appyammer interview for Faith Fanzine - a brilliant recollection of Amnesia Ibiza in those halcyon days of the late 80s
What year did you first visit Amnesia
Mid-late August 1987. I’d previously been to Ibiza in 1984 and 85 whilst my sister was living there. She’d worked at Ku and Es Paradise and had taken me to both these but never Amnesia, although she had spoken about it. I’d been working back in the UK with long time friends Trevor Fung and Paul Oakenfold at their “Project” night @ Ziggys in Streatham, designing and printing all the flyers and doin the odd warm up alongside former school mate Carl Cox. Trev had invited me out along with his brother Rudy and a bunch of other mates: George (a hairdresser from Croydon), Chrissie Jackson (a welder from Streatham), Marcus (Trev’s sisters boyfriend), and a guy from North London I’d never met before known simply as V who told me he was a lyricist but in reality was actually a small time drug dealer and had smuggled over a large amount of quality nose-up! He was a top bloke, very funny and he had a beautiful appartment that overlooked the sea above The Cafe Del Mar. When we arrived I had nowhere to stay so Trev put me up in this small appartment which already had half a dozen other Streatham, Mitcham and Rose Hill faces I knew crashing there. There was also a couple of fellas I knew from my School days in Carshalton who were sat at a table cutting up loads of speed and wrapping it up ready for a nights business. On our first night we went to “The Project Bar”, in San Antonio. The Project was run by Trev and his cousin (another mate from Cashalton), Ian Paul. Books and mag articles have him down as Ian St Paul... I dunno where the “Saint” bit came from... he was far from being a Saint!... to me he was just Trev’s cousin, a part time cocktail barman from Rumours Covent Garden. In Ibiza however Ian was like a messiah. He had in-roads to everywhere and anywhere and everyone on the Island knew him. He was a main “face” and knew the best sources on the Island for drugs. The Project Bar was a small place, no decks (just tapes) but was very popular, particularly with UK workers out there. They had a few girls “propping” (handing out flyers) from South London as well as Sheffield and Newcastle etc and regulars at the bar included Lisa (Loud). Nancy (Noise) and a few other faces I’d seen about from back home at Streatham’s Project @ Ziggys. Trevor played all sorts of tapes in there including some of mine. It was a real mix of Hip Hop, Go Go, early House, Funk, Soul and even the odd rock or indie tune which I was kind of use to and considered it the norm from previous Ibizan visits. That first night I remember Trev saying “wait till we finish here Al, I’ll take you somewhere that’ll blow you mind..”. When The Project closed about midnight he took us to The Star Club. It did not blow my mind. It was a sprawling **** hole of a place in San Antonio playing mecca club style commercial soul and funk. Fatback Band - I Found Loving and stuff like that. I wasn’t impressed. The Star Club however was just a stop off. There we met this really tall guy with long fuzzy hair from Wolverhampton called Keith. He was one of the Stars security team. He was also a bit of a petty theif who wore dungarees in the day time (which I thought looked a bit Whamish!). His unusual slang term for thieving was “shooming”. I “shoomed” some clobber from Ibiza town today, I “shoomed” some credit cards from some dopey twat on the beach today... that kind of thing. Trev kept using the same term as well and would snatch things out of your hand saying “shoooom”. I remember thinking “what the ****s this shoom bollocks all about?” It became a catchprase and took on different connotations as the weeks went by. Personally I would have spelt it shum, but a certain other fella I knew (a Rare Groove and Soul DJ from Punters Wine Bar Kingston) who turned up a week later had another way of spelling it. By the time he’d arrived Shoom also had an entirely different meaning. I don’t know how true the “it’s the feeling you get as your E kicks in” translation from Trev to Danny is, but to this day it has always meant something entirely different to me. Much to my relief The Star Club was just a brief stop off before the real “blow your mind” location. As we walked back to Ian’s jeep Trev handed us these small transparent capsules with a sandy like substance inside. I was with my mate Chrissie. A wiser, older member of our Streatham crew. He’d done every drug under the sun and I looked up to him and had a lot of respect for him, so between us we split the capsule and shared the contents. We left San Antonio and headed to Amnesia.
