Draft:Steve Adelman

References

Steve Adelman is an American nightlife entrepreneur and author who served as director of some of New York City's largest nightclubs during the 1980s and 1990s and co-founded the Avalon nightlife brand. He is the author of the memoir Nocturnal Admissions: Behind the Scenes at Tunnel, Limelight, Avalon, and Other Legendary Nightclubs (2022).

Early career and New York City

Originally from Michigan, Adelman studied at Kalamazoo College and earned a master's degree in economics from Boston College, after which he worked as a consultant at Charles River Associates in Boston. He relocated to New York City in the mid-1980s, where he became involved in the city's nightlife scene. In 1990, he became director of the Roxy, which quickly gained a reputation as one of the city's top venues.

Within two years, Adelman was appointed director of the Limelight, and within three years had expanded his role to include the Tunnel, Palladium, and Club USA, all operated under club owner Peter Gatien, making him director of five of Manhattan's largest nightclubs simultaneously. Billboard later described the Roxy, Limelight, and Tunnel as ground zero for New York's influential 1980s and 1990s club culture, a scene that shaped the dance world, fashion, and mainstream music for years.

In 2002, Adelman purchased the Palace Theatre in Hollywood, which he converted into the Avalon Hollywood, and separately acquired the Limelight in New York City, the same venue he had directed a decade earlier, reopening it after a year of renovations.

Avalon nightlife brand

In 1997, Adelman co-founded the Avalon nightlife brand, launching its first location on Lansdowne Street in Boston. He created the weekly Friday night event Avaland, which featured touring DJs including Paul van Dyk, Carl Cox, Tiësto, Sasha, and John Digweed. The event has been credited with helping to introduce and popularize electronic dance music (EDM) in the United States. Over the following four years, Adelman led the development of six venues on Lansdowne Street, expanding Avalon to Los Angeles and New York City.

In September 2002, Adelman and partner John Lyons, operating as Hollywood Entertainment Partners, purchased the historic Palace Theatre building at 1735 N. Vine Street in Hollywood. The building, a Spanish Baroque structure originally opened as the Hollywood Playhouse in 1927, had a storied history as a television studio and live venue, it was the site of The Beatles' first West Coast performance in 1964, and later hosted artists including Prince, Nirvana, and the Smashing Pumpkins. Following over a year of renovations and approximately $6 million in construction, with interior design by CAN Resources of New York, Adelman and Lyons relaunched the venue as Avalon Hollywood in 2003. It was described at the time as Hollywood's inaugural superclub, drawing capacity crowds of up to 1,500 patrons, and quickly established itself as one of Los Angeles' leading nightlife destinations.

Within the complex, Adelman and Lyons opened the Spider Club, a VIP lounge and restaurant on the second floor of the building with a capacity of approximately 350. Adelman described his aim for the Spider Club as offering the intimate experience of nightlife from Hollywood's golden age. The venue became one of the most prominent celebrity haunts of the early 2000s, drawing figures including Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Paris Hilton. No photographers were permitted inside, a policy Adelman credited with making celebrities feel comfortable returning. In 2008, the Spider Club was rebranded as Bardot, an old-Hollywood themed lounge that Adelman and Lyons opened in partnership with Jason Scoppa and Alexi Yulish.

In October 2007, Adelman further expanded his Hollywood presence by opening Club 86 at the corner of Hudson Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard, in the historic Hillview Apartment building, a location reputed to have once housed a speakeasy operated by silent film star Rudolph Valentino.

In New York City, Adelman reopened the former Limelight building as Avalon NYC in 2003. Located in the historic Church of the Holy Communion on Sixth Avenue in Chelsea, a 19th-century Gothic Revival structure, the venue was renovated at a cost of approximately $6 million, combining the original church architecture with a modern club interior. Avalon NYC closed permanently in 2007.

Role in EDM

Avalon Boston and its Avaland night have been widely credited with helping to introduce electronic dance music to mainstream American audiences. Adelman has described Avaland's formula as drawing on creative themed décor from his experience at the Roxy, the eclectic performers and hosts from the Limelight, and the DJ-driven dance floor experience of clubs such as Twilo, combined with John Lyons' state-of-the-art production. The inaugural Avaland night in 1997 featured DJ Louie Vega alongside an elaborate Alice in Wonderland-themed set design and cast of performers.

Between 1997 and 2008, Avaland at Avalon Boston hosted a continuous roster of leading international DJs alongside weekly theatrical themes, among them "The Wizard of Odds," "The Electric Pussycat Swingers Club," and the "Avalettes Christmas Spectacular," the last of which was hosted by members of Howard Stern's Wack Pack. In 2003, Avaland expanded to Avalon Hollywood and Avalon NYC, and from 2008 ran for six years at Avalon Singapore.

