Ibiza 2007

[Stuart F]

I did promise a report but I maybe got a bit carried away when writing this. This is 2000 words long so a gold star if you manage to stick with this

Well my journey for Ibiza 2007 begun on Friday 10th August at 5:45pm when I left Oban for the 2 hour drive down to Glasgow Airport. After a crazy diversion where I actually was heading the opposite direction from the airport for 10 minutes and after a struggle to find the long stay car park, I eventually checked in for my 10pm flight to Ibiza at 8:30pm. I had a quick bite to eat then went along to the gate around 30 minutes before departure where things were rather rowdy. I suppose it is to be expected on a Glasgow to Ibiza flight but when it takes 15 minutes for the flight steward to calm down the passengers so they can do the usual safety message, I did wonder if I would be arriving in the White Isle that night. Eventually though we took off and although I may sound like a bore, I switched on my laptop, put my headphones on and listened to an old Jules Café Mambo set from 2001 whilst doing some work for the duration of the flight.

We landed in Ibiza at 2am and I shared a shuttle bus with some fellow Scottish lads to my hotel in San Antonio. I was staying at the Hotel Marfil which is not too far from all the action but is also ideally outwith audible reach of all the noise. One of the first things I do when I check in at a hotel is check what TV channels are available and I was really pleased to find that one of the channels were broadcasting Rafael Nadal’s quarter final match in the Montreal Tennis Masters live so I watched the remainder of that before I fell asleep just after 4am.

I woke at 12 noon on Saturday and after having a bite to eat and randomly meeting someone from Oban in the West End, I went down to the beach just across from Eden & Es Paradis to tan my pale Scottish skin. After realising that I couldn’t stay in the sun too long or I would end up looking like a lobster, I went back to the hotel and took advantage of the hotel’s free Wi-Fi service to check the latest SPL Football scores.

At 4:30pm, I headed along to Café Mambo for Radio 1’s 5 hour live broadcast. It was great to see that Café Mambo had installed a wooden terrace on the beach side of the promenade as last year, everyone was crammed on to the small promenade and it was actually quite dangerous. The new wooden terrace was already full and I found a spot where I could hear the music and chat while also being able to get some good photos as well. Vernon Kay was the host of the first show between 5 & 8pm and he was joined throughout the three hours by Zane Lowe, Annie Mac, Jules and comically Pete Tong chained to a smurf. Also in attendance at Café Mambo in the VIP area was Tess Daly, Coleen McLoughlin and some of the male characters from Hollyoaks although I only knew this as I heard someone mention the fact. Pete Tong went on air from 8 till 10pm for the sunset slot which Jules would normally do and although I was disappointed when I heard Jules wasn’t doing this, Tong played some awesome tunes which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Once the broadcast finished, I went back to my hotel to get ready for the Cream/R1 Essential mix night at Amnesia. On my way back, I grabbed a KFC and eat it at the hotel whilst watching the Spanish Super Cup 1st Leg match between Sevilla and Real Madrid. Once that finished, I had a quick shower then walked down to the taxi rank to grab a cab along to Amnesia. The queue was mammoth though when I got there and I ended up waiting for just under an hour before I shared a taxi with a couple of lads from down south.

I was lucky enough to have my name on the VIP Guestlist for the night but when I entered Amnesia just after 1am, I decided I would have a wander round the dancefloor before I headed up to the VIP area. The dancefloor though was completely rammed and very uncomfortable so I decided that I would go up to the VIP area sooner rather than later. It was almost just as busy up there though just as it was down on the floor but I managed to grab a good vantage point for watching all the action. Just as I got there, Sasha had just finished his set and over the next 3 hours, Amnesia and the R1 Listeners back home were treated to awesome sets by the Swedish House Mafia and then Eddie Halliwell before I decided to call it a night just after 6am as I could feel the eyes wanting to shut. For someone who is used to clubs closing at 2am up here in Scotland, I was quite chuffed though that I managed to last that long and I arrived back in San Antonio just after 7am.