What was your feelin as you first walked into the club / How were the other punters dressed compared with your lot?/Any druggy tales
As we approched Amnesia I was already feeling highly elated and Chrissie and I were jabbering on about how good we felt. From memory I dont think Trev even told us what we’d taken, just that “Its like nothing you’ve ever had before.” I think later that night I was told it was Ecstacy but I hadn’t really heard of it and I wasn’t bothered anyway. It just felt unbelievable. (I’m pretty sure the short/slang term “E” came a good year later. I have a vague memory of Danny’s first Shoom night having Carl Cox and a huge cardboard “X” covered in silver in front of his decks... I might be wrong?) We walked through the entrance of Amnesia with Ian and Trev without paying and at this point I was lusting after every pretty girl I looked at... there were many in Amnesia! I remember this really cute bird in a Batman T-Shirt I got chatting to who was a friend of these two Geordie girls who were both bang into LSD. I’d met them earlier that night back at The Project. “Batman” was stunning, model like eve and she was from Ladbroke Grove. I was larging it and was full of confidence.. I tried all week with her... got close, but eventually drew a blank! I was concious of being under dressed compared to many others in Amnesia but this merely heightened the feeling of elation. It just felt so priveleged and special just to be in such a glamorous place. I wore ripped jeans and a red and white stripped long sleeved Stone Island t-shirt I’d brought from Woodhouse in Oxford Street (see Old School pics... but without bandana in 87!). I can’t remember the footwear (probably espadrills or something **** like that!) but I wore the same outfit nearly every night I went to Amnesia... it felt comfortable and right! The majority of others in Amnesia were high class Spanish or other European disco goers. Most were a few years older than us and there were a few men in designer suits, sort of Miami Vice meets George Michael style. One night Ian turned up in a bright white Armani jacket trying to look rich and famous. This was out of style for Ian as most of the week I’d seen him in a shari, sheet or baggy indian type trousers looking the typical Ibiza hippy so we all took the piss. “Selling Ice Creams tonight then Ian?” I said. His reply still makes us laugh and remains a classic Ian Paul one liner to this day. “Al, this jackets worth more than your ****ing house!” he said. (had to be there I spose!) I dont remember much of the clubs interior details. The walls were high with Palm Trees around the perimeter, there was a raised stepped area (like a sort of terracing) to the rear, and there was no roof back then. There was also an area in one corner near the dance floor with some kind of netting hanging down where a lot of the South London and English faces seem to congregate and dance that mad-like kinetic dance in small groups.We readily joined in took another capsule and danced til the sun came up.. I’d never been to a club quite like Amnesia. It was (and still is to this day) the best Club I had ever had the privelege of being in.
Can you remember the Music/Alfredo?
The music selection at Amnesia in 1987 was at the time real difficult to define and weird yet at the same time wonderful. There were tunes you recognised and tunes you’d simply never heard of. Trevor had touched on the Chicago House sound back home that same Spring time at his Project Club in Streatham so I was aware of House and it felt like it was going to be the next big thing but it was yet to take hold and was taking a back seat to Hip Hop and Rare Groove at home. Looking back now House seemed to take a long time to really establish itself in London. That summer in Ibiza, House was included in the selections of the DJ at Amnesia. Trevor knew Alfredo and introduced me to him later that same week. He seemed old (even then!) but worldly and wise and a lovely kindhearted guy. His House choices were very specific and quite limited but it was what he played with them that really made him stand out from what I’d been use to. Most of the tunes Alfredo played formed a long list that Trevor later drew up for Pete Tong which was eventually cut to a short list of 10 for the ffrr compilation “Balearic Beats Vol 1” released the following year in 1988. There were more obvious selections mixed in with Alfredos left field choices and it was this whole mixed up mashed up sound track that became a musical genre all of its own. I don’t know who coined the phrase Balearic Beats (Oakie? Johnny?, Danny?, Tong? maybe even you Tel?) but Trev says it wasn’t him and at the time it seemed a little un-just to me. These selections were more specific than just Balearic Beats they really were the choice of just one man... Alfredo. Other clubs we went to (Pacha, Manhattans, Es Paradise) all played some of the same tunes that year but to me Alfredo seemed different in his programming and stood out. He didnt beat-mix he was simply a great selector. Clubland historians wax lyrical about the great Larry Levan at Paradise Garage, Nicky Siano at The Gallery, Dave Mancuso at The Loft and Ron Hardy at the Music Box but I never saw or heard these guys in their glory days. I DID however, hear Alfredo at his peak and I doubt if any of the former could have had the same effect on me and my ears as Alfredo did at Amnesia in 1987.
