11/10/2026
Our first day ever in Ibiza and the start of a two week holiday, we headed over to Space at midday in the blazing sunshine.
It’s hard to imagine now but music was so much more inaccessible back then. You couldn’t shazam a song, and even if you could, there was no YouTube or Spotify to listen back instantly. It was either in the club, on the radio, or in a record shop that you’d discover new music.
We’d spend hours and hours every weekend record shopping, trying to hunt down songs that we’d heard with only the melody or lyrics in our mind.
There was so much amazing music released in 2001, but mid-summer there was a buzz around a track that we’d only heard a couple of times. No name, no lyrics, just a massive bassline and screeching synths similar to a Daft Punk track.
So we’d been in Space a couple of hours when the DJ—I think it was Steve Lawler or Jonathan Ulysses—stopped the music. Out of nowhere, Elvis appeared (not the real Elvis) and sang Suspicious Minds to the crowd. Such a surreal but perfect hiatus from the pounding 4/4 beats.
Then Erick Morillo started his set. After an acapella, we could hear a track building in the background. It took a few seconds to register, but this was the track we’d been searching for. Can you imagine the euphoria?
Someone managed to get camera footage of this exact moment, back when cameras were banned from Space and camera phones didn’t exist. I’m not sure how they did it, but I’m sure glad they did.
If you look hard enough, you might see us both there somewhere in the crowd, age 19, having the times of our lives.
Circa 2000 DJs
Track: Junior Jack - Thrill Me
Location: Space Terrace, Ibiza
Date: 12th August 2001