I had decided when I went to bed that I would have a long sleep in preparation for another big night at Judgement Sundays and I fulfilled this wish when I woke up and noticed that the time on my traveller’s alarm clock was 4:30pm. I went down into the centre, grabbed a bite to eat and then went back to the hotel where I chilled out on the laptop for an hour or so and then watched the Montreal Masters Tennis Final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. As you may have gathered by now, I’m a bit of a fanatic when it comes to sport on TV.

A few weeks prior thanks to Jules, I had arranged to come along to Judgement Sundays as a VIP and record some interviews as part of a feature for my special Ibiza show which would showcase what is billed as ‘The Most Popular Night in San Antonio’. I had arranged to meet with Laura, who is Jules’ PA for Judgement Sundays, at the first pre-party at Kanya at 9:30pm and once we met, I recorded some words from one of the dancer’s and PA’s. There was already a great atmosphere building for the night at Kanya and it was clear that this particular night was probably going to be the busiest of the season. I then went along to Bar M for the second pre-party and recorded some stuff there before grabbing a late dinner at the KFC/Pizza Hut just along the road where I sat at the next table along from Laura, Producer of the Scott Mills Show.

Just before I went into Eden, I recorded some words from the excited clubbers waiting outside in the queue and I then got in the club just in time for the R1 Broadcast which began at 1am. The club was already really busy at this point and just as the broadcast begun, I spotted yet more people from Oban in the crowd who I didn’t even know were in Ibiza. I think they were as surprised to see me as I was to see them. Meanwhile, the VIP area behind the DJ Booth was beginning to fill with several DJ luminaries and it was great to finally meet people who I had only spoken with over the phone in the past. I also met the famous Major Problems from Eddie Halliwell’s show who is an absolute legend and I was really surprised to find that he knew of me. He was there to do the same as me which was grab some interviews with the DJs and just after their sets, we both grabbed words with Marco V and Sander Van Doorn in the upstairs chill-out-type room which is on the top of Eden. I ended up staying up there for the rest of the night drinking and chatting with Sander, his manager Jay, Major Problems and their accompanying females and next thing I knew it was 7am, someone shouted that the music was finished and it was time to leave. It was bizarre to see the club empty on my way out and I felt for the staff having to perform the clean-up operation. There were words of an offer of an after party but I decided that it was best to head straight to my bed considering the fact that I had to get up just over four hours later to prepare for my show which was being recorded at Café Mambo that afternoon. It was a superb night though and without a doubt, one of the best nights out I have ever had.

After getting up at 11:30am on Monday and grabbing some breakfast in the hotel, I then started preparing for my show at Mambo. This involved choosing a playlist, scripting voice links and editing all the interviews from the previous night together to make a 10 minute feature. I finished just in time and headed along to the upstairs studio at Café Mambo for 4pm. The recording went very well in front of a stunning view over the Mediterranean Sea and it was crazy to imagine that I was broadcasting in the same studio that Radio 1 were using that weekend.

A few weeks before, I had arranged a tennis match with a local Spaniard at the Sun Active Club in San Antonio and once I finished at Mambo, I went straight along to the tennis club. I’m a keen tennis player and I’m actually ranked 808 in Britain although I’m not too sure if this is something to boast about. Whilst warming up, the heat was already starting to go for me and I wasn’t too sure I would last the whole match. After going down in the first set by 6 games to 2, it started to cool down a bit and I managed to win the next two sets to clinch the match. After the match, my opponent mentioned to me that he had once played Rafael Nadal when he was aged 9 in the Balearics Cup as Nadal is from Mallorca and I flooded him with questions about the World No.2 when he was younger while he generously gave me a lift back to Café Mambo for the sunset.

The sunset that night was stunning and after, I had a superb meal at Kanya before heading back to the hotel for an early night as I was flying back home the next day. My Easyjet flight back to Glasgow left at 2:20pm on Tuesday afternoon and I had decided to take advantage of the speedy boarding service since it was only £2.50. There was already a huge queue when I got to the gate and I got some glaring looks from my fellow passengers as I went straight to the front when they called for those with Speedy Boarding to come forward especially seen as I was the only one with it. When I showed my boarding card to the member of staff, she told me that I did not have Speedy Boarding and my heart filled with trepidation as I realised that I would have to walk right to the back of the queue in front of these unhappy passengers. Thankfully though, I remembered that I had my Easyjet Confirmation slip in my laptop bag and I showed this to the lady who then let me through first and I managed to get a front row seat with plenty of legroom for my long legs.

