Club celebration

[kyda]

I am member of a club that is celebrating it's 50th year this year. We are wanting to have a big dance, my question is would a swing band be appropriate or would a DJ playing music from the 60's be better. Also had the fashion changed much or was it still very much in the 50's style still??????

 

[Paisley]

What kind of club is it? What would most of the members like to hear?

 

[Joie DeVive]

I'm with Paisley. What music you choose should reflect what you think the members might want to hear. Big bands are very classy, but they might be more expensive (I really have no idea, but I'm guessing) than a DJ. Of course you could always hire a DJ to do swing music too...

Now as to the styles of the 60s. It depends very much what part of the 1960s you are talking about and where. I understand that some places in the world adopted the new 1960s styles way sooner than others. According to my parents, the western US largely kept the same styles from the 50s through the middle of the 1960s, and even after that, "the squares" kept it. The mod and hippie styles started showing up after about 1965 where my parents were. If you go Motown or Beach Boys you are probably safe with more 1950s styles, but my guess would be that if you just announce 1960s, you'll get a mish-mash of styles, leaning towards the tie-dye hippie look. Just a guess.

 

[Lily Powers]

I agree that you want to do something that your current members would enjoy. If you do go forward with a celebration based on the club's early days, does your club have any archival photos from when it first started? Those might offer a good visual to base your fashion ideas on. If you're keeping your music true to a certain era, Big Bands weren't so big in 1959 - Jackie Wilson, The Coasters, Bobby Darin, Ray Charles... their music was big in 1959/1960. Tell us more about the club.

 

[kyda]

clubs.

The club is the Mini Club, as in the car the Mini. The car came out 50 years ago so this year is a big year. I do not drive a mini or tinker with them, that is my DH's thing, it is a very family friendly club so they encourage the whole family to get involved. I am friends with the President and she said that she was looking for idea's for something that would be big, well I suggested a dance, with the bunting, swing band and we all dress like they did when the car came out ( 1958/ 1959)

 

[Paisley]

Swing bands went out of fashion after WWII (not that there's anything wrong with having one at your party). Do most of your club members know how to swing dance, or at least social dance? If they aren't dancers, they'll probably just mill around. Are they into vintage? If they aren't, they're very unlikely to dress period, I think. At least in my circle, buying an outfit to wear once is a luxury most won't indulge in.

OTOH, hiring a small band with a good singer to play standards would be more in keeping with the period and would be cheaper than a big band. Having some gaming tables (and betting with chips) would be fun too. You could call it a Rat Pack night.

 

[dhermann1]

I would think maybe some British Invasion music would be appropriate, and maybe Austin Powers or Man From Uncle stuff, or even On the Buses.
Swing would be way off base.
Hey! Mr Bean!!! Probably the most famous Mini driver of them all.
Here's the Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini

 

[Paisley]

I think '59 was before the era of Austin Powers, the British Invasion, the mod look, etc. (Again, nothing wrong with using that theme if the members will enjoy it.) The beatniks were around then, but I don't associate them with a rip-roaring good time.

British Invasion music is still very popular, but here in Denver, it's been played to death on oldies stations.

 

[dhermann1]

The Mini was introduced in 1958, but really came into popularity in the early 60's, so it's kind of a 60's cultural icon, at least in Britain. That's why I suggested the Eng-a-land Swings theme.