The Disco Encounter

“Disco sucks, you fruit.”

In 1979 I was delivering newspapers one afternoon, wearing a shirt I had custom made with iron on letters. The message: “Disco: Ignore It And Maybe It Will Go Away.” It was at the height of the “disco invasion,” a time when most of us felt that the music and lifestyle associated to it was taking over every facet of our lives. Established entertainers were releasing disco albums. Shiny satin shirts and other expensive clothes were all the rage, even with those who could not afford the lifestyle. TV shows were Disco-tizing their theme songs. Disco versions of popular non-disco albums were available at the local Music Market.

My shirt was a direct cry against the genre saturation we all felt.

I don’t recall what I paid to have it made, but I do recall the phrase was coined by my sister Janice. Two guys – possibly stoners and obviously rockers, passed me as I was hauling my paper cart, and made it known how much they hated disco.

“That’s what it says,” I replied to them. “That is, if you can read.”

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