Clubbing in Ibiza is big business and I always assumed it was run like big business. Men in suits. Offices. Power lunches (possibly). Faxes. Secretaries making notes. You know, organised.

How wrong I was. Turns out Ibicenco club deals are done on a basis that makes the Sant Jordi Saturday market look like Selfridges. It may (but is by no means guaranteed) to involve: endless hours of waiting, linguistic muddles, chupitos, gay discos, bad wifi connections, cutthroat negotiating, midnight meetings that start in one club and end hours later in another, 4AM cross-island dashes to “check out the competition” - all played out in a haze of booze, hash, thumping kick drums and financial desperation.

That is roughly how unlikely bedfellows SuperMartXe (Spanish gay spectacular) and Sophisticated Funk (a hip-hop/R&B outfit) came to share Friday nights at Privilege. Given they are replacing Manumission and one wrong move in the World’s Biggest Club equals the World’s Biggest Flop the level of barely controlled chaos is either insane or admirable. But very, very Ibicenco.

Cila

It’s the opening party of We Love at Space today - and for the first time the doors will be opening at 4.30pm instead of 8am. Will this affect the We Love party? We think not! With an opening line-up that includes 2manyDJs, Smokin’ Jo, Paul Woolford, Tom Novy and Jason Bye we are expecting a super-charged opening fiesta to kick off We Love’s 10^th anniversary celebrations this year.

We’ll let you know how it was tomorrow and you can listen for yourself on the We Love Podcast, online every Tuesday at www.welove-music.com. The opening fiesta show includes interviews with We Love and Mambo resident, Jason Bye, Jem Haynes of Chew the Fat! and with ultimate mash-up duo 2manyDJs - not to be missed.

-Ruth Osborn

MIKE & CLAIRE… CLONES AND ZOMBIES… WALL OF SOUND… MARK RONSON… THE BAREFOOT DOCTOR… FLAMENCO GUITARS… MYLO… FATBOYSLIM… OPERATIC MERMAIDS… HUNKY SAILORS!

The Soundtrack…

Renowned for their vanguard ways, this year Manumission have enlisted the help of Mark (Wall of Sound) Jones and between them, have put together a line up that will have Ibiza shaking in its platform shoes. From Zane Lowe to 2ManyDJs, Mylo to FatBoySlim, Kissy Sell Out to Mark Ronson, these are merely a few of the must see/must hear guests that are set to provide the soundtrack to Manumission 2008. With this year’s parties taking over both rooms of the world’s best club, it’s a match made in Heaven and a gift from the Gods for any discerning music buff.

The Culture Fest…

But Manumission, as always, is not just about the music; rather, it is a cultural explosion that this year incorporates elements of opera from Belgium’s appraised Elise Caluwaerts, Flamenco from the island’s very own Paco Fernandez, costumes from the hand of one of Spain’s finest couturiers, Manuel Albaran, film from Phil Silcock, art from Sergio Ferrer and life changing affirmations from the Barefoot Doctor.
The King & Queen of Manumission, Mike and Claire will take to the stage, joined by their ever adoring and loving crew and cast, in a story of love and gore, life and death, glitter and gyrations, acrobatics and disco antidotes.

The Show and its Cast…

With a storyline based on the weird and the wonderful, the Manumission ‘Coney Island Review’ combines a cast of beauties and freaks in a four act tale of Vaudevillian mischief.

Johnny Golden, Antonio Culebras, Polly Fey, Antonio de la Rosa, the Dynamite Boys and the Manumission Girls are merely a few of the names that make up the momentous cast in a tale of kidnapping and cloning, anti-corporate clampdown and chipping.

Set to a soundtrack created especially for Manumission by A Human, and including lyrics penned by the Queen herself, Claire Manumission, the story tells of the evil Fraudster and the Dandy Doctor’s attempt to kidnap and clone the Manumission crew before dooming them forever to a life of Zombie Hedonism set in a dangerous drag room of transvestites… will our heroes escape from the clutches of the Terrible Two and continue on their Manumission World Tour??

Only one way to find out..

Never one to shy from the weird and the wonderful, this year Manumission is also presenting the ‘Freak of the Week’ with special guests including Lucky, the World’s Most Tattooed Man, and Baby The Acrobatic Vagina.. say no more.

Sort of…

24-Seven Artiste Management are auditioning for new members for a Take That Tribute Band for this summers Ibiza season: The contract will commence on around the 1st May 2008, through to the 31st October 2008 - The contract includes all flights and accommodation, and international transfers - Applicants must be aged between 19/28, and must be able to sing and dance (in some cases talented dancers who cannot sing will be successful) - All production for the show will be supplied, and all chorography will be taught to the successful applicants.

Good luck…
Carl Christian
24-Seven Artiste Management