On the flight, I transferred my photos from my camera onto my laptop and you can see a selection of these at http://www.stuart-fraser.co.uk/ibiza2007.htm as well as some videos as well. It was a superb weekend which passed so quickly and I will definitely be back in Ibiza in 2008!

[Neuro]

Truly eye-opening.

A fantastic read, Stuart, cheers for putting this up. And some cracking photos as well!

[Chrissie Brown]

I did promise a report but I maybe got a bit carried away when writing this. This is 2000 words long so a gold star if you manage to stick with this

Wow it's Gold Stars to you Stuart for such an interesting report (and photos) Many thanks. :thumbsup:

[Bjorn]

Fantastic report Stu - must have took you forever to write!

Reckon u've missed me off a couple of those photo's outside mambo for the Radio1 weekend by a few inches!

[Stuart F]

Reckon u've missed me off a couple of those photo's outside mambo for the Radio1 weekend by a few inches!

I did keep an eye out for you as I remembered you saying on here that you were going to be there but I never did see you. Can't have been looking hard enough lol!

[Quadrant]

Just read this and I enjoyed this, Sir!

I can imagine that situation with the Speedy Boarding... you would have received a lot of abuse from the other passengers if they didn't let you on!

[Chrissie Brown]

BTW Stuart the link to your photos of Ibiza (near the end of yor report) isn't working anymore.

[Stuart F]

Yeah sorry Chrissie. I took the photos down a couple of weeks ago.

[Chrissie Brown]

I said l would do a report on my holiday in Ibiza, which l started to do a couple of weeks ago and forgot to finish, so here goes.

I drove up to Chiswick, London on Sun 9th to stay with friends and then on Tuesday night (11th Sept) l got the last train from Chiswick to Victoria Station.

From Victoria l got a train to Gatwick Airport arriving at 1.00am and had to wait until 4.00am before l could check in, my flight was 6.35am. l had downloaded some good music (mostly mixes done by you guys) onto my MP3 player and also had plenty to read too so the time soon passed by. Our plane left on time and arrived in Ibiza at 9.45 (local time) but l didn't get to my hotel until midday so as soon as l got to my room and unpacked a few things l went to sleep for about 3 hours.

I was staying half board at the Hotel Riviera which is in the Cala De Bou area of San Antonio Bay. I had the most incredible views of the whole bay from my hotel room which was on the 3rd floor. Despite being in a supposedly “quieter" part of San Antonio Bay the Hotel Riviera pumped out some great tunes from 11am until midnight each day which was an added bonus

Anyway after having a sleep l decided to take a few photos of the wonderful views from my room and that’s when l discovered that l had lost my lovely new fuchsia pink Z5fd Fugifilm digital camera. I was absolutely gutted as l had only had it 12 days! It had been in my rucksack (hand luggage) so it either dropped out when l was getting things out of the bag or it was stolen. I reported it to my Thomas Cook Rep who was very helpful but unfortunately no one had handed it in at Ibiza Airport, Gatwick or Victoria Station. I normally put my name and mobile number inside the camera case so that if someone finds it they have the option of getting in contact. On this occasion l failed to do this.

The following day l walked from my hotel into San Antonio town and then up past Cafe Mamba and Kanya which took about 90 mins and also tried to track down another camera like the one l had lost but wasn't successful. In the evening l went on a coach trip to Ibiza town to do some shopping and managed to get another Z5 camera but could only get it in silver and it was a lot more expensive too.

