RuPaul talks his wild and crazy ‘80s club kid days

These days, RuPaul is most famous for his reality competition show, "RuPaul's Drag Race," which returns for a seventh season Monday at 9 p.m. on Logo. But before the drag superstar's rise to fame, RuPaul Charles, 54, was an '80s club kid — performing his own music, emceeing and go-go dancing.

"I'm from San Diego, Calif. I knew that for my star to shine, I would have to move to New York, become an Andy Warhol superstar and then make my way back to Hollywood," RuPaul tells The Post. "I didn't become an Andy Warhol superstar, but everything else is pretty much how it worked for me. New York, I knew, would get my energy."

Now RuPaul, who splits time between LA and a place in the West Village he's had for 20 years, looks back fondly at his wild and crazy times in the mid- to late-'80s and early '90s.

This is his party New York.

1. Pyramid Club, 101 Avenue A between Sixth and Seventh Streets

Photo: Christian Johnston

"Because I was sleeping on people's couches, I kept most of my costumes and my stuff in the basement at the Pyramid . . . The Pyramid was the mecca for [Lady Bunny and me]. There was one time when I was go-go dancing [in 1984], and I came down [the] corkscrew stairs that led from the stage to the basement, and I was sweaty. When I got down there, Madonna was holding court with all of her friends in the basement. I remember they all looked at me like I was some jungle person who had invaded their space, because, you know, I'm dressed in some tribal something or whatever. She was that classic mean girl from high school who would turn her nose up at you. It wasn't like she was Kylie Minogue, who is obviously kindness and sweetness. That's not what Madonna was at all — but that's really part of the appeal with her, honestly."

2. Jane West Hotel (now The Jane), 113 Jane St. near West Street

Photo: Helayne Seidman

"[In the beginning,] when I did have money, I would rent a room at the Jane West Hotel — when I was getting some go-go dancing gigs or I could perform to my own songs. It was a dump. It had that distinctive New York smell — it's like a mixture of mold, soot and grime. The only place you can smell that now is in the subway."

3. 333 Rector Place, at South End Ave.

Photo: Lorenzo Ciniglio

"On my new album, 'Realness,' I reunite with the producer I recorded [the 1992 hit] 'Supermodel' with. His name is Eric Kupper, and I recorded 'Supermodel' at his apartment. He had a studio in his living room. I remember looking out the window and I could see the Statue of Liberty during the recording session."

4. Image Production Center, 727 Eleventh Avenue at 52nd Street

Photo: WireImage

"There was a studio there where we filmed the VH1 talk show ['The RuPaul Show,' which premiered in 1996]. We did 100 episodes. Diana Ross, my childhood idol, was my first guest. For me to have made this leap from just a few years prior sleeping on my sister's couch to having my own show and interviewing my idol was quite a reward."

5. Area, formerly 157 Hudson St. between Laight and Hubert Streets

Photo: Getty Images

"I'd see Andy Warhol at a club called Area. Everyone would be talking, 'Oh my God, Andy's here!' because he was the god of our world. His mentality and his philosophy was what we had based our whole lives on, which is this postmodern, punk, create-your-own celebrity. Anyone could be a celebrity with the right clothes and the right attitude."

6. The Hudson Piers, between Charles and West 10th Streets

Photo: Christian Johnston

"I moved to New York in 1984, and I lived here for six months, sleeping on couches or on the piers before the city spit me back out and I went to Atlanta [for a while]. There were people who were hooking up in cars, because back then you could park your car facing the Hudson, right at the river's edge."

7. Save the Robots, formerly 25, Avenue B between Second and Third Streets

Photo: Christian Johnston

"[There were] illegal after-hours clubs in the East Village, like Save the Robots. The party scene was gay, straight, lesbian, black, white, rich, poor, uptown, downtown. It wasn't so polarized. You could see the girl on the cover of Vogue and some artist who lives on the street."

8. Tompkins Square Park, Seventh through Tenth Streets between Avenues A and B

Photo: Brian Zak

"I became an overnight downtown star in 1989 when I did Wigstock [in Tompkins Square Park]. I lip-synced to 'Don't You Want My Love' [from] the 'Ruthless People' soundtrack. I think I also did Whitney Houston's 'So Emotional' and that tore the house down too… I had done a lot of campaigning and had been all over the place looking great. People were receptive because I had laid the groundwork for my ascension."

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