If I was pinned down to name the 10 most important popular and relevant Alfredo tunes of 1987 from memory my choice would probably look like this:
1. Why - The Woodentops
2. Sign Of The Times - Prince
3. House Nation - The Housemaster Boyz
4. Risque Rythum - Risque Rythum Team
5. Kaw Liga - The Residents
6. Jibaro - Elkin and Nelson
7. Whats Going On - Cyndi Lauper
8. Can U Dance - Fast Eddie
9. La Habanera - Yello
10. Join In The Chant - Nitzer Ebb
It’s difficult to remember exactly how many South London and English faces were Amnesia regulars in the summer of 1987. In the three weeks that I was there I went almost every night. A few days into the first week the in-famous four arrived. I was DJing in a small bar in San Antonio (owned by Manola a spanish friend of Trevor’s) when Paul, Danny, Johnny and Nicky arrived and I was one of the first from home that they bumped into. Obviously I knew Paul well. I’d met Danny earlier that year when he DJ’d at Punters Wine Bar in Kingston and I knew Nicky from The Special Branch and Zoo gigs, but I’d never met Johnny before. Paul was real excited and I remember him banging on and asking loads of questions about Amnesia and he kept asking me if House was big there. The problem was describing the music of Amnesia and when I told them it WAS great but it wasn’t all one sound and “not much house really” he didnt seem to understand. I remember that conversation like it was yesterday. Paul Kept asking me “well what is it then Al?” but I didn’t have a constructive answer. “Just go, you’ll like it”, I said. I knew Paul had a broad taste, we often argued at home about music ..he had me labelled as a Soul and Jazz head and he was into a more rock/hip hop sound. I knew he’d like Alfredo. Paul took to Alfredo’s sound immeadiatley. Danny, Nicky and Johnny followed shorthy after
Have you been back to Amnesia since it became a shopping mall.
In a word... No. I think I remember Ibiza and Amnesia 87 much like my parents remember the 1960’s. I tell my kids (who are fast approaching their clubbing years!) how truly magical it was and Its hard sometimes to accept and believe it was nearly 20 years ago now. 1987 remains a “vintage” year of my life. I know its a club land cliché and many ridicule those of us that were there (both in 87 and 88 and how we like to reminisce, but although Ibiza is still a fantastic place and probably always will be, I can honestly, truly say with my hand on my heart... it really Isn’t as good as it use to be... particularly back in 1987 with Alfredo at Amnesia, dancing and singing to the Woodentops in the open air til the sun came up.
Mid-late August 1987. I’d previously been to Ibiza in 1984 and 85 whilst my sister was living there. She’d worked at Ku and Es Paradise and had taken me to both these but never Amnesia, although she had spoken about it. I’d been working back in the UK with long time friends Trevor Fung and Paul Oakenfold at their “Project” night @ Ziggys in Streatham, designing and printing all the flyers and doin the odd warm up alongside former school mate Carl Cox. Trev had invited me out along with his brother Rudy and a bunch of other mates: George (a hairdresser from Croydon), Chrissie Jackson (a welder from Streatham), Marcus (Trev’s sisters boyfriend), and a guy from North London I’d never met before known simply as V who told me he was a lyricist but in reality was actually a small time drug dealer and had smuggled over a large amount of quality nose-up! He was a top bloke, very funny and he had a beautiful appartment that overlooked the sea above The Cafe Del Mar. When we arrived I had nowhere to stay so Trev put me up in this small appartment which already had half a dozen other Streatham, Mitcham and Rose Hill faces I knew crashing there. There was also a couple of fellas I knew from my School days in Carshalton who were sat at a table cutting up loads of speed and wrapping it up ready for a nights business. On our first night we went to “The Project Bar”, in San Antonio. The Project was run by Trev and his cousin (another mate from Cashalton), Ian Paul. Books and mag articles have him down as Ian St Paul... I dunno where the “Saint” bit came from... he was far from being a Saint!... to me he was just Trev’s cousin, a part time cocktail barman from Rumours Covent Garden. In Ibiza however Ian was like a messiah. He had in-roads to everywhere and anywhere and everyone on the Island knew him. He was a main “face” and knew the best sources on the Island for drugs. The Project Bar was a small place, no decks (just tapes) but was very popular, particularly with UK workers out there. They had a few girls “propping” (handing out flyers) from South London as well as Sheffield and Newcastle etc and regulars at the bar included Lisa (Loud). Nancy (Noise) and a few other faces I’d seen about from back home at Streatham’s Project @ Ziggys. Trevor played all sorts of tapes in there including some of mine. It was a real mix of Hip Hop, Go Go, early House, Funk, Soul and even the odd rock or indie tune which I was kind of use to and considered it the norm from previous Ibizan visits. That first night I remember Trev saying “wait till we finish here Al, I’ll take you somewhere that’ll blow you mind..”