Simon and Helen do Ibiza - part 1

Oct 17

3 min read

I’ll let you in on a bit of a secret: I’m not a real raver.

I was 8 years old at the end of 1988 and was an indie kid (albeit with a decent dance music collection) until 2002, so I never properly went clubbing until I met my then-girlfriend, now wife, Helen in 2002.

Helen is a raver. Although she never knew who she was dancing to, she was a regular in the Leeds nightclubs from the mid-'90s. She also has a lot more stamina than I do, even now!

As we always prioritized Glastonbury, Sonar, Exit, and various other places ahead of Ibiza, our first visit was relatively late in 2012. As soon as I set foot in Ibiza Town after landing, I knew this was the place for me. Trips to Glasto were now a thing of the past. We saw Dixon, Âme, and Todd Terje at Space on our first night, Tania Vulcano, The Martinez Brothers, and Ellen Allien at DC10 the next, and so on. It was an AMAZING week.

It was so good, we went back four weeks later, albeit after all the clubs had closed. We still had an amazing time.

This year is Helen’s big birthday, and after returning following a seven-year gap last year, it was a no-brainer to have a big session in 2024.

The first four days of the holiday were spent at Pikes Hotel, just outside of San Antonio. The place has gone down in Ibiza history as the hedonistic playground of Brit Tony Pike, hosting A-list celebrities such as Grace Jones, Julio Iglesias, and Carl Cox, among others. It’s supposedly the site of Freddie Mercury’s infamous 40th birthday party (Google it!) and the location of the "Club Tropicana" music video featuring a 19-year-old George Michael lounging on a lilo in the pool. Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys was there when we were there. I was starry-eyed.

As the venue is so small, in a couple of minutes, you can walk from your room to Freddie’s, the main club venue, or to the pool, with arguably the best pool DJs in the world! They play a great variety of music with a truly incredible view of the Benimussa Hills. Knowing this was a marathon, not a sprint, I took it relatively easy while there. Notable attractions were PBR Streetgang, a rock night (more like indie), and many, many pool DJs like Rob Da Bank, Dicky Trisco, and Andy Baxter. Best track: 12” extended mix of “Right” by David Bowie.

All this comes at a truly eye-watering price, so after four days, we checked out and moved to Café Montesol Square in Ibiza Town.

However, we did return on Tuesday for a quickly announced “Ball Pool” Party featuring Carl Craig, James Zabiela, and Ida Engberg. We started the night listening to Wham by the pool, sipping Bloody Marys, and finished it in Freddie’s, where Carl Craig was rinsing the sound system with pounding house and disco. It was our best night on the island, and I still shiver thinking about it now.

Part two of Simon and Helen do Ibiza in next week's blog !

For those of you want to see Simon is action behind the decks this weekend - Ravers in Dubai is doing a double weekend!

Friday 18th of October - EITP techno night at Room 3 - 25 Hours hotel