Once again we’ll be in Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Aberdeen but new venues now included in Belfast and Nottingham. The parties operated like amusement parks for adults and for twenty dollars at the door you were granted an experience like no other on earth. As the island grows and thrives, and new generations move Ibiza forward, this little gem is unlikely to forget its roots and rich heritage. A heritage that truly makes Ibiza the special place it continues to be. I didn’t know it at the time, but that record started a love affair with clubbing and dance music that would go on to shape my life well into my late 20s, costing me thousands of pounds in vinyl and DJ equipment.

Mystiques played host to one of the best nights out of my life. We went for a friend’s 18th and, honestly, I smiled and laughed myself hoarse. While The Place could generate a heady atmosphere with a smaller headcount, Valentino’s needed a big crowd to get it jumping. But when it was full, it delivered some of the best nights out for me and my friends. From foam parties and all-you-can-drink sessions, to fairgrounds on the car park, Vally’s was not afraid to mix it up. Clubland are a series of compilation albums from Clubland released by Universal Music TV and All Around the World Productions. While I was less keen on the American Diner part of the club – I can still taste one of their burgers that I threw up shortly after a lengthy stint on the Smirnoff Ice – it was nice to have the option to be able to get food. It was also a great place to escape the dancefloor between tunes and be able to chat.I walk-danced towards the balcony that circled a portion of the basement dancefloor to take in the sight below. Lasers played over the pulsating crowd who jumped and moved in unison as one tune merged seamlessly into the next.

There are more pubs, clubs and bars I want to mention because, in all honesty, we were spoilt for choice. Was it a great band or the venue that made the time so special... or was there just something in the air? In 1991, Steve Eichner was hired by Peter Gatien, an uncompromising entrepreneur from Quebec whose financial ventures in New York nightlife defined him as the undisputed “King of Clubland.” As house photographer to Gatien’s club empire, Eichner was granted exclusive access to some of the most iconic venues of the era: the Limelight, Tunnel, Palladium, and Club USA. In this new era of clubbing, every detail of the evening—from the neon ambience to the go-go dancing Club Kids—was coordinated to make each paying guest feel as if they were at the center of the universe. The parties would operate like amusement parks for adults and for twenty dollars at the door you were granted an experience like no other on earth. The 70s saw the real arrival of the tourist boom that has continued ever since. It also saw the opening of the discos, which would define history of Ibiza clubbing to the present day. Rave made it big in the 80s, Balearic house really emerged in the 90s, and today an eclectic mix of musical styles and people make it a massive tourist industry and one of the most fascinating and mind-blowing places to visit. Bold experiments in music, fashion, art, and sexuality set the tone for decades to come and established a new paradigm of American culture, one that extends well beyond the realms of nightlife and entertainment. Sexuality was celebrated in all of its colorful forms and without judgement. In these clubs, every breed of New Yorker—from candy-eyed ravers to Wall Street suits—intermingled with respect and longing for an unforgettable night.

A typical night out in Hanley for me would begin with me catching the Disco Bus – the 232 Uttoxeter to Hanley service, every quarter past and a quarter to – into town.

But there was more to The Place than just the basement. If a change of pace was required late on, you had the option of the upstairs bar, where the music was less intense in volume and pace. Clubland began as a series of compilation albums in 2002 and was the umbrella brand for an entire movement of commercial dance music which spawned countless classic dance hits over the past 20 years with artists such as Cascada, Scooter, BassHunter and Ultrabeat amongst many, many more – selling 30m albums The Void, in particular, was a favoured destination for clubbers from all over the UK, regularly hosting world-famous DJs such as Pete Tong, Carl Cox, Judge Jules and local legend, Pete Bromley.

Most people associate Ibiza’s popularity with 70s hippies. However, the island was already bustling in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and early sixties - when Ibiza life was quite a bohemian affair. Pioneers, writers, painters and other artists were working and enjoying life from the magic white island way before the hippies came. For Peter Gatien, the closing of Club USA marked the beginning of the end for Clubland; by the end of the decade, Gatien would be deported to his home country of Canada under charges of tax evasion. Many of the promoters, artists, and Club Kids who helped define the scene had succumbed to the lifestyle’s heavy use of drugs and alcohol; and in 1996, the murder of Club Kid and purported drug dealer Andre Melendez by Michael Alig and his roommate Robert “Freeze” Riggs meant that the party was truly over. It was an eye-opening experience for a young lad from Cheadle, but I have rarely spent time in such a welcoming and carefree crowd since. Read More Related Articles

Following the massive success of last year’s tour – we are proud to announce that Clubland will be returning to the UK arena for six shows in April/ May of 2024. New York City nightlife in the early 1990s was a hot and visceral experience. Drenched in throbbing neon while whirling away inside the relentless, pulsating music, a simple passing glance and an open mind could lead to the journey of a lifetime. True freedom was something tangible—even addictive. Freedom from one’s self. Freedom from society’s expectations. Freedom from the politics and anxieties that dwell beyond the club walls. In New York after dark, life was indulged to the heart’s content, and there was plenty to go around. Each frame is like a snapshot from a fever dream that tingles the senses—the visceral heat of the bodies, the smell of the spilled liquor, the deafening bass.The starting point for an epic night out was always The Pig and Truffle. I adore that pub, and although it lived on in various guises, it’ll always be the P&T to me. Then there were Fat Cats, Revolution, Varsity, Manhattan’s, Chicos and more I can’t recall – all places we frequented at one time or another, forging friendships, building relationships, laughing and toasting a future too distant to care about.