

It led the Bee Gees, already in their imperial era, to absolutely dominate the charts in 1978 to an unheard-of degree. That album sold tens of millions of copies, and it remains one of the 10 biggest-selling albums of all time. Travolta was nominated for an Oscar, and he went on to star in 1978’s biggest movie.īut in terms of cultural impact, the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack arguably had an even bigger impact than the movie. It made a star out of John Travolta, previously known mostly for playing a Tony Manero-esque kid on the sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter.
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In the booming film year of 1977, it earned more than any movie that wasn’t Star Wars or Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. It earned more than $100 million against a budget of less than $5 million. Instead, you think about the spectacle of Travolta peacocking around a lit-up dancefloor, making the entire club stop to watch. If you see the image of Travolta, resplendent in a white suit, his finger pointed heavenward, you don’t think about the bleak realities of Tony Manero’s life. It’s rough.īut that’s not how we remember Saturday Night Fever. His big moment of triumph, winning a dance competition, is a total sham, and he knows it. He gets into a gang fight with a Puerto Rican crew, the culmination of a feud built on racism and mistaken identity. He sits by silently while his friends commit rape.

The film is one of those shaggy, downbeat ’70s character studies about people with deep, unresolved problems. Pretty soon, he doesn’t even feel that escape anymore. The only place where he really comes alive is on the dancefloor. He starts out the movie with a go-nowhere job by the time it ends, he doesn’t even have that. He doesn’t like his friends much, and they don’t like him much either. His parents don’t understand him, and he doesn’t understand them. Brooklyn teenager Tony Manero - John Travolta, who will appear in this column pretty soon - is an electric dancer, a joy to watch, but his life is a mess. John Travolta originated the role of Tony Manero in the Saturday Night Fever film, and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor The 1977 film Saturday Night Fever won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.In The Number Ones, I’m reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present.Īs a movie, Saturday Night Fever is one hell of a downer.“Stayin’ Alive” is used as a song to sing when administering heart compressions. The Bee Gees song “Stayin’ Alive,” has a rhythm of 100 beats per minute.Don’t think you know any Bee Gees music? Think again! Some of the Bee Gees greatest hits include “How Deep is Your Love,” “Tragedy,” and “More Than a Woman.”.The Bee Gees are a trio of brothers - Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb - who formed as a music group in the late 1950s. Saturday Night Fever uses songs by the Bee Gees throughout.Listen out for “Words” and “Too Much Heaven” during the show. In Saturday Night Fever London performances, two new songs feature in the production.Book Saturday Night Fever tickets in London on TodayTix. Now, Saturday Night Fever returns to the West End for just eight weeks. However, the Bee Gees songs, and the disco attitude remained popular, and London has been in a disco inferno ever since. The Saturday Night Fever musical received its West End premiere in 1998, 20 years after the original film. Saturday Night Fever is a jukebox musical, featuring songs by the Bee Gees. Could the pair become a dancing success? Only time will tell. Tony’s also in love with Stephanie Mangano, a local dancer who catches his eye and offers a chance to leave Bay Ridge. Wearing a white suit, black shirt, and platforms, Tony grooves to the latest disco hits, and quickly builds up a fan following. So how does Tony escape the real world? Answer: he struts his stuff on the dancefloor. Growing up in Brooklyn, and working in a paint store, Tony often gets into trouble with the law. The Saturday Night Fever musical is based on the 1977 movie of the same name, starring John Travolta as Tony Manero. Could you dance all night long? Get your disco moves at the ready, as Saturday Night Fever hits London in 2022.
