Radio 1 Live in Ibiza 2008

Yesterday (Friday 1st August), Radio 1 kicked off the annual legendary dance night of the year. Part of the BBC Radio 1 for Summer events, Radio 1 goes live in Ibiza every year and never fails to please. Kicking off yesterday at 4pm with Annie Mac, one of the newest additions to Radio 1, and Vernon Kay, the new edition to Radio 1 in Ibiza, followed by the world's biggest DJ (not Moyles, I mean biggest as in the most famous), Mr Pete Tong.

Pete Tong always promises and amazing tracklist and spectacular line-up of guest DJs in his show for Ibiza, and spinning the decks for his show yesterday were some of the most lgendary club DJs around. Playing at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel this year were:
- Dave Spoon, Paul Harris and Obernik performed the amazing "Baditude" live
- The popular David Guetta took to the decks as the first guest mix for Tong
- Sam Sparro also performed live
- Vernon and Annie gave their 3 hour show
- Pete Tong had his own mixes for his show too
...and Zane Lowe was also in the house!

But, for now, back to the beginning...
As the opening of the Radio 1 in Ibiza Friday night draws near, thousands of people queue up outside the Ibiza Rocks Hotel, waiting to kick off the Summer season (photos from BBC Radio 1).


Vernon Kay and Annie Mac are preparing to open the magnificent event, with their DJ battles to come. Now, I am not a huge Vernon fan, in fact I usually turn the radio off whenever he comes on, but I have to admit - when he was on a few months ago on the bank holiday Monday co-presenting the breakfast show with Pete Tong in for Moyles, it was a good laugh.
So then, knowing that Vernon was a good presenter when he had his moments, I readied myself to listen to the official start to the Summer (yeah, I know it's almost finished but what the hell), and yeah, it was alright. The tunes were fucking amazing, but I think the BBC missed something out in choosing who they sent on the tour. I know Annie's a dance DJ, so fair enough that's forgivable - but Vernon Kay? When you think what's next: "Pete Tong, Judge Jules, Dave Pearce, Annie Nightingale, ____" you DO NOT think Vern. That's all I have to say.

Anyway, after three hours of what I would call guff (yeah, as you can guess I stopped listening after 45 minutes), the time was 6:55pm - and you know what that means - Pete Tong o'clock. This is the best show on the radio for music (although personally, my favourite radio show is the Scott Mills drivetime show). In a nutshell, Pete's introduction was amazing, his tunes were bloody great - and his guests - OH MY GOD! David Guetta! Dave Spoon! Ron Carroll! Sam Sparro! God only knows why they didn't get Tongy to present all five hours rather than leaving the first three in the hands of Ibiza noobs.

The crowd certainly went wilder when the true face of dance music took to the stage. The tracklisting for Pete's show for those who are interested was gorgeous (for your information - every track was pure house heaven and should be bought now - so get buying). The full tracklisting will be available here when Pete's IT gang return from the White Isle, but for now, head to the BBC iPlayer and get listening to the repeat of it (the atmosphere won't be as good as you know it's not live - but Ron Caroll singing Axwell & Sinclair's "What A Wonderful World" - how could you possibly want to miss such a treat?).

To see the video short with quick sneak peeks of all the goings on from yesterday, click here and enjoy! Stay with the blog for more dance events, including Creamfields '08 and Global Gathering 2008. Please subscribe also!