Podcast Summary: New Books Network

Signal Award Re-Release: Lost Women of Disco

Release Date: October 14, 2025
Hosts: Christy Soares, Ryan Purcell
Guest: Lulu Lavey (aka DJ Lulu Levan)

Overview

This episode of Soundscapes NYC (re-released as a Signal Award finalist) dives into the overlooked contributions of women DJs in the history of disco, especially in New York City’s vibrant 1970s dance scene. The hosts interview Lulu Lavey—a DJ, academic, and journalist—about her upcoming documentary Dance Floor Queens, which investigates key female figures such as Regine Silberberg and Sharon White, the systemic barriers women and queer DJs have faced, and the ongoing efforts for representation and safety in club culture. The conversation mixes history, personal anecdotes, and music samples to showcase both the progress and persistent challenges for women in DJ culture.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The State of Disco History — Gendered Narratives

• Disco’s Mainstream Story: Traditionally, disco history centers on male DJs and producers.
• Overlooked Pioneers: Women like Jenny Costa (a pioneering NYC DJ and Billboard correspondent) and Regine Silberberg (founder of the first discotheque) outlasted many male contemporaries but have often been ignored.
• Need for Correction: The episode frames its exploration as a “corrective” to the male-dominated storytelling of disco’s legacy.
  • “So much of the history of disco in the 1970s New York is the history of men. So I think Lulu's scholarship and her documentary are really sorely needed.” — Christy Soares [04:28]

2. About Lulu Lavey & Her Work

• Background: Lulu combines a sociology Ph.D. with active DJing, event promotion, and culture journalism.
• Practice-Based Research: She finds her academic work deeply interconnected with her DJ practice, allowing lived experience to inform research and teaching.
  • “It's kind of like a circular relationship between the two... Everything that I've learned out in the field I can bring into the classroom.” — Lulu Lavey [07:49]
• Documentary Motivation:
  • Upset at gender imbalance, Lulu channels her frustration into activism and storytelling.
  • Dance Floor Queens aims to put under-recognized women DJs into historical record.

3. Dance Floor Queens – The Documentary

• Genesis: Lulu was approached by director Sonia Phillips and producer Arthur Baker (of New Order fame) to co-produce.
• Focus: Traces the legacy of women DJs across continents and decades, highlighting human stories and mapping connections from Paris (Regine Silberberg) to LA (Joanie Lebine), to NYC.
• Creative Tensions: The filmmaking process requires balancing creative vision with the needs and preferences of production companies/streaming platforms.
  • “We may find a platform that might be a big platform, but if they don't let us tell their stories correctly, then we won’t let them have the stories.” — Lulu Lavey [12:13]
• Method: Oral history, interviews, and archival research to recover stories otherwise lost or contested.

4. Foundational Figures: Regine Silberberg

• Background: Jewish survivor of WWII, Regine founded the original Paris discotheque in the early 1950s; credited with innovations like installing multiple turntables and continuous mixes.
• Transnational Impact: Opened a chain of nightclubs across Europe and the U.S.; shaped the very institution of the “discotheque.”
  • Quote Attribution: “I laid down the linoleum dance floor. I put in color lights and removed the jukebox. I installed two turntables so there was no gap in the music. It was the first ever discotheque and I was the first ever disc jockey.” — Regine Silberberg (quoted by Ryan Purcell) [14:44]
• Challenges of Documentation: Much DJ history is based on hearsay and legend, with few surviving first-hand accounts, especially from women.

5. Sharon White and Intersectionality

• Pioneering Achievements:
  • First woman to play at the Saint in NYC, the only woman at Paradise Garage, a central figure at Studio 54.
• Barriers:
  • Intersection of sexism, racism, and homophobia contributed to her being overlooked in mainstream histories.
  • Comparison to later DJs (like DJ Paulette) shows persistent exclusion even decades later.
  • “She was like the first woman to play at the Saint in New York. She was the only woman to play at the Paradise Garage... So it's absolutely vital that her voice is shared in this documentary.” — Lulu Lavey [19:47]

6. Systemic Barriers in the Music Industry

• Gatekeepers:
  • Club bookers, event promoters, scene gatekeepers (historically white, male) control access and reinforce exclusion.
  • Even when women were allowed behind the decks, it was often as a last-minute replacement.
  • Example: Sharon White got her slot at Paradise Garage because the regular male DJ didn’t show up.
  • “Quite often a lot of the women who eventually did get work djing... was because Larry Levan didn’t turn up. That was the way that these women got their DJ slots.” — Lulu Lavey [25:04]
• Representation in Literature:
  • Seminal books on DJ culture (Last Night a DJ Saved My Life, Love Saves the Day) were male-authored and marginalized women’s contributions.

