IBIZIA ’89 is the sell out title by bookseller IDEA and Dave Swindells, but good news for all: it’s now back at Dover Street Market. A deliciously hedonistic coffee table book, it’s on its third edition and that means there are four times as many photographs in this latest version — lucky us.
Swindells, who has been a leading nightlife photographer since 1983, showcases a week’s worth of images from one of his Ibiza trips in the ’80s outside popular haunts such as Pacha, Café del Mar, and Amnesia.
He perfectly captures the scene and the essence of the isle, “It was easy to believe that almost anything was possible in Ibiza in 1989; that many of the big clubs put MDMA powder into their cocktails; that the music could jump across genres and not only be exciting, but better than the sum of its parts; that there was always another club or bar to carry on to as long as you wanted to carry on; that it didn’t really matter about your age or sexual preference or how much money you had if you came for the fiesta and the music (although it helped to dress up to get into Pacha, and only the wealthy could buy tables overlooking the dance floors there); that there was always a secret cove or beach where you could create your own party…And all of that was pretty much true.” Dave Swindells
Of course, the title features plenty of party-loving Brits abroad, and he retells the story of a British guy in the pink shirt, who was framed so perfectly in the morning light on the terrace of Amnesia nightclub, “When a group of Spanish clubbers turned up at the gate I went down on all fours and crawled in behind them. Boom! I was in! The girl in the photo with me was an Italian Princess. She was with a group of people who had water pistols filled with liquid E – it was mental! That was without doubt the best night of my life.”
Ibiza is calling.
Ibiza 89 Amnesia Arms Aloft
Ibiza 89 Amnesia Boy George on Dancefloor
Ibiza 89 Amnesia Enrico
Ibiza 89 Amnesia Pyramid
Ibiza 89 Cafe del Mar Daytime
Ibiza 89 Cafe del Mar The Sun
Ibiza 89 Es Paradis Travoltastico
Ibiza 89 Ku Adamski and Friends
Ibiza 89 Ku Podium Dancers
Ibiza 89 Pacha Alix Sharkey and Go-Go Boys
Ibiza 89 Pacha Fan Fun
Ibiza 89 Pacha Steamy Couple
Ibiza 89 Pacha Think Big
by Felicity Carter
IBIZIA ’89 is now available at Dover Street Market London. doverstreetmarket.com