Dexter Jones

What was it really like to live, work and dance in Ibiza in 2001?

Carrie Stevens was right in the middle of it.

After arriving on the island, she became a club dancer at Es Paradis, before being poached by Eden and eventually becoming Head Dancer. This was an Ibiza of packed dancefloors, podium dancers, workers crammed into apartments, club parades through San Antonio, morning bars and after-hours sessions that could disappear well into the next day.

In this episode, Carrie takes us back inside that world. We talk about the reality of being an Ibiza dancer, the incredible atmosphere inside Es Paradis, life at Eden, the notorious Garden of Eden, Ibiza worker culture, Judgement Sundays, surviving the winter and why the island felt so different before social media.

Carrie also tells us about one of the happiest moments of her life: dancing above a packed Es Paradis as the shutters opened and Café Del Mar played.

If you worked, danced or partied in Ibiza during this era, tell me your memories in the comments. What was YOUR Ibiza like?

Subscribe for more conversations and stories from the people who lived through dance music and club culture.

Chapters:

00:00 What It Was Really Like Being an Ibiza Dancer
01:26 Leaving Ibiza and Coming Back
04:34 An Unforgettable Night at Es Paradis
06:44 Why Ibiza Felt So Different
08:05 Did Social Media Change Ibiza?
09:45 Surviving an Ibiza Winter
12:54 Becoming an Ibiza Club Dancer
14:04 Getting Poached by Eden
15:51 Becoming Eden's Head Dancer
17:28 The Infamous Garden of Eden
19:50 Ibiza's Drinking Culture
21:40 Es Paradis vs Eden
22:32 Ibiza Dancer Auditions
26:37 Kevin & Perry and Ibiza
28:38 Moving to Ibiza
32:05 Ibiza Worker Apartments
34:35 The Darker Side of San Antonio
36:14 Ibiza's Dangerous Dance Podiums
39:23 Dancing Above a Packed Club
41:48 Knowing When to Leave Ibiza
42:49 The Legendary Ibiza Club Parades
48:28 Part Two...

Marcella Woods is the voice behind some of the most recognisable anthems from the golden era of dance music, including Beautiful, Liberation (Fly Like An Angel) and El Niño.

In this episode of the Dexter Jones Podcast, Marcella tells the incredible stories behind those records, including how Liberation was recorded in just 20 minutes and how the vocal for Beautiful was nailed on the very first take.

Marcella also takes us back to the clubs that shaped her, from Bagley's and Strawberry Sundae to Freedom and The Fridge, and explains how a chance introduction eventually led her to Matt Darey and a string of records that would become part of dance music history.

But Marcella's story hasn't stopped there.

Now in her 50s, she's taken on an entirely new challenge: becoming a DJ. After just six hours of intensive training before her first gig, she's gone on to play festivals and events, finding herself handing over the decks to artists including Mauro Picotto, Dave Pearce and Signum.

We also talk about why dance vocalists haven't always received the recognition they deserve, Marcella's extraordinary classical musical background, the realities of balancing music with family life, and why she's still every bit as passionate about dance music today.

A brilliant conversation with one of the voices behind the soundtrack to a generation.

Subscribe to the Dexter Jones Podcast for weekly conversations celebrating the DJs, artists, clubs and stories that shaped dance music culture.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Liberation Was Recorded in 20 Minutes
00:18 Marcella Woods & The Story of Beautiful
02:35 From Vocalist to DJ
04:37 Bagley's & The Golden Era of Clubbing
07:12 Marcella's New Life Behind the Decks
09:56 Hearing Your Own Voice on a Dancefloor
10:49 Do Dance Vocalists Get Enough Recognition?
12:14 Singing vs DJing
14:09 Nine Gigs a Weekend
15:53 Could Beautiful Be a Hit Today?
17:24 Marcella's Classical Music Background
19:03 The Truth About El Niño & Beautiful
20:21 Liberation: 20 Minutes to Record a Classic
22:08 How Marcella Became a Recording Artist
25:03 Family, Touring & Music as an Escape
27:30 Classical Training Meets Dance Music
29:34 What DJing Has Taught Marcella

Tall Paul’s story is inseparable from one of the most legendary clubs in British dance music history. Long before Turnmills became an institution, it was his family’s business, and the place where a teenage Paul began learning his craft behind the decks.

From the arrival of House music and the birth of all-night clubbing to Trade, The Gallery and the extraordinary rise of Turnmills, Paul takes us inside a period when London club culture was being created in real time.

We also dive into 30 years of Rock Da House, hunting London record shops for exclusive white labels, the pressure of playing Trade, following Tony De Vit, and why DJs of that generation treated every weekend like it mattered.

This is the story of Tall Paul, Rock Da House and the family-run London club that became part of British dance music history.

