We were amazed that Google image search dug up this image of the dearly departed Starlight Rollercade that resided on a stretch of Harry Hines Boulevard that was already pretty seedy in the early 1980s. Judging by the pristine look of the building and the fins on the cars in the parking lot, this photo looks like it came from an advertisement postcard from the 1960s. But we remember well those glass doors leading to the cashier alcove - that entrance remained wholly unchanged through the early 1980s.
The Cheese Fry didn't spend a lot of time at Starlight, which is probably what made a trip there so special. A few birthday parties, some church youth group excursions, an end-of-sixth-grade celebration. Going there was an event, people. The smelly, unnaturally heavy rental skates. The dark and dank vibe in the concourse around the edge of the rink, contrasted by the harsh fluorescents of the in-house pizza joint. The feel of rolling off the sluggish worn-out carpet and onto the fast and shiny wooden rink floor.
But the reason we even came up with this blog post subject was the music, played by an actual deejay (likely spinning actual records in dual turntables) from a far corner of the rink, sitting up high like a judge presiding over a courtroom of pre-teen, PG-rated fun.
To this day, we cannot hear these songs without being transported to the twinkling disco ball flashes of the Starlight Rollercade and those exhilarating moments of skating so fast that the wind whipped our hair, trying hard to look cool as we struggled desperately to not wipe out.
"Break My Stride" by Matthew Wilder (1983)
"Driving My Life Away" by Eddie Rabbit (1980)
"Electric Avenue" by Eddy Grant (1982)
"Funkytown" by Lipps, Inc. (1979)
"Magic" by Olivia Newton-John (1980)
"Queen of Hearts" by Juice Newton (1983)
But the reason we even came up with this blog post subject was the music, played by an actual deejay (likely spinning actual records in dual turntables) from a far corner of the rink, sitting up high like a judge presiding over a courtroom of pre-teen, PG-rated fun.
To this day, we cannot hear these songs without being transported to the twinkling disco ball flashes of the Starlight Rollercade and those exhilarating moments of skating so fast that the wind whipped our hair, trying hard to look cool as we struggled desperately to not wipe out.
"Break My Stride" by Matthew Wilder (1983)
"Driving My Life Away" by Eddie Rabbit (1980)
"Electric Avenue" by Eddy Grant (1982)
"Funkytown" by Lipps, Inc. (1979)
"Magic" by Olivia Newton-John (1980)
"Queen of Hearts" by Juice Newton (1983)
There's a roller rink still in operation in a suburb not too far from here. It's the only one know of - and for a few years there, it was a popular destination for our kids' friends' birthday parties. Going there was fascinating because it reminded us of Starlight in so many ways, but at the same time it was also so very different. Like a sort of funhouse mirror version of the roller rink of our youth -- too clean, too bright, too new. And they didn't play any early-1980s music.
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