. When The Project closed about midnight he took us to The Star Club. It did not blow my mind. It was a sprawling **** hole of a place in San Antonio playing mecca club style commercial soul and funk. Fatback Band - I Found Loving and stuff like that. I wasn’t impressed. The Star Club however was just a stop off. There we met this really tall guy with long fuzzy hair from Wolverhampton called Keith. He was one of the Stars security team. He was also a bit of a petty theif who wore dungarees in the day time (which I thought looked a bit Whamish!). His unusual slang term for thieving was “shooming”. I “shoomed” some clobber from Ibiza town today, I “shoomed” some credit cards from some dopey twat on the beach today... that kind of thing. Trev kept using the same term as well and would snatch things out of your hand saying “shoooom”. I remember thinking “what the ****s this shoom bollocks all about?” It became a catchprase and took on different connotations as the weeks went by. Personally I would have spelt it shum, but a certain other fella I knew (a Rare Groove and Soul DJ from Punters Wine Bar Kingston) who turned up a week later had another way of spelling it. By the time he’d arrived Shoom also had an entirely different meaning. I don’t know how true the “it’s the feeling you get as your E kicks in” translation from Trev to Danny is, but to this day it has always meant something entirely different to me. Much to my relief The Star Club was just a brief stop off before the real “blow your mind” location. As we walked back to Ian’s jeep Trev handed us these small transparent capsules with a sandy like substance inside. I was with my mate Chrissie. A wiser, older member of our Streatham crew. He’d done every drug under the sun and I looked up to him and had a lot of respect for him, so between us we split the capsule and shared the contents. We left San Antonio and headed to Amnesia.
What was your feelin as you first walked into the club / How were the other punters dressed compared with your lot?/Any druggy tales
As we approched Amnesia I was already feeling highly elated and Chrissie and I were jabbering on about how good we felt. From memory I dont think Trev even told us what we’d taken, just that “Its like nothing you’ve ever had before.” I think later that night I was told it was Ecstacy but I hadn’t really heard of it and I wasn’t bothered anyway. It just felt unbelievable. (I’m pretty sure the short/slang term “E” came a good year later. I have a vague memory of Danny’s first Shoom night having Carl Cox and a huge cardboard “X” covered in silver in front of his decks... I might be wrong?) We walked through the entrance of Amnesia with Ian and Trev without paying and at this point I was lusting after every pretty girl I looked at... there were many in Amnesia! I remember this really cute bird in a Batman T-Shirt I got chatting to who was a friend of these two Geordie girls who were both bang into LSD. I’d met them earlier that night back at The Project. “Batman” was stunning, model like eve and she was from Ladbroke Grove. I was larging it and was full of confidence.. I tried all week with her... got close, but eventually drew a blank! I was concious of being under dressed compared to many others in Amnesia but this merely heightened the feeling of elation. It just felt so priveleged and special just to be in such a glamorous place. I wore ripped jeans and a red and white stripped long sleeved Stone Island t-shirt I’d brought from Woodhouse in Oxford Street (see Old School pics... but without bandana in 87!). I can’t remember the footwear (probably espadrills or something **** like that!) but I wore the same outfit nearly every night I went to Amnesia... it felt comfortable and right! The majority of others in Amnesia were high class Spanish or other European disco goers. Most were a few years older than us and there were a few men in designer suits, sort of Miami Vice meets George Michael style. One night Ian turned up in a bright white Armani jacket trying to look rich and famous. This was out of style for Ian as most of the week I’d seen him in a shari, sheet or baggy indian type trousers looking the typical Ibiza hippy so we all took the piss. “Selling Ice Creams tonight then Ian?” I said. His reply still makes us laugh and remains a classic Ian Paul one liner to this day. “Al, this jackets worth more than your ****ing house!” he said. (had to be there I spose!) I dont remember much of the clubs interior details. The walls were high with Palm Trees around the perimeter, there was a raised stepped area (like a sort of terracing) to the rear, and there was no roof back then. There was also an area in one corner near the dance floor with some kind of netting hanging down where a lot of the South London and English faces seem to congregate and dance that mad-like kinetic dance in small groups.We readily joined in took another capsule and danced til the sun came up.. I’d never been to a club quite like Amnesia. It was (and still is to this day) the best Club I had ever had the privelege of being in.
