ALEX P
Alex P
The man responsible for the original Space terrace
takes us back to the beginning… (summer 1990)
“I had spent the 1989 season as a resident at Amnesia
but when I went out in 1990, the owner took me out
to dinner and told me he’d sold the club on. I was
gutted but when he asked where else I wanted to play
the answer was simple — Space. So he drove me down
there and me and [owner] Pepe got on like a house on
fi re from the start.
“I hatched this idea to build a bar outside and create
a new outdoor space to play alternative music to
inside, which was really thrashing mental techno back
then — I wanted it to be more vocal, more funky, more
eclectic with disco, electro, anything we wanted.
“Pepe didn’t know if it was going to work or not but
he really liked me and gave me free reign — there
was only a cloakroom out there so I built the bar and
plumbed it all in with a friend of mine James Mitchell.
“To start with, it wasn’t busy at all. I had to really
work at it. A lot of people would have given up but I
stuck at it, working 18-hour days, sleeping for three
or four hours on a bean bag in the club. Then the
second year it picked up and by the end of the season
it was going loopy.
“Over the years there have been so many classic “It was the most mental atmosphere you could ever CARL COX
moments — Rozalla doing a PA of ‘Everybody’s have and musically we could get away with anything Radio 1 weekend brings a new era to the terrace
Free’, Slash from Guns & Roses partying, DJing to a — we’d play anything from The Cure’s ‘Lullaby’ and (August 1996)
crowd full of people wearing masks of my face on my Swing Out Sister’s ‘Break Out’ to Nightwriter’s ‘Let “This the fi rst time the terrace was turned into a
birthday. A guy called Tanit used to come down, strip The Music Use You’ and M1 ‘Feel The Drums’. But no proper outdoor rave — a space where you could really
himself and then stand on a podium with a torch in matter what we played it worked and that outside go for it! In the days of Alex P and Brandon Block, the
the nude — it was a freak show, a proper freak show. terrace was ours, we ruled it and it inspired people all DJ was tucked up against the bar and had his back to
“But my favourite is when P Diddy asked me if I around the world.” the audience... although he could get himself a drink
wanted any vocals on my set. I said, ‘Nah, I’ve got pretty easily!
me own MC thanks’ and pointed to Blocko, who was
standing there with one eye open, in a total fuckin’ SMOKIN’ JO
“For that day, Eddie Gordon from Radio 1 convinced
Pepe to put a stage at the front, got them to turn the
mess and a microphone tucked under his arm!” Space veteran celebrates the freak show amplifi ers up and when people came to the terrace
(summer 1993) they could see that something really special was
BRANDON BLOCK
“I’d only been DJing about a year and this was the going on. I ended up playing for over six hours to
fi rst time I ever played Ibiza. In those days it was a 1000 people, who were absolutely going for it to
Legendary party animal joins old mate ‘Peasy’ for real spectacle — an anything-goes freak show. The summer house music, acid house classics, a lot of
terrace mayhem (summer 1992) crowd was really mixed, more gay, more fl amboyant, good tribal stuff, as well as tracks like Basement
“Alex had been doing his thing on the terrace for a lots of trannies, very arty but very free... a total Jaxx’s ‘Fly Life’ and Armand Van Helden’s ‘Witch
couple of years and invited me to help him out. There cross section of people but a bit older than you fi nd Doctor’ — when I dropped Rozalla’s ‘Everybody’s Free’
was no intrusion or corporate aspect to it back then, these days. And the atmosphere was really open with the place went mad.
there were no roofs or windows on the terrace, no everyone buying you drinks and giving away their “It was a night that completely changed the Space
shops inside the club… it was just pure out and out supplies!” terrace into something it wasn’t before then. After
hedonism. that session Pepe decided to build a proper DJ booth
and give the terrace a decent sound system.”
Smokin' Jo
www.djmag.com
035
DJ474.space.indd 35 18/5/09 17:55:34
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179