#TallPaul #Turnmills #RockDaHouse

In this episode:

• The story behind Rock Da House
• Why Rock Da House nearly came out on Hooj Choons
• Hunting record shops for exclusive white labels
• Why playing Trade felt like performing at Wembley
• How Turnmills went from wine bar to legendary nightclub
• The arrival of House music and all-night clubbing
• Learning to DJ inside an empty Turnmills
• Trade, The Gallery and the nights that defined an era
• Following Tony De Vit behind the decks
• What made Turnmills so special
• The incredible 90s London clubbing scene
• The emotional story behind the final days of Turnmills

Chapters 📖
00:00 Trade Felt Like Playing Wembley
00:19 30 Years of Rock Da House
03:15 How Rock Da House Became a Club Anthem
09:13 Reworking a Classic 30 Years Later
13:18 Tall Paul’s Obsession With Finding Records
16:48 The Pressure of Playing Trade
20:27 The Incredible Story of Turnmills
29:56 What Made Turnmills So Special?
31:47 Learning to DJ Inside Turnmills
37:52 Trade, The Gallery & Turnmills
41:43 How Trade Became an All-Day Institution
49:07 The Memories That Made Turnmills Special
52:12 Did We Know We Were Making Clubbing History?
53:10 How Trade Launched Tall Paul’s Career
55:25 The Emotional End of Turnmills
01:02:10 Why Turnmills Still Means So Much

🎙️ The Dexter Jones Podcast – Conversations with the people who shaped dance music.

How many clubbers, DJs and music lovers already have permanent hearing damage without even realising it?

In this week's episode, I sit down with Jono Heale, Director at ACS Custom, musician and one of the UK's leading voices on hearing health in the music industry.

After developing permanent hearing damage himself, Jono made it his mission to help protect musicians, DJs and clubbers from making the same mistake.

We discuss tinnitus, hearing loss, safe listening levels, why ringing ears should never be ignored, whether one loud nightclub can permanently damage your hearing, and why so many people don't discover the problem until it's too late.

If you've ever left a club, festival or gig with ringing ears, this conversation is essential listening.

In this episode:

• How tinnitus really starts
• Why hearing damage is often permanent
• Can one loud nightclub damage your hearing?
• Safe listening levels explained
• Why DJs are at greater risk
• Why dance music is particularly challenging for hearing
• The truth about hearing protection
• How ACS Custom helps protect musicians worldwide
• Practical advice every clubber should know

Chapters:

00:00 The diagnosis that changed everything
00:21 How many clubbers already have hearing damage?
02:10 Why musicians often ignore hearing loss
04:00 What is tinnitus?
05:43 Why ringing ears are a warning sign
07:57 Meet Jono Heale & ACS Custom
10:55 Why custom earplugs work better
14:12 Why hearing damage is becoming more common
18:30 Jono's own hearing loss journey
22:40 Living with tinnitus every day
25:55 How Jono joined ACS Custom
30:20 Why musicians need hearing protection
36:10 The moment ACS changed Jono's career
37:30 The Musicians' Hearing Health Scheme
38:25 Why tinnitus can't currently be cured
43:05 Can one nightclub permanently damage your hearing?
45:40 Why dance music is harder on your ears
49:00 Why some people lose hearing faster than others
53:40 Are DJs more at risk?
56:15 The biggest myths about hearing protection
59:45 The future of hearing health
01:03:30 Jono's advice to every clubber

What happens when your first-ever single becomes one of the biggest dance records of all time?

In this exclusive conversation, Darude reveals the untold story behind Sandstorm, from handing out demo CDs in Finland to becoming an international superstar within weeks. He explains why having your biggest hit first was both a blessing and a burden, why he couldn't even DJ properly when success arrived, and how he has spent the last 25 years building a career beyond one iconic record.

We also dive into the evolution of dance music, surviving overnight success, record label pressure, social media, AI, mental health, and why passion, not fame, should always come first.

Whether you're a fan of trance, dance music history or electronic music production, this is one of Darude's most open and insightful interviews.

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IN THIS EPISODE:

• How Darude got his name after repeatedly playing the same record at a party

• How handing out one demo CD changed his life forever

• Why Sandstorm was created in just a week and a half

• Becoming a global superstar before he could properly DJ

• Why having your first release become your biggest hit comes with unexpected downsides

• The pressures of following one of the biggest dance records ever made

• Why Darude says he still loves playing Sandstorm after 25 years

• The story behind the iconic Sandstorm music video and the annual Helsinki run

• How the music industry has changed from vinyl and CDs to streaming and social media

• Why record labels wanted him to copy Sandstorm, and why he refused

• Rebuilding his debut album from scratch after the original project files were lost

• How technology has transformed music production over the past two decades

• Why supporting new artists through his Vibing Out label matters so much

• Darude's honest advice for young producers starting their careers today

• Why passion, not fame, should always come first

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Chapters

00:00 Intro
00:35 How Darude got his name
02:39 Discovering electronic music
07:00 When music became more than a hobby
08:08 Meeting JS16 changed everything
09:20 Creating Sandstorm
10:16 Overnight success in weeks
10:50 Becoming famous before learning to DJ
14:25 Does he get bored of Sandstorm?
17:00 The story behind the Sandstorm video
19:20 Creating the Darude Sandstorm Run
25:35 Overnight success and its downsides
30:00 Pressure after your biggest hit
33:35 Touring the world
37:00 How the music industry has changed
40:10 Why Sandstorm still works today
43:20 Hearing Sandstorm played by an orchestra
45:00 Current projects and new music
47:05 Technology and producing music today
48:35 Rebuilding Sandstorm from scratch
52:20 Future ambitions beyond dance music
54:00 Launching the Vibing Out record label
56:45 Helping the next generation of producers
01:00:10 Advice for young producers
01:04:10 Fame, TikTok and today's DJ culture
01:08:00 Mental health in dance music
01:09:25 One More Tune: his perfect closing track
01:13:00 Final thoughts