My roomies and I stared down from our 16th floor hotel room at Manhattan's theatre district. In spite of a beautiful skyline all around us, we really only noticed the ragged looking lettering on an old-fashioned theatre-type marchee across 52nd street. Ironically the huge red plastic letters said "BALLROOM DANCING", a leftover from the last event, We expected to see "Buddy Holly birthday party" there. We all laughed as we gawked at the sign, thinking of Paul's song from Give My Regards to Broad Street. "It's a 'sign'!" we decided, enjoying the pun. The run-down look of the place gave no hint that it would soon house a memorable gala event.
As we toured the city on Mon. and Tue., visiting Strawberry Fields and The Dakota among other places, there was always the exciting little jolt that I got whenever I reminded myself that the Buddy Holly Party was really going to happen. It seemed impossible when I first received the e-mail from Warp Radio.com, yet here I was in New York City waiting for the event. Word came from those preparing the theatre that seating would be on a first come / first serve basis. We also learned that there would be a limited number of tables. "Oh, but we can wait to queue; we have tickets!" someone would say when we would discuss when to get in line. And then someone else would counter with, "But we really want good seats…" The dilemma began to be solved on Tuesday when we saw people lining up starting about 7:30 A. M. They sat on blankets under the theatre marchee singing Beatles songs as the rain lightly drizzled. The management politely asked them to leave for a while, and we all watched with interest as workmen arrived to lay new bright red carpet across the front sidewalk of the theatre. 2:00 P. M. was named as the official time people could queue so about 20 people gathered at that time Our little group gathered provisions such as water bottles and umbrellas and joined the line in self defense.
As the line got longer, it began to block entrance and exit to a parked garage adjacent to the theatre. Soon the security people split the line and placed the second part of the line back about 100 feet down the sidewalk. This made for a safer situation, but of course those of us who were placed so far back worried that people would join the front part of the line, thus getting ahead of us. It also made it very hard for us to see who was coming and going at the theatre. Many of us had brought nice clothes to wear to the event, but through several heavy rain showers and the 6 1/4 hour wait to get into the theatre, we decided to attend in casual clothes. We were right not to have bothered, there were many different kinds of clothes seen at the party (dressy dresses, poodle skirts and sweaters, plaid jackets worn with Buddy glasses), but everyone had their own style, and everyone blended wonderfully. The rain and the long wait in line didn't dampen our spirits a bit! People in the queue swapped Paul stories, shared food from nearby vendors, took each other's pictures, and enjoyed old and new friendships. During our wait, some people did try to jump line, but security helped us out and the problem was minimal.
Just before it was time for the celebrities to arrive, a workman arrived and changed the marchee. If you arrived about 7:30PM, it read, "Happy Birthday, Buddy!". That little nervous twinge came again as I realized the party was about to become a reality. Many of us were worried that they would tear our beautiful tickets as we entered, and we were relieved when they announced that they would just put a stamp on a designated side. Employees came down the line instructing us to turn the tickets so that they could see the orange side. As celebrities began to arrive, it was rather difficult to see from our queue on the sidewalk. Many people were gathered between us and the arriving special guests. About 8:15 the doors opened for us and the fun began!
Inside the old theatre had been transformed into a brilliant playground for us! There were small tables scattered under the balcony with votive candles, several 45 rpm records, and handfuls of candy. Whoppers, b-b-bats (remember those?), and at least 15 other varieties of candy topped the tableclothes. Round tables approximately 8' across lined the dance floor laden with many types of cheeses, pita bread, crackers, vegetable trays, and humus. There were cash bars at both back corners, and a wooden dance floor that wrapped around a raised stage. If you'll look at the diagram below (hand drawn and not to scale), you'll notice that the balcony where the VIP's sat was directly over the area where the small tables were. There were also cushioned benches that ran along the wall to provide more seating. Although no cameras were allowed out of our bags, they did permit binoculars. We enjoyed looking at the many celebrities in the balcony, however I cannot name them all. I know I recognized the members of the group, Sugar Ray. Paul arrived after the concert had gotten underway. He talked and ate and drank with his friends and then came down for a while to sit with Christopher Reeve, who was about 20 feet from our table. Paul put his arm around Christopher as they talked and laughed. It was a touching scene.
Paul seemed to be in good spirits. He laughed and joked about the roller skaters who participated in a contest during the evening for $5,000. At one point, we saw Paul and Stella dancing to the music when the Vees were playing. He had his arm around Stella and they were moving to the beat of the music. They looked like they were having so much fun. My friends saw James and one of our friends talked to him near the payphones.
When Paul took the stage, he looked relaxed and his voice sounded GREAT! He sang "Rave On" with gusto, but kept his mouth quite close to the microphone, sometimes even using a two-handed grip. His voice was rich without a hint of strain and he joked with the audience, saying something like, "You know, I'm not even supposed to be doing this!" This was my first opportunity to see Paul perform live, and it was really something special! Of course everyone seemed disappointed that he only sang one song. There was a left-handed guitar prominently placed on stage, but in light of the news about his missing tooth, it is understandable that he might not have wanted to do more. Although we had been told that anyone pulling out a camera would be ejected, no one seemed to mind as photos were made of Paul on stage.
As the crowd left the dance floor, our group of (25?) internet friends gathered to have group pictures made. Many people stood around and watched us as our group had a picture made with each camera of those in the picture. Since individuals were chosen from all across the U. S., I know some people wondered how we all knew each other. As we go to different events in America and the U. K., our list group enhances our fun and security by providing support. I am very thankful to Jane P. who has organized and maintains our list group.
As I left the photo session on the dance floor to return to our table, I thought how wonderful the evening had seemed…excellent food, great music, close friends, and the opportunity to see Paul sing! Then my friend motioned for me to follow her. There was another surprise left! We walked quickly along with others to receive the favors that MPL was giving. Each person got a gorgeous t-shirt and a poster that had the same pictures of Paul and Buddy on it that the tickets had. These two photos had been featured in gigantic 30 foot size on either side of the stage all evening. We had all joked about taking those striking photos home with us and now we could (at least on our t-shirts and posters, that is).
Our list group enjoyed discussing the delights of the party afterward over food at a nearby all night diner on the famous Broadway Street. We all agreed that Paul had seemed energetic and refreshed, and we were grateful for a fun-filled evening we would never forget.
The next morning my roomies and I stared down, through a gray NY morning, at the old-fashioned marchee and marveled at the rich treasures it had hidden in its ballroom the night before. I'll never forget that birthday bash at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City! Thank you, WarpRadio.com and thank you, MPL! Happy Birthday, Buddy Holly!
Hand-drawn, (not to scale), diagram of the Roseland Ballroom, best recollection
