Discover the history of the Autobahn, a 1980s party that has been taking place for three decades in SP

From the top of a booth with colored LED lights, Marcos Vicente, the DJ at the Autobahn party, takes a painting from the wall with the cover of “Substance”, a compilation album released in 1987 by New Order, and transforms it into an imaginary bass to the sound of the band’s classic, “Blue Monday.”

Nailed next to vinyls by A-Ha, Pet Shop Boys and Information Society, which decorate the back of the stage, the object with the band’s cover has a prominent place. “You already know: it’s the best band in the world”, Vicente says into the microphone, without hiding his preference for the English group that inspired him to create a themed and traveling party at a time when clubs reigned in São Paulo.

It was 1993 and the 19-year-old DJ who dedicated himself to the repertoire of the decade that had come to an end was already feeling the impact of the genres that were beginning to overwhelm the synthesizers that guided his sets.

“It’s natural for a decade to deny the previous one in order to exist. The disco of the 1970s denied the rock of the 1960s, then new wave came, denying the sound of before. In the 1990s, grunge arrived, denying electronic music. And in Brazil there was still lambada and country music”, he says.

It didn’t take long for the night to surrender to the genre created in the North of the country, and the place where he was a resident DJ was soon sold to a lambada group. “I decided that I wanted to set up a project to keep the culture of the 1980s alive, and the regulars also felt that it was not possible to adapt to what was in fashion,” he says.

He then met with a dozen regular partygoers and knocked on the doors of houses in São Paulo for five months with the idea of ​​a party that would double the public in the place in exchange for the freedom to hold an event along the lines he wanted. “It was difficult at first, but we managed to prove that we could do it. At this rate, we’ve been to 19 houses in the last 31 years”, he says.

The reputation created by the night contributed to the producers’ freedom. “They served hot beer or raised the price and we immediately looked for another place. The idea was always to listen to the public, our greatest asset.”

It is this audience, described by Vicente as “70% made up of people between 40 and 55 years old”, who dances in the early hours of Saturday to Sunday with their eyes atypically glassy in the DJ booth of the house that hosts the party in Perdizes.

The place has original lighting equipment from the decade and is decorated with items that refer to it, such as a room with Atari and arcade games in operation and a cabinet with collectibles.

The drinks are named after bands and songs — anyone who wants to drink a Madonna, for example, is served with a mix of vodka, peach liqueur, orange juice and grenadine, and pays R$32.

Throughout the night, attendees win prizes when they prove they can sing the song, appear in stylized t-shirts with the name of the party and do seasonal moves. If they’re lucky, they’ll be called to DJ for half an hour for the approximately 450 people who show up for the editions.

The audience’s loyalty gives an almost family feel to the evening. “People go on Saturday, but end up going out on Friday to eat pizza, they make friends. I hear a lot that Autobahn is not a classic night out, a hook-up, but a party at a friend’s house.”

Vicente says that, over the years, the public has been boosted by a younger group of regulars, who didn’t experience the nightlife of the 1980s but like the music. More interested parties also arrive whenever a film or series set in the decade is released or songs become trends on Tiktok.

“If I play a song that happened in ‘Stranger Things’ or ‘Smalltown Boy’ by Bronski Beat, which became fashionable recently, I notice the movement on the dance floor. People are enjoying themselves sitting down and, when it’s time for the songs, they run to the track”, says Vicente.

This is part of the secret to Autobahn’s longevity, which was born against the rapid renewal of the night by restricting itself to just a decade of songs.

Although they have their obligatory tracks — the third song of the night is always “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”, by Simple Minds — the DJs try to expand their repertoire with hits that are back in fashion, b-sides, tracks from ‘one-hit wonders’ and forgotten hits that poke at the public’s nostalgia. “You end up touching on childhood memories, your first kiss, your first night out.”

Vicente also sees temporal limitations as an asset in his creation. “Kid Vinil, who played with us for 15 years, said that the Autobahn is the only place where you will never be betrayed musically. You go and know exactly what you are going to play.”

The rocker, in fact, is not the only representative of the artistic class to be part of the project’s history. Marcelo Nova, Leo Jaime, Fê Lemos and Fernando Deluqui have already taken over the musical command of the party, which also saw some of its most memorable moments with international musicians who passed by.

“The most important night of our lives happened on September 24, 2005, when the five members of the Human League partied until five in the morning and Phil Oakey played as a guest DJ”, remembers Vicente. “They performed at a music festival before, in Anhembi, and the audience didn’t make as much noise. When they played at the party, everyone sang the songs much louder.”

Always next to the booth of one of the longest-running parties in São Paulo, an image of São Judas Tadeu has accompanied the DJ for years on top of a huge Rubik’s Cube. “He’s the patron saint of impossible causes. It’s been 31 years, right? It’s not easy, just with his own help.”

Autobahn
R. Turiassu, 806, Perdizes, Instagram @autobahn_anos80. Every Saturday at 10pm. Tickets: R$38 (with name on the list on the website anos80.com.br) or R$80 without a list