Rock and Roll Meltdown: The Circus Nightclub Story 1979 – 1983

In 1979, rock and roll was in revolution. While FM radio covered the nation with a nonstop format of Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner, Kansas, Styx, Led Zeppelin, and more Fleetwood Mac, it was a different story in rock clubs all over America. In dingy, sweaty venues from LA to New York, punk rock and new wave bands were rewriting the story of rock and roll. And in New Jersey, the club scene was exploding as a result of the drinking age having been lowered to eighteen just a few years earlier. By this time, the rock and roll storm had already been brewing for several years. From Ramsey to Carteret, from Hoboken and Fort Lee, to the little town of Bergenfield, it was a time of great clubs and even greater music. Brothers Rick and Jack – barely out of their teens themselves – and their dad, Jack Sr., opened one of the premiere rock clubs in the New York metropolitan area. They had to hustle and learn the ropes quickly while dealing with underage drinkers, nightly fights, the out of control drug scene, local authorities, and a pool of seasoned sharks that were controlling the entertainment industry. Cyndi Lauper, The Ramones, Papa John Creach, New Riders of the Purple Sage, John Kay and Steppenwolf, Johnny Thunders, Twisted Sister, David Johansen, Robert Hunter, Rick Danko, Joe Perry, Steve Forbert; they were all there, live on stage and in your face. The cover bands and tribute acts that performed up and down the East Coast were phenomenal too, sometimes even outdrawing the recording artists. This book chronicles those times, and gives a first-hand account of a club owner's recollections of that famed era, and the fallen rock scene that followed. You'll be captivated by interviews with band members, rock fans, and former employees, who witnessed this special time in rock history, who tell their story as only they can. The author places you in the front row and gives you a peek behind the curtain of a rock club at the center of this revolution.