Disco Years (Hardcover)

by Ron Galella (Photographer), Michael Musto (Afterword), Anthony Haden-Guest (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Illuminated by Galella's paparazzi flashbulb, or maybe just the drugs, these photos of Grace Jones, Mick Jagger, Liza Minnelli and other instantly recognizable faces mythologize the New York club scene. Everyone's young (Brooke Shields, Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart), and there's plenty of skin, glitter and sizzle—but the sense of nakedness comes from the stars' unmasked elation, confidence and desire. Many of the photos were taken at Studio 54 in the late '70s; a few look back to 1967, when Andy Warhol presented Nico and the Velvet Underground at Gymnasium; others spin ahead to the late '80s. Regardless of era, nearly every picture demands a double take. (Oct. 22)
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Product Description
The definitive visual diary of the New York club scene in the seventies, Disco Years presents an astounding collection of photographs from America’s premier nightlife photographer, Ron Galella. His candid shots of the era’s fabulous fashionistas, indulgent rock idols, outlandish artists, mystical muses, jet-setting socialities, and fantastic freaks reveal the delicious decadence that defined the decade.

Disco Years brings us the high life, literally and figuratively. Featuring unforgettable photographs of Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Taylor, Halston, Steve Rubell, Ian Schrager, Liza Minnelli, Grace Jones, Madonna, Diane von Furstenberg, Mick and Bianca Jagger, Keith Richards, Truman Capote, Gloria Vanderbilt, Dolly Parton, Brooke Shields, Cher, Raquel Welch, David Bowie, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Jackson, and John Belushi, among countless others, Disco Years takes us back to a time when skiing was an indoor activity, velvet ropes were high security, and incredible style was the only requirement.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: powerHouse Books (October 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576873250
• ISBN-13: 978-1576873250
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #236,880 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Disco inferno still burning after all these years, December 13, 2006

By	Glenn Belverio "Author of Confessions from th... (New York City) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"[Galella's] strongest period was the 1970's when his reality-based photography style was in perfect sync with that decade's gritty approach to filmmaking, a time when Hollywood had largely discarded the sugar-coated schmaltz of 50's and 60's artifice....Here is a startled Bette Midler looking behind her shoulder at the Grammy Awards, her askew tiara making her look like a lost, overgrown trick-or-treater. Alfred Hitchcock at the premiere of his film Family Plot wearing a stony, zombie-like expression that recalls Tor Johnson's performance in Plan 9 From Outer Space. A pre-Saturday Night Fever John Travolta already basking in fame, a crowd of fans restrained mere inches away and behaving as if Travolta's then unadulterated charisma had driven them to fits of ecstasy. And a miniscule Herve Villechaize ducking under a velvet rope at the Golden Globe awards like a mischievous gremlin hell-bent on carrying out acts of sabotage on the glamorous proceedings. Despite Galella's cinema verite hand, there is a persistent dream-like quality that emerges throughout the book. There are moments when the images almost threaten to tumble into a vortex where reality and fantasy merge - like the spiraling narrative of the amnesiac actress in Mulholland Drive, David Lynch's savagely surreal commentary on Tinseltown. Of all the visions in Galella's work, however, the most sobering seems to be the reminder of the ephemeral nature of fame and flesh."

-From my essay on Galella's work that accompanied an exhibition of his photos

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book!, November 16, 2008

By	Sarah Beth Menchel "Fashion Student" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I only just flipped through this book today in a store and I am already asking for it as a gift. The photography is amazing and being that I am too young to have experienced the 1970s, I am absolutely fascinated by the decade and wish I could have lived through it myself. Looking through the photos makes me feel as if I was there, and gives me a different glimpse of what really went on inside Studio 54, other than watching the movie, 54. :) The book is organized wonderfully and I cannot wait to have it to myself!