Everything your parents did not want you to do, you did. At the disco! From the saccharin sweet holding-hands-while-roller-skating to dirty dancing cheek-to-cheek (they still do it, call it ‘bumping’) the disco became the center of all envy in the 70s and the 80s. Some of us who missed the era (because we were too young to disco, or were just not born) now simply trawl through song sharing sites and marvel at all the goings on in places that signified ‘glamour’: like Studio 54 in New York. In fact it was so popular, even celebrities had to stand in the queue like everyone else to be whetted and screened because if you were not ‘it’ you wouldn’t be allowed to enter. Elizabeth Taylor, Andy Warhol, Mick and Bianca Jagger, Sly Stallone, Elton John. Liza Minnelli, Mikhail Baryshnikov and everyone who was a name have enjoyed the experience that was disco.

Check: Shiny shimmery dresses (if short show shoulder, if long, halter neck!) for girls, glittery white bell bottomed pants, pointy collared shirts with geometric prints held together with silk threads (no buttons) for guys, high heeled shoes for both men and women.

And that was just the beginning. You needed to be cool to be able to be "disco"! In fact, the song "Le Freak" which is by far one of the biggest selling songs in the world today, was written because the lyricists were denied an entry to the discotheque!

Cinema has its own disco gods who have ruled ever since Disco Station was sung with wild abandon on the silver screen. Saturday Night Fever embodies everything that was superb about disco movies. John Travolta and his signature dance moves are emulated (but never bested), to this day!

Usha Uthup of course deserves special mention because she was queen of all disco songs. Remember "this"? Among the male singers, although RD Burman gave a unique sound to his ‘disco’ songs, it is the inimitable Bappi Lahiri that brought you all the disco you can live on until you die.

Disco gave birth to the dancing superstar Mithun. He is and will always be Jimmy. Rajesh Khanna tried to be "disco" and ended up as a pop star . Shashi Kapoor roller disco’ed in Aa Gale Lag Ja, but it seems fake even today. Rishi Kapoor tried his hand at disco too ( link to "hum kisi se kam nahin") but Mithun’s Gunmaster G-9 beats anything anyone else has tried to before or after. And the one name that constantly pops up, despite "Laila O Laila" by Zeenat Aman and "Jawaan Jaaneman" by Parveen Babi, is that of Reena Roy. She single handedly rules all sequinned outfits that you could ever wear to a disco. In fact, her shiny. glossy lips have sung more disco songs than you can remember.

So at the beginning of this wonderful new year, dig out your go-go boots (admit it, you bought them on e-bay!), bring out your gold chains, and get ready to dance under the big shiny disco ball...Don’t forget to add your favorite video to this list!

"Disco station " from Haathkadi

"I Am A Disco Dancer " from Disco Dancer

"John Travolta Disco Dancing " from Saturday Night Fever

"Jimmy Aaja" from from Disco Dancer

"Dard-E-Disco" from Om Shanti Om

"Auva Auva" from Disco Dancer

"Saara zamana" from Yaarana

"Its the time to disco" from Kal Ho Naa Ho

song Name

Add media from (Youtube, AnyClip, Flickr, MovieClips)

 

 

Your contribution (no more than 1024 characters)

submit

cancel