Can you remember the Music/Alfredo?
The music selection at Amnesia in 1987 was at the time real difficult to define and weird yet at the same time wonderful. There were tunes you recognised and tunes you’d simply never heard of. Trevor had touched on the Chicago House sound back home that same Spring time at his Project Club in Streatham so I was aware of House and it felt like it was going to be the next big thing but it was yet to take hold and was taking a back seat to Hip Hop and Rare Groove at home. Looking back now House seemed to take a long time to really establish itself in London. That summer in Ibiza, House was included in the selections of the DJ at Amnesia. Trevor knew Alfredo and introduced me to him later that same week. He seemed old (even then!) but worldly and wise and a lovely kindhearted guy. His House choices were very specific and quite limited but it was what he played with them that really made him stand out from what I’d been use to. Most of the tunes Alfredo played formed a long list that Trevor later drew up for Pete Tong which was eventually cut to a short list of 10 for the ffrr compilation “Balearic Beats Vol 1” released the following year in 1988. There were more obvious selections mixed in with Alfredos left field choices and it was this whole mixed up mashed up sound track that became a musical genre all of its own. I don’t know who coined the phrase Balearic Beats (Oakie? Johnny?, Danny?, Tong? maybe even you Tel?) but Trev says it wasn’t him and at the time it seemed a little un-just to me. These selections were more specific than just Balearic Beats they really were the choice of just one man... Alfredo. Other clubs we went to (Pacha, Manhattans, Es Paradise) all played some of the same tunes that year but to me Alfredo seemed different in his programming and stood out. He didnt beat-mix he was simply a great selector. Clubland historians wax lyrical about the great Larry Levan at Paradise Garage, Nicky Siano at The Gallery, Dave Mancuso at The Loft and Ron Hardy at the Music Box but I never saw or heard these guys in their glory days. I DID however, hear Alfredo at his peak and I doubt if any of the former could have had the same effect on me and my ears as Alfredo did at Amnesia in 1987.
If I was pinned down to name the 10 most important popular and relevant Alfredo tunes of 1987 from memory my choice would probably look like this:
1. Why - The Woodentops
2. Sign Of The Times - Prince
3. House Nation - The Housemaster Boyz
4. Risque Rythum - Risque Rythum Team
5. Kaw Liga - The Residents
6. Jibaro - Elkin and Nelson
7. Whats Going On - Cyndi Lauper
8. Can U Dance - Fast Eddie
9. La Habanera - Yello
10. Join In The Chant - Nitzer Ebb
It’s difficult to remember exactly how many South London and English faces were Amnesia regulars in the summer of 1987. In the three weeks that I was there I went almost every night. A few days into the first week the in-famous four arrived. I was DJing in a small bar in San Antonio (owned by Manola a spanish friend of Trevor’s) when Paul, Danny, Johnny and Nicky arrived and I was one of the first from home that they bumped into. Obviously I knew Paul well. I’d met Danny earlier that year when he DJ’d at Punters Wine Bar in Kingston and I knew Nicky from The Special Branch and Zoo gigs, but I’d never met Johnny before. Paul was real excited and I remember him banging on and asking loads of questions about Amnesia and he kept asking me if House was big there. The problem was describing the music of Amnesia and when I told them it WAS great but it wasn’t all one sound and “not much house really” he didnt seem to understand. I remember that conversation like it was yesterday. Paul Kept asking me “well what is it then Al?” but I didn’t have a constructive answer. “Just go, you’ll like it”, I said. I knew Paul had a broad taste, we often argued at home about music ..he had me labelled as a Soul and Jazz head and he was into a more rock/hip hop sound. I knew he’d like Alfredo. Paul took to Alfredo’s sound immeadiatley. Danny, Nicky and Johnny followed shorthy after
Have you been back to Amnesia since it became a shopping mall.
In a word... No. I think I remember Ibiza and Amnesia 87 much like my parents remember the 1960’s. I tell my kids (who are fast approaching their clubbing years!) how truly magical it was and Its hard sometimes to accept and believe it was nearly 20 years ago now. 1987 remains a “vintage” year of my life. I know its a club land cliché and many ridicule those of us that were there (both in 87 and 88 and how we like to reminisce, but although Ibiza is still a fantastic place and probably always will be, I can honestly, truly say with my hand on my heart... it really Isn’t as good as it use to be... particularly back in 1987 with Alfredo at Amnesia, dancing and singing to the Woodentops in the open air til the sun came up.
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