Radio 1 Heroes Come Together at Space, Ibiza

Apparently, every year, a few thousand British clubbers book their summer holidays to coincide with the revered Radio 1 parties in Ibiza; a completely comprehensible claim were you at Space on Thursday night.

MORE like an Essex pub at closing time than a Come Together fiesta in Playa d’en Bossa, the club was packed to the gunwales with BBC radio devotees there to honour some of the most influential names in music, past and present.

Radio 1’s star DJs also descended on the island for the weekend (6-8 August) of annual events taking place at Cream, Cocoon and Ibiza Rocks. But Come Together at Space – branded as such for its diverse fusion of genres – seems the most obvious club night to host Radio 1’s intentionally muddled party format.

The evening began with a pretty tame main room. DJ José De Divina looked bored out of his mind; consequently so did everyone else. Troy Pierce tried to rectify things but failed to secure much response. While next door in the terrace, Daisy Heartbreaker was struggling to warm up a pretty non-receptive crowd with watery remixes.

Then, on came (arguably) the world’s biggest music producer and a Radio 1 darling and the masses went ballistic. Mark Ronson and Zane Lowe, respectively, paired up for a two-hour set of random favourites from hip hop to rock, including Rage Against the Machine, AC/DC and Beastie Boys.

Looking super dapper in a blazer ‘n’ T combo and with a newly-bleached barnet, Ronson (easily the most stylish man in the room) seemed content to be the understated, insignificant other to a hyperactive and verbose Lowe. Barely able to last five minutes without shouting clichéd ramblings down the microphone (‘Put your hands in the air!’) Lowe seemed determined to hold the spotlight. Ronson meanwhile, sucked nervously on a cigarette looking ill at ease with the whole scene – especially when he tried to join in with the odd bop or head bang.

Founding father of hip hop Grandmaster Flash followed the same system, mixing up classics by the likes of Naughty By Nature, Lenny Kravitz and Cypress Hill. It was like a school disco of old faves with Grandmaster’s signature scratching the only unifying element. Yet despite the bizarre compositions, all three of them – heroes in their own right – were adored by the holiday hordes who will no doubt be returning again next year.

First published on I Voice, Ibiza, August 2010.
© Abbey Stirling