I got back to my hotel at 11.30, got changed and went to BN3, a friendly bar next to my hotel and from there l got the party bus to Cream@Amnesia to see Above and Beyond, Ferry Corsten and Eddie Haliwell. Amnesia was rammed and rocking and as I’m so short l was knocked around so l went and stood at the top of these steps so that l had a good view of the DJs. The incredible lightshow and dry ice-belching canons added to the atmosphere. Both A&B and Ferry Corsten were brilliant, I’ve never seen them live before, but unfortunately l had both my camcorder and camera confiscated by this horrible Spanish guy. He grabbed me by my arm and marched me off to this desk where he insisted my cameras were locked away. I thought he was going to take me outside and shoot me I wasn't the only one who had their cameras confiscated. However loads of clubbers were taking photos but I guess l was just unlucky. TBH l hadn't seen the notice in reception stating that no photography was allowed. BTW I think Ferry’s last tune was Binary Finary 1999 (Gouryella Mix) which sounded amazing.

When l first arrived at Amnesia the bass was so loud and deep it felt as if my heart was thumping loudly, it was a strange feeling as it took my breathe away. After Ferry’s excellent set l went into the other room which was very different from the main room mainly due to all the greenery, the atmosphere was electric in there too. I was going to stay for Eddie’s set but decided to get the “party bus” back to San Antonio as l didn’t want to fork out £15.00 for a taxi and tbh wasn’t happy about getting into a taxi on my own.

I was starving hungry as l hadn’t eaten since 8pm and was hoping to get something to eat at Amnesia but l was out of luck as l couldn’t get any food there. Not even a burger van in sight I got back to my hotel at 7am but as l was so hungry l couldn’t sleep as my stomach was rumbling so went into breakfast at 8 then went back to bed again ‘til 1pm.

I really wanted to go to Pacha that night (Friday) to see Pete Tong and David Guetto but as l was still feeling a bit tired l reluctantly gave it a miss and got the ferry and went to Café Mamba and Café Del Mar where l met some very interesting people.

On Sunday afternoon l was sensible and had a nap as l had a very busy night ahead of me.

I got to Kanya at around 9.30 where Jules, Sander Van Doorn, Eddie Haliwell and Vicky Devine were signing flyers, t-shirts etc and the JS dancers were also there. l meet 3 other clubbers there who like me were also on the VIP guest list, so after having a bit of a chat with Jules, who was full of beans and larking about, we walked down to Bar M together to watch Jules’s 30 min pre-party set which really put everyone in the mood to party. Bumped into some girls who had been on my flight and also another bunch of girls from Penzance. It sure is a small world.

We then went across the road to the bar next to Eden to have a few drinks before getting into the VIP queue at 12.30. However the other queue was moving along nicely but we weren’t allowed in until 1.15 as the girl on the desk hadn’t finished typing up the guest-list into the computer. We couldn’t really complain as we weren’t paying to get in but it was really frustrating watching everyone else going in.

Had the best time ever at JS closing party it was just great and the atmosphere was electric. I thought the VIP area, which is directly behind the DJ booth, would be crowded but there were only about 20 of us in the VIP area. I had a chat to Sander Van Doorn and his lovely girlfriend before and after his set. He seems a really nice guy and his set was spot on. It was great to hear him playing Leon Boiler vs. Sander Van Doorn “No Need To” What a tune…… I had quite a lot to drink so by the time l got to speak to Amanda (Jules’s wife) l was probably talking a load of rubbish. :redface:

I remember Jules started off his set at 3.00am with “LA2DC” as its one of my favourite tunes this summer. I was in the loo when l heard the start of “Laid Bare” another favourite of mine so l got out of there as quickly as possible as l didn’t want to miss that “hands in the air” moment. I was enjoying myself so much that l didn’t take that many photos. Jules played from 3-4.15 and then Eddie took over and the crowds were chanting “Eddie, Eddie, Eddie”. l can’t remember what he played as by then l had a few too many so after awhile l went into the back room and listened to Jules set in there. It was quite wild in there too and Jules looked as if he was really enjoying himself. I stayed to the end of his set and then went back into the main room where it was still very busy and took a walk round and also took a few pictures. I then went back to the VIP area to listen to Lisa Lashes set (which was mental) and made a big mistake as l sat down, which was fatal, as l started to feel really tired. I listened to most of Lisa’s set and then said goodbye to Don, Pippa and David and left at around 6.45 and got a taxi back to my hotel.

