It’s 1980 and disco isn’t dead yet. But MAD Magazine put the first nail in its coffin with this one-of-a-kind
February 11, 2020 MAD DISCO Special Edition. (All the best copies are gone, but copies with minor dings and a lot of yellowing are still available. And all of them have the record bound in them. Hey, they're 40 years old. Published in 1980!)
It’s unique in many respects. It’s the only issue of MAD without a number or cover date. It’s the only issue of MAD devoted to a single subject to contain it’s own 33 1/3 floppy record. It’s the only 32 page MAD. And it’s the only issue of MAD to ever have: “MAD DISCO is an idea conceived by Dick DeBartolo” on the contents page. Here’s the back-story: I loved disco. Heck, I loved it so much I built a disco right inside my 50 foot houseboat complete with “infinity floor’, fog and bubble machines. And talk about a tough “door policy”. The only way to get into Disco Dick’s was to know it existed!
Meanwhile at MAD I wrote a lot of disco satires, which just kept piling up on the editor’s desk. Finally I told MAD Publisher Bill Gaines that if we didn’t do something with them soon, disco would be on its way out. So we could use all the material at one time, Gaines asked if I could get some of the other Usual Gang of Idiots to contribute enough to make MAD’s first (and only) Special Edition. I said I could, and I did! So MAD Disco was born. Features include: MAD'S Disco Owner of the Year / A MAD History of Dancing /MAD'S DISCO Mother Goose Rhymes /SLIPPED DISCO – The complete Disco Magazine /Don Martin's Guide to Disco Sounds / "SIX MINUTES" Looks at Disco.
A 30 minute 33 1/3 RPM Record "MAD DISCO” is bound inside. A sample of one of the song is above. (It’s a floppy vinyl record – emphasis on FLOP.) Songs include: "DISCO SUICIDE" / "SORRY, NO WORDS" / "THIS TIME, THIS NIGHT" / "BARELY ALIVE" / “THE DISCO CLAP" / And a Disco Version of the World Famous MAD Song: "IT'S A GAS" - Lyrics by Dick DeBartolo, Music By Norm Blagman PLUS: Music & Lyrics for all the songs (except It’s A Gas) are also in this issue! Now how much you would pay for this? (Don’t answer, I can’t hear you.) On Ebay it was listed at $39.95. (I don't know if he got that price, but it is gone.)
I’m selling my copies for half that: $19.99. And mine are autographed! They have been sitting in Dick’s Gadget Warehouse for almost 40 years, so they do have “warehouse” yellow on each page to prove their heritage. Although there may have a mark here or there on the covers from storage, all have the floppy vinyl record in place just the way it came from the bindery. Most copies you'll find on sale have the record removed and played, or even missing. The record in each one of these issues is pristine. Each copy is sent first class in a protective plastic sleeve. First class postage adds $3.99, but it's the only First Class thing about this great offer! Unfortunately, this offer is for the US only.
I'll update your order to Priority Mail, which as of 8/12/2019 is $6.95. I'll pay the difference. ******
Reader Comments (1)
Hi, I was wondering if you still had one of these I could purchase?
Thanks !