Clive Henry Interview
Circo Loco resident, both in London and Ibiza talks to endclub.com about his home from home.
Circo Loco resident and Ibiza veteran Clive Henry took some time out for a frank interview with endclub.com about the joys of Ibiza and how he feels changes there over the last twenty years have affected the island.
Endclub.com: How and when did you first fall in love with Ibiza?
Clive Henry: I came out here in 1989 as a fresh-faced whipper-snapper. I didn’t know what to expect other than hearing all the stories about it over here. One of my best mates had come over that infamous year before and went beserk about it when he got back saying “you need to get over there!”. I was too wrapped up in the London acid house madness at the time to bother, but a few of us from west London made the trip over in ‘89 and as the saying goes, the rest is history.
Endclub.com: What is it for you that makes it so special?
Clive Henry: I think what made it so special was the liberalness of the place. The do what you want atmosphere combined with some of the most amazing venues ever was unique. In the earlier days most of the clubs were open air or half open air and you can’t really describe the feeling of watching the sun come up whilst dancing to some unbelievable soundtrack. Sounds cheesy I know!
Endclub.com: With the government keen to promote more high-end tourism, will the Ibiza clubbers want more culture, nature and Ibizan heritage into their trip?
Clive Henry: Have clubbers grown up and want more than just parties? Yeah, for real. This year a lot of my crew here have moved on from the surroundings of San Antonio and have ventured further a field, to Jesus, Santa Gertrudis etc. As you get older you want more than just a shit hotel to crash in when you need a disco nap! I generally think the younger, newer faces want to get right at it (and who can blame them?!) and aren’t as interested in the history or culture of the place. But when you’ve been coming for a while I don’t think you feel the need to rave as much and start looking to do more alternative stuff, like taking a boat out for the day to Formentera and maybe staying there for a few nights (it’s one of the best places in the world in my humble opinion!), or going up north and checking out the beaches and small towns up there, such as San Carlos.
Endclub.com: Are the Ibizan clubs in danger of pricing themselves too high, and could there be a backlash?
Clive Henry: For sure. The drink and door prices are getting scandalous. A mate of mine reckons he got charged €37 Euros for a Herbias, brandy and coke in the VIP bar of a ‘big club’ – which shall remain nameless – in San Antonio last week! How can they expect people to pay those kind of prices? Ridiculous. And the sad thing about it is the more they keep charging silly prices, the less people can afford to come here and spend that kind of money, so they whack up the prices again because they're not making the money they used to!? It’s a never ending circle. I understand they're only open for 4-5 months and some of the money spent on production is going to be huge but surely it’s more logical to charge less on the door to get more people in buying drinks? And with the current economic climate being pretty bleak everyone’s going to feel the financial downside at some point so they should review they're pricing policies before it fucks them!
Endclub.com: What are your thoughts on the proposed 5* Ibiza experience?
Clive Henry: It’s all good if you can afford it but a lot of people can’t! But if you can then this island is one of the best places to do it. Casinos, unbelievable nightlife, wicked restaurants, beaches, amazing villas all over the place: the lot. I heard a rumour that a friend of ours with a wicked villa over here has just rented his out for a week or two to the daughter of the fourth richest man in the world. So it goes to show that there are now people with that kind of cash being drawn to the island, so the authorities will feel they're justified in promoting that lifestyle the way they are doing.
Endclub.com: Is the island in danger of losing its scenery and beauty to those catering for the clubbers?
Clive Henry: Not at all. The government know that they have to protect the unique infrastructure of the island, I think there is now going to be a ban on building new apartment blocks (although I don’t know how true that is!) after the ones currently under construction have been finished. And fair enough, even the new roads haven’t had the environmental impact on the place that was once first thought. And they've made the island loads easier to get around!
Endclub.com: Are there any favourite places off the beaten track that you go to?
Clive Henry: Not that many to be honest. There’s a great little tapas place in Figueretas that we love run by a Dutch dude. Another great place is a beachside restaurant with unbelievable views of Es Vedra that we go to. Also Formentera is another place we try and go to at least once or twice during the summer for a few days. Like I said earlier, it’s one of my favorite places in the world.
Endclub.com: What are your Ibiza plans this year?
Clive Henry: To keep people happy with my music at DC10 and just chill more...yeah right!
Published: 23/06/2008
Coming soon
