AFTR/IMG · ROOM · HURRAH · CONF VERIFIED
Hurrah
Overview
New York's first 'rock disco', opened near Lincoln Center in November 1976 by Arthur Weinstein, with booking agent Ruth Polsky routing UK post-punk acts' first US dates, music-video monitors on the floor over a year before MTV launched, David Bowie's 'Fashion' filmed on-site, and Joy Division's US debut booked three days before Ian Curtis died.
Hurrah opened in November 1976 at 36 West 62nd Street (months before Studio 54) created by promoter Arthur Weinstein (who would later open The World, The Jefferson, and The Continental) as what its management would call New York's first 'rock disco': a large dance room that replaced the era's dominant disco programming with punk, new wave, no wave, and industrial. Under successive managers Henry Schissler and then Jim Fouratt, and with Ruth Polsky as booking agent, Hurrah became the primary conduit for British post-punk acts' first American performances, the Cure, the Specials, the Slits, Bauhaus, Ultravox, Klaus Nomi, and Mission of Burma among them. Polsky maintained close working relationships with Factory Records and other UK independent labels, personally routing these tours into the room; her role has been documented in detail by Fouratt, who took over management after Schissler's departure. Hurrah pioneered the use of music-video screens as a live club element, placing monitors throughout the room more than a year before MTV's August 1, 1981 launch, a model later cited as a direct precursor to music television's aesthetic. David Bowie was filmed there in 1980 for the promotional clip for 'Fashion.' Two incidents fixed the room in post-punk legend: in December 1978, during a Skafish performance, Sid Vicious attacked Todd Smith (Patti Smith's brother) in the club, an altercation that landed Vicious at Rikers Island for two months; in May 1980, Joy Division were booked for their first-ever US dates (May 21–23 at Hurrah), but Ian Curtis's suicide on May 18 cancelled the engagement. Ruth Polsky, one of the key figures of the New York–London post-punk axis, died in a taxi accident in 1986. Hurrah closed in early 1981.
Oral histories & archival media
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Sonic profile
Cultural role
DJs, promoters & people
Arthur Weinstein
Owner · Founder; also created The World (1988), The Jefferson, and The Continental. Full partnership structure at Hurrah is not confirmed beyond his primary credit.
Henry Schissler
Promoter · Early manager under Weinstein; departed before Jim Fouratt took over.
Jim Fouratt
Promoter · Later manager; documented the Hurrah/Joy Division/Factory Records history in detail on his blog.
Ruth Polsky
Promoter · Booking agent; principal conduit for British post-punk acts' first US dates, with close Factory Records and Rough Trade ties. Died 1986 in a taxi accident on the night of the New Music Seminar.
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