Remembering Ibiza

Sometime in the late 1970's while we were living on the lovely island of Ibiza, my sister and I were invited to a pool and curry party at a lovely villa that was previously owned by the Bee Gees (Brothers Gibb) who frequented the island.  I was thrilled to find a link to it, what a blast from the past!
http://www.mrandmrssmith.com/self-catering/spain/ibiza-balearic-islands/can-alaya/

I still remember the very long wooden table filled with an endless variety of toppings for the curry.  Of course the Bee Gees music was probably playing as they had many big hits in the late 70's Staying Alive, Massachussetts, Night Fever etc. 

Was very excited to find this link. Some Bee Gees music to set the mood for back in the day. Imagine all night dancing and walking home with the sunrise with a group of great friends, having breakfast in a beach bar and starting it all over again the next day......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUmJZ1kyYoU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XWYefe9EzI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHWeuQyFouo&feature=related

1983 Mom and I outside a trendy bar on Cala Des Moro Beach, called Cafe del Mar, San Antonio, Ibiza

An interesting write up about this bar, (I still have one of the cassettes from their now famous music).

http://www.ibizaholidays.com/Clubbing/Cafe_del_mar.asp

Some pictures from the interior

Inside Cafe Del Mar Decor

Outside our Villa in San Antonio, Ibiza

1982 Some of the local ex pats and entertainers at an End of Season Party, (I am in the middle with my eyes closed)

San Antonio Ibiza

I enjoyed this write up about Ibiza, thought it captured the story of this unique island somewhat, and there are many Ibiza stories I could write from our time there, this speaks a little about it.  This island always drew people back once you have spent time there, it is impossible not to go back. I was fortunate to spend my summers there in my teen years and winters in the Canary Islands. Still have many friends and fond memories from this time that I remember, many still live there.


Why the stars love Ibiza By Stephen Armstrong, Mail on Sunday


Last updated at 15:20 16 August 2004


Kylie: among Ibiza's many celebrity fans



Say Ibiza and most people think of all-night clubbing or drunken Brits fighting and vomiting in the streets. But away from the tourist hot spots is an island of beautiful scenery and one that has been a magnet for celebrities for decades.

During the seven days I was there, P Diddy's yacht was berthed in Ibiza Town harbour and Kylie Minogue was rumoured to be catching some rays in the hills in the north. And these were only the ones I heard about.

Most celebrities head out to Ibiza quite simply because the locals don't gossip about them or tell pushy journalists like me where anyone is staying.

In the Fifties, the island was a haven for Hollywood stars. Errol Flynn was a regular in Ibiza Town, dodging sex scandals back home. He would berth his yacht Zaca along the waterfront and come ashore with an entourage including Prince Bertil of Switzerland, uncle of today's Spanish King Juan Carlos.

They would drink in Casa Pepe, a little bar in the fishermen's quarter, eat at the Royalty Hotel in Santa Eulalia and party in the Mar Blau nightclub behind Ibiza Town. Sadly, only the Royalty survives today, but I found it did a mean chicken salad.

Elizabeth Taylor and Ursula Andress were also regular visitors throughout the Fifties. Andress even bought a house on the island.

London's acting aristocracy soon got to know about Ibiza's relaxed anonymity, too. First came Robert Stevens, Maggie Smith and Charlie Kay. They were soon followed by Diana Rigg and John Mills.

Then Robin Maugham took a place outside Santa Eulalia, near American matinee idol Sal Mineo's house, and he was soon joined by Leslie Phillips, Nigel Davenport and Terry-Thomas. When Laurence Olivier arrived in 1965, it secured Ibiza's reputation as the most fashionable place in Europe.

I was disappointed to find the showbiz set's favoured haunts around Santa Eulalia are now less champagne and caviar, more egg and chips.

The site of Diana Rigg's villa where she sunbathed naked is a grim modern suburb. Terry-Thomas's old house is an upmarket rural hotel, with a small working farm, run by his son Cushan, who's happy to chat to fans of his dad.

Susan Elliot, Denholm's widow, is the last of this era, however, living alone in their purpose-built villa and is unhappy to speak about Denholm's last days on the island battling AIDS.

These days, the real glamour is around Ibiza Town or at Pike's Hotel. Pike's owner - Tony Pike - was a typical backpacking Aussie, who fell in love with an English girl he met while visiting Ibiza. They settled down on the island and built a hotel.

Almost as soon as it was finished, a music industry type called Andrew Napier Bell came scouting for a video location. Bell loved Tony's hotel and decided to film the whole thing there. His band was an up-and-coming British duo called Wham! and the video was for their single Club Tropicana.

Suddenly everyone started coming to stay and the foyer is now draped in photos of the famous, all giving old Tony Pike a great big hug for the camera. There's Freddie Mercury, Kylie, Sade, Naomi Campbell, Jon Bon Jovi, Grace Jones, Jean-Claude Van Damme - all grinning by the pool, or in the bar.

