Nocturnal Admissions

April 11, 2022
A world “unbound by the restrictions... of daytime responsibilities” comes to exuberant life in Adelman’s debut, a chronicling of his decades-long tenure in the nightclub scene. Determined to one day recreate his own version of “Ricky’s Tropicana Club” in I Love Lucy, Adelman left his childhood home in Michigan’s suburbs for N.Y.C. in the mid-1980s. By the early ’90s, he was the 30-something director of five of Manhattan’s largest nightclubs, including the legendary Roxy and the Limelight; in the next 10 years, he’d open clubs in Boston, Hollywood, and Singapore. In stories that pulsate like an EDM track, Adelman gives readers VIP access to that glitzy bygone era’s swirling parties littered with drugs and alcohol. Along the way, he details the “controlled process” of maniacal publicity stunts—fueled by the fascinating symbiotic relationship of celebrities and club promoters who manipulated the press—and offers an entertaining who’s who of club-going stars, from RuPaul to a “recently divorced” Donald Trump, who’d “turn up with a young model type, then call it in himself to the tabloids.” While the New York club scene crumbled under city crackdowns throughout the aughts, Adelman concludes on an optimistic note, claiming that a new golden age of nightlife—“the perfect storm of pent-up demand meeting a changing society”—is approaching. Partygoers will be dazzled.

June 1, 2022

During the golden age of the dance club scene in the 1990s and 2000s, Adelman was the director of New York City's most popular nightclubs, the Roxy, Limelight, Tunnel, and Palladium, and he shares his glitter-sprinkled memories in this new memoir. Growing up in Michigan, Adelman didn't think much was going to happen to him, but he would go on to set up clubs in Boston, Hollywood, Singapore, and Memphis and be recognized as the cofounder of the Avalon nightlife brand. He credits his success to his power of observation and in this memoir he shares his behind-the-scenes observations from his 30-year nightlife career. He also shares his "learned axioms" (or "laxioms" as he calls them), his life code: for instance, "Laxiom #6: Hire slow, fire quick." Of course, Adelman also dishes about the famous people he rubbed elbows with at his clubs: club kids and drag performers like Hedda Lettuce; celebrities like RuPaul, Bruce Willis, and Snoop Dog; and opinionated types like Bob Dylan and Jerry Falwell, with whom Adelman butted heads. VERDICT A fun homage to '90s pop culture and nightlife that will interest readers who lived it or who wish they had.--Rosellen "Rosy" Brewer

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