What kind of a club can generate such loving adoration that thousands of clubbers make the pilgrimage every year to Ibiza, just for their Opening and Closing party?

Well, to celebrate 15 years of Space we thought we'd talk to the men behind the myth, and delve back into the mists of time to reveal the history of one of clubbing's most revered locations; the Mecca of all day dance music parties - a club that has, for many, become one of the most fun places in the world!

It's all about the music Pepe Rosello, a passionate lover of the Opera and speaker of 6 European languages, has been the driving force behind Space since the beginning.

He has been a nightclub owner all his life, starting with the Playboys club in San Antonio back in 1963. He says it started in the late 50s and 60s with the arrival of the first 'Hippies' from America (escaping the draft for the Korean and Vietnam wars). His eyes light up as he recalls the incredible musical freedom which they brought to the island - a mish-mash of musical styles and cultures and most important of all this great desire to celebrate their love of music. Suddenly the first bars were opened where the island's youth would throng to listen to this new and exciting musical wave - La Tierra, Mono Desnudo and Graffiti.

Spain was under Franco's dictatorship at the time, and strict laws governing the import of foreign records and live performances by non-Spanish bands threatened to drive this new musical Renaissance back into the underground... and yet in this repressive climate a group of businessmen on the island, in Pepe's own words 'locos por la música' ('crazy about the music') refused to be beaten, and in 1973 Pacha was opened, closely followed by Es Paradis, Amnesia and Ku.... By the mid 80s, Pepe was convinced that the future lay with these big 'macro' clubs: for only they had the capacity to make it commercially possible to bring the best live acts and bands to the eager public.

In 1989 he took over and completely refurbished the failing conference hall / discotech Space in Playa d'en Bossa.

The first challenge was to change people's perceptions of Playa d'en Bossa itself, which was primarily a family resort; and to encourage people away from the main disco route - San Antonio (Es Paradis), Ibiza (Pacha) and the main road between them (Amnesia and Ku - now Privilege).

A complete musical devotee, Pepe was well aware of the lengths to which people would go to listen to music they like, and immediately saw the potential for opening when everyone else had shut. Spanish licencing laws say that an establishment has to close for a minimum of 2 hours a day, so Space opened right from the word go with two sessions - a night time and a day session with 2 hours in between to throw the people out, to restock the bar and to clean up before letting them back in again!

The entertainment policy was a varied one in those early years - Mr and Mrs Space, Miss Ibiza and Formentera, live bands, Flamenco shows - a far cry from the electronica of today, yet it was a formula that worked and the club's popularity grew.

1991 a young British DJ by the name of Alex P had the idea to put a set of decks behind the bar and to play for the people otherwise quietly enjoying drinks on a chill- out terrace. He was joined by Brandon Block two years later and the Space Terrace was born.

The rest... as they say... is history.

Reproduced with the permission of Space, for more information see:

www.space-ibiza.es