Privilege is the world's biggest club and this season it's reclaiming its legendary status

And then, quite abruptly, the fun stops. In 1990, local sound restrictions force Ibiza’s outdoor venues to literally put a lid on it. The astronomic cost of covering a coliseum as vast as Ku is further increased when a large section of the roof collapses during the first phase of construction. Then, on January 19, 1993, owner José Antonio Santamaría is assassinated by the Basque separatist group ETA.

By the summer of 1994, KU is no longer the principal party hub on the island. A wholesale rebrand from KU to Privilege only enhances the identity crisis. Fortunately for new owner Jose Maria Echaniz, dance music is booming. All he requires is a flagship party to get his gargantuan superclub back on the map. Cue the arrival of Manumission, the brainchild of English promoters Claire and Andy McKay. “95 was the first year Manumission ran every week,” says DJ Griff, Manumission’s first resident DJ. “At the time, Privilege was Manumission and Manumission was Privilege. People didn’t really differentiate between the two. In hindsight, we did everything we shouldn’t. Posters with no DJ names listed, asking massive DJ headliners like Fatboy Slim to play in the toilets. Yet many of the outlandish party concepts we invented at Privilege are still being used in Ibiza today.”

Hedonistic, artistic and conceptually immersive, Manumission at Privilege runs for 13 full seasons until 2008, conjuring up the same wild vibe that made KU so successful in the 80s. “Sales were insane even in the final year,” DJ Griff continues. “There was more competition on the island, but we were still doing as well as ever. In that aspect, it was crazy that the party finished.”

Having set the rhythm for the entire club for the best part of two decades, the loss of Manumission leaves Privilege with a massive void to fill. The answer comes in the form of Dutch trance don Tiësto and his legendary Club Life party. When Tiësto swaps Privilege for Pacha in 2012, fellow Dutchman Armin van Buuren continues the big room trance theme.

Elsewhere on the roster, the extravagant arrival of SuperMartXé also helps to mitigate Manumission’s sudden departure. “SuperMartXé is all about big productions and a different theme every week,” says brand CEO Jose Diaz. “We needed a big stage to make it all happen, so the size of the venue was never a problem; in fact, it was a blessing.”

While big room carnivals like SuperMartXé, Manumission and Club Life prosper inside the colossal 10,000-capacity main room, more intimate underground gatherings are less successful. Then in 2012, Privilege unveils its new 2000-capacity glass-panelled backroom, which flaunts a darker musical vibe. The first party to trial the Vista Club are Barcelona-based tech-house collective elrow, famous for their immersive circus-style parties. “We’d just come off an amazing season in Barcelona when we got a call from the director of Privilege,” says elrow boss Juan Arnau. “My father flew to Ibiza and loved the new side room. After that, we refurbished everything, even the name. My father actually renamed the area the Vista Club! I don’t think a lot of people know that.”

Fast forward to 2017 and club life at Privilege is set to return to the main hanger in awesome style. Scene legend Carl Cox headlines two exclusive shows, with Resistance, Ultra’s all conquering techno insignia, signing up for a mouth-watering eight-date residency. “Insane production is one of the biggest focuses for us in Ibiza this summer,” explains Resistance Founder and Talent Buyer Russell Faibisch. “Essentially we’re bringing the Resistance Megastructure production concept from Ultra Miami. Privilege is the only club in the world that can accommodate a set up of this scale. We have top-tier, state-of-the-art sound from Funktion-One, and in the booth we have living legends Sasha and John Digweed. Sasha and John haven’t played together in Ibiza since 2009 and their last club residency was in the fabled Twilo days in the late 90s. It’s one of those rare moments and opportunities in life where everything comes together at the right time in order for this to happen.”

In the Vista Club, the line-up is similarly impressive. Spanish production marvel Coyu hosts his Suara label party every Sunday night. Then on Thursdays it’s Tale Of Us and their consciousness-expanding Afterlife party. “The first time we stepped on to the Vista terrace we were so impressed by its structure,” says Tale Of Us’ Matteo Milleri. “When the light shines through the windows in the morning it has that Panorama Bar vibe.”

“Privilege is our home now,” Carmine Conte adds, “and we are making it very special for Afterlife. We feel this is the next step in our Ibiza journey. Come and make your own opinion. In the end that is what matters… what any individual feels.”

The history of Privilege is similarly open to interpretation. From some angles it looks wild and dangerous, debauched even, from other angles groundbreaking, verging on revolutionary. But whatever the whys and wherefores, Privilege solicits a certain nostalgia on par with its super-sized capacity. Even if you never had the opportunity to rave at Manumission, one mention of the word makes you feel mischievous. Moving forward, club life at the old venue feels equally enticing.

Johnny Lee is Mixmag's Ibiza correspondent