His hotel helped turn Ibiza from a Mediterranean refuge for reclusive artists into a center of debauchery.
By Phil Davison March 1 When Queen frontman Freddie Mercury was working on the duet album “Barcelona” with Spanish operatic soprano Montserrat Caballé in 1987, he stayed at what he called his “home away from home” — the infamous Pikes Hotel on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza.
Mr. Pike founded the hotel in 1980 with two rooms. Three years later, a music video shot by British rock star George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley — the pop duo Wham! — for their single “Club Tropicana” featured Mr. Pike in a cameo role as a bare-chested bartender sporting an impressive Burt Reynolds mustache.
The celebration lasted for three days. British tabloids reported that guests were offered free cocaine instead of sugar sprinkled on their breakfast cereals. “I never understood that,” Mr. Pike said. “Why . . . would you put coke on cornflakes?” In a 2017 memoir, “Mr Pikes: The Story Behind the Ibiza Legend,” he told of how, still a teenager, he jumped ship in Sydney, married “a couple of times,” worked packing hats for a milliner, then made a fortune from custom-made stickers — such as “Please don’t slam the door” for taxis. He tried to buy a copper mine in Papua New Guinea, where he ran into a bunch of retired members of Britain’s special operations forces.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers Pulls National Guard From Border, Says 'No Justification''There is simply not ample evidence to support the president's contention of a national security crisis at our southwestern border,' Evers said after issuing the order Monday.
Read more »
Millionaire Tony Robbins: Why you should believe these '7 lies of success' – and psychologists agreeMillionaire Tony Robbins: Why you should believe these '7 lies of success' – and psychologists agree via CNBCMakeIt
Read more »
Cohen's testimony will demand Trump be 'impeached and convicted': Art of the Deal co-authorTony Schwartz compares upcoming testimony from Donald Trump's former lawyer to Watergate scandal.
Read more »
Warding off hunger, Venezuelans find meals in garbage binsTony, a 36-year old security guard, rummages through the garbage bins of a wealt...
Read more »