7. The Dance Floor as Liberation vs. Contestation

• Contrary to the Narrative:
  • While clubs are often described as liberatory spaces, for women and queer POC DJs the dance floor remains contested—a space where representation and safety are hard-won, not given.
  • “However, your project kind of frames it a little bit differently. It's a space of contestation and gatekeeping, which I think is very, very important... for other people, it’s...a battlefield for representation.” — Ryan Purcell [28:58]
• Historical Irony:
  • The foundational myth of “liberation” is undercut by persistent, often worsening, exclusion.

8. Modern Resonances & Grassroots Movements

• Enduring Hostility & Risks:
  • Ongoing stories of women DJs facing hostility, harassment, being locked out of booths, denied entry due to not fitting the DJ “look.”
  • Sexual harassment and physical insecurity remain widespread.
  • DJ safety riders (escort to and from the booth) are a recent, necessary development.
  • “Most of the women and non binary persons who I interviewed for the project, they aren't going anywhere... even though there has been a broad recognition of the emotional labor involved in representation.” — Lulu Lavey [38:17]
• Organizations & Change:
  • Shoutouts to Super Nature Disco (Manchester), Polka Dot Disco Club (Scotland), and other groups championing visibility for women and genderqueer DJs.
  • Impact is growing but numbers remain small; persistence and collective resilience are key themes (“I am here to stay” from Lulu’s song [36:10]).

9. How Women DJ Differently—Connection over Ego

• Experiential Difference:
  • Lulu and other women DJs describe playing “from the heart,” focusing on crowd connection, emotional openness, and dance floor energy rather than ego or obscure track selections.
  • “I feel like I am more emotionally open... I feel more connected to the dance floor than the male DJs that I’ve experienced.” — Lulu Lavey [43:21]
  • Male DJs, by contrast (in her experience), often perform with less regard for audience interaction.
  • The importance of “connection vs. control” is emphasized as a feminist ethic of DJing.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Dance Music Literature:

  • “All the stories that have been told so far have been written by white heterosexual men, for the most part.” — Lulu Lavey [23:05]

• On Representation:

  • “Resistance and repetition... will create change. I believe that's the only way we can do it.” — Lulu Lavey [42:56]

• On Why She DJs:

  • “Everything is about me being pissed off about the gender imbalance in, in our music culture as we stand.” — Lulu Lavey [06:41]

• On Dance Floor Realities:

  • “You have to have a quadruple thick skin... I've had women telling me they've been locked out of their own DJ booth because the security guard won’t let them in because they don't look like a DJ.” — Lulu Lavey [38:17, 39:50]

Musical Interludes & Featured Tracks

• Live Recordings / DJ Sets:
  • Sharon White tribute set at the Saint (1982) [33:36]
  • Jenny Costa disco set, 1970s [34:28]
  • “The Journey Part 1” by Love Underground, DJ Lulu Levan & Tommy D [36:10]
    • "I am here to stay..."—anthem for resilience and presence.

Organizations & Further Resources (Mentioned)

• Key Groups Shouted Out:

  • Super Nature Disco (Manchester)
  • Polka Dot Disco Club (Scotland)
  • DJ Mad Dogs
  • Vinyl Bitch
  • Ms. DJ BB

• How to Listen to Lulu:

  • Mixcloud: mixcloud.com/lululevan
  • Instagram: @lululevan

Important Timestamps

• [01:26] Jenny Costa intro—a living testament to women's disco history
• [06:00] Lulu discusses the motivation for Dance Floor Queens
• [14:44] Regine Silberberg's “I was the first ever disc jockey” story
• [19:47] Sharon White’s significance and exclusion
• [25:04] How women like Sharon White got iconic DJ slots by chance
• [28:58] Dance floor as contested space, not just a site of liberation
• [36:10] Premiere of “The Journey Part 1”—DJ Lulu Levan’s new track
• [38:17-40:08] The ongoing emotional labor and real-world risks faced by women/nonbinary DJs
• [43:21] Lulu on how she DJs differently, centering connection over ego

Takeaways

The episode provides a powerful corrective to dance music histories that have overlooked the women, especially queer and of color, who built the foundation of club culture. By centering the stories of DJs like Regine Silberberg and Sharon White, and by foregrounding the intersectional, systemic barriers faced by women in music, the conversation insists on the need for new narratives and new forms of representation—both on the dance floor and in historical record. The fight for visibility and safety continues, but with growing solidarity and vibrancy.

For updates and future episodes, follow @soundscapesnyc on Instagram.