Thirtieth birthday celebrations tend to be big ones. For clubbing brands to reach that milestone is quite an achievement, especially if they lived through the hedonistic and tumultuous years of Clockwork Orange's Danny Gould. His wild antics in the mid '90s are well documented.
Back then, he was identified as being Ibiza's third biggest caner, only behind the likes of Brandon Block. Today, it's quite a different story. Having found peace in sobriety, Danny gets his thrills from putting on parties he remembers and seeing the Clockwork faithful flock to Ibiza every year.
We caught up with the reformed hell raiser at Hotel MiM Es Vivé to get the Clockwork Orange backstory and find out more about the ambitious plans at FECOEV Recinto Ferial on 23 July for Clockwork Classical and the 30-piece orchestra.
"Hi guys, I'm Lissy Lübeck from Ibiza Spotlight. Today we are here at Hotel MiM, Es Vivé to speak with the legendary Danny Gould from Clockwork Orange."
Lissy Lübeck: "Welcome to Hotel MIM, Es Vive. First of all, congratulations on 30 years of Clockwork Orange. Did you ever think it would still be as popular today as it was when it first started?"
Danny Gould: "Wow! Um... that's a good question. When you started, when we started, you strived to get bigger and bigger. The '90s were different. It was magazines, you was giving out flyers, posters and then it grew.
And then, in the early 2000s, I left for 11 years. No, 12 years sorry… and then we grew it again. And you never know what it's going to become. And then, when we relaunched it, it just grew and grew and grew. So, you can never expect success. Strive for it, but never expect it."
LL: "So, for those that aren't familiar, say the younger generation, AKA myself, what is the Clockwork Orange party? What does it encompass?"
DG: "What does it encompass? It's always been about the atmosphere. About the people. Giving the people more than what they or what most people, most parties, normally give to them - the experience, the production, the lighting, more DJs than you should really be providing.
Some do two or four and we put on six or eight. That's always been our emphasis. But it's mainly on the location, the atmosphere and the people and from that we generate lovely people who go to the parties."
LL "So, it first started 1993 in London. And then it was just a year later that you decided to move it over here. What was that first year like on the island?"
DG: "Am I allowed to stay on camera? We worked hard to try and create something. In the '90s it started off.
When we started in 1994, there was Clockwork on a Wednesday. And there was no other nights on. There was nothing. Nothing was on. By 1995 it was MANUMISSION on a Monday, Tuesday was Moneypennies, Wednesday was Clockwork, Thursday was Cream, Friday was Ministry and then everybody went to Space on a Sunday.
It was the same thing. You went around and you could give out flyers, then you could put posters everywhere. You put them in the shops and on this and that until it all changed.
Before social media. That was before the internet was invented! And that makes me feel really old because you probably think it's always been around… but, for us, there was never any internet."
LL: "Is it true that Clockwork Orange is the highest-attended party for Es Paradis?"
DG: "Yep. In 1998 it had a capacity of 1900 and we used to get about 3600 a week in it. Almost double capacity. That's what Ibiza clubs were all about. That's what it was about - packed and just madness."
LL: "And why do you think it's still so popular today?"
DG: "Because when we relaunched it 11 years ago, we did it we did it basically for a laugh, to see what we could do as a small party of 600 people. And when we relaunched it, I introduced everything that I'd learned in sobriety, when I gave up drinking, from the mad days.
Like, you know, I had the kindness to people. A lot of underlying aspects. But it's what you give to the people. It's for the experience and that has spread to the younger generation.
People actually come with their Mum and Dads. That’s the mad thing about it. That's what makes me makes me feel older, is that the people who are young when I started it are now coming with their children."
LL: "Wow! Yeah, amazing. I don't know if I'd be going with my parents, but cool."
DG: "There's a lot of people who do come with their Mum and Dad."
LL: "To celebrate 30 years you're going above and beyond with a super special rendition. I's called Clockwork Classical and it is being held at, how do you pronounce it?"
DG: "The Recinto Ferial de Congreso."
LL: "Amazing! What made you decide to do it there?"
DG: "We wanted to do it there because it's all about changing venues and changing it up and making it a bit more special each and every time. And that was the only venue that we think we could hold it in.
And to do that, we had to get special licenses with the council. And we wanted to do something live for the classical and for the concert. But there's also the DJs involved.
It's a mini-festival. It's a mini-festival in a venue that no one's ever really been to. They do exhibitions there but nothing else. It's a massive, first clubbing event but it is heavily on the live aspect as well."
LL: "So, you've got a 30-piece orchestra?"
DG: "Yep - one member of the orchestra for every year of Clockwork."
LL: "I like it. Very cool. Can you tell us about any tracks that they might be doing a rendition of?"
DG: "It's our journey through the last 30 years and they're curating it every week. We've got this guy called Matthew Freeman, who's one of the top composers, and it will go through from the early Balearic days to the mid-90s, to like Trance with your Café del Mar kind of aspect.
I didn't know if you guys knew as well that we're doing the first day of our week when we come, is Clockwork's doing Café del Mar. And at the end of the sunset they're going to play Café del Mar. The orchestra is going to play Café del Mar at Café del Mar. so that's pretty special."
LL: "So, it's a five-day event is it?"
DG: "Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday - six!"
LL: "What DJs have you got lined up for the six days?"
DG: "Mark Knight, Roger Sanchez, Gok Wan, Bushwacka, Danny Rampling, Seb Fontaine, Tall Paul, Angie Brown live, It's just endless."
LL: "Well yeah. I'm super excited. We'll all be there, Team Spotlight. Are you excited? Is everything planned?"
DG: "Everything's planned, but yeah, there's a lot of work to do. A lot of work, yeah. But when I come out here, which I've been coming for 33, 34 years, you wouldn't guess I do look young I know… (That's where you’re supposed to reply and say you don't even look like you're 34.)"
But when I come out here, I get all my ideas and it energises me so, yeah, yeah. We're ready to go, yeah."
LL: "Cool, oh, very exciting. Well, I'll see you there - what day is it?"
DG: "It's the 19 to 24 July. O23 July the big finale: the orchestra and the big DJs."
LL. "Cool! Thank you so much. See you there."
DG: "Nice one!"
Clockwork Classical at FECOEV Recinto Ferial is the pinnacle of Clockwork Orange's 30th anniversary week. Tickets are on sale and available below.
Buy two or more before 3 July and be entered into a prize draw to win VIP upgrades with drinks package and a host of other goodies. For more details, please head here.
