The Club Kids were a group of young New York City club personalities mostly led by Michael Alig and James St. James in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The group was notable for their elaborate and outrageous costumes and rampant drug use – in particular, ecstasy, ketamine, cocaine and heroin.
Alig's notability and influence grew, and at one point he was on the payrolls of several clubs owned by Peter Gatien for simply showing up with his entourage, since their behavior attracted customers. Alig and the Club Kids also began holding illegal "outlaw" parties in various public places, including a donut shop, the old high line tracks before their conversion to a park, and the New York subway. At the height of their cultural popularity, the Club Kids toured the United States and appeared on several talk shows, such as Geraldo, The Joan Rivers Show, and the Phil Donahue Show.
The 1998 documentary film Party Monster: The Shockumentary and the 2003 feature film Party Monster – both directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato – were based upon the memoir Disco Bloodbath by Club Kid James St. James, an autobiographical recount of his life. The films focused the murder of Angel Melendez by Michael Alig and "Freeze" Riggs.
Famous quotes containing the words club and/or kids:
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—“Jennie June” Croly 1829–1901, U.S. founder of the woman’s club movement, journalist, author, editor. Demorest’s Illustrated Monthly and Mirror of Fashions, p. 204 (August 1866)
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