Posted: Saturday, October 20, 1990 12:00 am

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REICKS

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(PHOTO)

The graffiti in a rear stairwell at Glam Slam attracted Howard Herseth of St. Cloud and Wendy Vosen of Hibbing during a preview party. Below right, the couple try out the club's 1,300-square-foot dance floor.

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CUTLINE: Set in a corner of Glam Slam is a shop which sells Glam Slam T-shirts, sweatshirts jackets and earrings. Wendy Ingram of Minneapolis is among those who tend the shop. Below, a private, members-only balcony overlooks Glam Slam's dance floor. (PHOTO)

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MINNEAPOLIS --

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The writing's on the wall: SuperFunkiCaliFragiSexy. And in a word, that's the word -- spray-painted across a graffiti-scrawled rear stairwell -- that best describes Minneapolis' newest nightclub, Glam Slam.

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But before dissecting the club, a rumor needs to be squelched: No, the club is not owned by Prince, even though his fingerprints are all over it. Rather, Glam Slam is owned by Gilbert Davison, one of Prince's bodyguards, and Ruth Whitney, co-founder of the Fine Line Music Cafe. Prince has no financial interest in the establishment. That's not to say, however, that he hasn't left his mark: The name Glam Slam was the title of a 1988 Prince single and it's also the name of a fictional night club he and Morris Day own in the upcoming movie ``Graffiti Bridge.''

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Set in a corner of the club is a shop which sells Glam Slam T-shirts, sweatshirts jackets and earrings. Among the shirts are T's from Prince's latest European tour. The shop also displays replicas of Prince's stage, film and video outfits which can be ordered from Helen Horatio Designs. Prices for Horatio's styles begin at $1,200 for leather jackets and $2,000 for the stage clothes. A rear stairwell at the club which leads from its dancefloor to an exclusive members-only balcony is plastered with graffiti. Painted on the wall are the titles of many of Prince's singles, the entire lyrics to ``Elephants and Flowers'' and a caricature of Prince. Neon signs from some of his movie sets light the stairs. Even one of the small seating areas which line the perimeter of the balcony is reserved for Prince's use. His is by far the best, complete with a small color television for watching videos and closed-circuit programming and with the best view of the stage available from the second level.

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Glam Slam is carved out of a portion of the Wyman-Partridge Building in Minneapolis' warehouse district. From the street, it can only be identified by a large yellow neon sign in the window which reads ``Glam Slam.'' Davison says the 20,000-square-foot nightclub cost more than $1 million to build. And its interior keeps with the area's industrial theme. Large pillars surrounding the club's 1,300-square-foot maple dance floor are painted a steely silver and peppered with artificial rivets. In Glam Slam's clothing shop, also painted silver, old electrical circuitry still hangs on the wall and a steel grate set on iron pipes serves as a sales counter. Most of the rest of the building is painted black. Three mirrored bars serve patrons; one on either side of the dancefloor and another in the balcony. The members-only balcony accomodates 300 people. And in addition to the several seating areas overlooking the stage and dancefloor, it features a private entrance and many sculptures and other objets d'art.

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But the luxuries come with a price. Three year individual and corporate memberships cost $3,000 and $5,000, respectively. Up to 800 people are accomodated on the lower level. The one aspect of Glam Slam which sets it apart from other Minneapolis clubs is its ties to Prince's Paisley Park studios. The relationship gives Glam Slam exclusive access to unreleased recordings by any Paisley Park artist, including Prince, and it promises to bring any number of the artists to the club at a moment's notice for live performances. A private preview celebration hosted by Glam Slam last Monday night featured a variety of recorded Prince music capped by a live performance by Rosie Gaines. Gaines joined Prince's entourage just before last summer's Nude Tour singing vocals and playing keyboards, and he refers to her as the ``next Aretha Franklin.'' Her energetic stage presence and strong vocal skills may just prove his claim true.

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The celebration also confirmed the national intrigue Prince generated by associating himself with the club. The paint was barely dry and not even all of the light fixtures were in place in time for the preview, yet staff from MTV, ``Entertainment Tonight'' and People magazine were among the many Minnesota media representatives clamoring for a peek at Prince's playground. Of course, they were probably clamoring for a peek of Prince as well, even after being told he wouldn't be there. But that's not to say he might not drop in for an impromptu performance in the future. And that possibility combined with a mysterious, unannounced entertainment schedule for Glam Slam should guarantee the club the aura it needs to survive in the ever-changing Twin Cities entertainment scene. At least for awhile.

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I don't know how to post the link to the article. This format won't let me cut/paste. help?

[Edited 6/8/15 13:49pm]

[Edited 6/8/15 13:59pm]

http://www.postbulletin.c...dceaa.html

Tried another browser and it worked.

Interesting read! I once met someone who had one of the leather jackets that they sold in the Glam Slam. It had a pic of Prince's face on the back. What other stuff did they sell in there back in the day?