discotheques

The increase in available leisure time in the 1960s (the average working week reduced by nearly 10 hours a week post-WWII) afforded greater freedom. 

One form of entertainment that arrived to fill this new leisure time, and appealed particularly to young people, was the discotheque.

These jazzed-up dance halls provided not only the opportunity to hear the records of the latest pop stars and let out 'generation-gap' frustrations on the dance floor, but also the chance to show off (and see) the latest fashions and to learn the new dance routines from the demonstrating "go-go" girls

The first discotheque opened in London in 1961. The atmosphere was radically different from that of a traditional dance hall. There was dancing to records played by a DJ, rather than to an orchestra, big band or other live music.

As the discotheque scene went wild in the Sixties, handfuls of publicity leaflets (pictured at left) were given away to passers-by in Central London advertising the latest "in" place to dance - some with stylish topical designs. 

Westminster City Council banned them in 1970 as they were causing a litter problem.

The first real American discotheque, the Whisky-A-Go-Go, opened on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles on January 11 1963. The proprietor was Elmer Valentine, a former policeman from Chicago.

In August 1968, Dr David M Lipscomb, director of the University of Tennessee Audio Lab, reported that a guinea pig subjected to 88 hours of music recorded in a discotheque suffered acute inner ear damage. 

Steve Paul, owner of New York discotheque The Scene, told the New York Times; "Should a major increase in guinea pig attendance occur at The Scene, we'll certainly bear their comfort in mind".