Tony Pike started running through his favourite guests. George Michael - 'when he stays here he comes alone and gets a cab to Amnesia to go dancing'. Joan Baez - 'one night she led a kind of conga line round the pool, everyone just dancing to her voice'. Julio Iglesias - 'always does his exercises round the pool'. Kylie - 'lovely girl. But she doesn't get on well with women, except for my wife'. Freddie Mercury - 'the most incredible bloke I've ever met. The first time ever he sang Barcelona it was in my bar and he had his 41st birthday party in my hotel. When I asked him what the budget was he said, 'Budget? Do leave off Pike. I want the works and I want it to be remembered for years to come'.'

I had toyed with staying at Pike's, but decided to opt for the peace of a villa. The only question was, where should I stay if I wanted that celebrity feeling? In the north, between Sant Joan and the hippie beach Benirras, you'll find the supermodel villas. Elle MacPherson, Linda Evangelista and Jade Jagger have places up there and the rest of the fashionista crowd rent nearby. Feeling unsure if I could cope with bumping into Kate Moss in the local shop, I opted for the south.

Cala D'Hort and Sant Josep are dotted with music industry villas. Noel Gallagher recently bought Mike Oldfield's old place, while DJs Pete Tong and Eric Morillo are nearer San Rafael - handy for the superclubs Privilege and Amnesia. It helps to live near the factory gate, I guess.

Many villas on Ibiza are converted farmhouses, ranging from the ultra-luxurious with pool and view of the airport to my smaller, three-bedroom Casa Suner - still with a pool, naturally.

Casa Suner was ideally placed for the airport, Ibiza Town and my favourite beach - Cala D'Hort. I spent most of last year on the island researching a book on the history of the people who came here - from Romans looking for a good time to today's celebrities.

Cala D'Hort is a great place to get away from the bustle of a summer season. It is a beautiful, quiet, sandy bay with two great fish restaurants. Sadly, the beach isn't ideal for those who want to star-spot. The jet set favour the secluded, hideaway beaches in the north of the island or, if they're feeling decadent, Las Salinas Beach or Playa d'en Bossa.

Playa d'en Bossa is a full-on, headsdown, get-out-of-the-way-if-you're-not-here-for-fun, party beach. Home to the beach bar Bora Bora, at the height of the summer it's almost a 24-hour open-air disco.

Las Salinas is more sedate - but only just. Walking from the car park brings you out on to the sand near the Jockey Club beach bar.

Head to the right and you're in family territory. Head to the left, towards the thumping beats from the libidinous Sa Trinxa bar and you might as well be heading to Bora Bora, where costumes reveal more than they conceal.

The Jockey Club mediates between the two with chill-out music playing at a respectable volume. Celebrities, of course, always turn left.

On Ibiza there are more high-quality restaurants than you can shake a chicken wing at. Sa Capella, out by San Antonio, is very music industry, Bambuddha Grove, in the north of the island, serves an eclectic mix of Thai and modern European to glamorous Eurotrash.

KM5, towards the airport, is the discreet choice of the A-list and Can Costa in Ibiza Town serves mainly club workers and locals, offering excellent food at low prices.

Of course, you're going to have to try one of the nightclubs. Don't let age worry you. One of the regulars at Pacha is 65. He's left over from the Seventies when most of the big-name clubs were built. At that time, the Velvet Underground's Nico, Pink Floyd, Romy Schneider, Terence Stamp, Roman Polanski, Bob Dylan, Goldie Hawn, Nina van Pallandt and Niki Lauda had all bought houses on Ibiza, as had the Bee Gees and Roger Taylor of Queen.

At Pacha the manager, a Liverpool lad called Danny Whittle, told me that last year U2, Mariah Carey, Puff Daddy and Mick Jagger had all graced his dancefloor. Elle MacPherson loves to pop in for a boogie and, like George Michael at Amnesia, always travels without her minders.

Robbie Williams prefers Manumission at Privilege but does tend to arrive with his entourage, which isn't very Ibizan.

Indeed, I popped into Space, the daytime nightclub (if you can say that) and found myself pushed aside by Puff Daddy/P Diddy's entourage as his minders forced a route across the crowded dancefloor for Mr Diddy and a blonde who looked an awful lot like Lady Victoria Hervey.

No one was terribly impressed. Apparently there's a contract between those seeking sanctuary on the island and those who live there - be nice and they'll be nice in return.

This makes Ibiza one of the last places on Earth where the famous can genuinely live like everyone else.

Or look at it another way, I thought, as I stood by my pool looking down on to Ibiza Town's magnificent Renaissance Walls, trying to decide where to have dinner and whether I might take in a late night drink at a fashionable nightclub - it's a place where everyone can live like they're famous.

Stephen Armstrong's book The White Island - 2,000 Years of Pleasure In Ibiza is published by Bantam Press at £10.99.

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