Mike McKay and Claire Davies were the craziest and most rebellious couple of the nineties in Ibiza. Their party, Manumission, transcended the island’s borders to become a global icon of entertainment and sex, with music and shows never seen before. Thirty years later, they are reinventing the party, drawing inspiration from the book Claire has recently published, The Motel: High Times in 90s Ibiza. Its pages bring to life all the wild stories from those years, fueled by the couple’s passion for Ibiza. The book also serves as the script for the party, which will take place at Club 528 in Benimussa, with no cell phones, no DJ posters, and no VIPs. The event is scheduled for Saturday, September 26, when the venue will host, for twelve hours, from 5:00 PM to 5:00 AM, the main Le Weekend Manumission event, inspired by the legendary summer of 1998 in Ibiza, with a program based on Claire’s autobiographical book. After a life full of exciting and fascinating events together in the Ibiza nightlife scene, the couple talks about those years and their relationship with the island.
What was the Manumission party like in the ’90s, and what did it mean to you?
It was free, wild, artistic… Pure passion, an international event that attracted people from all walks of life and became a global leisure icon. It was a hit at Ku and Privilege, but in the late ’90s everything changed. The peseta was replaced by the euro and our children were born in the early 2000s. Before that, Manumission was pure madness.
What do you remember?
Many things – almost everything. We’ve captured everything we lived through between 1994 and 1998 in a book that ends with The Motel, because that’s where our golden age ended. We have especially fond memories of 1994. For us, the best moments were at Ku and Privilege; we had some good parties at Amnesia, but it wasn’t the same anymore. At Privilege, we had some financial disagreements with the owner, José María Extaniz, which he has somewhat regretted since then. However, what we love about reliving the new Manumission at 528 is that it reminds us of Ku and Privilege.
What’s the difference between Manumission in the ’90s and what they’re planning to play at Club 528 next week?
Basically, to show people what we did in ’98 – that is, to bring to life what’s shown in the book. The idea is that you read the book and enjoy this new experience. To do this, we’re working with the teams from Glastonbury, the famous UK festival, to create visuals and elements that recreate the highlights of 1998 at the Manumission Hotel and on stage, featuring our favorite track from that summer. The music the DJs will be playing will be exclusively from 1998 or earlier. They can play music from before that year, but nothing from the years that followed. We are working with a well-known UK producer from the worlds of electronic music and theater, as well as with the son of the legendary DJ Alfredo Fiorito, to recover his music and pay tribute to his father. There are choreographers working with elite dancers and drag queens from Barcelona, although it seems this group of drag queens no longer exists in Ibiza. Despite this, we want to bring them back.
Everything has changed over the past few decades – just like you and Ibiza. Has this reinvention of Manumission also changed, or has it retained its original character?
The idea is that when people enter through the door of 528, they enter the atmosphere of 98, but not as a trip down memory lane, but as something fresh and new. We don’t want cell phones, so if you lose your phone, you’ll have to try to find it again, just like we used to, and make new friends in the process. We used to change the concept every year, but now it will stay the same. This year we will do a single event. If it goes well, we’ll do 8 to 12 shows this season and the same next season; we’ll keep refining the same concept: it’ll be like The Phantom of the Opera. This year we’ll do it over one weekend, starting at the Rocks Bar, then going to 528, and the final Carry On party will be back at Pikes.
Why have they waited until now to do this?
We wanted our kids to grow up a bit more, since in the past we’ve done some pretty scandalous things that are hard for teenagers to understand and explain. We don’t tell them stories about other people. We want to be honest and share our crazy antics and stuff like that when they’re older.
Claire’s book forms the basis of this new version. Why did you choose this place and this time?
It all comes to a head at the hotel. It’s the story of my life. It’s a love story in which I meet Mike and enter his world of freedom: the early days of Manumission, the good times and the bad, the drama, the scope of the show, and where it was all headed. It was a really crazy time with DJs, dancers, shows, and the drugs that were going around back then. The whole story is told, but it has a lighthearted side and serves as a cautionary tale, because we had a lot of problems. More than a movie, it’s more like a TV series. Mike studied architecture and approaches it in a very structured way; I’m more of a poet; each episode is like a chapter.
