The club was infamous for widespread drug use and hosting underage girls at parties, but it was also a popular spot among rock stars, including Cherie Currie, Joan Jett, and Iggy Pop.
In late December, they moved the club away from the strip to 7561 Sunset Boulevard with the new name, Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco.
Bowie biographers Henry Edwards and Tony Zanetta noted, "The crowd at the club ranged in age from twelve to fifteen... nymphet groupies were stars in their tight little world.
Some dressed like Shirley Temple; others wore dominatrix outfits or 'Hollywood underwear,' a knee-length shirt, nylon stockings, and garter belts.
"[2] Watney's Red Barrel beer imported from England was served on tap at the club,[3] but the underage groupies' favorite drink there was cherry cola.
NME writer Mick Farren observed, "They were number one on the groupie target roster, and Rodney Bingenheimer would be pandering to them as they sat in the back of his cupboard-sized discotheque getting their dicks sucked by thirteen-year-olds under the table.
"[5] In 1987 Pamela Des Barres wrote, "...they called me awful names at Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco, old being the most popular odious declaration of loathing.
"[7] Newsweek magazine reported in January 1974 that "The dance floor is a dizzy kaleidoscope of lamè hotpants, sequined halters, rhinestone-studded cheeks, thrift-store anythings and see-through everythings.
Our adventurous spirit actually fit in with the prevalent freewheeling attitude of the time, and mixed with the handfuls of pills we were taking, as well as the Olde English 800s we guzzled in back alleys, it made sexual classifications totally irrelevant.
'I may dress flash, but I’m no faggot,' sniffs 18-year-old Kenny (Doll) Malloy, sporting a Lurex halter and tight satin pants.
Even if they ostensibly have a partner on the dance floor, each glistening form is alone, drinking in his or her own image that fades to faceted infinity in the three mirrored walls that surround the floor, fading like the British single whose last distant note will be instantly overwhelmed by the opening bass of the next song before silence is allowed to.
In 1989, former Runaways lead singer Cherie Currie wrote of her experiences at the club, "Marie likes Bowie, but she doesn't go all out-not as much as I do.
Kid Congo, later guitarist with The Cramps and Gun Club, remembered "Iggy on the street outside the Disco, pulling his dress up and exposing himself, and Rodney crying because he thought he was going to be arrested.
In 1999 writer Lisa Fancher wrote how Joan Jett "was walking up to Rodney’s one Friday night when she saw a dead body out front, an obvious OD, and nobody was paying any attention at all.
In October a "Death of Glitter" night was held at the Hollywood Palladium, with performances by the New York Dolls, Iggy Pop and Silverhead.
Surfers from Malibu were there in midriff shirts, silver space boots, and blue eye makeup, hugging their girlfriends as they waited to get in.
"[15] Her feelings were shared by Bebe Buell, who recalled, "There were also a large number of strange-looking young girls dressed up like Christmas ornaments rushing around, or just camping around in front of some rock star’s (hotel) rooms with their coolers and radios.
Pleasant Gehman later wrote, "We were a crowd of groupies, teenage hustlers, bisexual schoolgirls, and fringy, juvenile sluts looking for a good time.
We’d hang out at weird coffeeshops (like Arthur J’s, the Gold Cup, and Danielle’s, where drag-queen hookers would meet their tricks in the bathroom), or we’d go to Westwood to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show[17] for the millionth time.