“Disco Sucks!”
Steve Dahl
Not a sentiment I agree with at all, but a noteworthy use of Shatter nonetheless!
On July 12, 1979, Chicago’s Comiskey Park, in an attempt to reinvigorate ticket sales, offered a special promotion with early shock jock Steve Dahl. The promotion? Bring a disco record for discounted admission and Dahl will explode the collected vinyl after the first game. The result? Thousands rushing onto the field, property damage, riot police, the forfeit of the second game, and what has come to be seen as the key event that heralded the decline of disco’s heyday: Disco Demolition Night.
Who exactly is responsible for this use of Shatter has been hard to determine. In all the photos I’ve seen of Mr. Dahl in this shirt the legibility of the copyright credit has been poor. From the clearest photo I’ve come across (found in the book Disco Demolition: The Night Disco Died) the credit appears to read “squealer est.”
A banner at Comiskey Park the night of the promotion/demolition
Another angle of the same banner. This still is taken from the American Experience episode “The War on Disco.”
2 Comments on ““Disco Sucks!””
Most likely “squealer ent.”, as in entertainment, no? [Illinois’ Secretary of State has a business name search, but this no longer appears.]
That’s what I originally read it as, but it really does look like “est.” in the Disco Demolition book. I even consulted with several other people to see what they could make out, and the consensus seemed to be “est.”
With a humorous name like “squealer” (if I’m even reading that part right) I have a feeling it might be closely associated with Dahl.