The concept of eroticism and sex is very different now compared to before. How do you deal with it? How might an 18-year-old see it?
I don’t know how a young person today would imagine it, especially because much of what we did back then is now illegal. It was anything goes. We were often told the police would show up, and when they did, they turned off the music and just stood there watching us expectantly, while we were naked on stage, covered in spaghetti because it was ‘Italian Night’. However, one time our dog was stolen. We spent the whole night looking for him and, in the end, we went to report it to the Guardia Civil. Then they congratulated us on the performance.
Do you think today’s nightclubgoers will understand Manumission in 2026?
I think they want to experience it. Our kids say that young people claim they’ve missed out on something incredible from the ’90s. I wrote the book for young people from the perspective of a teenage girl who lived through it. What’s being offered to young people now is a boring formula of music: it’s just a list of DJs, and that’s it. We’ll have brilliant DJs, but we won’t promote them like everyone else. You’ll just find out when you come to Manumission. You’ll hear good music, see a live performance, and enjoy a different atmosphere. It will all be part of a big production.
Will they be part of this performance?
I will be a storyteller, a master of ceremonies.
Any news or surprises?
It will be a twelve-hour production. It’s a challenge because no one has done it before.
How have they managed to stay together as a couple through the madness of the ’90s, with kids, drugs, sex, and a lot of work?
It was difficult to work on the book because we had to relive some very hard moments we had experienced together as a couple during the night, and it’s horrible. Not many women survive in the nightlife scene. We explored these difficulties to ensure the book was honest. I think without our relationship, *Manumission* wouldn’t have existed. It’s a true love story, and that’s what drives it all.
How did they overcome it?
At first I wanted to give up; I was thinking of going into film directing, but it was Claire who encouraged me to keep going. We adopted an abandoned dog; we decided not to abandon him, to keep living in Ibiza, and to spend our winters in New York. We lived on a rural estate in Sant Llorenç, and that, along with our family, brought balance to the madness of our work.
Do they use artificial intelligence or new technologies in this show?
No, it’s all very authentic, analog, and very ’90s. There won’t be any screens displaying images, visuals, or anything like that. Even the clothing will be custom-made by the Ohlala store near Dalt Vila in a ’90s style. They’ll create designs for the dancers, the drag queens, and the go-go dancers in the performances using selected pieces from their vintage atelier.
Is part of your dream to reunite with Manumission now, all these years later?
Actually, yes. After all these years, and now that our children are the same age we were when we started, it’s the right time. They’re working with us on production, and it’s a wonderful experience. It’s incredible for us to see their interest and involvement. We had been separated from my brother Andy for a few years, and working together again has been wonderful. Also, we believe the island misses Manumission. For us, this is our ultimate dream; we couldn’t dream of anything more. Everything has revolved around the book. When you read it, you step into that world and learn our story and what happened. We want it to be an event, a must-see when you’re in Ibiza.
Do you have any new music or theater projects?
There are several projects underway. We are producing an audiobook with images from the book. I don’t think anyone has done this before; this is where we’ll use AI, since we need that tool to animate the photos and comics. We’re in talks with several major television production companies. It’s a very visual, fascinating, and interesting story. It has a very solid plot and an excellent ending.
How do you see the island now, considering the changes that have taken place? Is it better or worse than it was in the nineties?
Obviously, we love the Ibiza we experienced in the ’80s and ’90s. We enjoy going back and visiting the places we miss or feel like visiting now. There are many changes we don’t notice because we don’t go to those places. We still haven’t been to clubs like HÏ or UNVRS.
Is there a place for the philosophy of Emancipation in today’s globalized world, with its wars and economic conflicts?
We’re fed up with what’s happening in Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran with Trump… The world needs a lot more love. In the era of Manumission, no one died. It was a party full of love and joy. You can’t underestimate what’s happening in the world. It’s important for people to feel happy. There was no sexism, racism, or class divisions. Everyone was welcome at our party, no matter who you were or what you were like. A few days ago, at 528, a man shouted ‘Manumission!’ at us. That means people still remember us, because everyone used to come and take part.