Studio 54's Ian Schrager Opens His First Club Post-Presidential Pardon

People always wanted me to do a new nightclub, and I never wanted to because I didn't have anything new to say. It’s a young person’s business. I found it boring and tedious, everything that was being done.

How is this different?

You come here to be entertained, stimulated, be expanded and to try to get under one roof all those things that you previously had to go to many different venues to get. When you do a nightclub with just dancing, it has a shelf life. This doesn't because of the variety and nature of the events. I would love to be able to have stadium performers perform in an intimate way [so] that you can actually reach out and touch the audience.

Why do you think Studio 54 continues to capture the public imagination?

It’s a human ideal to achieve an absolute freedom, to be able to have fun without the fear of any kind of repercussions or ramifications. There wasn't anything you could do at Studio that you couldn't wake up the next morning and walk away from.

What did being pardoned by President Obama, in one of his last acts as president, mean to you?

It brought closure to a very painful situation. It was something I was embarrassed about for my children. I wanted acknowledgement that you can make a mistake -- and boy, did we make a mistake -- but what’s important is that you pick yourself up and dust yourself off and go on.

This article originally appeared in the Oct. 28 issue of Billboard.