The War on Disco, an American Experience documentary, premieres on PBS Monday, October 30. The film looks at disco’s eruption in the clubs and family rooms of America in the mid ‘70s, and on radio’s airwaves. It also looks at those who did not welcome its arrival, and the Disco Demolition Night event at Comiskey Park in Chicago in July 1979.
Arranged by local radio personality Steve Dahl, who had lost his job at a rock station when the station switched to disco, and Mike Veeck, Chicago White Sox promotions manager, Disco Demolition Night featured a crate of disco records being blown up on the field. Fans could buy tickets for just 98 cents, provided they brought a disco record destined for the bonfire. Some 48,000 tickets — Comiskey’s largest crowd of the year — were sold, according to Chicago TV station WGN.
The bonfire stunt happened in between games of a White Sox doubleheader. Thousands of fans stormed onto the field, which became damaged to the point where the second game had to be postponed.
Thirty-nine people were arrested at Comiskey Park that night, WGN reported.
Disco Demolition Night is seen as a factor in disco’s eventual demise.
The War on Disco goes for 53 minutes.
“A story that’s about much more than music, The War on Disco explores how the powerful anti-disco backlash revealed a cultural divide that to some seemed to be driven by racism and homophobia,” according to PBS.
WGBH Boston produces American Experience, which has been on for 35 years. The series focuses on “the incredible characters and epic stories that have shaped America’s past and present,” according to WGBH.