Magnetic Magazine described Avalon Boston as having been "wildly credited with launching what is now called EDM in the US." DJ and record producer Sander van Doorn stated that Avalon "consistently helped foster and maintain the local electronic music community's passion for the genre" and described Adelman as having made "seminal contributions to nightlife." In 2022, Avaland held a 25th anniversary event at the House of Blues in Boston, featuring sets from Danny Tenaglia and original Avaland residents.

New Daisy Theatre, Memphis

Prior to acquiring the New Daisy Theatre, Adelman was involved in earlier Memphis hospitality projects. In November 2013, he partnered with award-winning chef Kelly English of Restaurant Iris to open the Fly Lounge at FedExForum, the home arena of the Memphis Grizzlies. Located in the Grand Lobby on the Plaza Level, the Fly Lounge was described as an upscale combination of nightlife and dining.

In November 2014, Adelman and Memphis executive J.W. Gibson purchased the F.G.H. Corporation and acquired the New Daisy Theatre, a historic music venue at 330 Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, from operator Mike Glenn, who had run the venue for approximately 30 years. In 2015, Adelman and Gibson invested $500,000 in renovations, adding a new floor, VIP areas, upgraded bars, and new sound and lighting systems. Following the renovation, the venue entered a partnership with Live Nation and hosted acts including Slash, Disturbed, Bryson Tiller, and the Dropkick Murphys. In 2019, Adelman announced the venue was taking a hiatus. He was subsequently charged with issuing a bad check to a concert promoter; the charges were later dropped. Adelman stated the allegations were "blatantly false and defamatory" and indicated he would pursue civil action. Adelman later sold the property to the Downtown Memphis Commission, who relaunched it for private events in 2023.

Singapore

Adelman opened Avalon Singapore in 2011 as part of the Marina Bay Sands Resort and Casino, making it the first U.S. entertainment brand of its kind to operate in Asia. The venue occupied the top two levels of the floating South Crystal Pavilion, a glass structure designed by architect Moshe Safdie, spanning approximately 17,000 square feet. The interior was designed by New York-based design firm Roman and Williams, and featured a custom sound system, state-of-the-art lighting, and an automated moving rig, the first of its kind installed in a Singapore nightclub. Alongside Avalon, Adelman also operated the Spider Room at the same complex, a members-only VIP lounge modelled on the Spider Club in Los Angeles.

The Marina Bay Sands executive director described Adelman at the time as one of the most leading and sought-after club operators in the world. Avalon Singapore hosted internationally recognized DJs and performers during its operation. The venue closed in November 2013 after approximately two years in operation.

Written work

Background and writing identity

Adelman has described himself as a writer who got sidetracked by nightlife for three decades. He began keeping a journal of his experiences while living in Hollywood in the early 2000s, and by 2005 had a literary agent, though the demands of his career delayed the project for many years.

Nocturnal Admissions (2022)

Nocturnal Admissions: Behind the Scenes at Tunnel, Limelight, Avalon, and Other Legendary Nightclubs was published by Santa Monica Press on June 7, 2022. A 264-page hardcover, it carries a foreword by author and journalist Anthony Haden-Guest and features over 50 photographs. It is categorized by the publisher under Pop Culture / Biography & Memoir.

The memoir covers Adelman's full career arc, from the New York club scene of the late 1980s through the EDM boom of the 2000s, addressing themes of pop culture, the economics of nightlife, and the social role of clubs. Upon release, the book reached number one in its sales categories on Amazon.

The book was reviewed by Publishers Weekly, which called it dazzling, and Rolling Stone published an excerpt praising its insight into how dance culture, queerness, and celebrity intersected in the pre-internet era. The New York Daily News's Richard Johnson described it as a youthful adventure into nightlife without losing a sense of wonder. The Village Voices Michael Musto compared reading it to being served a comp bottle of champagne in a VIP room. The Daily Beasts Kevin Fallon praised Adelman's observational humor, and Shelf Awareness called it a captivating memoir. The book also received coverage from Billboard, Air Mail, Mixmag, and DJ Mag, and was featured on the New Books Network podcast.

Recognition

Adelman's clubs received coverage from major outlets during their operation. The New York Times described his venues as setting the scene from Old World clubs to hipsters. Variety called his clubs exciting. The Los Angeles Times referred to him as a Hollywood innovator, and Inc. magazine noted that the nightlife business is played at different levels and that Adelman is in the big leagues.