But a friend of expressed doubeThe way this city is the money could wind up buying the puiPeruvian instead of tennis lessons.'
Still, it was a good week.
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