The label ‘Artistas Ibiza’ is without doubt synonymous with a unique style of music which triumphs throughout the world, but when did the fever for Ibiza begin? Let’s run through a quick summary of the current history of this fantastic island. Until the 70s, Ibiza was a tranquil place, little known as a tourist destination except for the few people who want there in a somewhat traditional manner. In fact, it was not until the mid 50s that methods of transport and communication here were improved to the extent that national flights were available as well as sea travel, and thus some people began to discover the island – though they remained a minority. In that time, it was mainly frequented by people who lived nearby and by the famous hippies who installed themselves there in an attempt to construct utopian societies and who in the process made space for a very important artistic and creative movement which is still the subject of studies. To this day, certain people who installed themselves in the island in this epoch still survive, and they continue to dedicate themselves to artistry – despite the fact that they have already become the stuff of anecdote.

Artistas Ibiza after the opening of the international airport

It was at the end of the 1970s that the international airport opened and the island began to become a fashionable destination – thus begun its glamorous period. In 1970, Ibiza had around 31, 000 hostel places and in the 80s this number exceeded more than 90, 000. It was also at the end of the 70s and the beginning of the 80s that the party rooms, which have made the island so famous, began to open and the most famous stars of the music world began to perform. We aren’t speaking of DJs or dance music but of artists of all varieties such as the legendary Bob Marley, to give just one example. Without doubt, it was in the 80s that Ibiza began to convert itself into the island that we know today. All the groups on the pop and rock spectrum clamoured for dates not just on the main stages but also in the party rooms. It was very common in those days to rub shoulders with the members of Spandau Ballet (in fact one of them ended up marrying a Spanish woman he got to know in one of the party rooms), with Duran Duran or also with rock idols such as Marillion or Poison. The Artistas Ibiza were many and varied in that time, and different to those denoted by this label in the present day.