New Moon was a
Parisian nightclub, located at 66 Rue Pigalle (now Rue Jean-Baptiste Pigalle) in the
Place Pigalle, that started in the late 19th-century as a headquarters for
Impressionist
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
artists. In the 20th century, it became a
jazz club and then a
lesbian cabaret, before converting to a well-known
alternative rock club in the 1980s. It closed in 1995.
Pre-history
In the 1860s, the building where the New Moon was later located was a cafe frequented by French Impressionist painters called
La Nouvelle Athènes
The Nouvelle Athènes was a café in the Place Pigalle in Paris, France. It was a meeting place for impressionist painters, including Matisse, Van Gogh and Degas. Degas painted '' L'Absinthe'' in this place. Another notable denizen was the eccent ...
. In the early 20th century, the cafe added a cabaret to become first Monico, then the New Monico.
Between World War I and World War II, it became
Ada "Bricktop" Smith's Chez Bricktop,
famous for its jazz and frequented by luminaries like
Pablo Picasso,
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...
,
Ernest Hemingway.
Performers included
Marlene Dietrich,
Ethel Waters,
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
and
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
. In the 1950s, the club became a
striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "ex ...
cabaret called The Sphinx, then the Narcisse.
History
By the 1960s, it had become the New Moon, and was a
lesbian cabaret through the 1960s and 1970s. It closed in the early 1980s, and reopened again in 1987 as an
alternative
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
and
punk rock club.
From 1987 to 1995 the club was known as one of the most important venues in Paris for punk and alternative rock.
, the French Lovers,
Mano Negra, the Naked Apes of Reason were a few of the many groups who performed. French photographer Raphaël Rinaldi published the book ''Paris New Moon, Paris'' (2016) focused on photography of the venue in the 1980s and 1990s.
After briefly operating as a nightclub called Le Temple, the building was torn down to create office buildings in 2004.
See also
*
List of lesbian bars
This is a list of notable lesbian bars
A lesbian bar (sometimes called a "women's bar") is a drinking establishment that caters exclusively or predominantly to lesbian women. While often conflated, the lesbian bar has a history distinct from ...
References
External links
The New Monico in 1925
Destruction of the New Moon
Cabarets in Paris
Lesbian culture in France
Punk rock venues
Demolished buildings and structures in Paris
Buildings and structures demolished in 2004
LGBT drinking establishments in France
Jazz clubs in Paris
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