A La Porte De Le Balajo

In the mid-80s DJs Albert Grintuch and his partner Serge Duprat took over the Bastille nightclub, Le Balajo. Once a week our crowd of rockers filled the large dancehall.I worked the door with Jacques Negrit as security. The barmen and waitresses were the same surly staff as the other nights of the week featuring accordion bands to a rough working class clientele. None was more vraiment Le Balajo than Daniel, the bullish barman, who was a Pigalle wrestler on his off-nights.

Daniel's disagreeability was a matter of Gallic pride.

More than occasionally Jacques and I would hear a disturbance at the bar, but before we could attend to the fracas, Daniel would grab the offender by the scuff of the neck and throw him into the street.

As Albert recently explained his technique, "Quand ca chauffait Daniel le catcheur ne prenait pas la peine d ouvrir les portes vitree de l'entree pour balancer les clients un peut trop debordant, resultat, on remplacait continuelement les lourdes."

In English simply put Daniel chucked out the client without opening the glass doors, which required their replacement with thicker glass door.

Those were the days.

Guess which one in the photo was Daniel?"

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Much more to come__

December 6, 1985 Paris Journal

What a night! Hundreds upon hundreds of BCBG young people thronged to the Royal Lieu on a side street off Boulevard l'Opera. Total chaos, but Jacques Negrit and I filtered in the wanted and told the unwanted to please go somewhere else. Out capacity was 260. We let in close to 500. We made everyone pay. 150 Francs. Almost $15. And drinks were $10. The clientele didn't care. They came from the 16th Arrondisement. The BCBG or Boone Chic Bonne Gens were slobs. They thought themselves better than us. Maybe they were right, but we treated those types to a simple, "Not tonight."

A good night. Good money for all of us. Thanks to Albert de Paname and Serge Duprat. DJs Mondial.