The night flew by far too quickly and when l woke up at 2pm l felt really sad that the JS closing party was all over and regretted not staying until the bitter end. I would love to have done it all over again.

I had heard a lot of bad things about San Antonio but l thought it was very civilized as l didn’t witness any loutish behaviour or anyone being sick. Perhaps it's different in August.

On Monday night l went on the Sunset Cruise which was very interesting and fortunately there was a beautiful sunset too. I then went for a drink in San Antonio and got the ferry back, then stopped off at BN3 to tell them how good JS was and then had an early night.

I will definitely be going back to Ibiza again, hopefully next year, and will go for 2 weeks as a week just isn’t long enough. I also wanted to go to Space but there wasn’t time. I was shocked at how expensive the drinks are in the big clubs It’s bad enough paying £30+ to get into the clubs but to have to pay £12 for a vodka and coke is a total rip off.

I’ll have a go at posting up a few photos.

[Bjorn]

i shoved my camera down my pants when walking into amnesia! lol!

Tis an amazing place, i can never stop thinking about it - biggest spend of the year for me tho, absoloutly destroys your bank balance, but it is 100% worth it!

[Neuro]

Amazing report Chrissie - was an excellent read.

That nasty Spanish guy who confiscated your camera etc before Amnesia I guess parallels with some bouncers over in the UK, who do their job rigorously but have no interest in the music! There's no point arguing with a Spaniard when he's in a mood; they can be very stubborn indeed!

Hope you can get what photos you did manage to take up soon...

[Max Kane]

Nice report, glad to hear you had a good time Chrissie

[Chrissie Brown]

Please could someone explain to me how l get the photos up on here. :confused: Also do l have to reduce them down in size. BTW l'm using FinePix Viewer which came with my camera. Would appreciate some help as l've never done this before.

[Chrissie Brown]

i shoved my camera down my pants when walking into amnesia! lol!

I didn't have a problem getting into the club with my camcorder and camera (plus mobile phone with camera) as l wasn't searched but got caught taking photos whilst watching A&B.

He wasn't one of the bouncers either, he was standing near me taking photos too but l reckon he must have been Amnesia's or Cream's Offical Photographer.

[Neuro]

Please could someone explain to me how l get the photos up on here. :confused: Also do l have to reduce them down in size. BTW l'm using FinePix Viewer which came with my camera. Would appreciate some help as l've never done this before.

You can use either the normal or "quick reply" buttons below for this...

All you do is get your cursor in the correct place where you want your picture (start a new line is best), and click the picture icon at the top of the text box to insert an image. Then follow the instructions in the pop-up

Effectively it wraps the URL in {img} tags so the board knows when to display a picture in a post... hope that helps!

[Bjorn]

have you uploaded them to the internet yet Chrissie? You need to do that first before be post them on here.

Do this by using this website:

Photobucket

You upload them by following the instructions then simply copy & paste the URl for each picture it gives you once they are uploaded - this site also helpfully wraps them in {IMG} tags ready for you to paste & you don't have to do what tim said

[Chrissie Brown]

Thanks for your help much appreciated. Unfortunately having problems getting signed up as a message keeps coming up saying that someone with the same email address as me already has an account. :confused:

I've sent them an email and am waiting for reply.

[Bjorn]

no probs chrissie....that is very strange!

[Chrissie Brown]

As you can see l've managed to get one of my pics up on here and will do some more tomorrow or Sat. It's going to take me a while to get the hang of it.

[Bjorn]

ah sorted Chrissie, u know how to do it now!

[JasonB]

Thats a great jules pic I have to say and a excellent report aswell great read

[Stuart F]

Great read Chrissie. Sounds like you had a good time! Look forward to seeing more of the photos

[Chrissie Brown]

[bigsteve]

Great pics, Chrissie. Looks wicked :thumbsup:

[Bjorn]

I love Mambo so much, we went there prettyy much every day to watch the sunset, real vivid memories forever!